of herds of feral cattle and horses roaming free on the plains and numerous packs of dogs that feed on them and sometimes attacked the unwarned and helpless travelers. By the 18th century the Araucanian people were moving from the lap of the Andes Mountains to the Pampas, attracted by the numerous cattle and horses herds. The Araucanians looted and sacked the Spanish settlements around Buenos Aires, performing unexpected horse mounted attacks known in the Southern Cone as malones (s. malón, from Mapudungun malocán: “to make war”). By those days the Spanish businessman Francisco de Merlo bought many lands in the region, establishing a big estancia. The settlers scattered throughout the region took refuge around the fortified Merlo's ranch-house, starting a little hamlet in his properties. It made Merlo petitioned King Philip V of Spain authorization to found a town in his states. On October 28, 1755 Francisco de Merlo founds the town of Villa San Antonio del Camino. After Merlo's death the town became into an out-back town, isolated from the main commercial routes, remaining within the boundaries of the estancia belonged to the Mercedarian Order, expropriated in 1821 by the State of Buenos Aires and bought in 1852 by the English businessman Thomas Gibson Pearson. After his death the estancia was managed by his stepson Juan Dillon, key figure in the history of Merlo. Juan Dillon Juan Dillon y Calderón was born in Buenos Aires in 1819 and died in 1887. He was son of John Dillon, an Irish immigrant and his second wife, Manuela Calderón. Juan Dillon was a businessman, absentee landlord and public official, member of the prosperous Irish community in Buenos Aires. He married Josefa Ballesteros (b. 1824) and they had eight children. He was a prominent member of Adolfo Alsina's Autonomist Party. John Dillon, left Ireland and emigrated to Spain. In 1807 he settled in the River Plate as a merchant and owner of a meat-curing plant. He loaned his flotilla of boats to Argentina in the war for independence with Spain. He also started the first brewery in the country. John Dillon dies in 1826 and Manuela Calderón married Thomas Gibson Pearson. After Rosas’ fall in 1852, Juan Dillon was appointed Juez de Paz (Justice of Peace) in Morón (1855–1856) and military commander for the region. He also was elected Presidente de Municipalidad (Municipal President or Mayor) of the same district (1857; 1864–1865).