Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Arias, Francisco Gabino

ARIAS, Francisco Gabino, Argentine traveller, b. in Salto, Buenos Ayres; d. about 1808. In 1774, when a colonel in the army, he explored the desert known as “Gran Chaco.” On 3 June, 1780, he undertook an expedition having for its object the pacification of the Indians, which lasted until 31 Jan., 1781, and in 1782 he explored the river Bermejo, and proved that it flowed into the Paraguay and not into the Parana, as had formerly been supposed. He also gave valuable information about the navigability of the river and the character of the tribes living near it. His narrative of this expedition was published by his son, Dr. José Antonio Arias, by order of the government.