Part 14

Excepting a few cities, which carry on commerce with European ships, or with the neighbouring people of Peru, and Chili, and the Portugueze, money is used very rarely, if at all, its place being supplied by the exchange of commodities, as amongst the ancients. Horses, mules, oxen, sheep, tobacco, cotton, the herb of Paraguay, sugar, salt, various kinds of grain, fruits, vegetables, the skins of animals, &c. are used instead of money in Paraguay; with these all necessaries are purchased, and the usual stipends and taxes paid to the bishops, priests and governours, especially in the district of Asumpcion. The prices of all natural productions are regulated by the magistrates, and are diligently learnt and observed both by the seller, and the purchaser. In a very few towns, where money is used, we find only three kinds of silver coins, namely, the _peso fuerte_, _peso de plata_, or _patacon_, which is equal in value to a Spanish crown, or to two German florens: the _real de plata_, and the _medio real de plata_; the first of which is equivalent to five German _groschen_, the other to seven _cruitzers_ and a half. You never see any gold or copper money. The Indians in the towns entrusted to our charge are entirely unprovided with money, and the Jesuits likewise, except that we had fourteen silver pieces, or as many rials, or _medios reales de plata_, in every town. For these pieces of money, according to the custom of the Spanish church, in public weddings, are given by the parish priest to the bridegroom, and by him to the bride, as a dowry, but are afterwards returned again to the priest, that the same money, and the same nuptial rings, may serve over and over again. I think that you may aptly apply to Paraguay what was said of Germany by Tacitus, De Moribus Germanorum: _Argentum et aurum propitii, an irati Dii negaverint, dubito_. If liberal nature had there created gold and silver, if art and industry had discovered those metals, the Spaniards would long since have left off breeding cattle, and cultivating the celebrated herb, both irksome employments. The Indians, who must then have been occupied in digging metals, would have shunned both the religion and friendship of the Spaniards, since they found them coupled with slavery; and we Jesuits should never have induced so many savages to embrace our religion; so that the want or ignorance of metals may be reckoned amongst the divine blessings and advantages of Paraguay.

Though Paraguay is entirely destitute of metals, yet it can by no means be called a poor country. It abounds in things necessary for human subsistence, and especially in all kinds of cattle. The whole world does not contain a country more numerously supplied with oxen, horses, mules, and sheep; which were formerly brought to Paraguay, and in the course of two hundred years increased marvellously, both on account of the richness of the pastures, and the unbounded liberty they possessed of wandering up and down the plains, both by day and night, at every time of the year. The quantity of kine which exists there is scarce credible to a European. Fifty years ago, when all the plains were covered with wild oxen, travellers were obliged to send horsemen before them to clear the way, by driving away the beasts which stood threatening them with their horns. It is, therefore, no wonder that at that time a full grown ox was sold for five _groschen_, (a _real de plata_,) as appears from the old books of valuations. Every Spaniard who intended to enlarge his estate hired a troop of horse, who brought him eight, ten, or more, thousands of cows and bulls from the country, within a few weeks. Do you desire to be made acquainted with the shape of the Paraguayrian oxen? In height they equal those of Hungary, and generally surpass them in the size of their bodies, though not of the same, but of various colours. With a sort of ferocious arrogance they imitate stags in the manner of holding their lofty heads, and almost equal them in swiftness. Unless a long drought have impoverished the pastures, every ox yields such a weight of fat, that two robust men are sometimes scarce able to carry it. The fat of oxen is always used instead of butter in culinary preparations; for the cows are very seldom milked, on account of their ferocity; the taming of them is a long and laborious process, and consequently odious to the slothful Spaniards and Indians. When tamed, they will not suffer themselves to be milked, unless their feet are tied and their calf is standing beside them. Sometimes the mothers are sent with their calves to the pastures, return home at evening of their own accord, and are separated at night, unless their milk has been exhausted by the calves—on which account milk and cheese are very seldom used in Paraguay, butter scarcely ever. A butcher and shambles are words unknown to the Paraguayrians. Every one slays his oxen at his pleasure. The poorer sort do not buy pounds of meat, as is customary in Europe, but a part of a slaughtered ox, which they generally owe to the liberality of the rich. Two or three young men are sufficient to kill the most furious bull. One throws a noose of leather over his neck, another casts one round his hind legs, and cuts the nerve of one of them, then, leaping on his back, fixes a knife in his neck; thus the ox falls, despatched at one blow.

An ox-hide, which measures three ells from the head to the tail, and is called by the Spaniards a legal hide, is bought by merchants at six German florens, though a whole live ox is sold for only two florens amongst the Guaranies, and for four amongst the Spaniards; for the labour employed on hides, even before they are dressed, increases their price. They are carefully fastened to the ground, to be dried, with wooden pegs, under shelter, in a place where the fresh air is admitted; and lest moths should gnaw or strip them of their hairs, for thirteen or, at least, eight days, the dust which ingenders these insects must be diligently beaten from them with a stick. This labour, which was often continued for many months, whilst some thousands of them were disposed of, is rated very high by the Spaniards who sell them. It is incredible what art and industry are employed in stretching hides, which come a little short of three ells, to the usual size, though when made as thin as paper they are totally useless to European curriers, on account of whose complaints this stretching of hides has long since been prohibited. The Spaniards, finding that the trade in hides was by far the most profitable to them of any, were possessed with a blind rage for killing all the oxen they could lay hands on. For this purpose, troops of horse were perpetually traversing those plains which abounded most in wild cattle. The horsemen employed have each separate tasks assigned them. Some furnished with swift horses attack a herd of oxen, and with a long spear, to which is added a sharp semicircular scythe, disable the older bulls by cutting the nerve of the hinder foot; others throw the halter on them whilst they are staggering, and others follow behind to knock down and slay the captive bulls. The rest are employed in stripping the hides off the slaughtered animals, conveying them to an appointed place, fixing them to the ground with pegs, and taking out and carrying away the tongues, suet, and fat. The rest of the flesh, which would suffice to feed a numerous army in Europe, is left on the plain to be devoured by tigers, wild dogs and ravens; and indeed one might almost fear lest the air should be corrupted by such a quantity of dead bodies. In an expedition of this kind, lasting several weeks, the person at whose expense it is undertaken is supplied with some thousands of hides. This custom of hunting and slaughtering oxen, being continued for a whole century, exhausted almost all the plains of wild cattle. You no longer saw those public and immense herds of innumerable oxen, which belonged to no one in particular, but might be appropriated to the use of any. It must be attributed to the extensiveness of the plains, and the fertility of the soil, that in the Paraguayrian estates the number of oxen is still so great that Europe may envy, but cannot hope to equal them. At this day a fat ox may be bought for four florens amongst the Spaniards, and two amongst the Guaranies. In the first years that I spent there one floren was the universal price, but as the number of herds was daily decreasing, the price increased in proportion. I have known Spaniards who possessed about an hundred thousand oxen in their estates. The town Yapeyù, which was dedicated to the three kings, contained fifty thousand; that of S. Miguel many more, but not one superfluous. At least forty oxen were daily slaughtered to satisfy the appetites of seven thousand Guaranies. Add to these the oxen which are privily slain by the Indians, either in the town or the estate, and those which are daily consumed by hostile savages, by tigers, wild dogs, and worms which are bred in the navels of calves. Every merchant's ship transports thirty, and sometimes forty, ox-hides into Europe. Who can reckon the number of hides daily employed in manufacturing ropes, building hedges and houses, and making trunks, saddles, and wrappers for the herb of Paraguay, tobacco, sugar, wheat, cotton and other things? The common people amongst the Spaniards have no other bed than an ox-hide stretched upon the ground, which is also the case with an innumerable crowd of negro slaves. Beef is the principal, daily, and almost only food of the lower orders in Paraguay. Moreover that quantity of meat which would overload the stomach of a European is scarce sufficient to satisfy the appetite of an American. A Guarany, after fasting but a very few hours, will devour a young calf. An Indian, before he lies down to sleep, places a piece of meat to roast at the fire, that he may eat immediately when he wakes. Place food before him, and the rising and the setting sun will behold him with his jaws at work and his mouth full, but with an appetite still unsatisfied. Such being the voracity of the inhabitants, and so continual the slaughters of innumerable oxen, you will agree with me that Paraguay may be called the devouring grave, as well as the seminary of cattle.

Besides this incredible multitude of oxen, Paraguay breeds an infinite number of horses, all sprung from seven mares which the Spaniards brought with them. The whole of that plain country, extending from the river Plata full two hundred leagues in every direction, is covered with droves of wandering horses, of which any person may catch as many as he likes, and make them his own property. Some horsemen, within a few days, bring home more than a thousand horses from the plain. A hunt of this kind is performed in various ways. Some catch every horse they come near with a leathern cord. Others construct a hedge with a wide entrance like the sleeve of a garment, through which they drive a herd of horses, separated from the rest, into the inclosed space, where, after they have been confined for some time, hunger and thirst render them gentle, and they are easily led away wherever the owner chooses, in company with other tame horses. Sometimes a part of the plain is burnt. The horses crowding eagerly to crop the new grass, are surrounded on all sides, and forced away by the hunters. There were some who secured the mares that were taken in this manner, by slightly cutting the nerve of the hinder foot, to prevent their running away. A horse of this kind of either sex, when brought from the country, and before it is accustomed to the saddle and bridle, is sometimes bought for ten or thirteen cruitzers. The colts of the mares are given gratis to the purchasers.

Horses in Paraguay are valued, or the contrary, not according to their colour, or the conformation of their bodies, but chiefly according to their natural method of going, which is of four different kinds. The most esteemed are those which have not the common trot, but move very gently, and when spurred begin to amble, so that the rider might hold a cup full of liquor in his hand, and not spill a drop. They are either born with this kind of pace, or are taught it by art. If the mother be an ambler, though the father may not have been so, the colt will generally prove an ambler also; but more certainly if both parents have been of that kind. The young horses that are most remarkable for beauty of form, and for strength, are selected from the rest, and taught that easy and swift manner of moving. Their fore feet are fastened to their hinder ones in such a manner, that, though still able to walk, they cannot practise their natural method of leaping, which is so unpleasant to the rider. Others tie to the feet of the young horse a round stone, wrapped up in a skin, which strikes his legs when he attempts to trot, and makes him endeavour, through fear of the pain, to walk gently. This method of teaching is practised in all the Guarany towns. An ambling nag goes two leagues in the space of an hour, unless impeded by the roughness of the road; nor can a common horse keep up with him, unless spurred by the rider to a gallop. But the natural pace of those horses which the Spaniards call _trotones_, the Abipones _nichilicheranetà_, and the Germans _trabganger_, is very unpleasant to the rider; for they lift up their feet like pestles, violently shaking the rider's body: yet as they tread firmly, and lift up their feet at every step, they stumble seldomer than the amblers, which, scarce raising their feet from the ground, and uniting the greatest swiftness to gentleness, by striking their hoofs against stones, roots of trees, and hard clods, more frequently fall and throw their rider, especially when there is no beaten path. In long journeys, especially through rugged places, it is best to make use of those horses between the amblers and the trotters, which, as they approach more nearly to the human method of walking, fatigue the rider less, are not so soon fatigued themselves, and are not so apt to stumble.

Much are those historians mistaken, who have persuaded the celebrated Robertson that the American horses have small bodies, and no spirit, and that they are mere dwarfs and spectres in comparison with those of Europe. I boldly affirm that the Paraguayrian horses differ nothing from those of our own country in size, shape, and good qualities. You meet everywhere with horses of lofty, or of middling stature; some well fitted for a vaulter, and others for a man armed cap-a-pié. Pygmies, like Corsican horses, are as rare in Paraguay as comets in the sky. I allow that Paraguay is as yet unacquainted with horses like the natives of the Styrian mountains, which almost resemble elephants in their immense back, huge limbs, and broad hoofs: this country produces slenderer horses, better adapted for riding and racing than for chariots and waggons. But were they fed like those of Europe on oats and barley, and defended in a stable against the inclemencies of the weather, they would very probably grow to the same size. The horses of Paraguay are born out of doors, and remain there, night and day, the whole year round; are fed upon any grass they can find, (which is not always either very good, or very plentiful,) and upon leaves of trees, or dry wood; they often seek in vain for water to quench their thirst, and find it neither good, nor in sufficient quantities. Being constantly in the open air, they are exposed at one time to the scorching sun; at another to continual showers; sometimes to hoar frosts; when a south wind is up, to bitter cold; and at all times and places to the stings of flies, gad-flies, and gnats, infinite swarms of which flit up and down. I attribute it to these causes that the horses of Paraguay never attain to the size of the Styrian, Holsatian, Danish, and Neapolitan horses. During the winter months, the former grow lean from feeding upon poor grass, and their hair becomes darker, but at the return of fine weather, they regain their strength and natural colour. They fatten so much in fertile pastures, abounding in grass and nitre, that you might count money upon their back, as on a table—a common saying in regard to very fat horses amongst the Spaniards. But though the richness of the grass greatly fattens the Paraguayrian horses, it never gives them that strength which European horses derive from food composed of oats, barley, straw, and hay, which enables them to bear a rider, and to draw a cart, every day, and all day.

All the different colours, by which horses are distinguished in Europe, are to be found in those of Paraguay. They are oftener, however, white, and chesnut-coloured, than black or bay; a circumstance which gave me much surprize, as men born in the same climate, whether of European or American parents, are almost always distinguished by very black, coarse hair. White and chesnut-coloured horses are indeed very pleasing to the eyes, and possess great gentleness and docility; but experience has taught me that they are much sooner fatigued, and seldom possess that strength which we see in horses of a black or reddish colour, especially those in which the red resembles the colour of toasted bread: the patience with which these horses endure labour, and travelling, is expressed in an old Spanish proverb, importing that they will die before they are fatigued: _Alazan tostado antes muerto, que cansado_. We have, however, frequently found white horses sprinkled with black, with black manes and tails, to possess a great deal of strength. The same may be said with regard to the darker bays, which have manes and tails of a blackish colour. Pybald horses in Paraguay are thought crafty and dangerous; nor are they slandered in this respect, as I have frequently found to my cost, although I may truly say that I never bestrode a Paraguayrian horse, of whatever colour it might be, with that confidence and security which I feel in mounting an European one; for many of them are apt to wince, and be stubborn, to stumble and throw their rider, and almost all are startlish and fearful, being terrified at any sudden noise, or the sight of any strange object; whereupon, if the bridle be neglected they will stand with their head lifted up to the breast of their rider, or rear, and throw him off, or fling him to a distance, if he be not very firmly seated.

In such a vast multitude of horses, there is necessarily great variety. You will see some handsomer, stronger, and swifter than others, as in Europe. Those which have a broad breast, a small head, large and black eyes, short and pricking ears, wide nostrils, a bushy mane, a large and long tail, hairy feet, a small belly, a wide round back, straight slender legs and hard hoofs, not indented, like a comb; those which, with playful alacrity, provoke the rest to fight in the plain, leap ditches without the least hesitation, cross marshes quickly, and, as soon as they are released from the saddle and bridle, joyfully roll themselves on the ground, are esteemed superior to all others in Paraguay. Those born in rough, stony situations are preferred to the natives of a soft, clayey soil; for this reason, that if you remove a horse accustomed to such places, to soft, marshy plains, you will find him slacken his pace, and walk slowly and timidly for a long time. This fear is occasioned by the earth's yielding to their hoofs. But a horse bred on a soft soil, when brought to stony places, and gravelly roads, will often stumble and get lame—his hoofs being bruised, and even made bloody by the roughness of the stones. Horseshoes are never used in Paraguay, though that country abounds in rocks and stones. A horseshoe would cost more than any horse, on account of the dearness of iron, and moreover because blacksmiths are not even known here by name. The experience of many years has taught me that horses, wherever they are born, in a few months grow accustomed to any soil. Mares kept for the purpose of breeding have their manes and tails shorn by the Spaniards, that they may fatten sooner, for I know of no other reason. But horses kept for riding are adorned with a long bushy tail, which increases their beauty and value. Even the meanest negro slave would think it an indignity and a punishment were he ordered to ride on a horse that was deprived of its tail. The Indians think we are jesting when they hear us say that in Europe there exist men who cut off the tails of their horses, and reckon it an improvement; for they think that a handsome tail is not only a great ornament to a horse, but likewise his instrument of defence, with which he drives away the swarms of flies and gnats. A Spanish priest, of an advanced age, who had long been in a bad state of health, had in his possession a horse of an extremely gentle disposition, as well as of a quick and easy pace. This horse the old man made use of, in preference to innumerable others that he possessed, in all his necessary journeys. A certain Spaniard had long wished for the horse, and vainly offered to give for it whatever price the owner chose. Impatient of repulse, he dared to threaten that, unless the old man would sell the horse of his own accord, he should steal it from him. The owner, fearing that he would have very little difficulty in accomplishing his threat, said to his servant, "Go, and cut off the tail of that horse of mine: it is better to lose a part of him than the whole. When deprived of his tail he will be laughed at by all who see him, but he will at least be secured from thieves. I would rather be derided myself for using a horse without a tail, than have all my bones and limbs jolted to pieces, like pepper in a mortar, by any other trotting beast." To mutilate the tail of another person's horse, is a bitter and not uncommon kind of revenge amongst the lower orders of Spaniards; it is also thought an insufferable insult for one man to call another _un rabon_, a horse without a tail.

To keep horses in good condition, or make them so, it is of much importance that they be kept extremely clean; for if their skin is covered with dust, their mane uncombed, their tail full of scurf, and their hair matted together, the perspiration is obstructed by the pores being stopped up, and consequently they, by degrees, grow lean and scraggy, or get the mange. On this account, the Spaniards and Abipones, who are most careful of their property, though less solicitous than Europeans about combing, washing, and rubbing down their horses, and unprovided with instruments for those purposes, take great care to prevent their growing dirty, though they have no other stable than the open plain, day and night, during every part of the year. If thistles, thorns, and other prickly plants of that kind stick to their tails, they carefully extricate them by anointing their hair with tallow. After performing a journey, when the harness is taken off, they wash and wipe the back of the horse, which is bathed in perspiration, and lest the coldness of the air should cause it to swell, keep it covered, for some time, with a horsecloth. Moreover the health and liveliness of horses are best preserved by taking care that their pastures be not situated very far either from clear lakes or limpid rivers, where the horses may drink and bathe at their pleasure; for in the winter months the cold air makes them lean and mangy, and the frequent droughts produce the same effect in the summer season, unless they have an opportunity of laving and swimming.