But, after all, however valuable were these data in perfecting a knowledge of the country already occupied, they led to no new discoveries, and by far the greater part of the interior of the continent, to the south of the Plate, remained unexplored, till Spain becoming involved in the general war carried on between the great powers in Europe, her colonial subjects on the shores of the Pacific began to experience more or less inconvenience from the stoppage of their ordinary trade. They found that the ships which used to visit them direct from Europe for the most part ran into the river Plate, rather than encounter the increased risk of capture in the longer voyage round Cape Horn; and it became therefore to them an object of considerable importance to shorten, if possible, the over-land journey from thence to the opposite side of the continent, and particularly to the southern parts of Chile. This led to explorations being set on foot by the public authorities, in the years 1803, 1804, and 1805, the result of which was, the discovery of several new passes over the Cordillera, south of Mendoza, one of which, the pass de las Damas, was examined by the same M. de Souillac, already spoken of, who reported that at a very small expense it might be made practicable for the passage of wheel-carriages. It only remained to be shown whether or not it was possible to travel in a direct line across the pampas from any of those passes to Buenos Ayres. In this state of things, Don Luis de la Cruz, an enterprising officer who had seen much of the Indians, offered to start from Antuco, in the province of Conception, the most southern of the passes yet known, to endeavour to reach Buenos Ayres by a straight course across the pampas. This proposal was accepted by the Governor of Chile, and in order to secure as far as possible the co-operation of the native tribes, which indeed was absolutely necessary to the success of the undertaking, the Caciques of the Pehuenches, who inhabited the country on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera, were summoned to hold a grand parlamento, or parley, to consider it. There had been long a friendly intercourse between them and the Spaniards, who, moreover, had at times afforded them protection from the attacks of their enemies; they therefore did not hesitate on this occasion to intimate to them that they expected in return all the good offices and aid which they could give to Cruz and his party.