CHAPTER IX 



Billy's Experiences 



We left Billy standing on the beach at Comodoro 

 Rivadavia. As he could not begin collecting in North 

 America until May, he was willing to stay an extra month 

 in Patagonia and look over some of the formations which 

 as a party we had not had time to explore, thereby find- 

 ing out just where any succeeding party should start in 

 work without the considerable loss of time to which we 

 had been subjected through lack of knowledge of where to 

 begin. Next morning he mounted Blackie with about 

 thirty pounds of luggage, i. e., a little clothing, a blanket, 

 some small tools, compass, map, and about ten pounds of 

 food for man and beast ; and was soon wending his way back 

 upon the pampa, and across to Ventner's ranch which he 

 reached in two days. Here he made his headquarters for 

 some days while he rode north and west, prospecting the 

 bluffs down the Chico River, where we had not been able 

 to explore while camping in this section. Unfortunately 

 they proved as barren as most of what we had seen, and 

 it appeared that the pocket we had worked was the only 

 one in that neighborhood. 



After the holidays, on the second of January, Billy left 

 this hospitable homestead and started to work up to- 

 wards Lake Musters. From his diary we get such entries 

 as this of January 2, "Camped out near the Rio Chico, 

 grass pretty poor, strong west wind, night cold and stormy;" 

 which means that with the horse tied to the longest rope 

 he had to get all the grass possible, Billy had made a small 

 fire, burrowed into a thorn bush, and wrapping his blanket 

 around him, got what sleep he could, rising two or three 

 times to warm himself, and to move the horse where it 



