70p. 8vo. Modern wraps. According to the 'Dictionary of United States History' "A commercial treaty was concluded between the United States and Paraguay in 1853, but Paraguay failed to ratify it. Differences arose which led to the manifestation of force by the United States, and treaties of indemnity, commerce and navigation were concluded in 1859." The controversy involved the U.S.S. Water Witch, a sidewheel gunboat sloop built in 1853. Its first assignment was to undertake an extensive survey of the region around the River Plate, and in particular the Parana River in Argentina and Paraguay. The ship sailed under command of Lieutenant Thomas Jefferson Page on February 8, 1853, and after several stops, she arrived at Buenos Aires in May. After ensuring the safety of the Argentine Confederation's General Justo Urquiza following the siege of Buenos Aires, Page began his official assignment. Water Witch was the first steam vessel to ascend the Parana, Paraguay, and Salado Rivers, and her three years of surveys showed that these rivers were navigable by large, powered vessels, a fact that had great implications for the growth of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. Though the expedition was a success, on February 1, 1855, Page ignored a Paraguayan decree forbidding him to ascend the Parana River, and one sailor was killed when the fort at Itapiru fired on the ship. Water Witch returned to the United States in 1856, and in 1858 returned to the Plate as part of Flag Officer W. B. Shubrick's Paraguay Expedition, one aim of which was to negotiate a treaty and compensation for the dead man's family. Scarce. LATIN AMERICA BOX 2
