Patagonia Elmer

Under the Southern Cross tells the true story of Elmer S. Riggs’ quest for treasure in the early 20th century—treasure in the form of fossils from a foreign strand. Based on personal letters, field journals, and other publications by Riggs (who led two expeditions to the far end of South America), Larry G. Marshall opens the curtains on the drama of the search as well as the bureaucratic obstacles and political shenanigans. He follows the team from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago to wild rural, pioneer ranch, and contemporary urban settings in Argentina and Bolivia, where the men are faced with both mundane and extraordinary challenges—natural, cultural, and personal, from storms to scams and mechanical failures—as they seek their magnificent collection. Both the tale of human adventure and the descriptions of creatures that lumbered over the Patagonian pampas millions of years ago ​capture the reader’s imagination.

Under the Southern Cross tells the true story of Elmer S. Riggs’ quest for treasure in the early 20th century—treasure in the form of fossils from a foreign strand. Based on personal letters, field journals, and other publications by Riggs (who led two expeditions to the far end of South America), Larry G. Marshall opens the curtains on the drama of the search as well as the bureaucratic obstacles and political shenanigans. He follows the team from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago to wild rural, pioneer ranch, and contemporary urban settings in Argentina and Bolivia, where the men are faced with both mundane and extraordinary challenges—natural, cultural, and personal, from storms to scams and mechanical failures—as they seek their magnificent collection. Both the tale of human adventure and the descriptions of creatures that lumbered over the Patagonian pampas millions of years ago ​capture the reader’s imagination.