[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.