to the disorder, dismounted and rushed into the forest after them. He
called to them that it was nothing more than a tiger had caused the
confusion, that he and his Spaniards were their friends, and that they
were all brothers and subjects of His Majesty, and that all should
advance together and drive the enemy from the country. The Indians,
seeing the governor in person among them, and hearing all he said,
became appeased, and descended the hill with him. It is certain that
things were at one time so critical as to endanger our men, because, if
the Indians had fled and returned to their homes, they would never again
have had confidence in the Spaniards. The governor then summoned the
chiefs by name, and told them to follow him in perfect security, and
have no fear. "If the Spaniards were about to kill you," he added, "you
were yourselves to blame, for you took up arms, and made them believe
you intended to kill them; let it be clearly understood that the tiger
was the cause of this panic, and let us all be friends once more. You
know that the war we are about to engage in is in your interest and on
your behalf only, for the Guaycurús have never seen the Spaniards, or
had any trouble or grievance with them. We are proceeding against them
to protect and defend you."
Yielding to the governor's entreaties and encouraging words, the
Guaranís returned, and placed themselves under his orders, though still
frightened. They said they had been thrown into confusion by the fear
that the enemy was upon them, and had fled for protection into the midst
of the Spaniards, and this was the only cause of their fear. When the
chiefs were pacified, all the people came together, without anyone
having been killed. When all were re-united, the governor ordered that
henceforth the Indians should pass to the rear, and the Spaniards should
march in front, the cavalry being in advance of all, so that the Indians
might see with what goodwill the Spaniards marched against the enemy,
and lay aside any fears they might still have left; for the Spaniards
in that province depended entirely upon the Indians for their means of
subsistence, and without this would have had to abandon it altogether.
So they marched for two hours after sunset, and halted to sup under some
trees on the provisions they carried with them.
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIFTH.
_How the governor and his people overtook the enemy._
AT eleven o'clock at night, when the Indians and Spaniards were resting,
without light or fire for fear of betraying their presence to the
Guaycurús, one of the spies, who had been sent to observe the enemy's
movements, came into camp, and reported that he had seen them setting up
their village. The governor was much pleased on hearing this news, as he
had feared that they might have heard the reports of the firing that had
taken place in the confusion of the night. Having learned from this spy
that the spot they had fixed upon for their settlement was three leagues
off, he gave orders to strike the camp, and march slowly forward, in
order not to arrive at the place too early, so as to be ready to begin
the attack at daybreak. As a security to the friendly Indians, and to
distinguish them from the enemy, he ordered them all to paint white
crosses on their chests and shoulders, so that the Spaniards might
recognise them as friends, and not kill them by mistake for Guaycurús.
Although this precaution was adopted, it did not avail much in the
obscurity of night, when friend and foe became mixed up in hand to hand
fighting, and the quick blows of the sword could not be arrested.
We marched till break of day, and then reached the enemy's habitations,
waiting till daylight before delivering the attack. In order that
the horses might not, by their neighing, give the enemy warning, the
governor ordered their mouths to be filled with grass; meanwhile the
Indians were directed to surround the enemy's position, leaving a
passage for his escape to the mountains, so that the carnage might not
be too great.
While waiting in expectation, the Guaranís were almost paralysed with
fear; nothing would induce them to begin the attack, notwithstanding the
entreaties and persuasion of the governor. Soon after the drums of the
Guaycurús were heard beating to arms, and challenging anybody to come
and fight them, saying they were few in numbers, but more valiant than
any other tribe in the land; that they were masters of it, and of all
the animals contained in it; they were lords also of the rivers and the
fish. These people, who are accustomed to keep watch every night, a
little before daybreak came forward and threw themselves on the ground,
and in this position saw the host of our army, and the lighted fuses of
the arquebuses. And when they saw this they cried aloud, "Who are you
that dare come to our houses?" And a Christian who knew their language
answered: "I am Hector (this was his name) and I have come with my
people to barter (the corresponding word in their language meaning
revenge) the death of the Batates[323] whom you slaughtered." Then they
answered, "Cursed be your coming, for you shall be served as they were."
Having thus spoken, they threw the burning logs they held in their hands
at the Spaniards, and then rushed into their huts, seized their bows and
arrows, and attacked our people with such impetuosity and courage that
they appeared to make no account of them. The Indians who had come with
the governor showed great cowardice, and would have fled had they dared
to do so. Alvar Nuñez, seeing this, entrusted the artillery to Don Diego
de Barba; Captain Salazar was placed in command of the Spanish infantry
and Indians, these latter being in two divisions. He ordered the
breastplates to be put on the horses, and, thus arrayed in order of
battle, our forces charged the enemy with cries of "_Santiago!_" The
governor, on horseback, led the van, and cut down all that opposed him.
When the enemy saw the horses for the first time, a great fear fell upon
them, and they fled to the mountains as quickly as they could. Passing
through their village, they set fire to their houses, and these being
made of mats of rush and grass, caught fire at once, the flames
spreading to the others, about twenty in number, all portable, and each
having a length of five hundred paces. Their owners, numbering about
four thousand warriors, retired behind the smoke caused by the burning
houses, and whilst so concealed killed two Christians, and decapitated
twelve of our friendly Indians. This operation is performed by the aid
of two or three teeth of a fish called the _palometa_, which bites
fish-hooks in two. These teeth are attached to a small stick. The
Guaycurús, holding their prisoners by the hair of the head, pass this
instrument round their neck, and with a twist or two of the head,
completely sever it from the body, and carry it off by the hair. They
will perform this operation while they are running, as if it were the
easiest thing possible.[324]
[323]? Guatatas, _supra_, p. 142.
[324] Cf. _supra_, p. 55.
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SIXTH.
_How the governor pursued the enemy._
HAVING defeated the Guaycurús, the governor pursued them. As one of the
horsemen was following him, an Indian of the enemy seized hold of the
mare he was riding by the neck, and pierced her through and through with
three arrows he held in his hand; nor could they make him loose his hold
of the animal before they had killed him. If the governor had not been
present at this fight the victory would have been doubtful.
These Indians are very tall, swift of foot, valiant and strong. They are
Gentiles, having no fixed abode, and subsist by hunting and fishing. No
nation had ever conquered them before the Spaniards, and their idea is,
if anyone should vanquish them, to serve them as slaves. Their women are
allowed the right of delivering a prisoner who has fallen into their
hands, so that he shall neither be killed nor enslaved, and if he choose
to remain among them, he is treated as one of their own people. These
women have certainly more liberty than that bestowed on our women in
Spain by Queen Isabella, our Sovereign Lady. The governor and his
people, being tired of pursuing the enemy, returned to camp, and having
assembled his army, began his march towards Ascension, followed by the
Guaycurús a great distance, arms in hand; and the governor had much
trouble to keep his men together, and prevent them being cut down by
those of the enemy who had escaped in the fighting; for a Guaraní having
possessed himself of a feather, an arrow, or a mat of the enemy's, will
return home alone without taking the precaution of waiting for his
companions. In this way it happened that one thousand of the Guaranís
were caught and killed singly by about twenty Guaycurús. Four hundred
prisoners, men, women and children, were made in that expedition.
During the return march the horsemen speared a number of deer, and the
Indians were surprised to see the swiftness of the horses, which could
overtake the deer. They, too, killed very many with their arrows. At
four o'clock in the afternoon a halt was made under some large trees,
and they passed the night here, having stationed sentinels to keep a
good watch.
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEVENTH.
_How the governor and all his people returned to the town of
Ascension._
THE following day, in broad daylight, they set out in good order,
hunting as they marched, and a number of deer and ostriches were killed.
Some of the former were even killed by the Spaniards with their swords,
as they fled from the horsemen and Indians and sought refuge in the
ranks of the infantry. It was a strange and very pleasant sight to see
the chase that day. One hour-and-a-half before nightfall they arrived on
the river Paraguai, where the governor had left the two brigantines and
the canoes. And that day they began passing the men and horses over to
the other side, and continued this the following day from morn till
midday, by which time all had been ferried across, and the governor and
his people marched on to the town of Ascension, where he had left a
garrison of two hundred and fifty men, under the orders of Gonzalo de
Mendoza. This captain had made prisoners six Indians of the tribe of
Yapirús,[325] who are tall and valiant men, good warriors and runners.
They neither cultivate the land nor rear animals, but live exclusively
by the chase and fishing; they are enemies of the Guaranís and
Guaycurús. Gonzalo de Mendoza informed the governor that these Indians
had arrived the previous day, having crossed the Paraguai; and had said
that their tribesmen had heard of the war waged against the Guaycurús,
and that they and all the other tribes were dismayed on hearing of this,
and that their chief had sent them to make it known that they wished to
be friendly with the Christians, and to offer their help, should it
be wanted, against the Guaycurús. Gonzalo de Mendoza had suspected
treachery in all this, and that their real object was to spy out the
place; he had therefore detained them prisoners till he could satisfy
himself of their sincerity of purpose. The governor ordered them to be
brought at once before him, and having sent for a Spanish interpreter
who knew their language, questioned them separately as to the objects
of their coming. Having seen that it would be to the advantage of His
Majesty's service, he treated them kindly, and gave them many presents
for them and their chief, promising he would receive them into his amity
as subjects of His Majesty, and would protect and defend them, provided
that they desisted from making war on the Guaranís, who were vassals of
His Majesty, and that this had been the cause of the war he had made
against the Guaycurús; then he dismissed them, well satisfied.
[325] Cf. _supra_, pp. 54 _seqq._
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-EIGHTH.
_How the Indian Agazes broke the peace._
GONZALO DE MENDOZA, besides what has been related in the previous
chapter, also told the governor that the tribe of Agazes with whom a
peace had been made, that very night on which he had started on his
campaign against the Guaycurús, had come armed to set fire to the town,
and make war upon the Spaniards. These Indians, however, had been seen
by the sentries, who had sounded the alarm. Perceiving that they were
discovered, they had then taken to flight, and made a raid upon the
cultivated land and establishments of the Spaniards, from whom they had
taken a number of Guaraní women newly converted to Christianity. Since
then they had come every night to maraud and pillage the land, causing
much injury to the natives, and had thus broken the peace. The women
of their own tribe, whom they had given as hostages for their good
behaviour, had that same night of their arrival escaped, and were
believed to have informed their people that the town was short of
defenders, and that now was the time to kill the Christians. Following
the advice of these women they had begun the war, and, as they are wont
to do, had laid waste the dwellings of the Spaniards, where they kept
their provisions, and had carried away upwards of thirty Guaraní women.
The governor caused an inquiry to be made into this, and convoked the
monks, clergy, officers and captains, whom he informed of the acts of
the Agazes, and how they had broken faith, ordering them in the name of
His Majesty to give their opinion in writing as to what they advised
should be done, and to sign it with their names. And all agreed to
follow this advice, whatever it might be. Then, having discussed and
considered the affair thoroughly, they were all of one accord, that war
should be made with fire and sword to punish the Agazes for the wrongs
and injuries they had committed, and were still committing, in the
country. This opinion was unanimous, and signed by all.
In order still further to establish the criminality of their acts,
Alvar Nuñez ordered a judicial inquest to be held, and when this was
terminated he added it to four others previously entered against them
before his arrival. The Christians formerly resident in that country had
slain over one thousand of these Indians because of the losses they were
constantly inflicting upon them.
CHAPTER THE TWENTY-NINTH.
_How the governor set at liberty one of the captive Guaycurús, and
sent him to summon his fellow tribesmen._
HAVING proceeded against the Guaycurús as we have said, the governor
sent for the chiefs of the Guaranís who had marched against the
Guaycurús, and ordered them to bring before him all the prisoners they
had taken on that expedition, and that none should be concealed, under
a severe penalty. The Spaniards also brought theirs, and when all were
assembled, he told them His Majesty had ordered that none of those
Guaycurús should be enslaved, because all had not been done that ought
to have been done to ascertain their condition, and that His Majesty
would be rather pleased if these prisoners were given their liberty.
Among these captives was one of superior breeding and appearance, whom
the governor ordered to be set free, desiring him to summon all his
fellow tribesmen, because he had something to say to them in the name
of the king, and that if they wished he would protect them, and give
them presents, and so he let him go, giving him some presents; and he
departed, well satisfied, to his own people. Four days afterwards, he
returned accompanied by all his tribe, many of whom were badly wounded;
all came, leaving none behind.
CHAPTER THE THIRTIETH.
_How the Guaycurús came and submitted to His Majesty._
FOUR days after the departure of the prisoner, one Monday morning, he
arrived on the bank of the river, accompanied by all his tribe; and they
halted by a wood on the bank of the Paraguai. When the governor was
informed of it he sent several canoes across with some Christians and
interpreters to bring them to the town. Twenty of the Guaycurús having
crossed in the canoes, came before the governor, and squatted on one
foot in his presence, as they are accustomed to do. They spoke through
an interpreter, and said as follows: "We are the chiefs of the
Guaycurús, and our forefathers have always been at war with all the
tribes of this land--Guaranís, Ymperus,[326] Agazes, Guatatas, Naperús,
Mayas, and many others, whom we have hitherto always vanquished, and
no people has ever conquered us, and we never thought we should be
conquered by anyone. Now we have found others more valiant than
ourselves, and we have come to place ourselves in their power and be
their slaves. You are the chief of the Spaniards, command us and we will
obey your orders. The Guaranís know full well that they are not strong
enough to make war on us; we fear them not. They would never have dared
to interfere with us without the aid of the Spaniards. Our wives and
children are on the opposite bank and are ready to make their submission
as we have done. We speak in our own name and on behalf of all our
tribe. We have come to offer our submission to the King of the
Spaniards."
[326] Yapirús: cf. _supra_, p. 149.
CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FIRST.
_How the governor, after making peace with the Guaycurús, delivered
the prisoners to them._
HAVING heard what the envoys of the Guaycurús had said, the governor,
seeing that so redoubtable a people had come to place themselves in
his power with so much submission (a thing that caused much surprise
throughout the land), desired them to be informed, through interpreters,
that he had come by order of His Majesty to bring all the people to the
knowledge of Our Lord, to be Christians and vassals of His Majesty, and
to be well treated; if they ceased making war upon the Guaranís he would
protect and regard them as friends, and would treat them better than
other nations, and that he would restore all the captives taken from
them without ransom, both those taken by the Spaniards and Guaranís.
And this was thereupon done. When the Guaycurús had received them,
they affirmed once more their wish to become vassals of His Majesty,
promising obedience and submission, and that they would henceforth not
molest the Guaranís, and that they would bring whatever they took, to
the town for the provisionment of the Spaniards. Alvar Nuñez was much
pleased with their promises, and he distributed gifts and jewels among
the chiefs, and peace was cemented.
Since then they have always kept the peace, and whenever the governor
sent for them, hastened to obey his commands. Every eighth day they came
laden with venison and wild boar, roasted on _barbacoas_.[327] These
barbacoas are like gridirons, standing two palms high above the ground,
and made of light sticks. The flesh is cut into steaks and then laid
upon them and roasted. They also brought much fish and plenty of
other provisions, such as grease, linen mantles woven of a kind of
teasel,[328] dyed in bright colours; and skins of the tiger and tapir,
deer and other animals. When they came, the markets for the sale of all
these commodities lasted two days. The natives of the other side of the
river bartered with them; it was a very great market, and they (the
Guaycurús) behaved peacefully towards the Guaranís. These gave them, in
exchange for their commodities, maize, manioc, and mandubis; these last
are like hazel nuts or _chufas_, and grow near the ground[329]; they
also supplied them with bows and arrows. Two hundred canoes crossed the
river together for this market, laden with all these things; and it was
the finest thing in the world to see them cross. The celerity of their
movements is such that they sometimes collide with one another, and
all the merchandise falls into the water. Then the Indians to whom
this happens, and those awaiting them on the bank, burst into fits of
laughter, and the jokes and merriment continue all the time the market
is being held. They come to this market in full paint and in their
feathers, and all in this fine plumage are carried down the river, and
they vie one with the other who shall be the first across; and this is
the cause of their frequent collisions and upsets. In their marketing
they talk so loud and so much, that they cannot hear one another for the
noise, and all are very gay and jolly.
[327] _Barbacoa_, i.e., _parrillas_.
[328] There are several classes of teasel (_cardas_) in Paraguai. The
fibres of one of them (the _caraguatá_) are used instead of hemp and
thread.
[329] Pea-nuts.
CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SECOND.
_How the Apirús came and made a treaty of peace and submitted._
A FEW days after the departure of the six Apirús to return to their
tribe in accordance with the instructions of the governor, some of these
people arrived one Sunday morning on the bank of the river opposite
Ascension, and from the signs they made it was evident they wished to
cross. Thereupon Alvar Nuñez sent canoes to the other side to find out
what people they were. As the canoes touched the opposite bank the
Indians entered them and came over to the city. On presenting themselves
to the governor they said they were of the tribe of Apirús, and having
seated themselves on one foot in token of their mission being a peaceful
one, they stated they were the chiefs of that tribe, and had come to
make acquaintance with the chief of the Christians and to be friends
with him, and obey his orders.
The expedition against the Guaycurús had been noised through the land,
and had caused much fear among all the tribes, inasmuch as these
Indians, the most valiant and redoubtable of all in that country, should
have been attacked and defeated by the Christians. In proof of the
peace and amity they (the Apirús) were desirous of maintaining with the
Christians, they had brought some of their daughters, and entreated the
governor to accept them as hostages and as proofs of their goodwill and
friendship. In the presence of the captains and clergy, the governor
replied that he wished them to understand that he had come to that
country in order that its people might be brought to the true Christian
faith and become the subjects of His Majesty; he enjoined them to make
peace with the Guaranís, who had become vassals of the king, and he
promised if they would keep the peace and live in friendship with all
the natives of that land, that he would favour and protect them, and
allow them to come whenever they wished to the city of Ascension to
barter with the Christians and Indians residing there, as the Guaycurús
had been allowed to do since peace had been made with them. To make sure
of their loyalty, and to please them by showing the value he set on
their friendship, he consented to receive as hostages the women and
girls they had brought, entrusting them to the care of the monks and
clergy, in order that they might be instructed in the doctrines of
Christianity, and be taught good manners and customs. To all this the
Indians assented, and showed much pleasure and satisfaction at becoming
the king's vassals. Since that time they have behaved obediently,
and shown a readiness to obey the governor's orders. The interview
terminated, the Yapirús received many presents, and took their departure
well satisfied. These Indians never remain in one place more than three
days, but are continually engaged in hunting and fishing in order to
provide subsistence for their wives and families. These habits of life,
and their want of a fixed abode, rendered it impossible for the clergy
to teach them the Christian religion, for the necessities of their lives
prevented them from abandoning their nomadic habits, dependent as they
were upon these for the means of procuring food; if, on the other hand,
they were to be compelled to give up this mode of livelihood, they might
die of hunger. Hence it would be lost labour to teach them, nor could
the monks live with them, owing to the insecurity of remaining among a
people so little to be trusted.
CHAPTER THE THIRTY-THIRD.
_Of the judgment passed on the Agazes by the advice of the monks,
captains, and other officers of His Majesty._