258 To the River Plate and Back 



fellow-countryman, whom he had the honor of repre- 

 senting. Allusion was made to the bonds of friendship, 

 ever increasing in number, which unite the men of the 

 two Americas, and the writer concluded by proposing 

 the health of the President of Argentina, the long 

 life and prosperity of the Academy of Science, and 

 sempiternal success to the honest efforts of thinking 

 men in all lands and under all skies to bring about the 

 reign of peace and friendship among men. 



As the first steamer for New York, upon which we 

 were able to secure accommodations for our return, 

 would not sail until October 26th, leaving a period of 

 ten days at my disposal in which to make an attempt 

 to see a little more of the country, I resolved to make 

 an excursion westward and obtain a glimpse of the 

 Andes. Mr. Garrett invited me to accompany him on 

 an excursion, which he had already arranged to take 

 from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso and thence southward, 

 returning by way of the Strait of Magellan. Nothing 

 would have given me greater pleasure than to have 

 accepted the opportunity to make this tour in such 

 pleasant company, but I decided that it would be 

 inexpedient for me to undertake the journey, as my 

 return to New York would thus be delayed for a 

 month. Meanwhile I received an invitation to partake 

 of the hospitality of the University of La Plata at a 

 banquet to be tendered to me at the Jockey Club in 

 Buenos Aires on the evening of October 24th, at which 

 I was informed that the Faculties of the two Universi- 

 ties of La Plata and Buenos Aires would unite in 

 recognizing in this way the kindness of Mr. Carnegie 

 to the nation. I resolved after careful consideration to 

 content myself with an excursion to Tucuman. This 

 would give me an opportunity to see a wide extent of 



