An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian people of Paraguay, (3 of 3)

An

Account

Of

The Abipones,

An Equestrian People

Of

Paraguay.

From The Latin Of Martin Dobrizhoffer,

Eighteen Years A Missionary In That Country.

_In Three Volumes._

Vol. III.

London: John Murray, Albemarle Street.

1822.

London: Printed by C. Roworth, Bell-yard, Temple-bar.

Contents

Of

Vol. III.

Part III.

CHAP. _Page_

I. Of the deadly Hatred of the Abipones, and their Allies the Mocobios, towards the Spaniards 1

II. By what Means the Abipones possessed themselves of Horses, and how formidable this Attainment rendered them to their Neighbours 7

III. Of the Violences committed upon the Cities Sta. Fè and Asumpcion 14

IV. How much the Guarany Towns were annoyed by the Abipones 22

V. Of the Achievements of the Abipones in the Lands belonging to the City of Corrientes 29

VI. Of the Excursions of the Abipones against the Colonies of St. Iago del Estero 44

VII. Of the Expeditions of Francisco Barreda, General of the St. Iagans, against the Abipones and Mocobios 55

VIII. Of certain Defects in the Soldiers of St. Iago, of their Companies, and of the Degrees of Military Rank amongst them 66

IX. Of the Atrocities of the Abipones towards the People of Cordoba 77

X. Of the fruitless Excursions of the Cordobans against the Abipones 94

XI. Of the frequent Endeavours of the Jesuits in reducing the Abipones to Obedience under the King of Spain and converting them to the Catholic Religion 102

XII. A Colony founded for the Mocobios afterwards the occasion of Abiponian Colonies 113

XIII. The first Colony of St. Jeronymo, founded for the Abipones Riikahés 128

XIV. Some things worthy of note respecting Ychoalay and Oaherkaikin 141

XV. Further Praises of Ychoalay 153

XVI. Concerning the Hostile Incursion attempted by Debayakaikin and his savage Confederates against the Town of St. Jeronymo 163

XVII. Concerning repeated Expeditions undertaken by Ychoalay against Oaherkaikin, and the other Abipones Nakaiketergehes 170

XVIII. Of fresh Disturbances of the Town arising from the Victory gained by the Inhabitants 177

XIX. Ychoalay, in Conjunction with the Spaniards, takes a Company of hostile Abipones, and on another occasion, fights successfully with Oaherkaikin 183

XX. The whole Nation of Abipones are assembled in three Colonies, but are again unluckily disturbed by a War of the Spaniards against the Guaranies 194

XXI. An ineffectual Expedition of the Spaniards against the Abipones 202

XXII. The Cacique Debayakaikin slain by Ychoalay in battle, and his Head suspended from a Gibbet 207

XXIII. The Origin and Commencement of a Colony of Abipones, named from the Conception of the Divine Mother 213

XXIV. The Flight of the Abipones from the Town of Conception and their Return to it 220

XXV. The Vicissitudes and Disturbances of the Colony 227

XXVI. My Journey to St. Iago on business pertaining to the Colony 235

XXVII. My Stay at the City of St. Iago. The Visit of our Cacique, Alaykin, to the Governor of Salta 240

XXVIII. My disastrous Return to our Colony 245

XXIX. The perpetual Disturbances of the Town of Conception 254

XXX. The Arrival of Barreda, and the removal of the Town to the banks of the Salado 262

XXXI. The Calamities and perpetual Mutations of the New Colony at the River Salado 271

XXXII. A Colony inhabited by the Yaaukaniga Abipones, and distinguished by the Name of St. Ferdinand and St. Francis 278

XXXIII. Progress of the Town of St. Ferdinand, which was retarded by Debayakaikin 285

XXXIV. Fresh Disturbances, caused both by Strangers, and by the Inhabitants themselves 292

XXXV. The Origin and Situation of a Colony of Abipones named from S. Carlos and the Rosary 303

XXXVI. Commencement of the Colony 309

XXXVII. Extreme Indigence of the Colony, and its various Calamities 316

XXXVIII. Continual Tumults of War 323

XXXIX. Various Incursions of the Mocobios and Tobas 329

XL. Small-pox the Origin of many Calamities and bloody Attacks 337

XLI. Four Hundred Spanish Horsemen, in conjunction with the Abipones, overcome a numerous Horde of Tobas 346

XLII. Anxiety of the Abipones concerning the Revenge of the Tobas. Contagion of the Tertian Fever 355

XLIII. An Assault of Six Hundred Savages on the Second of August 362

XLIV. Corollary to the Events detailed in the preceding Chapter 374

XLV. How arduous a Task it is to persuade the Abipones to enter Colonies, and to embrace the Religion of Christ 388

XLVI. No trifling Advantages derived from the Abiponian Colonies, though fewer than were expected 403

History

Of

The Abipones.

Part III.

CHAPTER I. OF THE DEADLY HATRED OF THE ABIPONES, AND THEIR ALLIES THE MOCOBIOS, TOWARDS THE SPANIARDS.

The Spaniards subdued, in great measure, the Indian natives of Paraguay, sometimes by means of soldiers, but oftener by that of priests, who, unarmed, could penetrate where a soldier found no access. The former effected more with their beads, than the latter with their bullets. In the next century, however, the Abipones, grown more contumacious, would neither be conciliated by gifts, nor subdued by arms. They would not receive the Spaniards as their friends, still less as their masters, and lest conquered they should experience them as enemies, they consulted their liberty, now fighting, now flying, as need required, sometimes availing themselves of arms, oftener of cunning and swiftness. The places of residence which they had chosen were fortified by nature, and afforded them protection against the forces of the Spaniards, so dreaded in the open field. They could not be conquered, because they could not be attacked, whilst defended by ditches and impervious woods, chiefly before they were possessed of horses. They had rather endure hunger, thirst, and concealment, than obey strangers. They resolutely refused to admit the king of the Spaniards, and the law of God—to-wit, their own happiness. It is certain that, from the age of Charles V., who united the noblest parts of America to his own Spain, the Abipones persisted in defending their liberty for upwards of two centuries, even when all the neighbouring nations had yielded to the foe. Nor were they satisfied with obstinately refusing the friendship of the Spaniards, but, intent upon every opportunity of doing mischief, overran the whole province with hostile arms. Whenever I think of the slaughters committed by the Abipones in the latter part of that century, I imagine that these savages, and their allies the Mocobios and Tobas, were reserved by an avenging God to punish the evil deeds of the Christians, as formerly the Philistines, Jebusites, and Perizzites, in the land of Canaan, were preserved by the interposition of the Almighty, to curb the rebellious Jews, whilst all their other enemies were either destroyed or reduced to subjection.

Moreover they made a warlike alliance with the Mocobios and Tobas, equestrian savages, formidable by their numbers and resolution. Scarcely any memorable slaughter occurred in which these confederated nations did not join; to this they were incited by their unanimous hatred of the Europeans, the certain hope of booty, and their common desire of military glory. The Mocobios were never reckoned inferior to the Abipones either in stature, or in military skill; but I boldly affirm that, in atrocity and steady hatred to the Spaniards, they exceed them. Certainly in the last century they seemed to conspire to the ruin of Tucuman; proving themselves formidable, not to solitary estates merely, but to whole cities. The province was devastated by slaughter, rapine, and fire: Salta, Xuxui, the city of St. Miguel, and Cordoba, were reduced to desperation, and Estecco, formerly an opulent city, quite ruined. The city of Concepcion was rased to the ground, the inhabitants having been treacherously massacred. History does not inform us whether the Abipones were partakers with the Mocobios in these numerous and bloody excursions. Alonzo Mercado, Angelo de Paredo, and other Governours of Tucuman, withstood, indeed, the efforts of the savages, and conducted as many soldiers as they could muster, either Spaniards or Indian Christians, into Chaco, to besiege the fastnesses of the savages, but by a journey always difficult, and seldom recompensed by success; for, although they sometimes took and slew some of the Mocobios and Tobas in their hordes, yet the survivors, enraged by the loss of their companions, redoubled their fury, never ceasing to employ their strength, which was equal to their anger, in revenge; and success always crowned their wishes. Several fruitless expeditions of the Tucuman forces confirmed the opinion of the savages, that the arms of the Spaniards were not to be feared by them, and that they were sufficiently guarded in their lurking-places, which were either unknown to the Spaniards, or inaccessible to them; but that if, peradventure, they were overcome by numbers, they might reckon upon a victory in flight, opportunities for which were afforded them by their knowledge of the country, and by their dexterity in swimming and riding: whilst the Spaniards, with horses fatigued by a long rough journey, and encumbered by the length of their clothes and of their arms, could with difficulty pursue the fugitives, especially if marshes, rivers, and trackless woods intervened. Emboldened by these considerations, they left nothing unattempted against Tucuman. Salta, the residence of the Governour, and other places surrounding it, were exposed to the daily assaults of the savages.

Estevan Urizar, when he came from Spain to govern the province, endeavoured to devise a remedy for the public calamity. He proposed an expedition against Chaco; seventeen hundred and eighty countrymen were chosen to attend it out of all Tucuman, beside five hundred Indian Christians, who were increased by a troop of Chiriguanos, at that time allies. Add to these, five hundred from the city of Asumpcion, three hundred from Sta. Fè, and two hundred from Corrientes. In short, such an army was raised that the savages were surrounded on all sides. The Tucuman soldiers were ordered to explore the retreats of the savages, and put them to death; the other Spaniards, who dwelt nearer the south, to prevent their escape by blocking up the roads: and if as much diligence had been employed in the execution of the project as good policy in the planning of it, the whole swarm of savages in Chaco would have been entirely subdued. But of the Spanish soldiers who were called from the southern colonies, some delayed, others deserted, so that towards the south a way lay open to the Mocobios, who escaped, without hindrance, on every side, and took refuge in the hordes of the Abipones. But as they did not consider this situation at a sufficient distance from the attacks of the Spaniards, both people secretly removed into the vale of Calchacui. On this account Salta and the upper parts of Tucuman were relieved, for some years, from the attacks of the Mocobios, but all the storm of the war fell on the cities Sta. Fè, St. Iago del Estero, Corrientes, and the other Spanish colonies situate to the south-west. That the Malbalaes, deserted by the Mocobios their greatest supporters, accepted, or feigned to accept, the friendship of the Spaniards; that the Vilelas and Chunipies agreed upon a peace; that the Lules were assembled in a town at Miraflores, and there instructed in the holy religion by Father Antonio Machoni, were the advantages which resulted from this great expedition: but, though considerable, they fell far below the wishes and expectations of the Spaniards.

CHAPTER II. BY WHAT MEANS THE ABIPONES POSSESSED THEMSELVES OF HORSES, AND HOW FORMIDABLE THIS ATTAINMENT RENDERED THEM TO THEIR NEIGHBOURS.

History gives no account of the proceedings of the Abipones in the fifteenth century, before they settled in Chaco; but I should imagine that, being at that time, like the other Indians, unfurnished with horses, they passed their lives in ignoble obscurity, more anxious to avoid, than to attack the Spaniards. It appears from the annals of Paraguay, that in the year 1641, they possessed horses, and were become dexterous in the management of them. We read also, that they made war about this time upon the Mataràs, whom, on account of their submission to the Spaniards, they pursued with unrelenting hatred. Moreover the Abipones became formidable to the pedestrian nations on account of their reputation for horsemanship.

But do you ask me how the Abipones first obtained horses? I will tell you what I learnt from an Abipon, an hundred years of age. He informed me that some of his ancestors, before they had obtained these useful animals, used to go privily to the lands belonging to the city of Sta. Fè, and steal a few horses, with some iron knives. They afterwards made use of these horses for the purpose of driving fresh herds from the lands of the Spaniards. It frequently happens that horses, tormented by insects or frightened by tigers, stray to the distance of many leagues. The men appointed to guard the cattle, (if there be any,) are mostly few and unarmed, always timorous, and can easily be slain whilst absent from their huts, or eluded whilst they are sleeping.

In the space of fifty years, an hundred thousand horses were driven from the estates of the Spaniards, by the Abipones. Do not imagine that I have exaggerated the number, for, calculating from conjecture, I should say it exceeded two hundred thousand, and no wonder: for young men of the nation of the Abipones often carried off four thousand horses in one assault, and as they grew in years, they increased their robberies. Cunning and a little sagacity are more requisite than strength. The Calchacuis, after they had afflicted the country about Sta. Fè with reiterated slaughters, were at last reduced to order in one conflict. Those who survived that overthrow were almost all cut off by the small-pox. The miserable remains of this most warlike nation are yet living by the river Carcarañal, and are reckoned at about twenty people. The Abipones settled in the land formerly possessed by the Calchacuis, inheriting not their country alone, but also their hostile disposition towards the Spaniards. They took possession of all the land from the river Plata to the city of Sta. Fè, and from the banks of the Parana and Paraguay to the territories of St. Iago, the Spaniards vainly endeavouring to oppose them, and obliged to part with their ancient station, or maintain it with the loss of their lives. In the eighteenth year of this century, even women might go, without danger, from the city of Sta. Fè, and thence to Cordoba, though it is a journey of many days, even to horse travellers. That all things were safe and out of danger of the enemy may be concluded from the numerous estates of the Spaniards, which are continued all along the roads from the above-mentioned cities, but were afterwards so depopulated by the perpetual hostilities of the Abipones, that the ruins of these dilapidated buildings are now alone to be seen.

The country over which, as their own, the Abipones freely wander, extends an hundred and twenty leagues from North to South, and as many from East to West, in many places. They are divided into hordes, according to the number of the Caciques, and frequently remove their tents, choosing that situation which is rendered most eligible by the season, security, and the opportunity it affords of hunting. Having removed their women, children, and decrepit old men to a place of safety, the rest sallied forth, to plunder the surrounding colonies of the Christians, and always returned laden with heads of Spaniards, and other spoils. The crowd of captives, the droves of horses, and the success of the expedition incited others to the like daring, so that when one party returned, another quickly succeeded. Scarce a month passed in which they did not disturb the Spanish colonies with some hostile attack; and although one place alone was invaded, the whole neighbourhood trembled the more, the safer things appeared. For experience had taught them, that enemies of that kind are never nearer than when they are thought to be at the greatest distance.

It is certainly difficult to understand by what means about a thousand savages (for the whole nation of the Abipones hardly contained more who were able to bear arms) had the power of disturbing an immense province. Unanimous hatred of the Spaniards, craft, tolerance of labour, and the alliance of the Mocobios stood them in the stead of numbers. Barreda, commander at St. Iago, repeatedly affirmed, that were he to hear that all the Abipones had been slain, ten only surviving, he should still judge it necessary to have the watch continued in every part of Paraguay. He therefore thought one tally of Abipones sufficient to distress a whole province. There was no retreat so sequestered that they did not discover, and furiously overrun; no place so remote or well fortified by nature, that they thought impenetrable. They swam across those vast rivers the Parana and Paraguay, even where they are united in one channel, and pleasantly conversing at the same time. They rode over vast precipices, sometimes ascending, and sometimes, which was still more frightful, descending, till they reached the confines of Cordoba and St. Iago, and there, alas! what torrents of blood they caused to flow! Trackless woods full of rushes and thick trees, marshes, and lakes rendered slippery with mud, they crossed with ease. That immense plain of an hundred and fifty leagues, which lies between the banks of the Parana and the Salado, is sometimes flooded to such a degree, that it resembles a vast lake; this happens after long and incessant rain; but when, as is often the case, no rain falls for many months, that immense tract of land is so parched by the burning sky, that the smallest bird would fail to find a drop of water there.

The Abipones, regardless of these impediments, arrived at the dwellings of the Spaniards, whom they intended to kill or rob, by a journey of many days, sometimes having to pass through water, at others entirely destitute of it. I have frequently attempted the journey, both with Spaniards and Abipones, who have now laid aside their former enmity: the latter scorned to turn back, swearing that they might easily cross the deepest marshes on horseback, whilst the others declared them impassable. None of the Abipones would shrink from a journey of three hundred leagues or more, were he attracted by the hope of richer booty, or greater military glory; for neither the difficulty of the roads, nor the distance of the places, are sufficient to deter them.

As many nations worship the crocodile, the snake, and the ape, as divinities, the Abipones would adore their horses, if idolatry prevailed amongst them. Nor is it unreasonable in them to set a high value upon horses, by the use of which they have become formidable and destructive to the Spanish colonists. The pedestrian savages, though they may entertain the same wish of annoying the Spaniards, have not the same opportunity, and consequently employ their arms more for their own defence than for the offence of the Spaniards. I shall now proceed to relate, individually, the slaughters committed in various parts of the province.

Chapter III. Of The Violences Committed Upon The Cities Sta. Fè And Asumpcion.

The Abipones sometimes alone, sometimes in conjunction with the Mocobios, distressed the city of Sta. Fè, which lay nearest them, with daily incursions, and very nearly destroyed it. Many of the country people were slain, and not a few led into captivity. Numbers, fearing that the same fortune awaited them, migrated, with their families, into safer places. Things came to such an extremity, that the inhabitants began to deliberate publicly about deserting the city. Amongst many others, the rich estate of St. Antonio was entirely ruined. Innumerable cattle, of every description, were seized and dispersed, and their owners slain. The waggons were plundered of the goods which they contained. When the security of trade, the only source of riches, was destroyed at one blow, what could ensue but famine and scarcity? The roads were so beset with savages, both by day and by night, that no one could stir out of his own house with safety, or fetch provisions from the country for the use of the city. The citizens themselves were kept in daily fear, they so often beheld troops of Abipones and Mocobios in their streets. The very market-place was stained with the blood of the unarmed. In the year 1754, on the 10th of April, as I was revisiting this city, a noble matron, venerable for her years, and ancient family, accosted me, saying, "Oh! Fathers, what gratitude do we owe to you, who have tamed these ferocious nations, on whose account we hardly dared to breathe for so many years! I scarcely ever remember this week," pursued she, "namely the last in Lent, passed without slaughters in this city. When a pious crowd of supplicants passed in procession through the streets, how often did the armed savages rush on them, like lightning! And they seldom departed without bloody hands. I still have to lament a brother, slain as he trimmed the altar, in the court before those buildings; such was the face of affairs at that time. For the tranquillity and security, which we at present enjoy, we are indebted to you, by whom the Abipones and Mocobios have been appeased and civilized."

In that city, there was no want of intrepid men, to repel force by force; but the rest, who were deficient in vigilance, courage, and skill, were exposed to the continual violence of the savages, who never granted either peace or truce. Auxiliary bands of foot-soldiers were sent by the Governour of Buenos-Ayres to the relief of the fainting city; but these, when they came to close fighting in the field of battle, served rather to excite the laughter of the Abipones, than to render any service to the Spaniards. Whilst affairs were in this desperate condition, like a propitious star shining forth in a furious tempest, appeared Echague, an excellent man, who in the name of the Governour, and under his authority, repressed the boldness of the savages. He knew how to conciliate their ferocious minds with gifts, to intimidate them with arms, or to repress them with frequent incursions. By these means he procured the city a little respite. But this tranquillity continued no longer than the life of its author: his successors experienced various fortune, the Indians sometimes renewing their former plunderings, sometimes promising peace, in order that they might be enabled to direct their whole force against the other cities of the Spaniards, and in that of Sta. Fè, then friendly, exchange the spoils gained from them, for knives, swords, spears, axes, glass-beads, and wearing apparel. This was admirable policy in the savages, that, whilst they carried on war with the rest of the province, they diligently maintained peace with one city, where they might purchase the necessary supply of arms and other utensils, by the booty obtained elsewhere. I learnt many things of this traffic with the Indians, some worthy of laughter, but more which deserve indignation. Take this one instance. An Abipon entered the city of Sta. Fè, in time of peace, carrying on his horse a leathern bag containing two thousand Spanish crowns. A certain noble Spaniard, who happened to be walking in the market-place at the time, doubtless very well acquainted with the contents of the bag, offered him the red cloak which he wore; the Indian, transported with joy, gave him in exchange the whole weight of silver which he had plundered a little before from the waggons laden with Peruvian money. Great part of the Mocobios and Tobas, and most of the Abipones, being persuaded to a peace, and conducted to the various colonies which we had founded, this miserable city at last enjoyed a little rest, although the estates were not entirely free from danger; for the savages of these nations, weary of peace, lay in wait for droves of horses, but more in the way of plundering than of regular warfare. To restrain these pillagers, a Spanish company of horse was maintained at the public cost, and, headed by Miguel Ziburro, proved very useful in deterring them from their depredations. Three places, in particular, were the resorts of the savages, and the scenes of their robberies, _La cruz alta_, _El pozzo redondo_, and the estate of St. Thomas; in the one place there is a passage across the river Salado to the city, in the other a high way with waggons of traders continually passing to and fro. The estates also which look towards Chaco were endangered. The extensive province of Asumpcion, although it abounds in warlike colonists, was incredibly harassed by the arms of the Abipones and Mocobios. Who can enumerate the men that were slain, the horses and mules that were seized, the villages that were burnt, the estates that were depopulated, and the numbers of unarmed that were led into captivity? Not only on the banks of the Paraguay, but also in places far distant from that river, many and great slaughters were committed with impunity. This captaincy of Paraguay is of greater extent than the rest, yet it seems too small for the number of colonists. It contains as many soldiers as men, but they are scattered up and down the country, many leagues distant from one another, occupied, greatest part of the year, in remote forests where they prepare the herb of Paraguay, or on the banks of rivers, or in defending little fortifications of the province. These edifices, which are constructed of stakes, mud, and straw, on the eastern shore of the Paraguay, are more properly watch-towers for observing the motions of the enemy, than fortifications for keeping them out. The few who are stationed in each of the fortlets signify the approach of the enemy by firing a cannon; this is repeated by the neighbouring sentinels, that every one, admonished of the danger, may provide for his own safety; that the Governour (for the firing, as it is repeated in all the different stations, at last reaches the city) may order convenient succours; and that all the forces may assemble in arms wherever suspicion is entertained of the enemy. But how much time is consumed whilst the horses are caught and made ready, whilst the few soldiers assemble in arms, and whilst their leader is expected! In the mean time slaughters are already committed, estates rifled, villages burnt, and the savages departed as quickly as they came. But if a tardy company of Spaniards is at length brought together, they are more rejoiced at the flight of the enemy than desirous of pursuing them. And supposing the savages to be still in sight, or at no great distance, the generals of Paraguay, unless they see themselves greatly superior in point of numbers, seldom dare to trust the doubtful fortune of war, by a bold attack; foreseeing that they shall be loaden with reproaches, and perhaps assaulted with stones by the wives of those who might be slain in the skirmish. Sometimes the Spanish horsemen were clamorously eager to pursue the flying savages, but the generals repressed their ardour, even threatening pain of death to any who should dare to challenge or pursue the enemy.

It has always appeared quite miraculous to me, that the province of Asumpcion did not at length sink under the weight of the powerful enemies by whom it was combated for so many years. On one side was the dreadful neighbourhood of the ferocious Guaycurùs and Mbayas; on the other the daily assaults of the Abipones, Mocobios, and Tobas occasioned much danger and fatigue to the surrounding colonies. Add to these the Payaguas, most perfidious pirates, more dangerous in peace than in war: not to mention the wood-savages, the Monteses, Montarrazes, or Caayguas, who, though not always openly hostile to the Paraguayrian Spaniards, whilst they prepared the herb of Paraguay in woods far distant from the city, are full of enmity towards them, and justly suspected of unsound faith. See! how many nations threatened the Spanish colonists. Two to one is odds against Hercules. We may justly call the Paraguayrians greater than Hercules, because they held out against so many enemies.

Chapter IV. How Much The Guarany Towns Were Annoyed By The Abipones.

The Abipones thought they had done nothing, till they directed their attention towards overthrowing the towns of the Guaranies, whom they regarded with implacable hatred, because, being converted by us to the Roman Catholic religion, they not only paid obedience to the Catholic King as subjects, but also served him as soldiers in the camp, whenever they were called upon by the Royal Governours. The towns of the Guaranies, and the other estates, which are near the banks of the Paraguay and Parana, for many years, were daily more and more exposed to the fury and rapacity of the enemy. Innumerable were the Indians that were cruelly massacred, the cattle of every description that were driven away, and the youths that were made captive. Many were burnt in their own houses, where they hid themselves for fear of the swords of the enemy. The town of St. Ignatius Guazù, formerly in a very flourishing state, lost much of its splendor, and was very nearly destroyed; for it was situated in a place which affords an excellent opportunity for stratagems to the savages, who hide themselves in the adjacent woods, whence they can easily sally forth, and soon reach the estate and the town itself. Scarcely a month passed without murder and robberies. It is incredible how much the number of men and cattle was diminished by their continual incursions. Although a watch was kept up by day and by night, no one durst promise himself security. The craftiness or boldness of the Abipones eluded all the vigilance and industry of the inhabitants. On some holy-day, when the people were attending divine service, a great crowd of savages burst into the very market-place. The inhabitants seized and threw at the aggressors whatever weapons were at hand. The Christians fought with more valour than success. The chief men of the city, and more than three hundred senators, beside many others of the common people, fell fighting before the door of the church. A great many of the Abipones were slain and wounded. The Guaranies took a Spaniard, who had grown up amongst the Abipones, having been taken captive by them at an early period of his life, and who had offered to be their leader in this as in many other expeditions. What must have been the feelings of the Jesuit priest, Francisco Maria Rasponi Bergomas, long curate of the town, when, on looking out of the church before he had taken off his sacred robes, he perceived the heaps of dead bodies, and the streets swimming with blood? Who can express his horror? This bloody fight elated the minds of the Abipones, in proportion as those of the Guaranies were depressed by it. With greater boldness and frequency, they continued to slaughter the Indians, and to seize the cattle, both in the estate, and in the fields adjoining the city. In one day, four thousand oxen and immense droves of horses became the prey of these rapacious thieves. Let not those that read this accuse the Fathers who presided over the town of sloth or inactivity: nothing was omitted by them which seemed advisable for the security of their people. All access was forbidden the enemy by means of ditches and palisades, and additional guards armed with muskets. Scouts were dispatched every day to explore the roads. Sentinels were placed in suspected situations, as in a watch-tower. But what did all this avail? Those who were commanded to watch and to guard behaved as usual: danger was frequently the nearest when every thing was thought in the utmost security. They said their accustomed _Nama[(r]aichene_, "we shall be safe," and when they felt drowsy, slept without care or apprehension. Thence it often happened that whilst they ought to have watched for the public safety, unmindful even of their own, they were surprized and slaughtered by the Abipones. In the town of St. Iago, while the people were attending divine service, the Abipones came, and of the many hundred who were keeping watch, part they slew, and part they led into captivity, having, at the first onset, carried off some hundred horses. As numerous bloody incursions were repeated within sight of the same town, few days passed without fears, or alarming reports. The same fate befel Nuestra Senhora de Fè for many years; on which account Juan Baptista Marquiseti, a man of our order, and curate of the place, surrounded it on all sides with ditches to keep out the savage horsemen, and supplied the Indians with a sufficient quantity of muskets: and his labours were amply repaid, for at length these tumults abated. Forty Indian soldiers sent from this town, and as many from the town of Sta. Rosa, to keep guard over their respective estates, perished on the fifth of February, a very few only escaping by the swiftness of their horses. On that day, alas! how great was the loss of horses and mules in both estates! Some thousands were driven away. In another place, a quantity of the herb of Paraguay, belonging to a Spanish merchant, was conveyed in many waggons from the town of Sta. Rosa to the banks of the Parana, by Guaranies; to whom was given, as a superintendent and guard, a certain Spaniard, an active man, armed with seven excellent muskets; but without having time allowed him for loading any of them, he was surrounded by a troop of Abipones, and slain, with almost all the Indians, except two, and a crowd of horses and oxen. Fifty dead bodies were found lying on the field. I have thought proper to relate those slaughters which were most recently committed whilst I was in the country; for it would be endless to describe, individually, all which the Guaranies suffered in the space of so many years. The poor wretches, half dead at the remembrance of them, whenever they had an engagement with the Abipones, seemed to think more of undergoing death, than of inflicting it. This very fear of the Guaranies stimulated the Abipones to fresh pillaging, in proportion as it increased their confidence of victory; so that on an approaching fight, like the Spartans, they did not enquire how many the Guaranies were, but where. The terror of the Guaranies being perceived by the Royal Governour, some Spanish soldiers were hired, at his advice, and ordered to traverse the roads on horseback, for the security of their towns, to watch the march of the savages, and to repel them, or at least apprize the inhabitants of their arrival. But the sagacity of the Abipones out-witted the vigilance of the Spanish horsemen, and their assaults were repeated with the same frequency as before, although with greater caution. In consequence therefore of the little benefit and great inconvenience which the towns derived from these guards, who were supported by them at a great expense, they were permitted to return home. But the savages were not always suffered to ravage with impunity. They not unfrequently atoned for the deaths of others by their own. Sometimes, as they were meditating an attack, they were discovered and repulsed. Sometimes they were overtaken in precipitate flight by the Guaranies, by whom they were very roughly handled, and obliged to relinquish their booty. The Guaranies might oftener have triumphed over the Abipones, would they have preserved their lives by keeping strict watch. Vigilance, as I have often observed, is the best armour against the savages. You will wonder, in reading this, that the Guaranies were such timid hares at home, when they are described by historians to have fought like lions in the royal camps, against the Portugueze, and even against the savages. They behaved nobly in the king's service, because they were governed by Spanish generals. At home, when left to themselves, they did but little against the savages. They are swayed by the impulse of the moment, and consequently fulfil the duties neither of good soldiers, nor of good generals. They are indeed robust members, but they languish for want of a head. Even the best soldiers, without an able leader, must despair of victory, as the strongest ship, wanting a proper pilot and rudder, must give up all hopes of reaching port. The sword with which Scanderbeg slew thousands of Turks, wielded by a feeble hand, would scarcely wound the outermost skin of the enemy.

CHAPTER V. OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE ABIPONES IN THE LANDS BELONGING TO THE CITY OF CORRIENTES.

The city Corrientes is situated towards the East, on the shore where the rivers Parana and Paraguay are united. I have mentioned this and many other remarkable circumstances respecting the city Corrientes, in the Introductory book. The Royal Vice-Governour of the city has some colonies of Spaniards and Indians under his authority, in an extensive and fertile territory; though he can scarcely raise three hundred colonists able to bear arms; who would be quite unequal to repulsing the savages, did not their military valour compensate for the want of numbers. For many years they have had to contend with the Payaguas, who practise piracy, with the Charruas, equestrian savages, and in Chaco towards the West, with the Abipones, Mocobios, Tobas, and Guaycurùs. The Abipones, called Yaaukanigas, roam over the opposite shore, being only separated from the city by the river Parana, which, however, proves no obstacle to their access; for though it is of a great width, they easily swim across it, in the very sight of the city. Allured by this facility, it is incredible with what frequent incursions they ravaged the territories of Corrientes. It is true, that, in former times, they had for a short time maintained peace with that city, in order that they might there exchange the spoils collected from the other Spanish colonies, for necessary articles. These being their dispositions, they were kindly received in their frequent visits by the inhabitants, and even entertained as guests by the Vice-Governour. Of the number of the Abiponian guests was the Cacique Chilome, who, for some unknown cause, went privily, in the dead of the night, to the house of the Vice-Governour; which afforded the Spaniards occasion to suspect, that the savages were meditating to surprize the city, and that they were waiting for supplies on the opposite bank of the river to aid them in executing their project. This report being spread, all the people assembled. The Cacique and his companions were slain that night, by the terrified and tumultuous throng. This murder was the occasion of much bloodshed, and the beginning of a most furious war.

The Abipones, when informed of this deed of the Spaniards, exclaimed that Chilome was unjustly slain, swore to avenge so great an injury, and did in effect employ all their strength, anger, and cunning in punishing the inhabitants of Corrientes, having called to their assistance the Mocobios and Tobas. The citizens passed few weeks without slaughters, not a day without alarms. Stricken with the fear of death, they grew weary of a life they knew not how to preserve, the calamity growing heavier day by day, inasmuch as fewer soldiers remained, numbers being slain in daily skirmishes with the enemy. The miserable remnant, struck with consternation at the fate of their comrades, became readier to fly the savages, than to put them to flight. The whole country was filled with perturbation and slaughter. The estates and settlements near the Parana frequently suffered from the fury and rapacity of the enemy. The little town of Sta. Lucia is about fifty leagues distant from the city, and inhabited by a few unwarlike Indians; in consequence of which it was incessantly molested by the savages. An Indian messenger came from that town and informed the Vice-Governour Ceballos, that the track of the Abiponian spies had been discovered there. Ceballos, to prevent all danger of a hostile inroad, sets off for that place with a troop of horse. When arrived at the spot called _Las Lagunas_, he receives letters from the curate of Sta. Lucia, informing him that all things are safe and tranquil at present; upon which he begins to think of returning to the city. But at this conjuncture, a Spanish horseman, who had just escaped from captivity amongst the Abipones, arrives with news that on the neighbouring shore, and almost in sight, is the populous horde of the Cacique Ychamenraikin, who had lately gone with his Abipones to plunder Cordoba; that none were left at home but the women and children, who were only guarded by a few old men; and that this numerous horde might be safely attacked, and easily taken. Ceballos thought that this opportunity of a successful enterprize was to be embraced with both hands, although many of the soldiers condemned his resolution, and even turned their backs. They said that a captive deserter was not a person to be rashly trusted; that they, who were few in number and in a hostile land, might perhaps be overwhelmed by a multitude of lurking savages; and that a victory bought at so great a risk was by no means desirable. But Ceballos, despising the murmurs of the soldiery, eagerly hastened the expedition, and ordered skiffs to be brought for passing the Parana, where it unites with the Paraguay. The fugitive acting as guide, in a few hours the vast company of savages was discovered, and surrounded by the soldiers. The mothers were taken with their children, or cut to pieces whilst attempting flight, or struggling with the foe; there were many indeed, who eluded the Spaniards by cunning or swiftness, which was by no means difficult in those rugged roads. The booty consisted of numerous droves of horses, and various household utensils of silver, which the Abipones had formerly taken from the Spaniards. The soldiers, returning to the city with a vast crowd of captives, filled the inhabitants with joy and wonder. It is difficult to say the exact number of those who were taken, of every age and sex, but I think it amounted to several hundreds. The wife of the Cacique himself, and his little son Kieemkè, graced the triumph of the soldiers. Raachik, the grandson of the same Cacique, escaped by the way on his swift horse, through the negligence of the soldier appointed to guard him, and returned to his own country. Some of the captives were sent to the remoter towns of the Uruguay and Parana, that, being deprived of all hope of a return to their friends, they might be instructed in the Catholic faith amongst the Christian Guaranies.

The success of this expedition, though it ought to have obtained glory for its author, Ceballos, served only to procure him the envy of his fellow-citizens, and, in the end, banishment. He was persecuted by the people of Corrientes to such a degree that he was obliged to quit the city, and sail with his family to the port of Sta. Fè. Do not confound this man with Pedro Ceballos, Governour of Buenos-Ayres, for no relationship exists between them, either of family or of country. After the departure of this excellent man from Corrientes, the affairs of the inhabitants grew daily more desperate. When Ychamenraikin understood, on his return from Cordoba, that so many women and children, together with his own wife and son, had been taken in his absence, he appeared quite frantic. Infuriated by the loss, and by his eager desire of vengeance, he called on all the nations of Chaco, whose friendship he could depend upon, to avenge this deed of the Spaniards. Hostile troops were seen traversing the plain as thick as locusts. The inhabitants were sought, and dragged from their safest retreats to suffer death or captivity. All the estates, villages, settlements and roads were besprinkled with the blood of these wretches. I collect from the journals of that period, that seventy or more were killed in one day. Such numbers of dead bodies were carried in waggons from the country to the city, that heaps of them were sometimes seen lying on each side of the parochial church, not single bodies in single graves, but all thrown together into one deep ditch. As in the remoter plains they could with difficulty find any to slay, they besieged the city with such a force, and so large an army, that for some days no one could depart from, or return to the city without danger of losing his life. Whilst guard was kept by day and by night, the faint-hearted crowd scarcely ever durst quit the churches, where they besought the forgiveness of offended Heaven, and the cessation of so heavy a calamity. The provisions already beginning to fail, and no hope of liberation appearing, their minds lost all courage, as their bodies all vigour. But at last the most merciful God seemed to favour the prayers of the supplicants; for on the eighth day of the siege the garrison made an eruption, which forced the Abipones to retreat to their encampments beyond the Parana.

After the short truce allowed them by the departure of the enemy, the people of Corrientes perceived that war was rekindling against them. Fresh violence was used by the troops of the Abipones towards the settlements and estates that were farthest from the city. Amongst them was a place called _Rincon de_ _Luna_, till then thought inaccessible to all assailants, because it was hemmed in on every side by deep and wide marshes and ditches, and the Spaniards were forced to approach it by means of a boat. The Abiponian horsemen swam across that sea. The place contained many thousands of cattle, and a sufficient number of Negro slaves to guard them, not one of whom escaped death or captivity, unless he concealed himself from the eyes of the savages. More than twenty youths were carried away, and a great number of the older men put to death. The churches were spoiled of the sacred utensils. Four large bells were taken away, and thrown into the water to prevent their being found. An incredible multitude of horses and mules were driven off: in a word, an estate inferior to none in opulence and security was, in the space of a few hours, brought to ruin. The same fate befel almost all the other estates of the Spaniards, which being now destitute of beef, and the fruits of the earth having been consumed long ago, they began to be at a loss for provisions. The scarcity of food daily increasing, they resolved to desert their native city, and passing through the river, to change their quarters, dreading death more than exile. Whilst the savages continued to lay waste the territories of Corrientes, neither the soldiers nor the captains were deficient in their duty. Bold incursions were repeated against them, and many movements and attacks made here and there. Spies were sent, day and night, to observe the motions of the enemy: but what Argus could watch men whose greatest care and dexterity were exerted to prevent themselves from being seen? The Spaniards frequently attacked the savages, but with various success; they were sometimes conquered, sometimes the conquerors. Ychoalay, the leader of the Abipones, was, in some skirmish, entangled by the soldiers in a noose used for catching horses, and would have been strangled had he not quickly extricated himself. But I firmly assert, that the cause of the fruitlessness of so many expeditions undertaken against the savages originated, not in the cowardice of the Spaniards, but in their boldness and intrepidity, blinded by which they were ignorant or insensible of the dangers which threatened them, and judged vigilance and swiftness unnecessary to their safety. The circumstance I am going to relate will be a proof of this. A company of Spanish horse was placed in a situation obnoxious to the enemy, as in an observatory. Whilst they ought to have taken a complete survey of all things in the open plain, they amused themselves with playing cards in the shade. Meantime a troop of Abipones suddenly appears, and carries away, before their eyes, the horses of the Spaniards, no one making any opposition. If thus they eluded them whilst awake and watching, was it a matter of much difficulty to slay and plunder them whilst asleep and without suspicion?

By the provident counsels of the elder Spaniards, estates and colonies of Indians had been placed on the higher shores of the Parana; that from them the enemies might be seen coming out of Chaco, and that the other remoter settlers might, by this means, be admonished of the approaching danger. The Parana, in these places, is often broken by little islands, which, affording resting-places to the horses when they are fatigued with swimming, offer the Abipones a very convenient passage. Hence, that all sudden assaults might be prevented by the neighbourhood of the settlers dwelling on the shore, Sta. Lucia, St. Iago Sanchez, Ohoma, and Ytati, four townlets of the Indians, were formerly built on the banks of the Parana, at intervals of some leagues. The Abipones, finding that these colonies stood in the way of their clandestine journeys to the interior parts of the province, resolved upon their destruction, and their endeavours proved by no means fruitless. The town of St. Iago Sanchez was at length ruined. Whilst the able-bodied Indians were employed in cutting bulrushes, and a crowd of women, children, and old men were listening to the preacher, the town and church were suddenly besieged by the savages, and consumed by fire. Flight was impracticable: the priest and the whole congregation were burnt to ashes. The neighbouring townlet of Ohoma was annoyed by continual inroads, till the inhabitants, fearing lest it should undergo the same fate, deserted it of their own accord, and removed to safer places. Ytati was miserably ravaged by the Payaguas, Abipones, and Mocobios, but recovered when peace was made by the enemy; and is at this day rich in cattle, though not in inhabitants. The colony of Sta. Lucia was assaulted for many years, but never completely conquered, though the number of inhabitants was incredibly thinned. As the circumference of it is very inconsiderable, it is entirely surrounded by a slender wall, to which it owes its security, as I was assured by the curate of the place. This man had made use of two precautions for the defence of himself and his fellow-citizens; he placed a high chamber on the top of his house, whence he diligently watched the enemy advancing through the flat country. He kept continually in readiness, moreover, a very small warlike machine, by the explosion of which, he both signified to his people, who were employed without the walls, that they should betake themselves home, as danger was nigh, and at the same time deterred the savages from approaching. Arriving at the town of St. Ferdinand, I was asked by one of the Abipones, which way I had come, and on my replying that I had passed through Sta. Lucia, "Alas!" said he, "that terrible Father lives there. He makes use of a huge musket; (alluding to the engine I have described.) Our horses could never support the thundering sound it emits, whilst we have laboured to approach it." Had he been candid, he would have added, that not the horses only, but also their riders, were often put to flight by the noise of that machine.

Whilst this little town of Sta. Lucia remained in security, the other towns and estates of the Spaniards were utterly ruined, being either sacked by the enemy, or deserted by the Spaniards through fear of the enemy. Therefore, whilst the country near the shore was entirely divested of the dwellings of the Christians, the Abipones crossed the Parana at their pleasure, and traversed the land, more like fixed inhabitants, than occasional visitors. The Spanish scouts sent from the city were generally eluded by the savages, and frequently slain by them. But a troop of Spanish horse had remained for the defence of the estates situated near the rivers Sombrero, Sombrerillo, Peguahò, and Riachuelo, and of those nearer the city; they also served to guard the oxen brought from those estates to support the city. Wherever you set your foot in the surrounding fields, you may behold monuments of the cruelty of the savages;—here the remains of dilapidated buildings;—there, numerous crosses planted in the ground. If you enquire what those crosses mean, you will hear that thirty, forty or more bodies of miserable wretches, who were slain by the savages, were formerly buried there. They will show you, in another place, a field sadly noted by the blood and dead bodies of the Spaniards, who were slain in an unfortunate engagement with the savages.

Another misery was added to the calamities of the city, namely, the want of wood. The eastern shore of the Parana, which the city occupies, is not entirely deficient in trees, which afford wood for fuel, but none grow there supplying useful materials for building houses, ships, or waggons. The western shore, however, abounds in such trees; but this being the land of the Yaaukanigar Abipones, no Spaniard can approach it without endangering his life. During the heat of the war, Father Joseph Gaete, of our College, who at that time managed the domestic affairs of the city, saw there was immediate occasion for a very long and firm plank, to prop a house which was almost ready to fall. To procure this with safety, he filled a ship fit to cross the river, with slaves, gave them a guard of soldiers, and accompanied them himself. But scarce had the trunk received a few blows from the axe, when the shouts of the Abipones were heard. The Negroes and soldiers, awaiting neither the arrival of the enemy, nor the Father's orders, left their tools, clothes, and food, flew to the ship, and entirely forgetting the plank which had been the object of their search, made for the opposite bank as fast as possible, flying "the cruel coasts and greedy shore"; their safe escape from which was reckoned amongst the blessings of their lives. From these accounts you may guess in what a condition the affairs of Corrientes then were. Upon the inhabitants of this city did the Abipones pour forth their most unrelenting persecutions, because they were the nearest and most hateful to them. Separated from the Corrientines by the river Parana alone, they easily reiterated their incursions, attracted to plunder by the short distance, and stimulated to revenge by the ever fresh remembrance of the injuries they professed themselves to have received. The peace concluded with the Abipones in the year 1747, and the colonies founded for them, at length put an end to these long calamities. By these means, also, the savages in Chaco were appeased, or at least restrained, so that the Corrientines, after weathering this furious storm, began at last to recover from their sufferings.

CHAPTER VI. OF THE EXCURSIONS OF THE ABIPONES AGAINST THE COLONIES OF ST. IAGO DEL ESTERO.

Long after the other colonies throughout Paraguay had been struggling with the enemy, the country of St. Iago continued free from molestation and totally unacquainted with the Abipones, and their powers; for these savages had at that time discovered no way of approaching them; but at last the inhabitants themselves were their instructors. They were in the habit of going in troops out of their own country to the river Parana, for the purpose of hunting the numerous stags which frequent its banks. These hunters sometimes held familiar intercourse with the Abipones, and sometimes, abusing their friendship, carried away their horses. The savages, provoked by these injuries, pursued their footsteps when they departed, and in this way first began to obtain a knowledge of the province of St. Iago, and afterwards to disturb it with arms.

I have found all the Spaniards throughout Paraguay to be active, intrepid, endowed with a handsome form, great strength, and a noble disposition, agile in swimming, and remarkable for skill in horsemanship; but I fearlessly assert that the St. Iagans are better qualified than any of the rest to pursue the savages. Both themselves and their horses are extremely patient of labour, travelling, and inconveniences of every kind, and are satisfied with that food which is most easily procured. On sudden expeditions against the savages they make a composition of maize flour, preserved with honey or sugar: this, mixed with water, is all their provisions, as it allays both hunger and thirst; and in travelling with them I did not find it unpleasant, especially when the weather was particularly hot, as it possesses an excellent property of cooling the body, and quenching the thirst. The soldiers use it to save time and labour, for neither wood nor fire are required to cook this flour. When they dismount from their horses to cross a lake or river, each man draws water for himself in a little horn cup suspended by a string, and drinks it mixed with this flour, which saves time, and enables them more conveniently to pursue the savages. The Spaniards of Cordoba, Buenos-Ayres, and Sta. Fè, when they took a journey on account of the Indians, used to drive before them whole droves of horses and oxen. Whilst a soldier of St. Iago, with but one horse, makes a journey of many days and even weeks, the former change their horses frequently in one day, and consume a great deal of time in catching and harnessing them. That fresh meat may be always in readiness, they kill oxen every day, so that much of their time is spent in cutting the flesh, roasting and eating it, and in seeking fuel for the fire to cook it with. It is no wonder therefore that the slowly pursuing Spaniards are almost always eluded by the savages who prosecute their flight without interruption, and that the soldiers of St. Iago are dreaded on account of their swiftness. Moreover the fires which the other Spaniards kindle on the way are to be condemned, because the smoke often betrays them to the Indians. When their flour is consumed, the soldiers of St. Iago support themselves by the wild animals which they hunt on the way. Few of them are furnished with muskets; their chief arms are spears, which, though not of the best quality, are more formidable to the savages than the fire-arms of others.

Another of their excellencies is a wonderful sagacity in exploring. None are quicker than they at discovering the hidden retreats of the savages, at finding any fugitive, whether it be man or beast, or at bringing back any thing stolen. This quickness at exploring enabled them not only to discover the savages, but to intimidate and overcome them in time of war; for to discover the enemy, either whilst they are concealed in their secret retreats, or contemplating a surprize, is a great part of victory in America. This I learnt for certain, that the horsemen of St. Iago, on account of their swiftness, and singular skill in exploring, were more dreaded by the Abipones, and seldomer and more cautiously attacked than the other Spaniards. St. Iago itself, from being surrounded by lesser colonies, never suffered either danger or molestation from the savages. The whole neighbourhood enjoyed the same exemption; for a row of surrounding dwelling-houses, like little fortifications, forbade all access to the savages, or at least rendered it very dangerous. The storm of the war seems, for many years, to have fallen on the territories that are washed by the river Salado, and on those near Cordoba. The passage from Chaco to these places is easy, and the outskirts of provinces are everywhere more liable to the incursions of hostile nations. The Abipones frequently overran these territories for the sake of plunder. Many were slain in the fields and houses, some taken captive, and others robbed of their goods and cattle. How great were the sufferings of Moppa and Salabina, old townlets of the Indians, and the neighbouring places! In Manumo many were killed on the same day. All the men being slain, a Mulatta woman snatched up a sword, and slew an Abipon, but she was soon killed herself by the rest. The journey from Sta. Fè to St. Iago was, at that time, most perilous. The ways were strewed with the dead bodies of the Spaniards. Miguel de Luna, who, though more remarkable for greatness of body than of mind, had been promoted to the rank of camp-master, was returning from the estates of Sta. Fè, accompanied by a great number of horses and oxen, which he had purchased. Whilst reclining at noon, under the shade of a tree, he was surprized by a company of Abipones and Mocobios. Of his companions some were employed in catching the horses which had been let loose to pasture, others in killing oxen. Some of the Spaniards were pierced by the spears of the Abipones in the first attack: the rest were saved by means of their horses' hoofs, leaving the cattle and baggage in the hands of the enemy. Tinko, a man famous for his knowledge of ways and tracks, caught hold of his master Miguel with both hands, and placing him like a bundle on the crupper of his horse, galloped away so quickly that Miguel had no time to seat himself in a proper position. The servant and his master were pursued in their flight by a party of savages, who kept endeavouring to wound them with spears, but none durst approach for fear of the musket which hung suspended from Miguel's back, though this musket was in such a condition that the enemy had little occasion to fear it, nor could its owner expect it to yield a single spark of fire. Many years after, I saw this noble pair of fugitives, as well as that famous instrument of defence, at which I laughed heartily, for it was hardly worthy of the name of musket.

The same road which had been the scene of these events became always liable to the incursions of the savages, and proved fatal to many who journeyed there. Alarcon, Las Tres Cruzes, La Viuda, Las Sepulturas, Don Gil, Do[=n]a Lorenza, and other places near the river Salado, are wont to inspire terror by recalling the memory of the numerous slaughters perpetrated there. Throughout these extensive tracts of land, estates once flourished opulent in cattle, which being laid waste by the savages, a mournful solitude, opportune for plunderers, had succeeded. Hence the road hanging over the river Salado was deserted by the St. Iagans, who, for the sake of security, thought proper to frequent another, named _El camino de los porongos_. But whilst they avoided Charybdis they fell upon Scylla, for there the Abipones wandered in troops, bearing destruction to all they met. One Barassa, and three companions, as they were conveying merchandise on mules from the city of Sta. Fè, were cruelly murdered in the field called _Los monigotes_, whilst I was in Paraguay.

The slaughter of the Spaniards of St. Iago in the woods named Hierro, was much more desperate. To give you some idea of the extent of it, a little prefacing is necessary. To seek honey and wax in the woods, to purify and prepare it, and to sell it to others, is the principal and peculiar trade of the inhabitants of St. Iago. Slaves are sent for that purpose by the more opulent, with a director, to the remotest woods, where natural bee-hives are found in hollow trees. Cottages are built for the labourers of boughs and straw, where there is a field close by, and a good opportunity of getting water. They always keep a number of horses and mules; the former for the purpose of travelling and hunting, the latter for that of carrying burdens of provisions, wax, and honey. They are all extremely solicitous to have in readiness very swift horses, with which they daily sally forth to hunt wild animals, the flesh of which they use for food, and the skins for bags to hold the honey. Whilst the rest wander through the wood, their director boils the wax collected the day before, and prepares food for his companions on their return. There is one place particularly abundant in honey; it is a hundred leagues from St. Iago, and is named Hierro.

This circumstance was well known to Oaherkaikin, the crafty leader of the Abipones, and thither he came to commit depredations with a faithful troop of followers, nor was he disappointed in his hopes; for he found a vast number of Spaniards in that place seeking honey. The most distinguished of these was Lisondo, than whom, the Commander-in-chief, Barreda, declared, he had not a braver nor more active soldier. One of the slaves, who had gone to a neighbouring ditch to draw water, spied an Abiponian horseman leaning upon his spear, and having his face painted with dark colours; upon which he called out _Amigo_, friend. This salutation being sternly rejected by the savage, the slave, greatly alarmed, told what he had seen to Lisondo, who, always intrepid, said he saw no immediate occasion for fear. Soon after, the bands of Abipones sprung forth from the various parts of the wood where they had concealed themselves, and slaying all they met, rushed into the cottage of Lisondo, who, armed with his axe and his presence of mind alone, broke the spears of four of the assailants, but at last fell oppressed by numbers. He expired wounded in many places, having been first dragged out of doors by strong straps of leather, with which his hands and feet were bound. Lisondo being slain, the few who escaped the eyes and hands of the savages, saved their lives by flight. Three or four leapt on to the same horse, and beginning their journey without any provisions, the fugitives were threatened with fresh dangers of death. They had to travel at least fifty leagues, in a vast solitude, before they could reach the dwellings of men. Hence, wasted with hunger, thirst, and apprehension, they at length reached home, many of them on foot, and though they had escaped death, looked more dead than alive. Meanwhile, in the scene of so much bloodshed, a vast quantity of wax and honey, a number of excellent horses and mules, the large brazen caldrons for refining the wax, the axes and various other iron implements, and the wearing apparel, became the prey of the savages; whilst the owners at St. Iago bitterly deplored the deaths of the men, and the loss of their property. The Abipones who committed this slaughter were those who, till then, had refused to enter the colonies founded for their nation; but they soon after took refuge in them to avoid the vengeance of the Spaniards.

The Abipones raged with still more violence and pertinacity against those colonies which look towards the south, and are near the territories of Cordoba. Zumampa, Las Barrancas, and El Oratorio, for a long time witnessed the cruelty of the savages. A whole village was destroyed, while some of the inhabitants were slain, and others made captive, scarce one or two surviving. This country is intersected by a high road, through which waggons loaden with Peruvian money frequently pass to Buenos-Ayres. The certainty of booty and great facility of committing depredations had attracted the Abipones to these parts of the province, to the great annoyance of merchants, who were thus necessitated either to lose their merchandise, or to bring soldiers at a great expense to defend the waggons and their drivers, who often lost their lives as they were endeavouring to defend the lives and properties of others.

These and many other things of this kind were committed by the Abipones against the inhabitants of St. Iago, who knew not that they had to deal with a people accustomed to leave nothing unrevenged. They frequently eluded the attempts of the enemy by vigilance, oftener warded them off by dint of brave exertions. They often returned slaughter for slaughter, wounds for wounds. They had made such frequent inroads into Chaco, and so many successful invasions of the hordes of the savages, that the soldiers were scarce sufficient to guard the captives. I cannot commend the soldiers of St. Iago without launching out into the praise of their general, Barreda. Excuse me if I make some tribute to my love for this man, and appear somewhat prolix in what respects him but fear nothing in regard to veracity. Barreda is indeed my friend, but truth still more so.

CHAPTER VII. OF THE EXPEDITIONS OF FRANCISCO BARREDA, GENERAL OF THE ST. IAGANS, AGAINST THE ABIPONES AND MOCOBIOS.

Astigi, a city of Andalusia, was his native place. He was born of a most respectable family, and had been in the King's service from his earliest years. He set sail from Cadiz for Paraguay, while yet a youth, bearing letters from the King, in the office of naval secretary. This voyage is often performed in three or four months, with a favourable wind; Barreda and his companions, miserably tost about the ocean, scarce reached the port of Buenos-Ayres on the tenth. Having dispatched their business in that city, all things were put in readiness for returning to Europe, and they entered the vessel. But just as they were going to raise anchor, a furious south wind encountered the ship, turned it on its beam-ends, and would have sunk it, had it not been held by steady anchors. The crew remained the whole night on a sand bank, expecting death every moment. The shades of night increased their fears and their danger. All must have perished, had not a boat arrived, at day-break, from the shore, which is three miles distant from the place where the ships lie at anchor. Barreda conceived such a horror of navigation, that, when his companions returned to Spain, he remained in Paraguay, reserved by the Almighty to repress the boldness of the savages, by whom he was more dreaded in his age, than the sea had been by him in his youth. He was removed from Buenos-Ayres to Salabina, a little town in the country of St. Iago, where his skill in writing rendered him very useful. He volunteered to accompany the soldiers in an incursion against the savages, and after having, in repeated campaigns, given signal proofs of wisdom and valour, was promoted first to command a troop of horse, afterwards to lead them against the savages, and lastly to be chief ruler, in the Governour's name, over the whole territory of the river Salado; in which station, he commended himself to the Royal Governour of Tucuman, by his many brave and noble actions, the chief of which was his prevailing upon the Vilelas to embrace the Roman Catholic religion. By means of his industrious efforts, ten thousand Vilelas quitted their lurking-holes in the woods, entered the new colonies, and received baptism. The small-pox, which broke out soon afterwards, cut off greatest part of them, and the survivors settled first in the land of Cordoba, and afterwards in the territory of St. Iago, where, as they daily decreased more and more under other masters, they were committed to the care of the priests of our order.

Barreda pursued the Abipones and Mocobios, who continued hostile, with the rigour of arms, as he had conciliated the peaceful Vilelas by gentle measures. If he did not entirely repress their boldness, he certainly restrained and punished it with frequent discomfitures. The Royal Governour, desirous of rewarding his merit, conferred on him the supreme administration, in his name, of all affairs, civil and military, in all the colonies of St. Iago. How well he answered to the good opinion entertained of him, you may discover from the circumstance, that he held this office for thirty years, and never laid it down till his death, equally beloved by all good men, and dreaded by the savages. Many declared that they saw nothing to object to in him but his goodness, which almost appeared carried to an excess. In the punishment of criminals, he showed himself more lenient, than hasty or severe; for he used to say he would rather suffer ten guilty men to escape unpunished, than punish one innocent man. Whenever he pronounced sentence, as a judge, he endeavoured to favour the Indian rather than the Spaniard, usually saying: _Hé de attender a la parte mas flaca_: I must defend the weaker side. He had a very gentle disposition, by which he conciliated all hearts; his person was handsome, and his body large and vigorous, so that it was easy to infer how great a soul inhabited it. In uprightness of conduct, in purity of mind, and in sincere piety, he excelled, or at any rate equalled all the civil and military commanders of his time. His love and reverence for the priesthood were very great. In the presence of hundreds of soldiers, and of my Abipones, he disdained not to honour my hand with a pious kiss; and to assist me as I was performing the sacred rites. He devoted himself entirely to promoting the advantage of the province committed to his care, so that he had no time to think of heaping up riches, which is commonly thought the chief business of Europeans in America. But though not very opulent, he was exceedingly liberal. In short, by the splendor of his virtues, and by his famous achievements against the savages, he obtained an immortal reputation, but at the same time excited the envy of cowards and sluggards; a fate which attends all eminent men, and is their constant inheritance. Noble actions however clearly refute the accusations of the envious. Barreda not only attended thirty expeditions against the Abipones and Mocobios, but headed them all himself except three. The number of his victories, such victories as are gained in America, was the same as that of his expeditions. You would have thought that fortune waited on his footsteps. But he used to impute his success not to fortune, but to the favour of the Almighty, and to the activity and sagacity of his soldiers; as if he himself had contributed little or nothing to the prosperous event of the war. Yet it is allowed on all hands that the success of these expeditions was chiefly owing to the prudence, industry, and caution of Barreda. But he was not one of those generals, who, to speak in the words of Livy, enter a contest, relying more on their courage, than on their strength. The desire of fame or booty never induced him to hazard an attack, unless he thought the hope of victory greater than the likelihood of the most trifling slaughter. In order to judge of this he carefully marked the situation of places, the numbers of his adversaries, and the opportunities of the journey and of the road. A band of scouts was daily sent forward, to discover the ambuscades of the enemy, to examine their dwellings and their numbers, or to surprize them unawares. Barreda detested any slaughter of the savages, if attended by that of his own soldiers. "Where I am present," he said, "every thing goes on well. But if," added he, "I were utterly to destroy all the savages in Chaco, at the expense of two soldiers only, verily, on my return to the city, I should expect to be saluted with mud and stones. The people are extremely desirous of the deaths of the savages, but expect their own soldiers to be immortal in every battle." As it had been clearly proved that Barreda was by no means rash in undertaking expeditions, the people of St. Iago with willing minds followed whithersoever he led, and under no leader did these excellent soldiers make more daring achievements.

I have already mentioned that the people of St. Iago possessed a singular skill at exploring, but that Landriel excelled in this respect is doubted by no one. Barreda made use of him for many years as the chief instrument of his victories; and by this penetrating discoverer of the savages he was accompanied wherever he went. Other Spaniards, too, out of the territories of St. Iago, took him for their guide whenever the savages were to be attacked or repelled. I will give you an account of a victory which Barreda gained chiefly by means of this man. As Landriel was on his way home from the woods, where he had been employed in collecting wax and honey, he fell in with Barreda, who had just set off on an expedition against the Abipones, with many hundred horse. "Tarry here awhile," said Landriel to him. "Let me carry home the mules loaden with wax and honey, and to-morrow I will return provided with proper horses, and conduct you straight forward to the dwellings of the Abipones. I saw them myself very lately, and was compelled by hunger to slay some of their oxen." Landriel was joyfully beheld by them all as a propitious star, and not listened to without inspiring confidence of victory. He stood to his promise, and returning the next day, was the life of the party, and the eye and right hand of Barreda. In a few days, as he knew the Abiponian horde to be at no great distance, he stations the forces which were proceeding into Chaco, in a secure place, whilst he himself, with another soldier, goes to discover whether the Abipones continued in the same place where he had first seen them. In the evening, leaving his horse to the care of his companion, he hastens alone and on foot to the place where he had lately espied the dwellings of the savages, but finds that they had changed their quarters. He knew that close by was a lake, affording great convenience for a savage horde. Thither he steals, and perceives from the number of fires that the Abipones, whom he sought, had settled there. Returning to the place where he had left his horse in the care of his companion, he finds that both were departed; for the soldier, imagining that Landriel must have been intercepted by the savages, from his staying so many hours, had consulted his own safety by flight. Barreda, and all the other soldiers, after vainly expecting Landriel's return for so long a time, began to entertain the same suspicions. They were not aware that Landriel had to return on foot, the same distance which he had gone on horseback. But when at length he returned safe, Barreda resumed his courage, and all the rest their hope of victory, especially when they understood that the retreat of the savages had been discovered.

The journey was now begun, forthwith, under Landriel's guidance; and when after many hours they had crossed a plain which was flooded to such a degree as to bear the appearance of a lake, the dwellings of the Abipones were seen, and instantly attacked. The very few men in the place could not stand the assault of the Spaniards, but preferred flight to combat. The Cacique who governed that horde, with most of the efficient men, were then absent: doubtless, had they been at home, the attack would not have proved entirely bloodless. Some of the Indians, however, who were slower in their flight, were slain, and a train of women and children taken captive. Various silver utensils, the fruit of much plunder, many hundreds of horses, and numerous oxen, were the booty of the Spaniards. The day being nearly ended, the Spaniards passed the night in the same place; not sleeping, but watching, and all the captives, many hundreds in number, were guarded in the fold where the horses had formerly been kept.

Amongst the captives were some Spanish women, who had been formerly taken in war by the Abipones; one of these persuaded the soldiers to return by a different, and more convenient way than that by which they had come, and this proposal was eagerly embraced by the soldiers, whose clothes were still wet with the water of their yesterday's journey. Meantime the report of the incursion of the Spaniards provoked to the desire of vengeance all the Abipones who dwelt in the vicinity. Exasperated by the captivity of their wives and children, they fell upon the last company of the St. Iagans, but met with a brave repulse. Some of the soldiers, however, forgetful of the danger, were nearly slain by the savages, whilst at a distance from their companions. One of them falling from his horse into a marshy place, would soon have been pierced with spears, had not Captain Gorosito succoured him by the intervention of a musket. The Indians, perceiving that their skirmishes had produced no effect, withdrew to their places of concealment, leaving the Spaniards to pursue their journey, without further molestation. Alaykin, ill enduring the loss of so many people and horses, began to think of establishing a peace with the inhabitants of St. Iago, and of requesting a colony for himself; both of which he obtained, by the intercession of Barreda. Numbers were slain, and about two hundred taken prisoners, in another excursion undertaken by Barreda against the Mocobios, most of whom, terrified by so much slaughter, took refuge in the town of St. Xavier, which had been founded in the territories of Sta. Fè, for the Caciques Aletin and Chitalin, and at that time contained about twenty families, but was wonderfully increased by the accession of those whom Barreda frightened into entering it, or freed from captivity and sent thither. I pass by many other expeditions of this kind which Barreda successfully conducted against the savages; some of them, however, I shall touch upon in treating of the affairs of Cordoba. Barreda always maintained that his assaults on the savages would have caused less effusion of blood, had his soldiers, though excellent in every other respect, paid more obedience to his orders. You shall now hear the complaints he made against them.

CHAPTER VIII. OF CERTAIN DEFECTS IN THE SOLDIERS OF ST. IAGO, OF THEIR COMPANIES, AND OF THE DEGREES OF MILITARY RANK AMONGST THEM.

The soldiers of St. Iago were accused of three defects by their old general, Barreda. The first is, that in an assault, they neglect to surround the dwellings of the savages on every side, and thus give them an opportunity of escaping. They make the first attack in front, leaving a way to the wood, whither the enemy may take shelter. Experience has taught them that the Abipones and Mocobios fight desperately when straitened. They knew well that the province would be more disturbed by the deaths of two soldiers, than rejoiced at the slaughter of two hundred savages. Induced by these considerations, the soldiers of St. Iago, slighting the orders of their commander, attack the enemy on that part which they think least dangerous to themselves. Another subject of complaint to Barreda, was, that, though he commanded them to make the attack in silence, they still would rush on with shouts and senseless clamour. The third objection was, their greediness for booty. When an unarmed multitude of women and children were taken, whilst the men escaped, the soldiers, scattered up and down the plain, were eagerly seeking droves of horses, when they ought to have been employed in pursuing and slaughtering the fugitives, and in watching diligently, lest the savages should shake off dread, quit their lurking-holes, and again exhibit their faces in the field. Barreda himself, in an expedition against the Mocobios, ran great risk of losing his life; for as he remained in the plundered camp, with but one companion, the rest being employed in catching the enemy's horses in the plain, a Mocobio suddenly started up from under a mat, and before taking to flight, shot an arrow at his breast, which would have proved mortal, had he not been protected by his woollen garment: the man was immediately pierced with a musket ball. Who would not laugh at the paltry plunder of the enemy's camp? They search every corner, and collect jugs, pots, gourds, shells, skins of beasts, emus' feathers, in short whatever they can find, leaving nothing behind but the dust. With much care and trouble they carry home all sorts of trash, to be exhibited as trophies to their neighbours and to posterity.

Not one soldier receives any pay, throughout the whole district of St. Iago. The colonists are all divided into companies, some of which consist of two hundred men, more or less. Each has its captain, lieutenant, ensign, (though that is a mere title, for they have no ensigns,) and corporals. It is the captain's duty to call out the soldiers to an excursion. The lieutenant's business is to guard the horses, both by day, when they are driven all together along the road, without riders, and by night, when they are grazing in the open plain. Many take long journeys on one horse, but the more opulent carry four, or even ten, and ride them by turns. The ensigns act in the place of the lieutenant, when he is absent, or resting. In each of the territories of the province, there is a master of the watch, called _Sargento Mayor_, who has the chief command both over the captains and their companies, and orders which are to go to war. This officer, sometimes from partiality, sometimes from being corrupted by bribes, suffers the richer people to remain at home, and forces the poorer, and generally the least able, to attend the militia. All condemn, but none dare to correct this abominable custom, the pernicious effects of which extend to the whole province. Barreda permitted nobody to be appointed for an expedition, who did not possess at least four horses, and who had neither brothers nor grown-up sons at home, to manage his domestic affairs in his absence. During my stay there, the whole province of St. Iago contained eleven companies, which took their names from their captains. Beside these, there is a company of scouts, called _Batidores del campo_, containing fewer than the others, but those few of tried sagacity and courage. The chief and the champion of this company was Landriel, who, as a remuneration for his well-known merits, was declared camp-master by the Governour of Tucuman. But I should have been better pleased to have heard of his having been enriched with money, or a pension, than adorned with an empty title. According to report, his father was not of low birth, but his mother must have been an Indian, to judge from his features, speech, and complexion. He was born in a village of St. Iago. Reading and writing were the extent of his attainments. He was courteous and upright in his manners, endowed with a quick understanding, with singular prudence and piety, and robust, though middle-sized in stature. He always led a single life, to the best of my remembrance. I visited him on my return from the city, when he dwelt with his mother, in a miserable hut, not far from Soconcho, on the banks of the river Dulce, and was grieved to witness the poverty of so famous a man. The Governour granted him the field Alarcòn, which extends many leagues, and is rich in woods, but being surrounded with a vast desert, and consequently liable to the incursions of the savages, cannot be cultivated with safety.

The last, and chief company, consists of the captains who have served out their time, and are called _Capitanes Reformados_. These attend the Vice-Governour, the Commander-in-chief in excursions, but are exempt from the other journeys and burdens of the war. To obtain this immunity, those who are more gifted with wealth than courage purchase the title of a reformed captain, though they never discharged the office either of captain or lieutenant. You can hardly imagine how ardently all the Americans, both Indians and Spaniards, sue for military dignities, and how much they are delighted with these honourable titles. Do they faint with hunger, thirst and wretchedness?—salute them with the title of captain, or master of the watch, and they will revive,—_in cælum, jusseris, ibunt_. There was an old Spaniard who knew how to make waggons, gates, and mill-wheels, and was, on this account, styled a mathematician by the ignorant vulgar, who doubtless accounted him superior to Archimedes. Barreda was in want of this man's assistance in constructing the gates and window-beams in the new colony of Concepcion; but being well aware that the old workman would never be persuaded to go to the country of the Abipones, being more attached to his own house than a tortoise to its shell, he made use of an honest stratagem to obtain his purpose, and immediately declared him a reformed captain. In a few days, Barreda gives out his intention of taking a journey to the colony. According to custom, two companies and all the reformed captains were called out, amongst whom, this most noble artificer, as he had lately been elected one of their number, could not refuse to go. Barreda jocosely told me the whole story, in the new town of Concepcion, and charged me always to salute the said workman with the high-sounding title of Captain, saying it would be an excellent method of stimulating him to exertion. I took the hint, and whenever I had occasion to visit the workshop, interspersed every sentence with _Señor Capitan_. "Very true," said he; "by the grace of God I am a captain; that can't be denied. But what of that?" And then he complained to me, that many did not know that this was the case. I immediately employed all my rhetorical powers in extolling the perfections of a reformed captain in general, and his own exceeding merit in particular; and in this panegyric I took care that every sentence should begin and end with, _Señor Capitan_. At my request, this mode of speech was adopted by Barreda and all the rest, which artifice succeeded so well, that the good old man made the gates, doors, and other necessaries, with all possible dispatch, though not in the most skilful manner: such was the potency of the unprofitable title of captain amongst them, which I have seen confirmed by another event of the same kind, that took place in the town of Concepcion.

Barreda ordered the soldiers to hedge round a very large field, to plough, and sow it with maize, melons, cotton, &c. and he himself laboured with his own hands, that the Abipones might not be ashamed of the plough. At the end of four days, being obliged to return to the city, he gave it in charge to one of the common soldiers, to get it properly ploughed and sowed during his absence, promising him, by way of reward, the title of reformed captain. Lured by so sweet a bait, the soldier exceeded Barreda's expectation, and almost went beyond himself. From the rising to the setting of the sun, he made the oxen fly with the plough, and himself and his companions overflow with sweat, caused by toiling under a burning sun; careless of the heat, of food and sleep, he laboured with such ardour, that his task was finished sooner than could have been imagined. Barreda, on his departure, by sound of drum, proclaimed this strenuous ploughman a reformed captain, to the surrounding troop of horse. But you will laugh to hear how transitory is human greatness. In less than three days, this new captain lost his dignity, and the favour of him who conferred it. It is worth while to relate the cause of his disgrace, which will discover a shameful custom of the soldiers of St. Iago. When absent, they are possessed with an incredible desire of home. Those who are sent to the colonies of the Abipones pursue their journey thither very tardily, but return with amazing quickness. They fatigue their horses with hurrying day and night, as, though they may have no wounds to show, they wish to present themselves at home, alive and safe, as soon as possible. From this extreme desire of revisiting their friends, it often happens that the soldiers, whilst striving with each other in haste, desert their leader. Barreda, in the journey I mentioned, was offended to find so very few soldiers remaining in his company, and particularly at the absence of him whom he had named captain but a few days before. He sent a man forward to signify to him that he was degraded from his rank. Grieved and surprized at this intelligence, he condemned his own haste, and almost wept for the loss of his title. Landriel became his counsellor, and advised him to fill the horns, which they used for jugs, with fresh water, to carry them to Barreda, and say that he had hastened to fetch cold water from the river Turugon, as none was to be got within many leagues. Barreda, parching with thirst, was so pleased with this civility, that, not perceiving the deceit, he restored to the good man the title of captain. I relate these unimportant circumstances to show you what a value the Spaniards set upon military titles. Hence, whenever you meet a Spaniard or half Spaniard in the country, if you wish to avoid giving offence, be sure not to accost him by his name or surname alone, but always add his title, if he have any. If he be of the very lowest condition, call him _Señor Cabo de esquadra_, or _Señor Sargento_. If you observe wrinkles in his forehead, grey hairs on his head, and shoes or boots on his feet, though his clothes be ever so shabby, you may have no hesitation in calling him captain: but if he have silver clasps to his bridle, brazen stirrups, (we generally use wooden ones,) spurs of silver, and a staff in his hand, be assured that he holds the title of _Sargento Mayor_, or _Maestre de Campo_. In a noble city of Tucuman, where I resided for some time, all the richer sort of people are called camp-masters, and in fact they are so; for a knowledge of agriculture and the breeding of cattle is the sole means of maintenance and nobility to the inhabitants of that place. You would be thought a savage and fit to be hunted out of society, unless you made abundant use of these honourable appellations, which they seek with such ardor. A man of our order happened, on a journey, to fall in with a Spaniard in a place where four roads met, and, whilst considering which way he should take, repeatedly addressed his companion with the title of captain: till the man, thinking himself insulted, said, with a threatening look, "Good Father, how long will you continue to make me angry? You must either be a stranger, or very ignorant, since you don't know that I am a _Sargento Mayor_:" so much displeasure do they evince if their ears are not gratified with their proper appellations. But they are not ashamed to be saluted with titles which do not really belong to them. I saw Barreda writing letters to the Governour of Tucuman, in which he honoured him with the title of colonel, though he was only lieutenant-colonel of a regiment of infantry. I reminded Barreda of this circumstance, thinking it must have slipped his memory. But he replied that he had written it purposely, not through forgetfulness: that I was unacquainted with the customs of America, where it is necessary to politeness, to add one degree, at least, to a title of dignity.

Chapter IX. Of The Atrocities Of The Abipones Towards The People Of Cordoba.

Cordoba, the principal city of Tucuman, a Bishop's see, contains an academy which was a few years back as famous as any in South America, and is extolled for its splendid edifices, and its opulent and honourable citizens. The ruler of Cordoba is not styled a Vice-Governor, but a Viceroy. The situation of the city, which is washed by the little river Pucarà, and surrounded by hills, is neither very pleasant, nor very healthy. The country on the side of Sta. Fè, and Buenos-Ayres, is a plain more than a hundred leagues in extent, of most fertile pasture-ground; but the part looking towards the kingdom of Chili, and the territories of St. Iago, is irregular, sometimes sinking into low vallies, sometimes rising into irriguous hills; where feed an infinite multitude of cattle, horses, mules, and sheep, in which the principal and almost only riches of the Cordobans consist. This part of Tucuman, except the city, enjoys a healthy temperature, and a cool breeze arising from the vicinity of the mountains of Chili; the population is numerous, and the inhabitants frank, robust, and intelligent, but deserving of a better fortune in war. Larger woods of quince, pomegranate, orange and peach trees are no where to be seen: there are also figs, nuts, and other fruits peculiar to America.

The land of Cordoba might be esteemed fortunate, had the inhabitants ever been allowed to rest from the incursions of the Pampas, Abipones, and Mocobios. If, as I have related, the rest of Paraguay was often disturbed by the inroads of the Abipones, the Cordobans were so tormented by their perpetual hostilities, that neither place nor season was free from fear and anxiety. Not only the remote and solitary estates, but even the immediate vicinity of the city was so confidently attacked by the Abipones, you would have thought that women only dwelt there, or that all the inhabitants were asleep. This extensive province always possessed sufficient numbers, and sufficient strength to repel the Abipones; the only things needed were courage and proper leaders, who by their example might animate the people to the defence of their country, direct the forces it contained to some advantage, and make use of the strength that really existed: for certainly in no part of Paraguay were there to be found more expeditious horses and horsemen than here; not to mention the agility, and skill which the latter possessed in other respects, their height, singular strength, activity, and abundance of armour: for their superior opulence enables them, more easily than the other Spaniards, to obtain the necessary instruments of war. Oh! that the people of Cordoba would learn to know themselves, and their own strength! that they would shake off their innate dread of the savages, whom they could easily vanquish, would they but summon up courage to make the attempt! The Abipones, conscious that they were dreaded by the Cordobans, insolently reiterated their assaults, and generally with impunity. The high-way leading to Peru, and to the cities of Buenos-Ayres and Sta. Fè, was seldom free from carnage and robberies, never from danger: insomuch that travellers always either suffered or apprehended murder from the savages. There was no such thing as security. Neither the summits of the highest hills, nor the deepest recesses of the forests afforded any defence. The Abipones examined all places, like hounds, and seldom returned empty-handed. On St Joseph's day, before dawn, a vast troop of Abipones, under their leader Alaykin, burst into the estate of Sinsacate, which is about ten leagues distant from the city. This place was then administered by the secular priest Carranza. A great number of people, who had assembled the day before from the neighbouring estates, intending to be present at divine service in the church of Jesus and Mary, were there at that time. The savages either slew, or carried into captivity all they saw. The number of captives, Spaniards and Indians, was five and twenty: many more were slain, and the rest saved themselves by flight; every thing was plundered, and the mules and horses which filled the neighbouring fields, driven away. The estate was saved by the lofty walls of the church Jesus Maria, though it suffered a great loss of cattle. The soldiers of Cordoba, moved by the dreadful report, at last arrived from the city, that, though unable to restore life to the dead, they might at least procure the liberty of the crowd of captives. They pursued the fugitive Abipones for some time, till their further progress was stopped by a vast lake, which, though crossed by the Indians without hesitation, seemed to the Cordobans an ocean impassable on horseback, and requiring the assistance of a boat; so that they were obliged to retire out of sight of the enemy. The people of Cordoba, notwithstanding that they excel in point of horsemanship, are little qualified to pursue the savages, from their inability to swim; the cause of this deficiency is that most of them live in a place where swimming is not customary, or where there is no opportunity for practising it. There is a place, between Cordoba and St. Iago, called Rio Seco. Scattered here and there in little valleys between the hills are great numbers of well-peopled estates, and cattle of every description. In this place is a large, elegant stone church, which owes its celebrity to an image of the Virgin Mary, and whither numbers flock from all parts, as it has been distinguished by the favour of Heaven and the gifts of the pious. The Abipones had informed themselves of this circumstance from their Spanish captives. The opulence of the place afforded them great hopes of a rich booty. Having diligently examined every thing through their spies, they resolved to occupy the narrow straits of the rocks, and block up all the ways, to deprive the Spaniards of the means of flight. They either slew, or made captive, all they found in the neighbouring fields, and in the houses, without opposition: the whole country was devastated. An immense number of horses and mules were taken by the savages. The church itself was forced, while affording shelter to those who survived the massacre, and had fled thither for refuge. They broke open the door with an axe, though it was secured with bolts and plates of iron. These sacrilegious thieves carried away the sacred silver utensils, the bells of the tower, and even the image of the holy mother, with that of St. Joseph; and when they had murdered all the inhabitants, and plundered all their possessions, they departed laden with spoils, and the heads of the slain. But it so fell out by divine dispensation, that Barreda was just then meditating an excursion against the savages, at no great distance, and upon receiving information of this outrage of the Abipones, immediately flew thither with his followers. After pursuing the fugitives for a long time, day and night, he learned that they had separated into two companies and gone different ways. The height of his wishes was to rescue out of the hands of the savages the image of the divine mother, and though he hesitated a little which way to take, yet, by God's grace, he finally chose that which led to the party in possession of the holy image. Proceeding for some time with all speed, he at last surprizes the Abipones, sitting unsuspiciously on the ground while their horses were feeding in the pastures. The approach of the St. Iagan soldiers being perceived, the infantry threw themselves into an adjacent wood. The Spaniards instantly flew to the baggage which the savages had relinquished, and joyfully discovered amongst the rest the image of the Virgin. The enemy's horses were collected and their saddles burnt. The wood was, for some time, surrounded on all sides by the soldiers; but at length, the Abipones showed such obstinacy in their lurking-holes, and the horses were so weakened by three days' hunger and fatigue, that Barreda began to think of retreating. Nothing was ever heard of the image of St. Joseph, but most likely it was thrown into some deep marsh. This hostile aggression upon Rio Seco induced the Cordobans to surround that church with high stone walls, strengthened with four towers, that it might no longer be exposed to the injuries of the savages, and that, like the other colonists, they might defend themselves in those fortlets, on any impending danger.

The Abipones penetrated also into the valley of Calamuchita, which, though inclosed by rocks, is rich in herds, at the instigation of a Negro slave, who, being offended by his master, chose to satiate his desire of vengeance by the hands of the savages, since he could not by his own. Much blood was shed there, and every thing plundered that came to hand. At Zumampa and the neighbouring places, slaughter and rapine were almost daily committed. The parish of St. Miguel in Rio Verde was depopulated by continual assaults. Those territories, especially, by which the Rio Segundo flows, were not only infested by the Abipones, but chosen by them as places of abode, where they laid in wait for travellers to Sta. Fè, or Buenos-Ayres. The place called Cruz alta afforded great opportunities for pillaging. The terror excited by the slaughters committed there increased every day. On account of the magnitude of the danger, the waggons for conveying merchandise could never pass to and fro, except in large companies. The men appointed to defend the caravans, being generally of the very lowest order, unfurnished with muskets, armed with spears alone, and moreover entirely destitute both of courage and vigilance, were every one slain. The Abipones seized the merchandise and the droves of horses and oxen, and burnt the waggons to ashes. These tragic events happened very frequently, and were most ruinous to traders. One, which is of more recent occurrence, I shall relate, and pass by the rest. Five and twenty Cordoban waggons bound to Sta. Fè were attacked by the Abipones, on their second day's journey, a few leagues from the city. The drivers and guards were all killed whilst sleeping, as usual, at mid-day, in the plains, (except one who was feeding the oxen on horseback.) Amongst the number of the slain was Father Diego Herrera, a Jesuit, destined for the towns of the Guaranies; he was only deprived of his clothes in the first attack, but lost his life in the second. A rosary, a square hat, and a habit were carried away by the savages as trophies, and the prayer-books scattered about the plain. Kebachichi, the leader of that expedition, wore the slain priest's robe and square hat at all public drinking parties, in commemoration of the bloody deed. This man, who some years after resided in the town of St. Jeronymo, when upon a visit to us in the colony of Concepcion, requested my companion to give him a hat, and on being refused, said to the Father in a threatening tone, "Dare you deny me a hat? Don't you know that I am a slayer of Fathers?" The Vice-Governor of Sta. Fè, to avenge those who had suffered the loss either of their lives or their properties, marched with some of his companies into Chaco; but the event did him little honour. He met with a horde of Abipones, but they falsely declared themselves innocent of the slaughters that had been committed. Meantime the arrival of the Spaniards being spread throughout the neighbourhood, more and more companies of Abipones assembled, and at last raised such a numerous army, that the Vice-Governor thought it more advisable to treat the Abipones with biscuit and other gifts as friends, than to assault them with balls and gunpowder as enemies; which cowardice in their general filled the soldiers with indignation. Fearing a dangerous return, he hastened toward the city, the Abipones pressing behind with equal speed. The soldiers themselves condemned this retreat; for impunity and the inactivity of some of the Spaniards renders the savages more and more bold in their attempts; yet they are astounded if any one summons up a little courage to oppose their assaults, and presents a musket in a threatening manner. This was found by Galarza, Viceroy of Cordoba, who, in returning from Buenos-Ayres with some waggons, encountered Kebachichi and a troop of Abipones. Galarza, seeing the enemy at hand, leapt from his horse, that he might more conveniently make use of his musket. But whilst he was hastily tucking up his travelling-dress that it might not retard him in using his arms, his horse took fright and ran away, and being furnished with precious trappings, and with pistols, was stopped by an Abipon. But none of them dared approach the enemy's waggons, because they were defended by Galarza, who was armed with a musket. The enemy were deterred from plundering the waggons, and slaying the attendants, by Galarza's presence of mind, and by the sight of this musket, which was nevertheless incapable of doing any harm. But he could not prevent the oxen and horses, which were at a distance from the waggons, from being carried off. The neighbouring fortification of Mazangani seems to have deterred these two and twenty Abipones from attempting any thing further. Whenever I heard this fortification spoken of, I figured to myself a place fortified with ditches, trenches, walls, mounds, artillery and a garrison. But how was I deceived! In travelling from Buenos-Ayres to Cordoba, I perceived Mazangani to be a square area, scarce fifty feet in diameter, and hedged round with trunks, and thorny boughs of trees. At the side of it stands a miserable hut covered with straw, and built of sticks and mud, inhabited by a poor wretched man who there exercises the several functions of Governor, garrison, and watchman; for he ascends a high tree placed in the middle of the court to discover if any savages are to be seen in the surrounding plain. In order to deter them from approaching, and at the same time to apprize the neighbourhood of their arrival, he fires a cannon. This is a faithful description of that terrible fortress. Yet those who reached it thought themselves, as it were, in port. From this you may judge how little was necessary to repel those heroic savages. But rendered daily bolder by frequent experiments, they learnt at last to despise these little fortresses: for by casting fire with their arrows they easily burnt the hedges, the cottages, and the defenders of them. Hence the Spaniards, for the preservation of their safety, erected little stone or brick fortresses in various places, and strengthened them with warlike machines.

The plain called El Tio, which lies between Sta. Fè and Cordoba, is uninhabited for almost thirty leagues, and consequently dangerous to travellers; for not only the desert, but also a long wood which crosses the plain ground from North to South, affords the Abipones an opportunity of pillaging and making surprizes, especially at El Pozzo Redondo; for after a great deal of dry weather, in this vast plain not a drop of water is to be found, nor a bit of wood to make a fire with; but both are supplied by the lake called El Pozzo Redondo, which is near a wood. To travellers, therefore, who have crossed the plain and are parching with thirst, nothing is more desirable than this lake, and at the same time nothing is more formidable, since they cannot reach it without risking their lives; for in this place the Mocobios and Abipones lie in wait for the Spaniards, whom they know to be in the habit of travelling by it. I have twice taken a journey to El Pozzo Redondo, accompanied by four Spaniards. The first time we were in great trepidation from the memory of slaughters recently committed there; on the second we had nothing but inconvenience to endure, a two years' drought having entirely dried up the lake. We and all our horses must have perished with thirst, had not a great quantity of rain fallen that night, accompanied with thunder. To increase the general consternation, our guide told us that a certain Spaniard, in the service of the Royal Governor, who had attended many campaigns in Europe, formerly passed a night in this place. To the affirmations of the Paraguayrian soldiers who accompanied him, that this place was dangerous from being liable to the insidious attacks of the Abipones, he boastingly replied, that those American pillagers were more worthy of derision than of dread. But the Abipones assailing them the next day, he was so terrified at their yells and their very aspect, that he suffered every indignity to which cowards are liable. The savages carried off the horses, and whatever else pleased their fancies. The European hero owed his life to his Paraguayrian companions, and learnt to fear what he had thought a jest the day before. But during the latter years of my residence in Paraguay, the plain of El Tio was placed in security. Fortifications were erected in two places, where a company of soldiers keeps continual watch, and daily reconnoitres those parts whence the approach of the savages is apprehended. Ever since Alvarez, master of the horse, was preferred to the command of these guards, great restraint has been put upon the licence of the savages, who before left nothing untouched, nothing unattempted. I myself have witnessed what universal dread they excited, when we sixty Europeans, accompanied by some Spanish natives, performed a journey of one hundred and forty leagues, from the port of Buenos-Ayres, where we had landed a little before, to Cordoba. Our company consisted of about a hundred waggons, each drawn by four oxen, but the number was doubled when they had to cross marshes: the driver goads them on with a long pole, armed with a spike, and a horseman generally goes before to show the way. These heavy waggons are supported by two huge wheels, and have an arch at the top covered with a hide, that the rain may run off them. The sides are sometimes enclosed with boards, sometimes with mats, and have the appearance of a basket. No iron is employed in any part of them. In the hind part where the door is, there is a ladder to ascend by; in front there is a window. Each waggon is generally occupied by one person, sometimes by two, and serves for house, bed, and dining-room; for in the midst is placed a mattress, on which you are conveyed along, with a jolting that, for the two or three first days, produces vomiting, like sea-sickness. Most of the journey is performed in the night, for the oxen cannot long bear the heat of the sun in the day-time. Six pair of oxen are assigned to each waggon, that they may relieve one another in the labour. To watch and feed so great a number of cattle, many guards are necessary, each of which have need of many horses. Neither they nor the drivers, nor the men who ride before the waggons, are supplied with any other food except beef, which is also the daily fare of the travellers in the waggons; so that a great many oxen are consumed every day to satisfy so many hungry stomachs. From this you may judge how great must be the number of men and beasts, when a hundred, or more frequently two hundred, waggons of this kind, travel a hundred and forty leagues of desert land together; and, good heavens! what a noise they make! for the wheels are never greased; they even catch fire sometimes by the continual friction of the wooden axle, and wrap the waggon itself in flames. Excepting a few estates and cottages in the neighbourhood of Buenos-Ayres and Cordoba, you find nothing but a plain, void of inhabitants, buildings, trees, rivers, or hills, but abounding in horses, wild asses, emus, does, skunks (zorrinos,) and tigers. Fuel and fresh water are forced to be carried for the daily consumption of the travellers. We were often obliged to drink the muddy rain water which remains in the ditches, though the very beasts, unless parching with thirst, would have refused it. This immense wilderness which we had entered daily threatened us with fresh difficulties and fresh dangers, greater than any we had experienced in a three months' voyage on the ocean. Scarce a day or night passed without tidings of the Spanish scouts having seen the footsteps of the savages, or heard their whistles or pipes; in consequence of which, most of the waggons were daily placed in the form of a circle, for their mutual defence, and furnished with spears and muskets. But whenever the Spaniards recollected how many former travellers had fallen into the hands of the Indians, in these parts, they thought the very rustling of the grass a harbinger of the approach of the Abipones, and whilst the veteran natives of Paraguay were thus alarmed at shadows, they inspired us novices in America with continual dread. Our fears, however, proved groundless, for none of the savages presented themselves to our sight; a circumstance which we attributed to the special favour of God, since that part of the country had for many years been the theatre of rapine and slaughter.

Chapter X. Of The Fruitless Excursions Of The Cordobans Against The Abipones.

What! you exclaim, did the minds of the Cordobans at last grow callous to so much slaughter?—Were they so tame as never to think of revenge?—Did Cordoba want men, or arms, or strength? In neither of these requisites was that flourishing city deficient. The Cordobans have always in readiness twelve thousand men fit to bear arms. Cordoba abounds in swift and strong horses. The bodies of the inhabitants are strong and vigorous, and their minds filled with the desire of military glory; they might not only put the Abipones to flight, but reduce the whole province of Chaco: in short, they might do every thing against the savages, did not the vain fear with which they are possessed make them despair of doing any thing. Whilst depressed by the recollection of the slaughters they had suffered, they thought victory must always attend the Abipones; they dared attempt nothing against them, and were thus forsaken by fortune, which usually favours the brave. I will here describe some expeditions of the Cordobans, the issue of which was always either unfortunate or ridiculous.

The Abipones laid waste the territories of Rio Segundo, and some Cordoban forces were sent out to repress them. The enemy was overtaken in the open plain. On one side stood the Spaniards, on the other the Abipones, in battle-array. They threatened one another for a long time, but no one had courage to begin the attack, till at last an Abipon leapt from his horse, approached the ranks of the Spaniards, and challenged one of them to single combat. Many of the soldiers would have been willing enough to engage with this bold one, but the leader of the expedition forbade them to stir hand or foot, under pain of death; perceiving which, the Abipones slowly departed, each his own way, leaving the Spaniards to themselves. The Cordoban captains acted in the same way on other occasions, and by thus betraying their own fear, rendered the savages still bolder in their projects. To pacify the minds of the people, endless expeditions were undertaken against Chaco, but all unsuccessful. There were many causes for this. These delicate warriors always drove before them a vast number of horses and oxen, consequently the journey was retarded by the multitude of beasts. The number of captains was too great in proportion to that of soldiers; there were too many to give commands and too few to execute them. Besides laden mules, they carried a good many waggons for conveying provisions, which are always sure to impede a journey. Moreover, the Commander-in-chief made use of a chariot for show. I myself saw a place in Chaco where that chariot and all the waggons were burnt by the Cordobans, when, surrounded by pools and marshes, they could neither go back nor forwards. Doubtless the ways which led to the retreats of the savages in Chaco, were dangerous to the Indians themselves. The nature of the soil is such, that after a long cessation of rain, it grows as dry as a flint, and denies even the little birds wherewith to drink; but if the showers be frequent, you will not find an inch of dry ground to walk or lie down upon. As the plain is varied neither by fountains, hills, nor stones, but runs out into a vast extent of even ground, covered with turf, when deluged with rain it presents the appearance of a lake. At other times the road is intercepted by marshes and overflowing rivers, which occasion delay, even if the soldiers can overcome them by swimming; but if this be not the case, they are entirely prevented from proceeding, being unprovided with bridges or skiffs. The place of these is supplied, as I have said, by the pelota; but, as those vessels are capable of holding but one man at once, much time will be consumed whilst four hundred soldiers are transported, in this manner, to the opposite shore; and likewise so much noise must necessarily be made during the process, that the enemy, apprized of their arrival, will either take to speedy flight, or rush on the Spaniards whilst unprepared and separated from one another by the river. If, therefore, you would know the chief reason why the Spaniards so often returned ingloriously home from Chaco, without even obtaining a sight of the savages, it was that they could not swim.

Of this I had a most creditable witness in Landriel, who sometimes acted as guide to the Cordobans in their expeditions into Chaco; and under whose conduct they arrived, after many days' journey, at the eastern shore of the river Malabrigo, on the opposite side of which the Abipones Riikahes were accustomed to pitch their tents. It was a difficult matter to discover their lurking-holes, to attack which was the object of the expedition; the whole plain being deluged with water to such a degree that no traces of either man or beast could be found there. The only things that appeared above the surface of the water were some large ant-hills, from one of which Landriel perceived that a honeycomb had been lately taken. This circumstance led him to conjecture that the Abipones must be somewhere near, and after much search he discovered a large horde of them, which might have been attacked, conquered, plundered, and destroyed on the same day, had Landriel brought soldiers of St. Iago, Corrientes, or Sta. Fè, all excellent swimmers, instead of Cordobans who are ignorant of that art; for as they drew nigh to the hostile horde, it was necessary to cross the river Malabrigo, which, being at that time greatly overflowed, would neither suffer a bridge, nor allow of being forded. The soldiers might all have been transported to the opposite shore on a hide, but they foresaw that a passage of this kind could not be effected in less than a day, whatever haste were employed. Meantime the Abipones, roused by the noise of the Spaniards, or by the neighing of their horses alone, would have placed their families in safety, and undoubtedly attacked and routed the Cordobans, who were never formidable to them, and would be still less so at that time, when their forces were divided by the river. After discussing these matters, they concluded that it was most advisable to hasten their return, which they did, falling, rather than marching; for the way had been rendered slippery from the inundation, and dangerous on account of the deep holes underneath the water. Numberless multitudes of wild oxen had formerly filled the plain, and the bulls by tearing the ground with their horns, as is usual with them when enraged, had occasioned those numerous holes: which are the more dangerous to horsemen because when covered with water they cannot be seen: many of them are one cubit deep, and equally wide. If any of the Cordobans slipped into one of these holes, his comrades all followed him, and fell in too, and when Landriel advised them to turn their horses a little to the right or the left, for the sake of avoiding the ditch where their companion had fallen, they seldom attended to his admonitions, saying, "It is true we saw our fellow-soldier fall in there, but we also saw him get safely out again. If we go another way we shall perhaps fall into a deeper ditch, whence we may not rise without injury." These holes are properly called by the Spaniards _pozzos_, or wells, because they receive the rain water, and preserve it a long time for the use of travellers, when the plains and woods are parched by a dry season. From what I have related you may collect, that the expeditions of the Cordobans into Chaco, so far from subduing and overawing the savages, served only to confirm them in their disposition to plunder; indeed they became more unrestrained in their attacks upon the colonists of Cordoba, in proportion as they became more fully convinced of the imbecility of the Cordoban soldiers, whom they believed incapable of returning injury for injury, slaughter for slaughter, and deterred from venturing into Chaco by the difficulties of the journey thither. To ensure the safety of the merchants, soldiers were at last hired to keep guard continually over those places. The tax laid on the herb of Paraguay, which is conveyed in waggons into Peru, was the chief source of the money for paying the soldiers. But this provision, though it thoroughly drained the purses of the merchants, did not much lessen the boldness or frequency of these robberies, the savages sometimes craftily deceiving this little band of soldiers, sometimes intimidating it with superior numbers. It is true that when most part of the Mocobios and Abipones were settled by us in the colonies, the province, delivered from so many enemies, began to breathe once more. The remainder of both nations, who still wandered without these colonies, though they disturbed and laid waste the country of Sta. Fè and Asumpcion, hardly ever attempted any hostilities against the territories of Cordoba; which tranquillity they owed to Alvarez, captain at Rio Segundo, and to Benavides commander at Rio Seco. As soon as those brave men took upon themselves the direction of military affairs the Cordobans became bolder, and the Abipones more timid in their attacks, especially after one of them had been taken in the plain by a Cordoban soldier, and the formidable Pachiekè, son of the Cacique Alaykin, slain. When we returned to Europe, almost all the Abipones deserted the colonies we had founded and taken care of. Weary of the peace and friendship which had been established between them and the Spaniards, they resumed their arms, with what success is best known to those who had to contend with the savages, enraged and distracted at our departure. I have shown how formidable and destructive the savage tribe of Abipones was to the whole province, and how little the arms of the Spaniards availed to check and restrain them. What fruit we had of our endeavours in subduing and reclaiming them is yet to be related.

CHAPTER XI. OF THE FREQUENT ENDEAVOURS OF THE JESUITS IN REDUCING THE ABIPONES TO OBEDIENCE UNDER THE KING OF SPAIN AND CONVERTING THEM TO THE CATHOLIC RELIGION.

Amongst those who in the last century interested themselves in the conversion of the Abipones, Father Juan Pastòr, a Spaniard, merits the first place. Long celebrated for his apostolical missions to the Indians, he was made master of the college at St. Iago del Estero, when he conceived the project of visiting the Abipones, and, if he found them tractable, of instructing them in Christianity. They were then dwelling above a hundred and sixty leagues from the city of St. Iago. The difficulty and ruggedness of the roads were almost greater than you can conceive; but the perseverance of this intrepid man overcame every thing. He chose for his companion Father Gaspar Cerqueira, a native of Paraguay, who understood the Tonocotè language, which is used by many nations, and was of much service to him in this great expedition. After crossing a vast wilderness of nearly a hundred leagues, they turned aside for a while amongst the Matarà Indians, who, though they had all received baptism, and were governed in one colony by a secular priest, had little more than the name of Christians. Bárzana and A[=n]asco priests of our order, and before them St. Solano, had certainly not been useless amongst them; but the lapse of time had entirely eradicated from their minds whatever they had learnt of Christianity. Drunkenness was daily practised amongst them. The rites which they yearly celebrated to the souls of the departed were moistened with drink, more than with tears. Maize, ground by the teeth of old women, and fermented in water, served them for wine. Each was ordered to bring with him an emu, to furnish out the funeral table. After feasting three days they devoted one hour to weeping and lamentations, and then wiped away their tears and returned to their cups and dainties. When heated with liquor, they frequently polluted these anniversaries with quarrels, strife, wounds, and mutual slaughter.

Their pious guests Pastòr and Cerqueira spared no pains to obliterate the memory of so great an impiety committed by a people who called themselves Christians. They never ceased day or night to admonish them of their duty: and their private conversations and public sermons in the church effected so much that many, after confession, sincerely promised amendment. I have seen a few remnants of this nation which are still surviving in a wretched little town called Matarà, on the banks of the Salado. In former times they were in subjection to some private individuals, Spaniards of St. Iago, and, though once numerous, fell away by degrees. After some days' stay, the Fathers pursued their journey to the Abipones, accompanied by the curate of the place and the principal Caciques, with a company of soldiers, who hoped, by means of the Fathers, to regain the friendship of the Abipones, between whom and their nation an ancient and bloody feud existed. The Fathers had certainly much need of their company. Sixty leagues of the journey still remained, through an unknown country, full of woods, lakes, and marshes. Had they not had the Mataràs for guides and protectors, they could neither have safely undertaken such a journey, nor prudently proceeded to the business they came upon. They were obliged to creep for a long time through trackless woods, and at every step to struggle with briers, which generally proved a bloody contest. To assuage the burning thirst occasioned by extreme heat and bodily fatigue, they could meet with nothing but stinking water out of pools and ditches, which offended their nostrils to such a degree that the poor creatures almost thought thirst preferable. They could not turn their eyes without perceiving traces of tigers, nor move a step without meeting swarms of gnats and other insects: insomuch that the stings of the one, and the apprehension of the other, prevented them from resting at night, though sore fatigued in the day-time. Issuing from the woods into the open plain, they found themselves surrounded by continuous marshes occasioned by the inundations of the river Bermejo, which, deserting its channel, spreads to the extent of five leagues. A vast plain, white with waters, presented itself to their eyes. By the number of difficulties you may judge how great must have been the courage of the Fathers, who not only endured them unrepiningly themselves, but by their example inspired patience into their Indian companions. Vanquished by none of the asperities of the way they all persevered in their journey, till they reached the territories of the Abipones.

When two leagues distant from their stations, fearing that the Abipones would take them for enemies, they halted awhile in that place, attended with guards, whose flight was more apprehended by the Fathers than an attack from the Abipones; for they well knew that the Mataràs trembled at the very name of these savages, and were half dead with fear at the idea of being so near them. The eloquence of the Fathers was scarce sufficient to do away their fears. To ascertain that all was safe, it was intrusted to Father Cerqueira to go forward with two companions, and endeavour to find out some method of presenting himself to the Abipones and entering their hordes, without being suspected of hostile intentions. The Father had scarcely gone a league when he met a troop of two hundred Abipones, who had been apprized, by their emissaries, of the arrival of foreigners. Approaching them, of his own accord, he spoke to the savages in the Tonocotè language, which many of the Abipones, at that time, were acquainted with. "You are greatly mistaken," said he, "if you imagine that I am alarmed at seeing you, which is the very thing that I most desire. After crossing immense wildernesses, and struggling through an hundred dangers for your sake, I am here at last. Do not take me for an enemy, nor cherish unkindly feelings towards me. Behold I come unarmed to teach you the way to happiness. If you have your own welfare at heart, do not reject the Author of it in me, but rather look upon me as a friend, and as the messenger of the great Creator of all things." The savages, satisfied by this harangue, exchanged threats for welcomes, and emulated one another in showing civilities to him whom at first they had surrounded with arms. The Father took advantage of this happy disposition in his favour, and informed them that another Father, of the same mind as himself, remained a short way behind with a few companions, and that he was coming laden with scissars, hooks, needles, and glass-beads, with which he intended liberally to remunerate those who would listen to the law of God. The Cacique of the neighbouring horde, instigated by the expectation of these trifling gifts, commanded his son, with a proper attendance, to bring Father Pastòr speedily to him. On his approach he was received in the neighbouring horde with public marks of rejoicing, and a festive percussion of the lips, and accosted by the name of the Great Father. After explaining the reasons of his coming, he distributed amongst those present, the pins, and other gifts above-mentioned. Food was then produced, which the guests, in spite of their hunger, would gladly have been excused from tasting; for it consisted of stinking fish, with no other sauce than the good-will of the givers. But the Fathers, that they might not appear to despise this savage delicacy, forced themselves to taste some of it, though against their stomachs. The next day, Father Pastòr, planting a cross in the ground, dedicated that land to Christ, and performed divine service in a tent, at the conclusion of which, he led round the Abipones, in the manner of supplicants, and taught them to kneel before the cross. The savages behaved wonderfully well on this occasion, listening with attentive ears and minds to the preacher whilst he explained to them the reasons of his coming, and the heads of the holy religion. Caliguila, then chief Cacique of that nation, greatly approved of their words, and conducted both Fathers, with much honour, to his horde on the opposite shore of the Bermejo. There they were received with joyful acclamations, and eagerly attended to, whilst they endeavoured to instruct the savages in the Christian faith, and to instil into their minds a sense of religion. The report of their arrival spreading throughout the neighbourhood, the concourse of strangers increased every day. Caliguila permitted our religion to be promulgated amongst his people. He publicly declared that the Fathers were at liberty to build a little church, to baptize infants, and to instruct them in the ordinances of Christianity; with this condition, that the young men were not to be detained before and after noon in long prayers and ceremonies, lest inactivity and sedentary habits should damp their martial ardour, and lessen their dexterity in the use of arms. But the Fathers denied that this alacrity and military knowledge were destroyed by the exercises of piety, and this they proved by the example of the Spanish youth. Caliguila, however, besought the Fathers in the name of the rest, that they would allow the boys always to carry a bow and arrows, even during divine service, that they might never run the risk of being endangered by a sudden attack from the enemy whilst unprovided with arms. This proposal they willingly acceded to, as it contained nothing repugnant to the laws of Christianity. But the Fathers had occasion repeatedly to warn the savages, who still savoured of their ancient superstitions, from the performance of their old rites of sepulture and divination.

The conditions on both sides being accepted, the cross which they had made of a lofty palm tree, was erected in that place with many reverential ceremonies. The Abipones were instructed in the heads of religion, in daily assemblies, all their savage customs and notions extirpated, and persons of every age fortified against the artifices of the jugglers. Father Pastòr, seeing an aged female of this profession on the point of death, vainly endeavoured to administer baptism to her. The obstinate old woman withstood the earnest exhortations of the father, whether he promised her the eternal joys of Heaven, or threatened her with torments from the evil spirit. She replied, with a laugh, that she had little occasion to fear the evil demon, with whom she had been familiar so many years. But others of better understanding began to believe what the Fathers told them, and openly to distrust the arts and words of the jugglers. To sum up all, by continual perseverance they wrought so much, that in a few weeks, they joyfully beheld something like Christianity beginning to flourish amongst these savages.

Father Cerqueira returning to the Mataràs, Juan Pastòr redoubled his efforts. Though enfeebled by age, and with strength by no means athletic, he built a little hut of sticks and straw, and plastered it over with mud. In a short time, he wrote out with much labour, an epitome of the Abiponian tongue; of this vocabulary, when I was there, nothing but the memory remained. But alas! these flourishing hopes of the improvement of the Abipones were all destroyed by an unexpected messenger, who called Juan Pastòr home on urgent business. Nor was there at that time any one to supply his place, so great was the scarcity of priests of our order. Father Lozano, in his History of Chaco, says, that Pastòr was sent to Europe to treat of the affairs of the province in the courts of Rome and Madrid, and that he had collected out of various countries, and intended to bring into Paraguay, the number of Jesuits necessary for the settling of so many savages. But just as he was going to set sail with his apostolical supplies, he received letters from the Royal Senate, at Madrid, prohibiting him from carrying any foreigners into Paraguay. In consequence of which he was obliged to send back the other priests into their native countries, and with a very few Spaniards, for the most part young men, and according to our established rule, unfit to be ordained for many years, sailed to Paraguay, still labouring under the want of priests for so great a number of colonies. This decree of the rulers of Madrid, excluding all foreign priests from Paraguay, was certainly extremely disadvantageous to the Spaniards themselves. For if those German, Italian, and Flemish Jesuits had arrived in Paraguay, doubtless, by their labours, the Abipones, Tobas, and Mocobios would have been induced to submit to the authority of the King of Spain, and to receive the Catholic religion; whilst, left for nearly a century in their savage state, they over-ran the whole province with hostile, and generally victorious arms.

But when, from her decreased population, Spain could no longer supply priests sufficient for the vast provinces of America, the court of Madrid not only invited foreign Jesuits whom they had formerly excluded from Paraguay, but even had them carried thither at the expense of the government, and to the great advantage of the monarchy. It would be endless to mention, individually, all the Italians, Flemings, and Germans, who, for many years, have rendered signal service to the Spanish monarchy, and the Christian religion, in Paraguay and the other provinces of Spanish America, in our times. This honour has sometimes been envied to foreigners, but never denied them.

CHAPTER XII. A COLONY FOUNDED FOR THE MOCOBIOS AFTERWARDS THE OCCASION OF ABIPONIAN COLONIES.

The Spaniards, weakened by daily slaughters, were extremely desirous of procuring a peace with the savages, whom, for so many years, they had proved unable to vanquish by arms. Instructed by the experience of other nations, they were persuaded that the friendship of the Abipones and Mocobios could never be either obtained, or preserved, unless these people surrendered themselves to our instructions in civilization and religion. And nothing was more desired by the Jesuits, than the discovery of some means whereby the savages might be induced to inhabit the colonies founded for them. The Royal Governors of cities were liberal in their offers of assistance; but they seldom, or in a very limited manner, fulfilled their promises. Satisfied when the Abipones were driven by our means, into a new town, and kept from plunder, they left the care of feeding and clothing them entirely to us. They thought it a mighty performance to build a few huts of wood and mud in a new colony, to serve as chapels and dwelling-houses for us and the Indians. These being completed in a day or two, by the hasty labours of the soldiers, they sent high-flown letters both to the Viceroy of Peru, and the court of Madrid, in which they declared themselves the founders of a new town, and the conquerors of a savage nation. But if those worthy Governors were really solicitous for the safety of the province committed to their care, and the firm establishment of the Indians whom they had delivered to our instructions, they should have made a point of furnishing every new colony with herds of oxen and flocks of sheep, with axes and other agricultural instruments, lest the savage inhabitants, from want of meat for daily consumption, of wool for weaving garments, and of ploughs for daily use, should be obliged to subsist by plunder or hunting, to wander without the colony, return to their native woods, and, destitute of all necessaries, to declare, that they looked upon war as more to their advantage than such a peace. But of this subject I shall treat more fully in another place. The city of Sta. Fè formerly cultivated, more than any of the rest, the friendship of the Abipones and Mocobios, some troops of whom, on the strength of a peace established between them, stationed themselves in the plains adjacent to the city, and were permitted to enter the market-place for the purpose either of buying what they needed, or of disposing of what they had taken from the other Spaniards, with whom they were still at variance. They frequently visited our college. By daily intercourse with the Spaniards their ferocity gradually disappeared, and Aletin and Chitalin, chief Caciques of the Mocobios, were rendered so tractable by the presents and conversation of the Jesuits, that they refused not to be instructed in the holy religion along with their people. The Spaniards and Jesuits thought they should be well repaid for their labours, could they but induce a nation so formidable for numbers and military valour, to submit to God and the King. A colony was founded by Father Francisco Burges Navarro, a few leagues from the city, and distinguished by the name of St. Xavier. At first it only contained twenty families, but received such accessions from multitudes of fresh comers, that it increased beyond the expectation of all. As they were but a few in the beginning, the Fathers, by the liberality of the Spanish, but still more of the Guarany towns, were enabled so fully to satisfy, not only the necessities, but even the desires of the savages, that, deserting their predatory habits, they all rejoiced in their fortune, and instigated their countrymen, who dwelt more towards the North, to embrace the same kind of life. The other Mocobios without the colony of St. Xavier, who, scorning the example of their countrymen, still continued to rove up and down their own territories, received a complete overthrow from Barreda, a few being slain, and about two hundred taken prisoners. Those who survived this slaughter, fled for fear, to the colony of St. Xavier, whither, likewise, the excellent Barreda afterwards sent many of his captives.

The colony, as it increased in the number of its inhabitants, made great progress in religious knowledge. Affairs assumed an extremely favourable aspect, much more so than, from the ferocity of the savages, could a short while before have been expected. Their native customs were exterminated; whatever savoured of barbarism and superstition was abolished, and succeeded by virtues of every kind. Persons of all ages received religious instruction and baptism, whenever they proved themselves worthy of it. They were as obedient in performing whatever was enjoined them, as docile in believing whatever they heard. Accustomed to spears and arrows, they nevertheless accounted it a pleasure to handle the plough and the axe, and to employ themselves in tilling the fields and in building houses. Two schools were opened, in the one of which children learnt the arts of reading and writing, and in the other were instructed in music, and taught to play upon the musical instruments used in churches. One of their masters was Father Florian Pauke, a Silesian, by whose instructions many were rendered musicians and singers, and formed an agreeable addition to divine service. This being known throughout the province, the Mocobian musicians were invited to the cities of Buenos-Ayres and Sta. Fè, where they chaunted mass and vespers, accompanied by a full band of instruments. The sweet symphony excited the admiration of all the Spaniards, and even drew tears from many of them, when they thought of the terror which, a few years before, the parents of the young musicians had inspired them with, whenever their savage trumpets and loud shouts were heard in repeated assaults.

I have no sort of doubt, that both the commencement and progress of the fresh colony, under God, were chiefly owing to the exertions and good example of Aletin and Chitalin. The former, who was remarkable for the gentleness of his disposition and for natural probity, never neglected any thing conducive to the improvement of his people. He was always the first to attend divine service in the morning, and the holy institutions for teaching Christianity at mid-day. Standing by the little chapel with a brazen bell in his hand, he called to the performance of their religious duties, those very people, whom he had formerly animated by sound of trumpet to slaughter the Spaniards. If any violation of integrity came under his notice, he either immediately corrected it himself, or requested one of the Fathers to do so, whom he always honoured with the promptest obedience, and manifested the utmost alacrity in serving. In this alone he claimed pre-eminence above the rest, that, though the eldest of them all, he ever laboured the most both at home and abroad. Chitalin, who was more illustrious amongst his own countrymen for high birth and military fame, possessed such acuteness of intellect as occasioned Father Bonenti, the companion of Father Burges, to say we had the greatest reason to thank God, that this Indian Chitalin was devoid of book learning: for were this not the case, he of himself would be sufficient to deceive all mankind. But though of a very lively temper, in the prime of his years, arrogant, and proud of military fame, he submitted to the divine law and the will of the Fathers, and by so d