20 MEMOIR OP 



out my books or baggage, and arrived safely at 

 my destination. The ambassador informed me I 

 was now to be despatched to South America, with 

 Joseph Verela and two other officers, engaged in 

 the same commission, and concerning the particulars 

 of which the viceroy of Buenos Ayres would inform 

 us. To this last city we were to proceed without 

 delay, and we embarked immediately in a Portu- 

 guese vessel, being at war with England, and arrived 

 safely at Rio Janeiro. I took out with me a de- 

 spatch which was to be opened under the line, and 

 which informed me that the king had conferred on 

 me the rank of captain in the navy, it being judged 

 right that all the commissioners should be marine 

 officers/' From Rio Janeiro they again speedily 

 embarked for Monte Video, where they met with 

 the viceroy, and received their particular instructions. 

 In conjunction with the Portuguese commissioners, 

 they were to fix, in terms of the preliminary treaty 

 of peace of 1777 ? the line of demarcation of the 

 respective parties, from the sea, not far from the 

 mouth of La Plata, to beyond the junction of the 

 Quapore and Mamore, where they together form 

 the Madera, a tributary of the mighty Amazon, a 

 stretch from about the thirty-fifth to the eleventh 

 degree of south latitude. This immense line of 

 frontier was divided into five parts; Verela was 

 appointed to the two southern, whilst the next two 

 were assigned to Azara. 



" After this," says Azara, " the viceroy sent me 

 alone to the great river San Pedro, a distance not 



