CHAPTER IV.

HOW MUCH THE GUARANY TOWNS WERE ANNOYED BY THE ABIPONES.

The Abipones thought they had done nothing, till they directed their attention towards overthrowing the towns of the Guaranies, whom they regarded with implacable hatred, because, being converted by us to the Roman Catholic religion, they not only paid obedience to the Catholic King as subjects, but also served him as soldiers in the camp, whenever they were called upon by the Royal Governours. The towns of the Guaranies, and the other estates, which are near the banks of the Paraguay and Parana, for many years, were daily more and more exposed to the fury and rapacity of the enemy. Innumerable were the Indians that were cruelly massacred, the cattle of every description that were driven away, and the youths that were made captive. Many were burnt in their own houses, where they hid themselves for fear of the swords of the enemy. The town of St. Ignatius Guazù, formerly in a very flourishing state, lost much of its splendor, and was very nearly destroyed; for it was situated in a place which affords an excellent opportunity for stratagems to the savages, who hide themselves in the adjacent woods, whence they can easily sally forth, and soon reach the estate and the town itself. Scarcely a month passed without murder and robberies. It is incredible how much the number of men and cattle was diminished by their continual incursions. Although a watch was kept up by day and by night, no one durst promise himself security. The craftiness or boldness of the Abipones eluded all the vigilance and industry of the inhabitants. On some holy-day, when the people were attending divine service, a great crowd of savages burst into the very market-place. The inhabitants seized and threw at the aggressors whatever weapons were at hand. The Christians fought with more valour than success. The chief men of the city, and more than three hundred senators, beside many others of the common people, fell fighting before the door of the church. A great many of the Abipones were slain and wounded. The Guaranies took a Spaniard, who had grown up amongst the Abipones, having been taken captive by them at an early period of his life, and who had offered to be their leader in this as in many other expeditions. What must have been the feelings of the Jesuit priest, Francisco Maria Rasponi Bergomas, long curate of the town, when, on looking out of the church before he had taken off his sacred robes, he perceived the heaps of dead bodies, and the streets swimming with blood? Who can express his horror? This bloody fight elated the minds of the Abipones, in proportion as those of the Guaranies were depressed by it. With greater boldness and frequency, they continued to slaughter the Indians, and to seize the cattle, both in the estate, and in the fields adjoining the city. In one day, four thousand oxen and immense droves of horses became the prey of these rapacious thieves. Let not those that read this accuse the Fathers who presided over the town of sloth or inactivity: nothing was omitted by them which seemed advisable for the security of their people. All access was forbidden the enemy by means of ditches and palisades, and additional guards armed with muskets. Scouts were dispatched every day to explore the roads. Sentinels were placed in suspected situations, as in a watch-tower. But what did all this avail? Those who were commanded to watch and to guard behaved as usual: danger was frequently the nearest when every thing was thought in the utmost security. They said their accustomed _Nama[(r]aichene_, "we shall be safe," and when they felt drowsy, slept without care or apprehension. Thence it often happened that whilst they ought to have watched for the public safety, unmindful even of their own, they were surprized and slaughtered by the Abipones. In the town of St. Iago, while the people were attending divine service, the Abipones came, and of the many hundred who were keeping watch, part they slew, and part they led into captivity, having, at the first onset, carried off some hundred horses. As numerous bloody incursions were repeated within sight of the same town, few days passed without fears, or alarming reports. The same fate befel Nuestra Senhora de Fè for many years; on which account Juan Baptista Marquiseti, a man of our order, and curate of the place, surrounded it on all sides with ditches to keep out the savage horsemen, and supplied the Indians with a sufficient quantity of muskets: and his labours were amply repaid, for at length these tumults abated. Forty Indian soldiers sent from this town, and as many from the town of Sta. Rosa, to keep guard over their respective estates, perished on the fifth of February, a very few only escaping by the swiftness of their horses. On that day, alas! how great was the loss of horses and mules in both estates! Some thousands were driven away. In another place, a quantity of the herb of Paraguay, belonging to a Spanish merchant, was conveyed in many waggons from the town of Sta. Rosa to the banks of the Parana, by Guaranies; to whom was given, as a superintendent and guard, a certain Spaniard, an active man, armed with seven excellent muskets; but without having time allowed him for loading any of them, he was surrounded by a troop of Abipones, and slain, with almost all the Indians, except two, and a crowd of horses and oxen. Fifty dead bodies were found lying on the field. I have thought proper to relate those slaughters which were most recently committed whilst I was in the country; for it would be endless to describe, individually, all which the Guaranies suffered in the space of so many years. The poor wretches, half dead at the remembrance of them, whenever they had an engagement with the Abipones, seemed to think more of undergoing death, than of inflicting it. This very fear of the Guaranies stimulated the Abipones to fresh pillaging, in proportion as it increased their confidence of victory; so that on an approaching fight, like the Spartans, they did not enquire how many the Guaranies were, but where. The terror of the Guaranies being perceived by the Royal Governour, some Spanish soldiers were hired, at his advice, and ordered to traverse the roads on horseback, for the security of their towns, to watch the march of the savages, and to repel them, or at least apprize the inhabitants of their arrival. But the sagacity of the Abipones out-witted the vigilance of the Spanish horsemen, and their assaults were repeated with the same frequency as before, although with greater caution. In consequence therefore of the little benefit and great inconvenience which the towns derived from these guards, who were supported by them at a great expense, they were permitted to return home. But the savages were not always suffered to ravage with impunity. They not unfrequently atoned for the deaths of others by their own. Sometimes, as they were meditating an attack, they were discovered and repulsed. Sometimes they were overtaken in precipitate flight by the Guaranies, by whom they were very roughly handled, and obliged to relinquish their booty. The Guaranies might oftener have triumphed over the Abipones, would they have preserved their lives by keeping strict watch. Vigilance, as I have often observed, is the best armour against the savages. You will wonder, in reading this, that the Guaranies were such timid hares at home, when they are described by historians to have fought like lions in the royal camps, against the Portugueze, and even against the savages. They behaved nobly in the king's service, because they were governed by Spanish generals. At home, when left to themselves, they did but little against the savages. They are swayed by the impulse of the moment, and consequently fulfil the duties neither of good soldiers, nor of good generals. They are indeed robust members, but they languish for want of a head. Even the best soldiers, without an able leader, must despair of victory, as the strongest ship, wanting a proper pilot and rudder, must give up all hopes of reaching port. The sword with which Scanderbeg slew thousands of Turks, wielded by a feeble hand, would scarcely wound the outermost skin of the enemy.