His last work was the settlement of the boundary dispute with Chile. It is not necessary to go into the history of the subject previous to the Treaty of 1881. In the old Spanish days there had been uncertainty about the boundary, and during the existence of the two Republics the quarrel had never slept. "During the whole of its progress the Argentine Republic contended that her western boundary from north to south was the Cordillera de los Andes, and that, in consequence, she had dominion over all the territory eastward of the crest of the Cordillera, the greater part of the Straits of Magellan, and the whole of Tierra del Fuego. Chile on her part accepted the natural boundary of the Cordillera, to a great extent, but maintained that this boundary did not rule in the southern part of the continent; that in Patagonia the territory on both sides of the Andes were Chilian, from the Pacific to the Atlantic; that the Straits of Magellan were Chilian; and that Tierra del Fuego was also Chilian."[55] The two Republics made a Treaty in 1881. They agreed that down to 52° S., _i.e._, to the Straits of Magellan, the boundary was to be the Cordilleras de los Andes. The line was to pass over the highest points of the watershed. The southern boundary was also determined. The Treaty represents a concession on the part of Chile, who gave up her extravagant claims to the east of Patagonia. But she still claimed that the line should follow the highest points in the watershed, while the Argentine Government insisted that the line should run from highest peak to highest peak. This Treaty was ratified, but not carried out. In 1883 the Argentine Government informed its Ambassador at Santiago that the time had come to trace the boundary line. But procrastination is a South American characteristic, and the affair drifted on until, in 1888, a Convention was made. In accordance with the Treaty of 1881, this Convention appointed experts to trace the line. The matter, in fact, was one of great difficulty, for unfortunately it turned out that the watersheds and the highest summits did not coincide, and the experts disagreed hopelessly.