In April, 1779, Don Francisco sailed from San Joseph's, to form a settlement on the River Negro, in favour of which he was fortunate enough to propitiate the Viceroy, who supplied him with men and stores, and all things necessary for the purpose. Don Antonio was left in charge at San Joseph's; but, the scurvy breaking out amongst the people to a great extent, they became so dissatisfied that he was under the necessity in the course of the summer of returning with the greater part of them to Monte Video. He was not, however, permitted to be long idle; and in the January following (1780) was again despatched to carry out the original plan, and to survey the whole of the southern part of the coast of Patagonia. In furtherance of these orders, he examined the several ports of St. Helena, San Gregorio, the northern shores of the great Bay of San George, Port Desire, and San Julian's: which occupied him till the end of May, when, the cold weather setting in, he hutted his people for the winter at Port Desire, and despatched one of his vessels to Buenos Ayres with an account of his proceedings. Of all the places he had visited, San Julian's appeared to offer the best, if not the only suitable site for any permanent establishment. Everywhere else, the coast presented the aspect of sandy, steril dunes, intermixed with stones and gravel, fit only, to all appearance, for the occupation of the wild guanacoes and ostriches, which wandered over them in quest of the scanty coarse grass which constituted their only herbage. No wood was to be seen bigger than a small species of thorny shrub, fit only for the purposes of fuel; and, as to water, it was every where scarce, and the little to be found was generally brackish and bad. The ports, too, were most of them difficult and dangerous of access, affording little or no security for vessels above the size of a brig. San Julian's was so far an exception, that at high tide the largest ships might enter and lay safely at anchor within the bar off its mouth. A constant supply of water, too, was found three or four miles inland, proceeding from some springs in the hills, about which there was good pasturage, and enough of it to have induced a considerable tribe of Indians to fix upon it as their ordinary dwelling-place. There, also, Viedma proposed to plant a little colony; and, the Viceroy approving the plan, the people were removed from Port Desire in the month of November, and commenced building their habitations in the vicinity of the springs above mentioned, about a league from the coast. They received the materials, and a variety of necessary supplies, from Buenos Ayres, not the least useful of which were some carts and about twenty draught-horses, which enabled them afterwards to keep up a constant communication between the shore and their little settlement.