COMMENCEMENT OF THE COLONY.
The Governor distinguished the colony he was founding with the name of
S. Carlos and the Rosary, that he might at the same time show his piety
to the Virgin Mary, and ingratiate himself with Carlos the Third, King
of Spain. He and I embarked on the 24th of November, 1763, and were
saluted with guns on the banks of the Paraguay. Our company consisted of
four hundred provincial soldiers; Fulgentio de Yegros conducted the
cavalry by land, and the rest of the infantry were distributed into
three ships and came with us. We went on shore every night, and at
mid-day also, whenever we found a convenient landing-place. The Paraguay
abounds in shoals and hidden rocks, yet the danger arising from them was
not so great as the inconvenience occasioned by innumerable gnats,
during our ten days' voyage. Fulgentio de Yegros, with his company of
horse, awaited us at a place called Passo del Timbò. On our landing,
crowds of Abipones swam from the opposite shore, which they inhabited,
to salute us. Some hundred oxen, with the horses of the Spaniards, were
sent over to us on the other side of the river. We spent three days in
the same place, engaged in the business of crossing, and then pursued
our voyage. About sun-set, a tempest arose, with loud thunder and stormy
wind. Though we had entered the lake which serves as a port there, we
were miserably tost about by the waves for many hours. This tempest was
succeeded by heavy rain, which lasted three days, and confined us within
the narrow limits of the ship; during this interval, we amused ourselves
with watching the huge crocodiles that surrounded the vessel. The spot
appointed for the colony was a league distant from the port; thither I
went, on foot, and alone, from eagerness to take a view of the
situation. The whole plain was deluged with water. Having taken an
entire survey, I returned to the ship, and informed the Governor that
the situation appointed for the colony appeared to me to be fitter for
frogs than men, and that no kind of good grain was produced in the
country.
Next day, leaving guards for the security of the ship, we rode out to
the place in question. The small hut which Fulgentio de Yegros had
constructed for the two priests, was at first sight pronounced
uninhabitable by the Governor, under whose inspection another, somewhat
larger, but in no other respect superior, was hastily built by the
soldiers. Europeans will not be displeased to hear how these huts are
constructed. Stakes are driven very deep into the ground, and reeds or
withes fastened to them with twigs or thongs of leather. The empty
spaces between each row of reeds are filled up with pieces of wood, or
small bricks, on to which mud, well worked up with straw, and cow's
dung, is plastered. The Spaniards call this sort of fabric a French
wall, (_tapia Françesa_) and always adopt it when stones or bricks are
scarce. If it is properly made, and whitewashed with lime or tobati, it
will last, and can hardly be distinguished from a common wall. The
grassy ground is the floor of the apartment. In this manner the cottages
and chapels were generally constructed in the colonies of the savages.
You shall now hear how they are roofed. The trunks of the caranday palms
cut in half and hollowed out serve instead of slates or tiles.
Frequently a roof is made with bundles of long dry grass tied to reeds
placed underneath, in the same manner as, in other places, thatch is
made of straw, which is not to be had in Paraguay; for the reapers cut
down nothing but the ear of wheat, afterwards burning the stalk or
stubble, the ashes of which serve instead of manure to fertilize the
soil. Sometimes houses are covered with bundles of dry grass, rolled in
soft mud, cemented together, and thus secure from being set on fire by
the burning arrows of the savages. In the colony of the Rosary I found
that roofs of this kind, though they afford some protection against
fire, are not of the least use in excluding rain: for the mud with which
the dry grass is plastered, gets so much softened by long rain, and
affords such free access to heavy showers, that it seems to rain harder
within doors than without. In short, the house built for me by the
soldiers was hardly of any use: for the thongs, which they had formed of
wet raw hides, soon putrefying, the reeds and mud plastered on them fell
off, leaving the stakes quite bare; so that my hut presented the
appearance of a bird-coop, but was afterwards laboriously repaired and
rendered habitable by myself and my companion. I strengthened that side
of the wall which looks towards the stormy south, with a plaster
composed of mud, and the blood of oxen, which repels water like pitch.
The chapel was very small, and entirely unornamented: some of my own
handy-work imparted a little degree of elegance to the altar.
The palisade of our house, which is necessary in every colony to defend
it against the assaults of the savages, had been very negligently made
by the soldiers, who were in such a hurry to get home that they left
nothing finished. The Governor was equally desirous to return to the
city: he could take no rest here: thick swarms of gnats tormented him
with their stings; but a still worse grievance was the anxiety that
preyed upon his mind lest they should be surprized by a sudden attack of
the savages. Horsemen were therefore kept watching day and night, and at
the door of his own hut he stationed a foot company of guards, besides
four cannon; in the hut itself he kept forty large muskets, and some
smaller ones, ready to be fired in a moment. So that he distrusted those
very Abipones for whom he was founding the colony; and the feeling was
mutual; for they, ever suspicious of the friendship of the Spaniards,
thought themselves justified in their fears since the Governor had
brought so many soldiers, and so few oxen to feed them on. "What need,"
said they, "of four hundred soldiers? Had no hostilities been intended
against us, one hundred would have been more than sufficient. If he was
resolved upon building a colony in this place, why did he not send more
than three hundred oxen? The Spaniards will consume these, and what will
they leave for us?" That they might not therefore be exposed to the
treachery of the Spaniards, they pitched their tents three miles distant
from us, in a place with a wood on one side, a river on the other, and a
mound in front. It was in vain that I endeavoured to argue them out of
these foolish fears, and I was equally unsuccessful in my attempts to
tranquillize the suspicious mind of the Governor; who took every fly for
an enemy, as what I am going to relate will sufficiently prove. Six
Yaaukaniga youths came from St. Ferdinand to see the new colony. At my
desire they immediately accompanied me unarmed to the Governor, and
kissed his hands with great civility and respect. He, terrified at the
appearance of these new guests, whom he mistook for enemies, or
emissaries of the enemy, ordered all the guards to stand ready in arms,
and after passing the night in the greatest anxiety, purified his soul
by confessing to me early in the morning, and receiving the sacrament at
my hands. On leaving the chapel, he informed me that he was going to
depart immediately with all his people; and before noon, having hastily
settled his affairs, he set off on what appeared more like a flight than
a journey. The Abipones, receiving intelligence of this, flew from their
tents, and hastened with all speed to the harbour to take leave of the
Governor, whom they found already seated in the vessel, and who,
interpreting this officious journey as a hostile pursuit, ordered the
ship to be put from shore in such a hurry, that he left behind him a
waggon which was to have been carried back to the city. A brave man in
other respects, but a novice amongst the American savages, and well
aware of the unsteadiness of their friendship, and the uncertainty of
their faith, he may be deemed excusable in preferring fear and caution
to risking his life.