Thereupon Argentina insisted that the boundary line should be made to run along the crest, while Chile demanded that it be traced along the watershed.

Since the mountainous area concerned was of little value, the question at bottom was simply one of power and prestige between rival states.
As the dispute waxed warmer, a noisy press and populace clamored for war.

The Governments of the two nations spent large sums in increasing their armaments; and Argentina, in imitation of its western neighbor, made military service compulsory.

But, as the conviction gradually spread that a struggle would leave the victor as prostrate as the vanquished, wiser counsels prevailed.

In 1899, accordingly, the matter was referred to the King of Great Britain for decision.