Falkner was an English Jesuit who had been devoted to travelling as a missionary amongst the Indians, in which duty he had passed forty years. He pointed out how vulnerable by any naval power were the Spanish possessions in that region; and, on the publication of his book, the Spanish Government lost no time in instructing the Viceroy of _Buenos Ayres_ to have the coast of _Patagonia_ surveyed, with a view to the formation of fresh settlements. The command of the surveying expedition was given to an officer named Piedra, who sailed from _Monte Video_ at the close of 1778, and passed three months in examining the shores of the gulf of _St. Antonio_, where he left an officer and some men to build a fort, conveniently situated for exploring the rivers _Negro_ and _Colorado_, and for securing the entrance of those streams against invasion. A further inducement for making a settlement here was the number of whales and seals in the neighbourhood, which likewise contained extensive salt deposits. In April 1779 a settlement was formed on the river _Negro_, and in the following year the whole of the southern part of the coast of _Patagonia_ was surveyed. The only spot which seemed to afford a promising site for a settlement was _St. Julians_, which had the advantage of a constant supply of water some three or four miles inland. The Indians in the neighbourhood were friendly and ready to offer assistance, which was of great consequence to the first Spanish settlers in the cold months of June, July, and August. This colony, however, was destined to be short-lived, as the Spanish Government, in 1783, resolved to break up the Patagonian settlements, which were the occasion of great expense to _Buenos Ayres_, and the preservation of which seemed of doubtful utility. The settlement upon the _Rio Negro_ was alone preserved.