Under this escort, and accompanied by Colonel Reyes, an engineer officer, and about thirty persons, soldiers and peons, Colonel Garcia set out from Lobos for the Indian territory on the 10th of April, 1822. On the 12th they crossed the Salado at a place where its depth allowed of the safe passage of carts, and where its width was not above thirty or forty feet; this was some way above the junction of the Flores, after which it becomes a river of more consequence, its breadth extending to 300 yards in the winter season, when it is impassable except in canoes. The next day they crossed the Saladillo at the pass of Las Toscas; this stream falls into the Salado a little above the river Flores, towards which they proceeded through a country much intersected by swamps, which obliged them to deviate continually from their direct course. When near the Lake de las Polvaderas, Colonel Reyes, being desirous to take an observation, produced his sextant, which led to an unexpected but serious manifestation of alarm and suspicion on the part of the Indians. Some foolish person, it appeared, when they were setting out had told them that the commissioners had with them instruments through which they could see all the world at once, and nothing would satisfy them, when they saw them brought out, that the Spaniards were not in direct consultation with the gualichù, or devil himself. It was impossible to do away with this notion of theirs, which led to the inconvenience of obliging the officers afterwards to take their observations by the stars at night instead of by the sun in the day-time. About two leagues beyond where they crossed the Flores they verified its junction with the Tapalquen in a vast marsh. The Flores is in fact but the drain of the waters of that river; it was found to be more brackish than even the Salado. In the thick jungles along its banks many tigers were seen, which, however, excited little apprehension compared with the horseflies and mosquitos, from whose venomous attacks there was no escape. They followed the Tapalquen till they came in sight of the Sierra, distant ten or twelve leagues, the Amarilla Hills bearing south-south-east, and those of Curaco south-south-west; between these two groups runs one of the passes frequented by the Indians in their journeys to the Ventana, where the travellers halted, and in the night, whist their Indian guides were asleep, by an observation of Mars, determined the latitude to be 36° 45´ 10"; the longitude they fixed at 54° 13´ from Cadiz; variation 17° 10´.