90 To the River Plate and Back 



shortly afterwards the prow of the ship came around and 

 pointed due west. The color of the water began to 

 change; it passed from deep blue into green, and then 

 became yellow, and presently plainly showed that it was 

 full of mud. We were approaching Maldonado, the 

 southeastern port of Uruguay at the entrance of the 

 Rio de la Plata. This mighty estuary is one hundred 

 and eighty miles wide at its mouth. The drainage of 

 the greater part of the southern half of the continent 

 pours through it into the ocean. It is the widest river- 

 mouth in the world. Its navigation is dangerous. In 

 every direction there are shallows and treacherous 

 sandbars. The navigable channels are subject to 

 shifts and changes, and many a good ship has in times 

 past stumbled upon the shoals and been hopelessly 

 wrecked. The banks on either side are low, and but for 

 the muddiness of the water, the seaman might not 

 know that he had left the high seas behind him. When 

 we entered the stream the wind was blowing from the 

 southeast and the waves were choppy. The upper 

 regions of the air were filled with a thin haze, through 

 which the sun shed a pale light. A silvery sheen was 

 imparted to the water. One of my shipmates, noting 

 this phenomenon, remarked: "I now know why the 

 name Rio de la Plata River of Silver was given to 

 this body of water. It looks just like molten silver. ' 

 Unfortunately history contradicts the pleasant fancy 

 of my observant fellow-traveler. The early Spanish 

 voyagers to South America had only one motive for 

 coming to these far-off lands, and that was to acquire 

 a store of the precious metals. The auri sacra fames 

 reigned in the breasts of the conquist adores. The 

 discovery by Sebastian Cabot and his comrades of a few 

 silver trinkets in the possession of the aborigines who 



