THE AUCA-COYOG.
The tragical death of the senator was only the consequence of his
well-known pusillanimity. If the general had believed it possible
to place any reliance upon his word, he would have released him
immediately.
Immediately after the execution of the senator, the heralds convened
the chiefs to a grand Auca-coyog. Thirty Ulmens and Apo-Ulmens were
quickly assembled at the place appointed. Antinahuel soon appeared,
followed by General Bustamente. Antinahuel held in his hand the letter
taken from Don Ramón, and he spoke as follows:--
"Ulmens, Apo-Ulmens, and chiefs of the four Uthal-mapus of the
Araucanian confederacy, I have convoked you by the heralds to
communicate to you a necklace taken from the spy who by my order has
just been put to death. This necklace will cause us to alter our
arrangements, I think, for the malocca, on account of which we have
assembled. Our ally, the Great Eagle of the Whites, will explain it to
you. Let my brother read," he added, turning towards the general.
The latter read with a loud voice:--
"'MY DEAR GENERAL,--I have submitted to the council assembled at
Valdivia the objections you have thought it your duty to make on the
subject of the plan of the campaign. These objections have been found
just; consequently the following plan has been modified according to
your observations. You will continue, then, to cover the province of
Concepción, by holding the line of the Bio Bio, which you will not
cross without fresh orders. On my side, with seven thousand men, I will
march upon Arauca, of which I will take possession and destroy. This
plan offers us the more chances of success, from the enemy being, as
we learn from trustworthy spies, in a deceitful security with regard
to our movements. The bearer of this order is a person you know, whose
nullity itself will facilitate the means of passing through the enemy's
lines. You will get rid of this individual by sending him to his home,
with an injunction not to leave it.'"
"'Signed,
DON TADEO DE LEÓN,'"
"'Dictator and General-in-Chief of'"
"'the Army of Liberation."
The reading of this despatch was listened to by the chiefs with the
deepest attention.
"This necklace," said Antinahuel, "was traced in private characters,
which our brother the paleface has succeeded in deciphering. What do
the Ulmens think?"
One of the ancient Toquis arose.
"The palefaces are very cunning," he said; "they are foxes in malice
and jaguars in ferocity. This order is a snare for the good faith
of the Aucas. But Aucas warriors are wise; they will laugh at the
machinations of the Huincas, and will continue to guard the ford of the
Bio Bio. The communications of the whites are cut off, like a serpent
whose body has been divided by a stroke of the hatchet: they in vain
seek to unite the various trunks of their army, but they will not
succeed. I have spoken."
This speech, pronounced in a firm, clear voice, by one of the most
justly respected chiefs of the nation, produced a certain effect.
"The chief has spoken well," said the general; "I coincide entirely
with his opinion."
Another chief then arose and spoke in his turn.
"The whites are very cunning, as my father has said; they are foxes
without courage--they can only massacre women and children, and run
away at the sight of an Aucas warrior. But this necklace tells the
truth, and translates their thoughts literally. Chiefs, we all have
wives and children, and we ought in the first place to think of their
safety. Let us be prudent, chiefs; let us not throw ourselves into a
snare while we think we are laying one for our enemies."
The Araucanos have a deep affection for their families; and the idea of
leaving them behind, exposed to the disasters of war, gave them great
uneasiness. General Bustamente anxiously followed the fluctuations of
the council.
"What my brother has remarked is just, but his opinions only rest upon
an hypothesis; the whites do not employ forces in such numbers to
attempt an invasion of the Araucano territory. Let my brothers leave
in the camp a thousand resolute warriors to defend the passage, and
at nightfall cross the Bio Bio boldly, and I will answer for their
success."
"My brother is a skilful warrior," said Antinahuel; "the plan he
proposes shows his experience. As he says, until I have proof to the
contrary, I shall believe the necklace to be a deceit; and that we
ought, this very night, to invade the territories of the whites."
The general breathed freely; his cause, he thought, was gained.
Suddenly Black Stag entered, and took his place in the assembly.
"What is going on?" the Toqui asked.
"Listen!" said Black Stag, in a solemn tone; "Illecura, Borea, and
Nagotten have been given up to the flames, and the inhabitants put to
the sword; another body of troops, still more considerable than the
first, is acting in the flat country in the same manner as the other in
the maritime country."
The most violent agitation seized on the Ulmens; nothing was heard but
cries of rage and despair.
"What do we wait for, chiefs of the Aucas?" cried the chief who had
advised retreat, in a shrill, excited tone; "Do you not hear the cries
of your wives and children calling upon you for succour? Do you not
see the flames which are consuming your dwellings and devouring your
harvests? To arms! warriors, to arms!"
"To arms!" the warriors yelled, rising as one man.
Indescribable confusion followed. General Bustamente retired with death
in his heart.
"Well!" the Linda asked, on seeing him enter, "what is going on? What
mean these cries and this frightful tumult? Have the Indians revolted?"
"No," the general explained, "Don Tadeo, that demon, bent upon my
destruction, has disconcerted all my plans. The Indian army is about to
retreat."
"To retreat!" the Linda cried furiously, and rushing towards
Antinahuel--
"What! you! you fly! you confess yourself conquered! Don Tadeo de León,
the executioner of your family, is marching against you, and you are
frightened! Coward! coward! put on petticoats; you are not a warrior!
you are not a man; you are an old woman."
The Toqui put her back with disdain.
"Woman, you are mad!" he said. "What can one man do against fate? I do
not fly from my enemy, I go to meet him."
"My sister cannot remain here," he said, in a softened tone; "the camp
is about to be broken up."
The poor girl followed mechanically, without reply.
A few minutes later the camp was struck, and the Araucanos abandoned
the impregnable position. At the reiterated entreaties of Bustamente,
Antinahuel consented to leave a chosen band of eight hundred warriors
to defend the passage.
Black Stag was a prudent warrior. As soon as the night came on, he
dispersed scouts in all directions upon the banks of the river.
Yielding, in spite of himself, to the influence produced by the report
of the spies, he had, in the first moment, advised retreat; but, upon
reflection, it was not long before he suspected a _ruse de guerre_.
His suspicions had not deceived him. Between eleven and twelve o'clock
at night, his scouts came hastily in to warn him that a long line of
horsemen had lately left the Chilian bank, and were gliding along like
an immense serpent near the ford. Black Stag had but two hundred and
fifty warriors armed with guns, so he placed them in the first line
upon the bank, supported by his lancers. When they deemed them within
range the Araucano warriors made a discharge upon the horsemen who
were crossing the river. Several fell. At the same instant four pieces
of cannon were unmasked on the opposite bank, which spread death and
terror among the Indians.
A strong detachment had, in the meantime, cleared the ford, and fell
upon them with the utmost fury. From that time the struggle had no
equality. The Aucas, notwithstanding their courage, were obliged to
give ground, leaving nearly two hundred dead on the banks of the river.
The plan conceived by Don Tadeo de León had completely succeeded. The
army of General Fuentes had forced the passage of the Bio Bio. Thus,
thanks to the ruse employed by the dictator, the ground upon which the
quarrel was to be decided was changed, and the Aucas were forced to
defend themselves at home. Instead of invaders, as they wished to be,
they found themselves, on the contrary, the invaded; the campaign might
now be terminated by the gaining of a single battle.