The Chilians soon routed these allies, or rather slaves of the Spaniards, and then, nothing daunted by the horses, guns and swords of the white men, they rushed on with a courage which the superior discipline of the Spaniards could not resist. The battle was furious, and continued till night separated the combatants.
The Promancians had lost many warriors, but they had also destroyed many of their foes; and they encamped in sight of the enemy, determined to renew the fight on the following morning. The Spaniards, however, though they had kept the field, had no inclination to dispute another such day. They had been accustomed to subdue immense provinces with little or no resistance; but now they had met with a bold and independent nation, who did not believe them to be invincible or immortal.
Almagro, finding that his soldiers refused to fight again, abandoned the enterprize, and immediately began his march for Peru. He returned by the sea-coast; his dread of the perils of the mountain road being fresh in his mind. On his return to Peru he attempted to secure that government for himself, and for this purpose fought a battle with Pizarro, by whom he was taken, tried and beheaded as a disturber of the public peace.
Thus perished the first invader of Chili. The thirst of riches was the moving spring of his expedition. He was disappointed; he then sought to dispossess his friend Pizarro of the share he had obtained in the New World, and by him was put to death; thus showing that there can be no sincere friendships among the wicked.
THE RHINOCEROS.
The Rhinoceros.
I know not how it may be with others, but I could never see a rhinoceros without laughing. There was one in Boston a few years ago, and he looked to me like an enormous pig with a very muddy coat on. His shape, his aspect, his ways, were all swinish, and his skin seemed entirely too large for him; it was therefore gathered up in folds across his back and sides. He eat hay, though he seemed to prefer sweet apples, corn and potatoes. He was a curiosity indeed.
I believe the rhinoceros to be the only creature that has a horn upon his nose; and I do not see why that is not a good place for one, if the creature wants a horn. This animal finds his convenient for tearing away the trees in his passage through the woods, and perhaps in digging up roots for food; and in his battles with the elephant, he often gives his enemy a terrible scratch with it under the ribs. So his horn answers at one time as a pickaxe, and at another it is like a warrior’s spear: thus it serves the purposes of peace and war; it brings sustenance, and it affords defence. Who then shall find fault with nature for giving the rhinoceros a horn upon the nose?
If one horn upon the nose is a good thing, two must be better; so there are some of these creatures that have two. The African species, which is very powerful and numerous in some parts, has two horns; the Asiatic species, found in India, has but one. This latter kind is seldom more than six or seven feet long, but those of Africa are sometimes twelve feet. They are, therefore, excepting the elephant, the largest of quadrupeds.