The governor and his people advanced across the country, passing settlements of the Guaranís, all of whom received him well, and came forth to meet him laden with provisions, as usual. In this march they crossed large marshes, and other bad places, and rivers, and had to build bridges and overcome many difficulties. After the passage of the Paraná the Indians accompanied them from village to village, showing great friendship and goodwill; they did them many good offices, both in serving as guides, and providing them with food. For all this the governor rewarded them generously, and made them well satisfied. During the march a Spaniard came from the town of Ascension to meet the governor, and took back tidings to his fellow-countrymen, and the people there, of his arrival; for, owing to the straits they were in, their desire to see him and his people was very great; and they could hardly believe that he would do them such a service until they had seen him with their own eyes, even though they had read the letters he had written to them. This Christian informed the governor of the situation, and of the danger the people were in, of the deaths that had happened both of those who went with Juan de Ayolas, as well as many others slain by the natives, and of their great tribulation and discouragement, especially since the evacuation of Buenos Ayres; for they had long expected relief from Spain, and when at length that port was abandoned, they had given up all hope of deliverance. He also related many other losses that had been sustained in the country.
[CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH.]
How the governor arrived at the Ascension, where the Spaniards lived whom he had come to relieve.
HAVING learned of the above-mentioned Spaniard of the death of Juan de Ayolas and his companions, and of the deaths of other Christians, of the extremity of the survivors in the town of Ascension, and of the abandonment of Buenos Ayres, whither he had left orders that the ship Capitana should proceed with the one hundred and forty men from the island of St. Catalina; considering, too, the danger in which those might be who arrived by sea, when they found that port deserted by the Christians and in the hands of a large number of Indians, he made all the haste he could to reach Ascension in the quickest time possible, in order that he might infuse new courage into those who remained there, and restore confidence among the friendly Indians. All the natives of the parts he was now travelling through make their houses of straw and wood, and many of those from the district round Ascension spoke to the governor in our own Castilian tongue, bidding him and his Spaniards welcome. Their reception of him was as cordial as any met with heretofore. They cleared and swept the road, formed processions with their wives and children, waited his arrival with presents of provisions: maize, wine, bread, potatoes, fowls, fish, honey, and game, all prepared; and they distributed these gifts among his men. In token of peace they raised their hands, and, in their own language, some, too, in ours, welcomed the governor and his people. Along the route they entered into conversation with us, and were as cordial and familiar as though they were our own countrymen, born and bred in Spain.
Travelling in this way, it pleased God that on the eleventh of March, being one Saturday, at nine o’clock in the morning, in the year of grace 1542, we arrived at the city of Ascension, where we found the Spaniards living whom we had come to relieve.
This town is situated on the bank of the Paraguay, in twenty-five degrees south latitude. Before entering it the governor was met by all the captains and people resident there, who showed incredible joy at his arrival, declaring they had never believed, or even expected that they would be relieved, so great were the dangers and difficulties of the road never before explored; as for the sea-route viâ Buenos Ayres, by which they had hoped succour might have reached them, their expectations from this quarter had also vanished since the Indians had taken the aggressive with the idea of soon capturing and making an end of them. Moreover, so long a time had elapsed since any Spaniards had landed there, that they were in despair.
The governor received them all at an interview, spoke very kindly with them, and informed them that he had come by His Majesty’s orders to succour them. Thereupon he showed his credentials and powers to Domingo de Irala, and the officers Alonzo Cabrera, controller, a native of Loja; Philip de Caceres, accountant, of Madrid; Pedro Dorantes, factor, of Bejar, and to other captains and inhabitants of that province. These documents were read out to the clergy and soldiers present, and by virtue of them they recognized him as governor, and signified their obedience as to a captain-general of the province, appointed by His Majesty. The insignia of justice were given up to him, and were redelivered, in the name of His Majesty, to the magistrates who should administer civil and criminal law in the said province.