[7] Kotzebue says 200.--"In the parallel of the Rio de la Plata, although 200 miles from land, we were daily carried by the current thirty-nine miles out of our course; so great is the influence of this mighty river."--Kotzebue's _Voyage round the World_, 1823-26. [8] The distance between Point Piedras and Santa Lucia Point is fifty-three miles. [9] Vessels drawing more than sixteen feet water seldom get nearer than seven or eight miles. [10] In former times the commanders of our men-of-war established a good rule, that "no boat should go on shore without its anchor, and none leave it after sunset;" which, if attended to by our merchantmen, might prevent many a calamitous accident. [11] They will be found in Purdy's "Sailing Directory, for the South Atlantic Ocean," published by Laurie, 1837, together with those of M. Barral of the French navy, the results of a still more recent survey of the River. CHAPTER III. CITY OF BUENOS AYRES. First Impressions of Buenos Ayres. Date of the Foundation, and Insignificance of the Colony for a long period. Contraband Trade carried on through it a grievance to the Mother Country. Erected into a distinct Viceroyalty in 1776, and its trade opened in consequence of the modified system adopted by Spain about the same time. The advantages of this to Buenos Ayres. If my first feelings on being carted ashore at Buenos Ayres in the uncouth manner I have described, were none of the most agreeable, they soon passed off, and gave way to different impressions. As I walked up to the lodgings which had been prepared for me, I was struck with the regularity of the streets and buildings, the appearance of the churches, the general cheerfulness of the white-stuccoed houses, and especially with the independent contented air of the people--- a striking contrast to the wretched beggary and slave population, of which I had lately seen so much at Rio de Janeiro. The date of the foundation of this city is comparatively recent, and long subsequent to the arrival of the first discoverers of the country, to whom neither the aspect of the Pampas, nor the warlike disposition of the Querandis, the then inhabitants, appear to have offered any attractions. Their search was for the land of gold and silver, which was evidently not this: in quest of those precious metals they ascended the river, and for the most part settled in the more inviting regions of Paraguay; hoping from thence to open an easy communication with the rich countries of Peru. [Illustration: _The first Settlement at Buenos Ayres, in 1535, beseiged by the Querandi Indians._ (_From the original representation given in Ulric Schmidel's account thereof, on his return to Nuremberg._)]