CHAPTER XLI.

FOUR HUNDRED SPANISH HORSEMEN, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ABIPONES, OVERCOME A NUMEROUS HORDE OF TOBAS.

The Governor, Joseph Martinez Fontez, being laid up with a fit of the apoplexy, appointed Fulgentio de Yegros, an illiterate, but brave and intelligent man, to the government of the province, during the period of his indisposition. Congratulating himself upon this opportunity of conducting a successful enterprize, Fulgentio flew to our colony, accompanied by four hundred horse, in the design of undertaking a joint expedition with the Abipones against the Tobas, long so hostile to the whole province. After some days' journey, as no signs appeared of any hostile settlements, the Spaniards began to think of a return, alleging the difficulties of the road, the scarcity of provisions, and the weariness of their horses; but this unseasonable and inglorious design was openly condemned by the Abipones, who were possessed with a greater thirst for battle and revenge. Their scouts, by means of the print of horses' feet, at length discovered a populous horde of Tobas, to which there was no access but by a narrow path through a surrounding wood. Every thing was put in readiness for the assault, and, as the event of momentous affairs is often, as Livy says, determined in a moment, the Governor resolved, with the approbation of the Abipones, to attack the savages next day about dawn, whilst they were sleeping, or half asleep, that they might be circumvented before they were aware of the enemy's approach. But as some Abipones, who had been sent forward to take a nearer view of the enemy's station, were so much retarded by the ruggedness of the way, that they did not return to the Spaniards till midnight; and as the great forest which intervened could only be crossed by the horsemen at a leisurely pace; the assault was not made till the middle of the day, and then with less than the anticipated success: for, most of the inhabitants being engaged in the chase at a distance from home, and there being consequently few to oppose the assailants, and none but a helpless crowd of women, children, and old men to be vanquished and taken captive, the fight was attended with some advantage, but with very little difficulty or glory. Terrified at the sudden attack of the Spaniards, their eyes and ears assaulted by the blaze and thundering sound of the muskets, these wretches preferred flight to resistance. Many were intercepted and slain in their disorderly retreat by the pursuing foe; the rest endeavoured to preserve their lives in the forest; but as the Abipones examined all the recesses of the woods like hounds, very few of the Tobas escaped their eyes and hands, some being deprived of life, others of liberty.

The Spaniards, with great justice, attributed the whole success of this expedition to the Abipones, by whose sagacity the settlements of the savages had at first been discovered, and by whose celerity great numbers were prevented from escaping. I never could learn the exact number of persons that fell that day, but the captives of every description amounted to forty, mostly taken by the Abipones, who obtained besides a booty of an immense drove of horses belonging to the enemy. The Spanish soldiers, though they terrified all the savages by the firing of their muskets in this sudden attack, were able to wound but very few of them, owing to the circumstance of their having passed the preceding night, in order to be in readiness for pursuing their journey, on horseback amongst the trees; in which situation the gunpowder was moistened by the nocturnal dew, so that it was with the utmost difficulty that it could be afterwards made to take fire. An old Toba, who had been wounded by a bullet, drove on his family before him, defending them with an uplifted spear, till he had very nearly reached the border of the wood, without any of the Spaniards daring to oppose him; but he and his people were cut to pieces by our Cacique Oahari, with a sword which he snatched from a Spaniard as it lay idle in its sheath. The wife and two daughters of the Cacique Keebetavalkin were slain in the same manner. Not one of the Spaniards was killed, or even hurt, in this chase, rather than battle. Many of them were present only to increase the number of soldiers, and to be spectators of the assault.

A Spanish boy, who had been carried away from Paraguay by the Tobas in his infancy, was set at liberty on this occasion. It is incredible how great was his abhorrence of his countrymen the Spaniards, whom he had ever considered as enemies; he was neither to be conciliated by gifts nor caresses. A Spanish woman, who was released from captivity amongst the Tobas, informed the Governor that there was a very numerous horde of Tobas, scarce two days' journey from that place; but he, disregarding the wishes of the Abipones, who urged him to attack it, alleged the weariness of the horses and scarcity of provisions as excuses for hastening his return, and deferring the attack upon that horde till another time; but that time never came. All the sensible Spaniards were indignant at the Governor's letting slip this long wished for opportunity of destroying, or at any rate chastising the atrocious nation of Tobas, whose daily business and delight it for so many years had been to cut the throats of the Spaniards. They thought that the society of the Abipones, who were of so much service in seeking out and fighting the enemy, might not hereafter be obtained without great difficulty; and that many would perhaps atone with their blood for one man's fault in neglecting such fair opportunities of victory.

Whilst the Abipones were absent on this expedition, the defence of the colony entirely devolved upon me, a charge in the performance of which I underwent much trouble and anxiety; for the neighbouring Mocobios, learning from their spies that none but the women and children remained at home with me, repeatedly approached us for mischievous purposes. But as I never ceased watching, day and night, with unremitting vigilance, their insidious attempts never succeeded but once, when they carried off a number of excellent horses from the pastures where they had been left to feed by the Spanish soldiers, the persons appointed to guard them being asleep at the time. The head of the plunderers was a certain Mocobio, who had deserted religion and a town life, and was second to none in rapacity and cunning. By day he used to converse familiarly with the Spaniards appointed to guard the cattle, as he understood their language, and to take his dinner with them: but one night he suddenly went off with his companions who were lurking hard by, and carried away a number of choice horses. After fourteen days' journey our heroes returned, leading in triumph a miserable crowd of captives whom they exhibited as trophies, and testimonials of their valour. But for my part I judged a victory stained with the blood of so many helpless women and girls more worthy of sorrow than of applause, knowing that it would certainly be atoned for by that of myself, or my people, and that the surviving Tobas would never allow the death or captivity of their wives, mothers, or children to go unrevenged; in which opinion all the Spaniards coincided, firmly believing that certain danger threatened the colony from those enraged savages. But the Governor, hastening to the city, evinced how little he had our safety at heart, when he left such a scanty band as we were, exposed to a multitude of enemies, breathing nothing but vengeance. After much entreaty, he could only be persuaded to leave us five Spanish guards, wretched creatures, entirely destitute of courage, and nearly so of arms. These were sent home at intervals, and succeeded by others, as bad, or worse; so that they rather served as a laughing-stock, than as a protection to the Abipones.

I must not omit to mention that the Abipones publicly, and with the utmost effrontery, celebrated a slaughter they had formerly committed on the Spaniards, whose skulls they exhibited with songs and drinking, Fulgentio being present with his forces, and not daring to take the least exception at it. Since they durst do that in the face of the Governor, and four hundred soldiers, what respect would they pay to the threats or admonitions of a priest?

On the same day that the Abipones returned from the expedition, I visited all the tents of my people, to see and speak with the captives, and if they stood in need of medicine or assistance, to afford it them without delay: for either the terror excited by the sudden assault of the Spaniards, or grief at the loss of liberty and their native soil, or the burning heat of the sun in travelling, had affected them to such a degree, that we thought they were certainly going to be seized with some disease. But I found them all in good health except one woman, the skin of whose head had been grazed by a bullet. As the wound was only skin-deep, the Spaniards laid a piece of fresh wax on the place, by way of a plaster, and the flies which infest moist places gradually bred worms there, which, as they occupied a dangerous part of the head, threw the woman into a delirium; but by the timely application of tiger's fat the worms were destroyed.

A slight dispute arose between the Spaniards and Abipones on the subject of the captives; the former, in order to draw all eyes towards them on their return to the city, and to be congratulated with the greater applause, wanted to take both the captive youths and the Toba women out of the hands of the Abipones, and to adorn themselves, like the daw, with borrowed plumes; on the other hand, the Abipones obstinately maintained that what they themselves had taken with the danger of their lives, was their own property; but were induced, by a settled compensation, or liberal promises, to cede a very few of the Tobas to the Spaniards, the rest of the captives being retained in the colony. I did not look upon myself as authorized to decide this controversy, but silently hoped that none of the captives would remain with us, foreseeing that their presence would prove highly prejudicial to our colony. As we had no place for confining the captives, and as they enjoyed equal liberty of wandering with the rest, they every one escaped whilst their masters were absent or asleep. Some of the older Tobas returned home with stolen horses, and having become well acquainted with the whole of our neighbourhood, frequently returned to harass and plunder the colony.