134 To the River Plate and Back 



here and there; nevertheless the far-seeing men at the 

 head of the government are already beginning to give 

 the matter careful consideration. With an area equal 

 to that of half the United States, Alaska excepted, 

 there are in Argentina only about seven and a half 

 millions of inhabitants, less than the population of 

 Pennsylvania. There is still 'elbow-room' for multi- 

 tudes of people. Exclusive of the great Province of 

 Buenos Aires, the country as a whole is still sparsely set- 

 tled, and even in Buenos Aires there are wide stretches 

 of land which are very thinly inhabited. To develop 

 the country and attract population is one of the aims 

 of the government. It was my pleasant privilege a few 

 days after my arrival to receive an invitation from 

 Dr. Bailey Willis to dine with him and to meet a number 

 of his friends. Dr. Willis has been selected by the 

 authorities of Argentina to conduct the survey of the 

 region about Lake Nahuel-Huapi and to aid in opening 

 it to settlers. The dinner took place at Charpentier's, 

 a famous resort, which is the Argentinian equivalent of 

 Sherry's in New York. Among those who were present 

 at the dinner were Senor Ramos Mejia, the Minister of 

 Public Works (obras publicas), Hon. John W. Garrett, 

 the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, 

 Dr. Francisco P. Moreno, of whom I have spoken in a 

 previous chapter, Dr. Walter G. Davis, who for nearly 

 two-score years has been at the head of the Oficina 

 Meteorologica, Dr. Rollin D. Salisbury, the Dean of the 

 Faculty of Science in the University of Chicago, and a 

 number of other gentlemen of eminence representing 

 both Argentina and the United States. The room was 

 decorated with the entwining flags of the United States 

 and of Argentina, and around the walls were large 

 photographs showing Lake Nahuel-Huapi guarded by 



