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Recent exploring expeditions to the Pacific and the South Seas
Recent exploring expeditions to the Pacific and the South Seas Author:John Stilwell Jenkins Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE RIO NEGRO. 37 despatched to Orange Harbour, to cut wood for the use of the other vessels, and on the 6th of January following, the remainder of the fleet ... more »dropped down the harbour of Rio and stood out to sea, directing their course towards the same place of destination. CHAPTER III. The Pamperos—The Kio Negro—Gnachos—El Carmen—Buenos Ayres —Population and Resources—Lagunas de Salinas—Indian Tribes— Alarm at El Carmen—Tierra del Fuego—Straits of Le Maire and Magellan—Cape Horn—Arrival at Orange Harbour. South of the thirtieth degree of north latitude, strong westerly gales prevail for a greater part of the year, which frequently terminate in severe pamperos, or hurricanes, the effects of which are often experienced far out at sea. These are supposed to be occasioned by the vast llanos, or grassy plains, in the valley of the La Plata, which disturb the equilibrium of the atmosphere. The currents of air here collected, being walled in on the west by the giant barriers of the Andes, and finding little or no resistance on the east, rush forth in the latter direction, either skimming softly and gently over the bosom of the Atlantic, or plunging and dashing on like the frightened courser. Favoured by propitious, though light, and somewhat variable winds, the Exploring Squadron held on their way to the south. On the 25th of January 1839, they again approached the coast of South America, at the mouth of the Rio Negro, the southern boundary of Buenos Ayres, or, as it is now called, the Argentine Republic. The coast in the vicinity of the river is low and barren, consisting of a succession of sand-hills and downs covered with a dry and sickly vegetation, where the stunted shrubs that break 38 GUACHOS. the monotony of the landscape rarely rise to the dignity of tree-ho...« less