Biography

Argentine explorer. Francisco Josué Pascasio Moreno was born in Buenos Aires to a British descended mother and a father who was involved in local politics. From a young age Francisco Moreno was fascinated with fossils and the remains of organisms and would collect everything he found, amassing a small museum. In 1867 his father showed this collection to a former president who immediately introduced the youngster to Hermann Burmeister. On inspection of Moreno's collection the German naturalist saw a new species of armadillo and named it Dasypus moreni.

Moreno's first expedition was to Patagonia with the newly formed Argentine Scientific Society at the age of 21. On this trip he learnt about how to travel in this remote and harsh environment, forming relationships with many local chiefs who would advise him on the best routes to take through the valleys and introduced him to previously unknown ethnographic information. His findings from this trip were published by the Frenchman Paul Brocca in Revue d'Anthropologie in 1874. Moreno was concerned by the underlying tension between the Argentinians and Chileans as to the border location, an issue that would later become an important part of his life. The following year while travelling through northern Patagonia he heard of a great raid that was being planned by indigenous groups in the region, with the aim of stealing cattle from Buenos Aires. One night, in a camp quickly filling with people and horses for the raid, Moreno decided to travel back and warn the authorities. He released the horses and rode out shooting his revolver into the air to scatter them and, avoiding lances and arrows, sped to the capital and the Ministry of War. Unfortunately his warnings went unheeded, even mocked, and three days later the most costly battle in the history of Argentine indigenous conflict took place, with hundreds killed and hundreds of thousands of cattle stolen.

Moreno however, would return the same year, pushing up the Santa Cruz, eventually reaching the Andes and naming Lago Argentino. On his return he was attacked one night while drinking at a river by a 'Leona' (female puma), which fortunately only damaged his face and neck before his companions killed the animal, but in homage he named the river Río Leona. In 1879 his book Travels to Southern Patagonia was published.

Moreno's next journey was even more eventful because relationships between the authorities and indigenous groups had broken down somewhat and he and a companion were captured. Although still commanding some respect with local chiefs the young scientist was seen as an ideal hostage for negotiations with the Argentine army. Many of the captors wished to kill Moreno as revenge but they decided to wait until an approaching festival. This occurred in early 1880 and the drunkenness it caused gave Moreno and his companion a chance to escape. Dragging his poncho behind his horse he covered their tracks and managed to reach a river and build a precarious raft. Navigating in darkness and with search parties on their tail they eventually found an Argentine military camp and were rescued.

Meanwhile, with no word from Moreno the government had decided to terminate his mission and he travelled to Europe to dedicate himself to the classification of his collections. On his return Moreno sought assistance from a former president and editor of La Nación, Bartolomé Mitre, who was astonished by Moreno's discoveries and gave him a regular feature in the newspaper. When the current president (Julio Roca) read these columns he immediately decided to make Moreno a man of the state and thus began his struggle with the Chilean officials to define the boundary of their countries. He went to settle in Santiago but on arrival his young wife died leaving him alone in charge of four children.

Moreno hoped to define the border by the natural geography of the cordillera and so continued to explore its peaks and valleys and when his children reached school age he moved to London to propose his findings to the British. With the advent of photography Moreno had amassed a huge and unparalleled archive which was displayed at the Royal Geographic Society in London in 1899 and he was acknowledged as the world expert on this region. When in 1902 the Arbitration was finally signed by King Edward VII, Sir Thomas Holdrich stated "all that Argentina obtained is owed to the work of Moreno". His collections were consolidated and the Museum of La Plata founded; for his work the state gave him land on the banks of Lake Nahuel Huapi with which he created Argentina's first National Park.

Sources:
Sopeña, G., 2001, Francisco P. Moreno: Alma de la Patagonia. Techint Cuadernos Patagónicos No. 16.