Chubut

Chubut, or CHUPAT, a colony in Patagonia, so named from a river which drains a large part of its area. The entrance to the river, about 600 miles S. of the river Plate, is bad, but the bar can be crossed by vessels of from 7 to 12 feet draught. Its principal interest lies in its Welsh settlement, which has remained almost wholly Welsh-speaking. The first settlers, 151, arrived in July 1865. Epochs in its history have been the abandonment of the colony in 1867; the subsequent return from New Bay; a twenty months' nearly complete isolation from the outer world, terminated in 1871. The population, after dwindling to 120, rose to 690 in 1876, and 2300 in 1893. The principal town, Trerawson, or Rawsonville, about 5 miles from the sea, is named after Dr Rawson, an Argentine statesman. Frosts seldom last through the day, fogs are infrequent, English grain and roots are produced, and salt of good quality is found. There are a president and council. A railway, 43 miles, was made in 1885-88 from Trelew to Port Madryn on Nuevo Bay.