CHAPTER IX.
OF THE ATROCITIES OF THE ABIPONES TOWARDS THE
PEOPLE OF CORDOBA.
Cordoba, the principal city of Tucuman, a Bishop's see, contains an academy which was a few years back as famous as any in South America, and is extolled for its splendid edifices, and its opulent and honourable citizens. The ruler of Cordoba is not styled a Vice-Governor, but a Viceroy. The situation of the city, which is washed by the little river Pucarà, and surrounded by hills, is neither very pleasant, nor very healthy. The country on the side of Sta. Fè, and Buenos-Ayres, is a plain more than a hundred leagues in extent, of most fertile pasture-ground; but the part looking towards the kingdom of Chili, and the territories of St. Iago, is irregular, sometimes sinking into low vallies, sometimes rising into irriguous hills; where feed an infinite multitude of cattle, horses, mules, and sheep, in which the principal and almost only riches of the Cordobans consist. This part of Tucuman, except the city, enjoys a healthy temperature, and a cool breeze arising from the vicinity of the mountains of Chili; the population is numerous, and the inhabitants frank, robust, and intelligent, but deserving of a better fortune in war. Larger woods of quince, pomegranate, orange and peach trees are no where to be seen: there are also figs, nuts, and other fruits peculiar to America.
The land of Cordoba might be esteemed fortunate, had the inhabitants ever been allowed to rest from the incursions of the Pampas, Abipones, and Mocobios. If, as I have related, the rest of Paraguay was often disturbed by the inroads of the Abipones, the Cordobans were so tormented by their perpetual hostilities, that neither place nor season was free from fear and anxiety. Not only the remote and solitary estates, but even the immediate vicinity of the city was so confidently attacked by the Abipones, you would have thought that women only dwelt there, or that all the inhabitants were asleep. This extensive province always possessed sufficient numbers, and sufficient strength to repel the Abipones; the only things needed were courage and proper leaders, who by their example might animate the people to the defence of their country, direct the forces it contained to some advantage, and make use of the strength that really existed: for certainly in no part of Paraguay were there to be found more expeditious horses and horsemen than here; not to mention the agility, and skill which the latter possessed in other respects, their height, singular strength, activity, and abundance of armour: for their superior opulence enables them, more easily than the other Spaniards, to obtain the necessary instruments of war. Oh! that the people of Cordoba would learn to know themselves, and their own strength! that they would shake off their innate dread of the savages, whom they could easily vanquish, would they but summon up courage to make the attempt! The Abipones, conscious that they were dreaded by the Cordobans, insolently reiterated their assaults, and generally with impunity. The high-way leading to Peru, and to the cities of Buenos-Ayres and Sta. Fè, was seldom free from carnage and robberies, never from danger: insomuch that travellers always either suffered or apprehended murder from the savages. There was no such thing as security. Neither the summits of the highest hills, nor the deepest recesses of the forests afforded any defence. The Abipones examined all places, like hounds, and seldom returned empty-handed. On St Joseph's day, before dawn, a vast troop of Abipones, under their leader Alaykin, burst into the estate of Sinsacate, which is about ten leagues distant from the city. This place was then administered by the secular priest Carranza. A great number of people, who had assembled the day before from the neighbouring estates, intending to be present at divine service in the church of Jesus and Mary, were there at that time. The savages either slew, or carried into captivity all they saw. The number of captives, Spaniards and Indians, was five and twenty: many more were slain, and the rest saved themselves by flight; every thing was plundered, and the mules and horses which filled the neighbouring fields, driven away. The estate was saved by the lofty walls of the church Jesus Maria, though it suffered a great loss of cattle. The soldiers of Cordoba, moved by the dreadful report, at last arrived from the city, that, though unable to restore life to the dead, they might at least procure the liberty of the crowd of captives. They pursued the fugitive Abipones for some time, till their further progress was stopped by a vast lake, which, though crossed by the Indians without hesitation, seemed to the Cordobans an ocean impassable on horseback, and requiring the assistance of a boat; so that they were obliged to retire out of sight of the enemy. The people of Cordoba, notwithstanding that they excel in point of horsemanship, are little qualified to pursue the savages, from their inability to swim; the cause of this deficiency is that most of them live in a place where swimming is not customary, or where there is no opportunity for practising it. There is a place, between Cordoba and St. Iago, called Rio Seco. Scattered here and there in little valleys between the hills are great numbers of well-peopled estates, and cattle of every description. In this place is a large, elegant stone church, which owes its celebrity to an image of the Virgin Mary, and whither numbers flock from all parts, as it has been distinguished by the favour of Heaven and the gifts of the pious. The Abipones had informed themselves of this circumstance from their Spanish captives. The opulence of the place afforded them great hopes of a rich booty. Having diligently examined every thing through their spies, they resolved to occupy the narrow straits of the rocks, and block up all the ways, to deprive the Spaniards of the means of flight. They either slew, or made captive, all they found in the neighbouring fields, and in the houses, without opposition: the whole country was devastated. An immense number of horses and mules were taken by the savages. The church itself was forced, while affording shelter to those who survived the massacre, and had fled thither for refuge. They broke open the door with an axe, though it was secured with bolts and plates of iron. These sacrilegious thieves carried away the sacred silver utensils, the bells of the tower, and even the image of the holy mother, with that of St. Joseph; and when they had murdered all the inhabitants, and plundered all their possessions, they departed laden with spoils, and the heads of the slain. But it so fell out by divine dispensation, that Barreda was just then meditating an excursion against the savages, at no great distance, and upon receiving information of this outrage of the Abipones, immediately flew thither with his followers. After pursuing the fugitives for a long time, day and night, he learned that they had separated into two companies and gone different ways. The height of his wishes was to rescue out of the hands of the savages the image of the divine mother, and though he hesitated a little which way to take, yet, by God's grace, he finally chose that which led to the party in possession of the holy image. Proceeding for some time with all speed, he at last surprizes the Abipones, sitting unsuspiciously on the ground while their horses were feeding in the pastures. The approach of the St. Iagan soldiers being perceived, the infantry threw themselves into an adjacent wood. The Spaniards instantly flew to the baggage which the savages had relinquished, and joyfully discovered amongst the rest the image of the Virgin. The enemy's horses were collected and their saddles burnt. The wood was, for some time, surrounded on all sides by the soldiers; but at length, the Abipones showed such obstinacy in their lurking-holes, and the horses were so weakened by three days' hunger and fatigue, that Barreda began to think of retreating. Nothing was ever heard of the image of St. Joseph, but most likely it was thrown into some deep marsh. This hostile aggression upon Rio Seco induced the Cordobans to surround that church with high stone walls, strengthened with four towers, that it might no longer be exposed to the injuries of the savages, and that, like the other colonists, they might defend themselves in those fortlets, on any impending danger.
The Abipones penetrated also into the valley of Calamuchita, which, though inclosed by rocks, is rich in herds, at the instigation of a Negro slave, who, being offended by his master, chose to satiate his desire of vengeance by the hands of the savages, since he could not by his own. Much blood was shed there, and every thing plundered that came to hand. At Zumampa and the neighbouring places, slaughter and rapine were almost daily committed. The parish of St. Miguel in Rio Verde was depopulated by continual assaults. Those territories, especially, by which the Rio Segundo flows, were not only infested by the Abipones, but chosen by them as places of abode, where they laid in wait for travellers to Sta. Fè, or Buenos-Ayres. The place called Cruz alta afforded great opportunities for pillaging. The terror excited by the slaughters committed there increased every day. On account of the magnitude of the danger, the waggons for conveying merchandise could never pass to and fro, except in large companies. The men appointed to defend the caravans, being generally of the very lowest order, unfurnished with muskets, armed with spears alone, and moreover entirely destitute both of courage and vigilance, were every one slain. The Abipones seized the merchandise and the droves of horses and oxen, and burnt the waggons to ashes. These tragic events happened very frequently, and were most ruinous to traders. One, which is of more recent occurrence, I shall relate, and pass by the rest. Five and twenty Cordoban waggons bound to Sta. Fè were attacked by the Abipones, on their second day's journey, a few leagues from the city. The drivers and guards were all killed whilst sleeping, as usual, at mid-day, in the plains, (except one who was feeding the oxen on horseback.) Amongst the number of the slain was Father Diego Herrera, a Jesuit, destined for the towns of the Guaranies; he was only deprived of his clothes in the first attack, but lost his life in the second. A rosary, a square hat, and a habit were carried away by the savages as trophies, and the prayer-books scattered about the plain. Kebachichi, the leader of that expedition, wore the slain priest's robe and square hat at all public drinking parties, in commemoration of the bloody deed. This man, who some years after resided in the town of St. Jeronymo, when upon a visit to us in the colony of Concepcion, requested my companion to give him a hat, and on being refused, said to the Father in a threatening tone, "Dare you deny me a hat? Don't you know that I am a slayer of Fathers?" The Vice-Governor of Sta. Fè, to avenge those who had suffered the loss either of their lives or their properties, marched with some of his companies into Chaco; but the event did him little honour. He met with a horde of Abipones, but they falsely declared themselves innocent of the slaughters that had been committed. Meantime the arrival of the Spaniards being spread throughout the neighbourhood, more and more companies of Abipones assembled, and at last raised such a numerous army, that the Vice-Governor thought it more advisable to treat the Abipones with biscuit and other gifts as friends, than to assault them with balls and gunpowder as enemies; which cowardice in their general filled the soldiers with indignation. Fearing a dangerous return, he hastened toward the city, the Abipones pressing behind with equal speed. The soldiers themselves condemned this retreat; for impunity and the inactivity of some of the Spaniards renders the savages more and more bold in their attempts; yet they are astounded if any one summons up a little courage to oppose their assaults, and presents a musket in a threatening manner. This was found by Galarza, Viceroy of Cordoba, who, in returning from Buenos-Ayres with some waggons, encountered Kebachichi and a troop of Abipones. Galarza, seeing the enemy at hand, leapt from his horse, that he might more conveniently make use of his musket. But whilst he was hastily tucking up his travelling-dress that it might not retard him in using his arms, his horse took fright and ran away, and being furnished with precious trappings, and with pistols, was stopped by an Abipon. But none of them dared approach the enemy's waggons, because they were defended by Galarza, who was armed with a musket. The enemy were deterred from plundering the waggons, and slaying the attendants, by Galarza's presence of mind, and by the sight of this musket, which was nevertheless incapable of doing any harm. But he could not prevent the oxen and horses, which were at a distance from the waggons, from being carried off. The neighbouring fortification of Mazangani seems to have deterred these two and twenty Abipones from attempting any thing further. Whenever I heard this fortification spoken of, I figured to myself a place fortified with ditches, trenches, walls, mounds, artillery and a garrison. But how was I deceived! In travelling from Buenos-Ayres to Cordoba, I perceived Mazangani to be a square area, scarce fifty feet in diameter, and hedged round with trunks, and thorny boughs of trees. At the side of it stands a miserable hut covered with straw, and built of sticks and mud, inhabited by a poor wretched man who there exercises the several functions of Governor, garrison, and watchman; for he ascends a high tree placed in the middle of the court to discover if any savages are to be seen in the surrounding plain. In order to deter them from approaching, and at the same time to apprize the neighbourhood of their arrival, he fires a cannon. This is a faithful description of that terrible fortress. Yet those who reached it thought themselves, as it were, in port. From this you may judge how little was necessary to repel those heroic savages. But rendered daily bolder by frequent experiments, they learnt at last to despise these little fortresses: for by casting fire with their arrows they easily burnt the hedges, the cottages, and the defenders of them. Hence the Spaniards, for the preservation of their safety, erected little stone or brick fortresses in various places, and strengthened them with warlike machines.
The plain called El Tio, which lies between Sta. Fè and Cordoba, is uninhabited for almost thirty leagues, and consequently dangerous to travellers; for not only the desert, but also a long wood which crosses the plain ground from North to South, affords the Abipones an opportunity of pillaging and making surprizes, especially at El Pozzo Redondo; for after a great deal of dry weather, in this vast plain not a drop of water is to be found, nor a bit of wood to make a fire with; but both are supplied by the lake called El Pozzo Redondo, which is near a wood. To travellers, therefore, who have crossed the plain and are parching with thirst, nothing is more desirable than this lake, and at the same time nothing is more formidable, since they cannot reach it without risking their lives; for in this place the Mocobios and Abipones lie in wait for the Spaniards, whom they know to be in the habit of travelling by it. I have twice taken a journey to El Pozzo Redondo, accompanied by four Spaniards. The first time we were in great trepidation from the memory of slaughters recently committed there; on the second we had nothing but inconvenience to endure, a two years' drought having entirely dried up the lake. We and all our horses must have perished with thirst, had not a great quantity of rain fallen that night, accompanied with thunder. To increase the general consternation, our guide told us that a certain Spaniard, in the service of the Royal Governor, who had attended many campaigns in Europe, formerly passed a night in this place. To the affirmations of the Paraguayrian soldiers who accompanied him, that this place was dangerous from being liable to the insidious attacks of the Abipones, he boastingly replied, that those American pillagers were more worthy of derision than of dread. But the Abipones assailing them the next day, he was so terrified at their yells and their very aspect, that he suffered every indignity to which cowards are liable. The savages carried off the horses, and whatever else pleased their fancies. The European hero owed his life to his Paraguayrian companions, and learnt to fear what he had thought a jest the day before. But during the latter years of my residence in Paraguay, the plain of El Tio was placed in security. Fortifications were erected in two places, where a company of soldiers keeps continual watch, and daily reconnoitres those parts whence the approach of the savages is apprehended. Ever since Alvarez, master of the horse, was preferred to the command of these guards, great restraint has been put upon the licence of the savages, who before left nothing untouched, nothing unattempted. I myself have witnessed what universal dread they excited, when we sixty Europeans, accompanied by some Spanish natives, performed a journey of one hundred and forty leagues, from the port of Buenos-Ayres, where we had landed a little before, to Cordoba. Our company consisted of about a hundred waggons, each drawn by four oxen, but the number was doubled when they had to cross marshes: the driver goads them on with a long pole, armed with a spike, and a horseman generally goes before to show the way. These heavy waggons are supported by two huge wheels, and have an arch at the top covered with a hide, that the rain may run off them. The sides are sometimes enclosed with boards, sometimes with mats, and have the appearance of a basket. No iron is employed in any part of them. In the hind part where the door is, there is a ladder to ascend by; in front there is a window. Each waggon is generally occupied by one person, sometimes by two, and serves for house, bed, and dining-room; for in the midst is placed a mattress, on which you are conveyed along, with a jolting that, for the two or three first days, produces vomiting, like sea-sickness. Most of the journey is performed in the night, for the oxen cannot long bear the heat of the sun in the day-time. Six pair of oxen are assigned to each waggon, that they may relieve one another in the labour. To watch and feed so great a number of cattle, many guards are necessary, each of which have need of many horses. Neither they nor the drivers, nor the men who ride before the waggons, are supplied with any other food except beef, which is also the daily fare of the travellers in the waggons; so that a great many oxen are consumed every day to satisfy so many hungry stomachs. From this you may judge how great must be the number of men and beasts, when a hundred, or more frequently two hundred, waggons of this kind, travel a hundred and forty leagues of desert land together; and, good heavens! what a noise they make! for the wheels are never greased; they even catch fire sometimes by the continual friction of the wooden axle, and wrap the waggon itself in flames. Excepting a few estates and cottages in the neighbourhood of Buenos-Ayres and Cordoba, you find nothing but a plain, void of inhabitants, buildings, trees, rivers, or hills, but abounding in horses, wild asses, emus, does, skunks (zorrinos,) and tigers. Fuel and fresh water are forced to be carried for the daily consumption of the travellers. We were often obliged to drink the muddy rain water which remains in the ditches, though the very beasts, unless parching with thirst, would have refused it. This immense wilderness which we had entered daily threatened us with fresh difficulties and fresh dangers, greater than any we had experienced in a three months' voyage on the ocean. Scarce a day or night passed without tidings of the Spanish scouts having seen the footsteps of the savages, or heard their whistles or pipes; in consequence of which, most of the waggons were daily placed in the form of a circle, for their mutual defence, and furnished with spears and muskets. But whenever the Spaniards recollected how many former travellers had fallen into the hands of the Indians, in these parts, they thought the very rustling of the grass a harbinger of the approach of the Abipones, and whilst the veteran natives of Paraguay were thus alarmed at shadows, they inspired us novices in America with continual dread. Our fears, however, proved groundless, for none of the savages presented themselves to our sight; a circumstance which we attributed to the special favour of God, since that part of the country had for many years been the theatre of rapine and slaughter.
CHAPTER X.
OF THE FRUITLESS EXCURSIONS OF THE CORDOBANS
AGAINST THE ABIPONES.
What! you exclaim, did the minds of the Cordobans at last grow callous to so much slaughter?—Were they so tame as never to think of revenge?—Did Cordoba want men, or arms, or strength? In neither of these requisites was that flourishing city deficient. The Cordobans have always in readiness twelve thousand men fit to bear arms. Cordoba abounds in swift and strong horses. The bodies of the inhabitants are strong and vigorous, and their minds filled with the desire of military glory; they might not only put the Abipones to flight, but reduce the whole province of Chaco: in short, they might do every thing against the savages, did not the vain fear with which they are possessed make them despair of doing any thing. Whilst depressed by the recollection of the slaughters they had suffered, they thought victory must always attend the Abipones; they dared attempt nothing against them, and were thus forsaken by fortune, which usually favours the brave. I will here describe some expeditions of the Cordobans, the issue of which was always either unfortunate or ridiculous.
The Abipones laid waste the territories of Rio Segundo, and some Cordoban forces were sent out to repress them. The enemy was overtaken in the open plain. On one side stood the Spaniards, on the other the Abipones, in battle-array. They threatened one another for a long time, but no one had courage to begin the attack, till at last an Abipon leapt from his horse, approached the ranks of the Spaniards, and challenged one of them to single combat. Many of the soldiers would have been willing enough to engage with this bold one, but the leader of the expedition forbade them to stir hand or foot, under pain of death; perceiving which, the Abipones slowly departed, each his own way, leaving the Spaniards to themselves. The Cordoban captains acted in the same way on other occasions, and by thus betraying their own fear, rendered the savages still bolder in their projects. To pacify the minds of the people, endless expeditions were undertaken against Chaco, but all unsuccessful. There were many causes for this. These delicate warriors always drove before them a vast number of horses and oxen, consequently the journey was retarded by the multitude of beasts. The number of captains was too great in proportion to that of soldiers; there were too many to give commands and too few to execute them. Besides laden mules, they carried a good many waggons for conveying provisions, which are always sure to impede a journey. Moreover, the Commander-in-chief made use of a chariot for show. I myself saw a place in Chaco where that chariot and all the waggons were burnt by the Cordobans, when, surrounded by pools and marshes, they could neither go back nor forwards. Doubtless the ways which led to the retreats of the savages in Chaco, were dangerous to the Indians themselves. The nature of the soil is such, that after a long cessation of rain, it grows as dry as a flint, and denies even the little birds wherewith to drink; but if the showers be frequent, you will not find an inch of dry ground to walk or lie down upon. As the plain is varied neither by fountains, hills, nor stones, but runs out into a vast extent of even ground, covered with turf, when deluged with rain it presents the appearance of a lake. At other times the road is intercepted by marshes and overflowing rivers, which occasion delay, even if the soldiers can overcome them by swimming; but if this be not the case, they are entirely prevented from proceeding, being unprovided with bridges or skiffs. The place of these is supplied, as I have said, by the pelota; but, as those vessels are capable of holding but one man at once, much time will be consumed whilst four hundred soldiers are transported, in this manner, to the opposite shore; and likewise so much noise must necessarily be made during the process, that the enemy, apprized of their arrival, will either take to speedy flight, or rush on the Spaniards whilst unprepared and separated from one another by the river. If, therefore, you would know the chief reason why the Spaniards so often returned ingloriously home from Chaco, without even obtaining a sight of the savages, it was that they could not swim.
Of this I had a most creditable witness in Landriel, who sometimes acted as guide to the Cordobans in their expeditions into Chaco; and under whose conduct they arrived, after many days' journey, at the eastern shore of the river Malabrigo, on the opposite side of which the Abipones Riikahes were accustomed to pitch their tents. It was a difficult matter to discover their lurking-holes, to attack which was the object of the expedition; the whole plain being deluged with water to such a degree that no traces of either man or beast could be found there. The only things that appeared above the surface of the water were some large ant-hills, from one of which Landriel perceived that a honeycomb had been lately taken. This circumstance led him to conjecture that the Abipones must be somewhere near, and after much search he discovered a large horde of them, which might have been attacked, conquered, plundered, and destroyed on the same day, had Landriel brought soldiers of St. Iago, Corrientes, or Sta. Fè, all excellent swimmers, instead of Cordobans who are ignorant of that art; for as they drew nigh to the hostile horde, it was necessary to cross the river Malabrigo, which, being at that time greatly overflowed, would neither suffer a bridge, nor allow of being forded. The soldiers might all have been transported to the opposite shore on a hide, but they foresaw that a passage of this kind could not be effected in less than a day, whatever haste were employed. Meantime the Abipones, roused by the noise of the Spaniards, or by the neighing of their horses alone, would have placed their families in safety, and undoubtedly attacked and routed the Cordobans, who were never formidable to them, and would be still less so at that time, when their forces were divided by the river. After discussing these matters, they concluded that it was most advisable to hasten their return, which they did, falling, rather than marching; for the way had been rendered slippery from the inundation, and dangerous on account of the deep holes underneath the water. Numberless multitudes of wild oxen had formerly filled the plain, and the bulls by tearing the ground with their horns, as is usual with them when enraged, had occasioned those numerous holes: which are the more dangerous to horsemen because when covered with water they cannot be seen: many of them are one cubit deep, and equally wide. If any of the Cordobans slipped into one of these holes, his comrades all followed him, and fell in too, and when Landriel advised them to turn their horses a little to the right or the left, for the sake of avoiding the ditch where their companion had fallen, they seldom attended to his admonitions, saying, "It is true we saw our fellow-soldier fall in there, but we also saw him get safely out again. If we go another way we shall perhaps fall into a deeper ditch, whence we may not rise without injury." These holes are properly called by the Spaniards pozzos, or wells, because they receive the rain water, and preserve it a long time for the use of travellers, when the plains and woods are parched by a dry season. From what I have related you may collect, that the expeditions of the Cordobans into Chaco, so far from subduing and overawing the savages, served only to confirm them in their disposition to plunder; indeed they became more unrestrained in their attacks upon the colonists of Cordoba, in proportion as they became more fully convinced of the imbecility of the Cordoban soldiers, whom they believed incapable of returning injury for injury, slaughter for slaughter, and deterred from venturing into Chaco by the difficulties of the journey thither. To ensure the safety of the merchants, soldiers were at last hired to keep guard continually over those places. The tax laid on the herb of Paraguay, which is conveyed in waggons into Peru, was the chief source of the money for paying the soldiers. But this provision, though it thoroughly drained the purses of the merchants, did not much lessen the boldness or frequency of these robberies, the savages sometimes craftily deceiving this little band of soldiers, sometimes intimidating it with superior numbers. It is true that when most part of the Mocobios and Abipones were settled by us in the colonies, the province, delivered from so many enemies, began to breathe once more. The remainder of both nations, who still wandered without these colonies, though they disturbed and laid waste the country of Sta. Fè and Asumpcion, hardly ever attempted any hostilities against the territories of Cordoba; which tranquillity they owed to Alvarez, captain at Rio Segundo, and to Benavides commander at Rio Seco. As soon as those brave men took upon themselves the direction of military affairs the Cordobans became bolder, and the Abipones more timid in their attacks, especially after one of them had been taken in the plain by a Cordoban soldier, and the formidable Pachiekè, son of the Cacique Alaykin, slain. When we returned to Europe, almost all the Abipones deserted the colonies we had founded and taken care of. Weary of the peace and friendship which had been established between them and the Spaniards, they resumed their arms, with what success is best known to those who had to contend with the savages, enraged and distracted at our departure. I have shown how formidable and destructive the savage tribe of Abipones was to the whole province, and how little the arms of the Spaniards availed to check and restrain them. What fruit we had of our endeavours in subduing and reclaiming them is yet to be related.