[204] Domingo Martinez de Irala.
Those among the Carios who had escaped this conflict fled to another
Indian chief, named Thabere,[205] and the village which entertained them
is called Juberich Sabaije.[206] It is at one hundred and forty miles
distance from Carieba, and we could neither pursue them, nor make that
journey, because the whole way they had passed they had wasted far and
near with fire, in order that we might not find anything to eat; but
we remained fourteen days at Carieba, where we healed the wounded and
rested the while.
[205] Tabaré.
[206] Yeruquihaba.
Then we went again to our town, Noster Signora Desumsion, in order to be
enabled to sail up the river and seek out the aforesaid place, Juberich
Sabaije, where the Indian chief Thabere lived.
When we came to our town, Noster Signora Desumsion, we also remained
there fourteen days, in order to provide ourselves with all sorts
of victual and ammunition for the journey. Our commander now took
reinforcements with him--Christians and Indians--because many had been
wounded and many were ill.
We then went up the river Paraboe[207] to our enemies' town, Juberich
Sabaije, with nine Bergentin ships and two hundred canoes and one
thousand five hundred Indians. According to the Jeperis it was forty-six
miles distant from Noster Signora desumsion to Juberich Sabaije, whither
our enemies, the Carieba, had fled.
[207] Paraguai.
On the way thither the chief of the Carios, the same who had betrayed
the town, met us; and he brought with him one thousand Carios to aid
us against the aforesaid Thabere.[208] Now, when our commander, Martin
Domingo Eijolla,[209] had assembled all these people together at two
miles distance from Juberich Sabaije, he sent two Carios Indians to
their enemies in the town to warn them that the Christians were there
again; and to tell them that they should return to their country,
each of them to his wife and children, and should be obedient to the
Christians and serve them again, as they had done before, and if they
refused we would drive them all out of the country.
[208] Tabaré.
[209] Domingo Martinez de Irala.
Thereupon the chief Cario, Thabere,[208] answered that they should tell
the Christian chiefs that he knew neither them nor the Christians, and
would put us Christians to death; indeed they severely beat our two
Indians and told them to disappear very quickly out of their camp else
they would kill them.
The two messengers came back to our commander, and brought him the
tidings how they had been treated. Thereupon Martin Domingo Eijolla was
at one accord with us, and we advanced against our enemy, Thabere,[210]
and the Carios, in order of battle, dividing our army into four parts.
[210] Tabaré.
We came to a river called Sthuesia,[211] which is as wide as the river
Danube in our land, half the height of a man deep, and in some places
even deeper, and it becomes at times very great and causes much harm in
the country, and by reason of such inundation it is impossible to travel
through the country.
[211] This may be the river Xejuy, or the Ipané, affluents of the
river Paraguai.
As we had to cross this river, our enemies being on the other side with
their camp, they resisted us and did us a great deal of harm in the
crossing, so that I even believe that none of us had come out of it with
his life but for the grace of God which was beforehand on our side and
but for the guns that we had.
So God Almighty gave us His divine grace that we crossed the water by
His divine benediction, and landed on the other side. Now, when the
enemies saw that we had passed, they fled at once towards their town,
which was half a mile from the river, but we, seeing it, pursued them
with all our forces and came to the town as quickly as they themselves
and besieged it, so that none should enter or come out of it; we also
armed ourselves forthwith with our guns and pikes, and by the grace
of God Almighty we had only to stay from the morning till night to
overpower them, and become masters over them. We took the place, and
slaughtered much people.
However, before we attacked them, our commander ordered us not to kill
the women and children, but to take them prisoners; and we dutifully
obeyed his commands. But all the men we could get hold of had to die;
yet many escaped by flight, and our friends, the Jeperi,[212] took
nearly one thousand heads from our enemies, the Carios.
[212] Yapirús. This word is sometimes rendered in the original
"Jeperus".
After all this had happened, those Carios who had escaped came with
their chief, Thaberus,[213] and several other chiefs to our commander,
and entreated him for mercy that their wives and children might be
restored them, and then they would become friends again with us, and
serve us faithfully.
[213] Tabaré.
Thereupon our commander promised them to be merciful, and took them into
favour, and ever afterwards they continued our good friends so long as I
remained in the country. This war with the Carios lasted for one year
and a half, _i.e._, that we never had peace with one another, and that
we were never sure of them; and this happened in the year 1546.
Afterwards we again went to Noster Signora desumsion,[214] and remained
there fully two years. But when during all this time no ships or
tidings arrived from Spain, our commander, Martin Domingo Eijolla,[215]
assembled all the people and asked them if it pleased them that he
should go with some people into the country to inquire if gold and
silver were to be found. The people answered him to do it in God's name.
[214] The town of La Asuncion.
[215] Domingo Martinez de Irala.
Accordingly he collected together three hundred and fifty Spaniards, and
asked them if they would accompany him, provided he found them in all
necessaries for the journey, such as Indians, horses, and clothing; they
declared their willingness to go. Then he had the chiefs of the Carios
assembled, and asked them if two thousand of their number would go with
him. They declared themselves ready to go and be obedient unto him.
With such friendly accord on both sides our commander, Martin Domingo
Eijolla, in a little more than two months went with this folk in the
year 1548 up the river Paraboe,[216] with seven Bergentin ships and two
hundred canoes. Those of the people who could not go in the ships or
canoes went on foot by land with the one hundred and thirty horses.[217]
And coming by land and by water all together to a round and high
mountain, called S. Fernando, where the aforesaid Peyembas[218] live,
our commander there ordered the five ships and the canoes to go back to
Noster Signora Desumsion. The other two Bergentin ships he left there
at S. Fernando, with fifty Spaniards, under the command of Peter
Diess[219]; he gave them also victuals and other necessaries for one
year, and ordered them to wait there till he returned from the country,
that the fate which befell the good gentleman Johann Eijollas[220]
and his companions, all of whom were so dreadfully killed by the
Peyembas,[221] might not also happen to him and his folk. God have
mercy upon them all. I have narrated this before.
[216] Paraguai.
[217] The expedition was composed of 250 Spaniards, and twenty-seven
of them were cavalry.
[218] Payaguás.
[219] Ruy Diaz.
[220] Juan de Ayolas; cf. _supra_, p. 24.
[221] Payaguás. The Sierra de San Fernando is a small ridge of
mountains extending from 17° to 21° of south lat.
Then our commander went straight on with three hundred Christians, one
hundred and thirty horses, and three hundred Carios, for eight full days
without finding any people at all. On the ninth day we found a nation
called Naperus, who have nothing to eat but meat and fish; they are tall
and powerful; their wives have their nakedness covered, and are not at
all beautiful.
From the aforesaid mountain S. Fernando to this nation the distance is
thirty-six miles. Here we passed the night, and then went travelling
seven days more, when we came to a people called Maipai.[222] They are
a very numerous people, and have subjects who must plough the land and
fish for them, and generally do whatever they are ordered, just as at
home the peasants are subject to the noble lords. This nation is well
provided with Turkish corn, mandeochade, mandepore parpii, padades,
mandues,[223] bachkeku, and other roots useful for eating. They also
have deer, Indian sheep, ostriches, ducks, geese, poultry, and other
fowl.
[222] Mepenes, who are Abipones.
[223] These victuals are: maize, manioc, potatoes, sweet potatoes,
pea-nuts, and perhaps bananas, which the author calls "bachkeku".
Their forests are full of honey out of which wine is prepared and other
things are made, and the farther you go into the country the more
fertile you will find it. They have all the year round Turkish corn in
the fields, and other roots as well. Their sheep, which are in a
wild state, they use as we do our horses, for riding and carrying
purposes.[224] I myself, having one foot ailing, once rode on such a
sheep for more than forty miles, though not in this journey. In Peru
goods are conveyed on these sheep as on horses at home.
[224] These are the Peruvian llamas, and guanacos, from which the
Indians took the wool, and wove rough cloth.
These Maijeaijs[225] are tall, erect, and warlike, giving all their
care to warlike affairs. Their wives are very beautiful and have their
nakedness covered. They do no work in the fields; the man has to look
after the food. Neither at home does the woman anything else but spin
wool, and prepare food, and also what pleases the man and other good
companions who pray her to do it, etc. We won't say anything more
about it; he who likes to see it, shall go thither, and if he does not
otherwise believe it, he will find it out for himself.
[225] Mbaiás.
When we were not above half a mile distant from this people they met
us on the way, where there was a small clearing, where they told our
commander that we should remain for the night, and they would bring us
whatsoever we had need of, but they did this out of malice; and to win
more confidence, they presented our commander with four silver crowns to
wear on the head, and they gave him besides six silver plates, each of
which was one and a half span long and half a span wide.
These plates they bind on the forehead as ornaments, as we have told
before. They also presented our commander with three beautiful young
women. However, whilst we remained in that place, after supper we
stationed sentries, in order that the people might be on the alert for
the enemy, and afterwards we went to rest.
About midnight our commander lost his young wenches. In short, there was
great excitement in the camp for that reason, and as soon as the morning
dawned, our commander ordered that each of us should stand to his
quarters with his arms ready.
So the aforesaid Maijeaijs,[226] numbering twenty thousand, came to
attack us unawares, but they did not do us much harm. On the contrary,
in this conflict, more than one thousand of their men were left dead;
and they fled and we pursued them to their town, but we did not find
anything therein, not so much as their wives and children. Then our
commander, taking with him one hundred and fifty gunners and two
thousand five hundred Indian Carios, ordered us to follow the Maijeaijs,
which we did for three days and two nights together, taking no more rest
than the time necessary for our dinner and four or five hours for sleep
at night.
[226] Mbaiás.
The third day we suddenly came upon the Maijaijs,[227] with their women
and children gathered together in a forest with them; these were not the
people we sought, but their friends. They did not fear at all our coming
to them. Nevertheless, the innocent had to pay for the guilty, for
when we lighted upon them we killed many, and took over three thousand
prisoners, men, women, and children; and, if it had been day-time
instead of night, none of them would have escaped, for there was a
goodly number of people gathered together on the hill, at the summit of
which was a great wood.
[227] Mbaiás.
I, for my part, in this skirmish, captured over nineteen persons, men
and women, who were not at all old--I have always had more esteem for
young than for old people--also I took Indian mantles and other things
besides as my share of the booty. Then we returned to our camp and
remained there for eight days, because there was now plenty of victual.
The distance from these Maijaijs to Mount S. Fernando, where we left our
two ships, is seventy miles. Afterwards we went further, to a people
called Zchemui,[228] who are subject to the aforesaid Maijaijs, as here
at home the peasants are subject to their landlords.
[228] Perhaps Chanés. To the tribe which Schmidt calls Zchemui, and to
all the other tribes mentioned in his voyage north in search of _El
Dorado_, he gives such queer and extraordinary names, that it is
impossible to interpret them. De Barcia, the Spanish translator from
the Latin version, who consulted other documents, declares that they
are unintelligible, and generally puts down the equivalents as given
by the Latin translator. The last named of those tribes is the one
that Schmidt calls Machkokios, on arriving at the Salinas del Jaurú
in lat. 16° S. Not far from there he finds another river, to which he
gives the same name. This was the river Guapay. He goes across it
and meets Spaniards, who tell him they belong to the Gobernacion
(Government) of Pero Anzures. Irala stops there and sends messengers
to the Governor of Peru, La Gasca, to whom he offers his services.
La Gasca refuses them, and orders him back to the Gobernacion of the
River Plate.
The translators, who in other languages have tried to interpret these
names, have done it in an arbitrary manner. The unintelligible names
are the following: Peihoni, Tohanna, Symani, Barchkoni, Zeyhanni,
Karchkoni, Siberi, Peijesseni, Jeronimus, Maigeni, Karchkockies,
Marchkockios and rio Machkasies. None of them are Indian names.
On the way we found many fields sown with Turkish corn and other roots,
of which one can eat all the year round, for before one crop is stored
another is already ripe for harvest, and when this too is gathered it is
time to sow a third, so that there is always abundance of food.
We came to a little open space belonging to the Zchemui,[229] and, when
they saw us, they all fled away. We remained there for two days, and
found in that place, which is four miles from the Maijaijs,[230] plenty
to eat.
[229] Chanés.
[230] Mbaiás.
From thence we went in two days six miles to a nation named Thohonna; we
did not find any men here, but plenty to eat. They also are subjects to
the Maijaijs. Departing thence, we travelled for six days, and did not
find any people; but on the seventh we came to a nation called Peihoni.
They were gathered in great numbers, and their chief came to meet us
with a great multitude of people in a peaceful way. This chief besought
our commander that we should not enter their place, but that we should
stay outside in the place where he came to meet us. Our commander,
however, would not agree to that, and, will he nill he, straightway
entered their town; here we found plenty of meat and food, such as hens,
geese, deer, sheep, ostriches, parrots, _kuniglin_,[231] etc., not to
mention Turkish corn and other roots and fruits, all in great abundance.
But water is scarce, and there is no gold or silver. So we did not ask
for that, for fear that the other nations living further up should flee
away before we came to them.
[231] These were probably guinea-pigs; cf. Acosta, _History of the
Indies_ (Hakl. Soc.), p. 284.
With these Peihoni we stayed four days, and our commander asked them
many things about the nature and condition of the country.
From the Thohonna to these Peihoni the distance is twenty-four miles.
Departing from there we obtained from the Peihoni an interpreter and
guide, who showed us the road, in order that we might get water to
drink, for there is great scarcity of water in this country. At four
miles distance we came to a people called Maijegoni, and stayed one day
there, and again asked for an interpreter and guide to show us the way.
They were willing to do this, and they gave us our necessaries.
Departing from these we went further for eight miles and came to a
people called Marroni. They are a very numerous people, and received us
very well. We abode here two days with them, and received information of
the country. They also promised to show us the way. Then we went further
for four miles to a nation called Parroni, who have not much to eat.
They number three or four thousand fighting-men, and we remained only
one day amongst them.
From there we went twelve miles further to a nation named Symanni, where
a great multitude of people were gathered together on a high mountain.
Their village is surrounded with a thorny wood like a wall.[232] They
received us with their bows and arrows, and gave us tardes[233] to eat.
But it did not last long with them; they were soon compelled to leave
the place, but they burnt all down before leaving. We, however, found
enough to eat in the fields, and remained for three days there, seeking
for them in the woods and in the fields.
[232] Probably a cactus-hedge.
[233] Darts or javelins.
From there we went four days and came to a people called Barchkonis.
These did not await our coming, but as soon as we approached their town
betook themselves to flight; yet they could not escape us. We asked them
for food, and they brought us hens, geese, sheep, ostriches, deer, and
other necessaries, with which we were well satisfied; and we remained
four days among them to learn about the country.
From there we went twelve miles in three days to a people called
Zeyhannis. These had but little food, for the locusts had eaten up
everything; so we remained only one night there, and then went four
days' journey, twenty miles further, to a people called Karchkonis.
There also the locusts had been at work, but had not done so much harm
as in other places. We only abode one day among them, and took knowledge
of the country. They also told us that for a distance of thirty miles we
should find no water until we came to a people called Siberis.
We then took two Indians, who showed us the way, and in six days we came
to these Siberis; but many of our people died from thirst, although we
took water with us, on the journey from the Karchkonis. But in this
journey we found in certain places a root above ground, having great,
wide leaves[234] wherein the water remains and cannot get out, nor is
it consumed by them, exactly as if it were in a vase. One such root
contains nearly half a measure of water.
[234] The author uses the word _Wurzel_ here and in other places for
plant. Perhaps the Traveller's tree (_Urania speciosa_), with its
graceful crown of plantain-like leaves, is here referred to.
So we came, at two o'clock in the night, to the aforesaid Siberis, who
would at once have fled with their wives and children. But our commander
caused them to be told, through an interpreter, that they should remain
in peace and quiet in their houses, and that they should not fear us.
These Siberis also suffered from a great scarcity of water, for they
have nothing else to drink. As it had not rained for three months they
were preparing a beverage out of a root called mandepore,[235] after
this manner: they take the said root and pound it in a mortar, and the
juice they obtain from it is like milk; but, if you have water at hand,
you may also prepare wine of this root.
[235] Mandioca or Manioc.
In that place there was only one spring, where we had to station a guard
in order to look after the water and to give in a report on it. And our
commander saw fit to select me for this duty, that I might give out the
water after the measure that he had ordered, for the dearth was so great
that one would not ask for gold, or silver, or eatables, or anything
else, but for water. In this way I gained favour and grace among
noblemen and common folk alike, for I was not too sparing of it; at the
same time I had to be careful that we did not run short. There is not
to be found in all this land a running stream, but all the water is
collected in cisterns. These Siberis also wage war with other Indians
for the sake of water.
With this people we remained two days, not knowing what to do, whether
we should advance or go back; we therefore drew lots to decide the
question. Meanwhile our commander asked the Siberis about the country,
and they answered that we should have to go six days to reach a people
called Peijssenos, and that on our way we should find two rivulets of
drinkable water, and also the aforesaid Cardes.[236]
[236] From the Spanish word _Cardos_--"thistle"--the shoots of which
are eaten and quench the thirst.
We then began our journey, and took some Siberis with us to show the
way. Three days' journey from their place these Siberis fled away one
night, and we did not see them any more. So we had to find out the
way for ourselves, and afterwards came to the Peijssenos, who put
themselves on their defence, and refused to become friends with us. But
this did not help them much; by the grace of God we mastered them and
took their town, and put them to flight. However, we made several
prisoners in this skirmish, who told us how that they had had in their
town three Spaniards, one of whom was named Hieronimus, who had been a
drummer of Petro Manchossa.[237] These three Spaniards had been left
sick there by the late Johann Eijollas,[238] amongst the aforesaid
Peijssenos.
[237] Don Pedro de Mendoza.
[238] Juan de Ayolas.
The Peijssenos killed these three Spaniards four days before we arrived,
after they had heard of our coming through the Siberis; they were,
however, well punished by us for it, for we remained fourteen days in
their town, and sought them out and found them, but not all of them, in
a certain wood. We killed all these, and took prisoners the rest, the
lesser part, who escaped. Those whom we took prisoners were very willing
in showing us the country. Then our commander took note of all their
sayings, which were of good avail. Namely, they told us that we would
have four days' journey, or sixteen miles to go, before reaching a
people called Maigenos.
When we reached the Maigenos, they put themselves on their defence,
and refused to be friendly with us. Their town was on a little hill,
surrounded by a thick, thorny hedge, as high as a man might reach with
his sword. We Christians attacked this town, along with the Carios, on
two sides. But in this assault twelve Christians and several of the
Carios were killed before we won the place.
Now, seeing that we were masters of their town, the Maigenos burned it
down themselves, and speedily fled away, several of whom, as may be
readily believed, had to die. Three days afterwards, five hundred Carios
rose secretly, we knowing nothing about it, and took their bows and
arrows, and having gone two or three miles from our camp, met the
Maigenos who were fleeing. And these two people fought so desperately,
that the Carios lost over three hundred men, and the Maigenos so many,
that it is not possible to describe it, for they covered the space of
a whole mile. But the Carios sent messengers to our commander, and
besought him to come to their rescue because they were lying in the
forest, and were unable to advance or retire, being beleaguered on all
sides by the Maigenos.
As soon as our commander heard of this, without a moment's delay he
caused the horses, one hundred and fifty Christians, together with one
thousand of our Carios, to be sent, the other people remaining in
the camp to defend it, if necessary, in order that our enemies, the
Maigenos, might not enter and overthrow it in our absence.
So there went out to help our friends, the Carios, with the abovesaid
horses, one hundred and fifty Christians and one thousand Carios. But as
soon as the Maigenos saw us coming, they broke up their camp and fled
away swiftly, but we pursued them, without, however, being able to
overtake them. How it befell them at the last, when we returned to the
town whence we had come, will be presently narrated.