66 HUNTING EXTINCT ANIMALS 



than twenty miles each had covered the "four leagues" we 

 had started on. The Port proved to be a small collection of 

 one-room sheet-iron houses where sheep men came in for 

 the purpose of wintering their sheep among the sheltering 

 hills. There was also a store and warehouse. We got 

 corn for the horses and some provisions for ourselves, and 

 started back into the hills to find a pool near some good 

 exposures. Two of us exploring the bushes finally found 

 the place, but it was too late to get the wagon in, so we 

 went back and got permission to sleep in the warehouse, 

 turned our horses out, and spent the evening visiting Mr. 

 and Mrs. Potts who kept the store. 



That night was a "howler," the wind doing extra duty, 

 and snow falling at intervals, covering the ground by 

 morning. As we did not hurry about finding the horses, 

 it was after eight before we were on the road; and after 

 leaving this we had three miles of the hardest kind of 

 going over thick bushes four to five feet high to get to our 

 chosen location. However, when the tent was up and the 

 stove started we were more comfortable than the natives 

 in their fireless houses. By noon the snow ceased, and after 

 lunch we all started out prospecting, finding some indica- 

 tions of bones, and a large and handsome section of a 

 petrified tree trunk. That night the water froze by six 

 o'clock, though it was now really summer. 



Next morning, Sunday, I started with the wagon to go 

 into Comodoro Rivadavia, about fifty miles from camp, 

 to have some alterations made on the wagon, and to get 

 the mail, more money, and our saddles. The boys had a 

 holiday for the purpose of taking baths (the first place 

 where we had had water enough), and of developing the 

 photographs we had taken to date. Billy accompanied me 

 on the first part of the way in order to furnish an extra 

 horse over certain hard places. Going first into Port Visser 

 we found out about the tides, and about eleven started first 

 beside the beach, then dropped down upon it, figuring to 



