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.