Montevideo and the River Plate 101 



approaches the city, it bifurcates, one channel leading 

 to the entrance of the South Docks, and the other to 

 the entrance of the North Docks. The channels are 

 marked on either side by upright stakes, at the top of 

 which electric lights are displayed at night. The cur- 

 rent of the river throws the vast volume of mud, which 

 is always being brought down, toward the right bank, 

 on which Buenos Aires stands, and the operation of 

 keeping the channel open by dredging goes on continu- 

 ously throughout the year, and entails great expense. 

 We passed a number of dredgeboats hard at work as 

 we went up. 



As we drew nearer and nearer to the city, several of 

 my fellow-passengers, whose homes are in Buenos Aires, 

 kindly pointed out to me certain buildings which are of 

 interest. There is only one " sky-scraper" in the capi- 

 tal, and it does not loom up imposingly. The dome of 

 the Capitol, recalling that at Washington, but smaller, 

 was easily recognized. The great Plaza Hotel, standing 

 on higher ground, presents its rather unbeautiful rear 

 facade to the river; its imposing front faces the Plaza 

 San Martin. The Palace of the President and various 

 other public buildings were visible in part from the deck 

 of the steamer. In the immediate foreground were the 

 dock-walls, back of which lay scores of ocean-going 

 vessels, their masts and funnels indicating the rendez- 

 vous in this port of the ships of many different merchant 

 fleets. Behind them ranged in monotonous succession 

 a long array of grain-elevators and warehouses. 



The outward voyage had come to its end. The 

 great ship, which had carried us to the willow-lined 

 banks of the Plate, was slowly warped to her moorings 

 at the custom-house landing. But there were port 

 formalities to be arranged, and for nearly half an hour 



