The whole interior of the southern portion of South America, from Terra del Fuego up to Paraguay, was long occupied by numerous savage tribes of Indians. Of these little was known till long after the occupation of portions of the country by the Spaniards. They soon obtained horses, and were divided by the Europeans into equestrian and pedestrian tribes. They were generally ferocious in their character, and engaged in almost perpetual wars with each other. The equestrian tribes, especially, were accustomed to make long excursions for the purpose of plunder or revenge. Many of these nations have since been swept off by that dreadful scourge of the Indian race, the small-pox, and many have been driven still farther back by the Europeans.
Our knowledge of their history, which is, indeed, but scanty, is derived from the accounts furnished by the Catholic missionaries, who labored long and with some degree of success among them.[3] The views they give of their manners and customs is often most interesting, and will be treated of in our sketch of the manners and customs of the American Indians. The vast plains, or pampas, as they are called, which lie southwest of Buenos Ayres, were inhabited by the equestrian savages, who, with the Araucanians, and other tribes which dwelt in the mountains, were termed by the Peruvians, Aucas, or rebels, probably from some event in their former history. It would seem, indeed, that several of the tribes originally came from the Northwest, and perhaps there gained the knowledge of horsemanship, in which they are so expert, from the earlier European invaders.
Similar groups of Indians were found through all that vast tract of land east of the Andes, and reaching up from Buenos Ayres to Brazil. Of these, perhaps, the most distinguished were the Abipones and Guaranies, who inhabited what formerly bore the name of Paraguay,—now Paraguay and Uruguay. Dobrizhoffer, a German Catholic priest, who resided many years among them, has given a full description of the most remarkable events of their history which occurred while he was with them, from which we extract a few scattered notices, adding some facts gathered from other sources.
Formerly these tribes seem to have been numerous, but now they are dwindled away to a small remnant. Some idea may be formed of their decrease, when it is stated that the Guaranies, who in 1752 numbered 141,252, lost 30,000 soon after by the small-pox, and afterwards, 11,000 more. In 1767, there were only about 100,000 left. They suffered great oppression from the Spaniards, and, though they fought bravely to avoid expulsion from their native land, they were finally driven out. Thirty thousand, it is said, were expelled by the Spaniards from seven towns.
The zealous missionaries penetrated the forests, and visited the most barbarous tribes. They were often unexpectedly received with kindness and hospitality, where they least had reason to hope for it. In one of these visits, when one of the missionaries, or fathers, went among them, and had gained their favor, the old cacique said that he had a daughter, the prettiest girl in the world, and was resolved to marry her to the father, that he might always stay in the family. On being informed that the fathers never married, the old man was thunderstruck, and, with his tobacco reed suspended in the air, he exclaimed, “What strange thing is this you tell me?”
The Indians watched, with great jealousy, the intrusion of the Spaniards on their territory. Some of them, on a certain occasion, having sent out men into the forest to gather maté, or Paraguay tea, by some misfortune their hut caught fire, and eighteen of them perished in the flames. The Indians beheld the conflagration at a distance; finally, one of them, armed with arrows and a club, stole into the only remaining Spanish hut, where a single man had taken refuge. “So,” said the savage, with a stern aspect, “you have dared to enter these woods which were never yours. Know you not this is our soil, left us by our fathers? Are you not content with having usurped immense tracts and innumerable woods, in spite of the opposition of our fathers? Should any one of us invade your domains, would he return alive? No; and we will imitate your example. If, then, you are wise, if life is dear to you, haste away, and advise your countrymen carefully to shun our woods, unless they would be the cause of their own death.” The Spaniard, to save his life, offered knives, axes, garments, and other trifles; pacified by these gifts, the savage returned to his comrades. The former, deeming any further stay perilous, ran off, leaving many thousand pounds of the maté which had been gathered.
The Guaycuras or Albayas were very expert horsemen, and were in the highest degree hostile to the Spaniards; they were brave, and exceedingly skilful in the use of their arms. The Calchaquis, also, were formerly famous for their military ferocity, and their irreconcilable enmity to the Europeans. A branch of the Guaranies were said to wander over the remote forests, on the banks of one of the rivers of the interior, and leap from tree to tree like monkeys, in search of honey and little birds. The Guaranies were noted for their voracity. After fasting a few hours, it is said that one of them would devour a young calf. These Indians were accustomed, before they lay down to sleep, to place a piece of meat before the fire, that it might be ready for them to eat immediately upon waking.
The havoc made by the Europeans among this tribe, as well as other Indians, especially those near Brazil, is almost incredible. It is supposed, that, in 130 years, 2,000,000 Indians were slain, or carried into captivity; and it is stated, that, in five years, 300,000 Paraguayans were carried off to Brazil; and that more than 1,000 leagues of country, extending as far as the River Amazon, were stripped of their inhabitants. In the years 1628-1630, 600,000 Indians were sold as slaves at Rio Janeiro. Upwards of 400 Indian towns were utterly destroyed, and such was the devastation, that King Joseph was obliged to make a decree, on the 6th of July, 1755, forbidding further ravages. This, however, is but a small part of the evils which the Spaniards and Portuguese inflicted on those unhappy regions.
Among the equestrian tribes, the horse was the great dependence of the Indians for various comforts. He supplied them with food, clothes, lodging, bed, arms, medicine, and thread. Of the hides they made their couch, clothing, boots, tents, saddles, and thongs which served for bridle and weapons. The sinews they used for thread. They drank melted horse-fat, washed their heads with the blood, and afterwards with water, to strengthen them; and twisted the hair into ropes. They were almost constantly on horseback, and their highest delight was to display their peculiar ability to manage the most spirited animals.