CHAPTER V.

OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE ABIPONES IN THE LANDS BELONGING TO THE CITY OF CORRIENTES.

The city Corrientes is situated towards the East, on the shore where the rivers Parana and Paraguay are united. I have mentioned this and many other remarkable circumstances respecting the city Corrientes, in the Introductory book. The Royal Vice-Governour of the city has some colonies of Spaniards and Indians under his authority, in an extensive and fertile territory; though he can scarcely raise three hundred colonists able to bear arms; who would be quite unequal to repulsing the savages, did not their military valour compensate for the want of numbers. For many years they have had to contend with the Payaguas, who practise piracy, with the Charruas, equestrian savages, and in Chaco towards the West, with the Abipones, Mocobios, Tobas, and Guaycurùs. The Abipones, called Yaaukanigas, roam over the opposite shore, being only separated from the city by the river Parana, which, however, proves no obstacle to their access; for though it is of a great width, they easily swim across it, in the very sight of the city. Allured by this facility, it is incredible with what frequent incursions they ravaged the territories of Corrientes. It is true, that, in former times, they had for a short time maintained peace with that city, in order that they might there exchange the spoils collected from the other Spanish colonies, for necessary articles. These being their dispositions, they were kindly received in their frequent visits by the inhabitants, and even entertained as guests by the Vice-Governour. Of the number of the Abiponian guests was the Cacique Chilome, who, for some unknown cause, went privily, in the dead of the night, to the house of the Vice-Governour; which afforded the Spaniards occasion to suspect, that the savages were meditating to surprize the city, and that they were waiting for supplies on the opposite bank of the river to aid them in executing their project. This report being spread, all the people assembled. The Cacique and his companions were slain that night, by the terrified and tumultuous throng. This murder was the occasion of much bloodshed, and the beginning of a most furious war.

The Abipones, when informed of this deed of the Spaniards, exclaimed that Chilome was unjustly slain, swore to avenge so great an injury, and did in effect employ all their strength, anger, and cunning in punishing the inhabitants of Corrientes, having called to their assistance the Mocobios and Tobas. The citizens passed few weeks without slaughters, not a day without alarms. Stricken with the fear of death, they grew weary of a life they knew not how to preserve, the calamity growing heavier day by day, inasmuch as fewer soldiers remained, numbers being slain in daily skirmishes with the enemy. The miserable remnant, struck with consternation at the fate of their comrades, became readier to fly the savages, than to put them to flight. The whole country was filled with perturbation and slaughter. The estates and settlements near the Parana frequently suffered from the fury and rapacity of the enemy. The little town of Sta. Lucia is about fifty leagues distant from the city, and inhabited by a few unwarlike Indians; in consequence of which it was incessantly molested by the savages. An Indian messenger came from that town and informed the Vice-Governour Ceballos, that the track of the Abiponian spies had been discovered there. Ceballos, to prevent all danger of a hostile inroad, sets off for that place with a troop of horse. When arrived at the spot called _Las Lagunas_, he receives letters from the curate of Sta. Lucia, informing him that all things are safe and tranquil at present; upon which he begins to think of returning to the city. But at this conjuncture, a Spanish horseman, who had just escaped from captivity amongst the Abipones, arrives with news that on the neighbouring shore, and almost in sight, is the populous horde of the Cacique Ychamenraikin, who had lately gone with his Abipones to plunder Cordoba; that none were left at home but the women and children, who were only guarded by a few old men; and that this numerous horde might be safely attacked, and easily taken. Ceballos thought that this opportunity of a successful enterprize was to be embraced with both hands, although many of the soldiers condemned his resolution, and even turned their backs. They said that a captive deserter was not a person to be rashly trusted; that they, who were few in number and in a hostile land, might perhaps be overwhelmed by a multitude of lurking savages; and that a victory bought at so great a risk was by no means desirable. But Ceballos, despising the murmurs of the soldiery, eagerly hastened the expedition, and ordered skiffs to be brought for passing the Parana, where it unites with the Paraguay. The fugitive acting as guide, in a few hours the vast company of savages was discovered, and surrounded by the soldiers. The mothers were taken with their children, or cut to pieces whilst attempting flight, or struggling with the foe; there were many indeed, who eluded the Spaniards by cunning or swiftness, which was by no means difficult in those rugged roads. The booty consisted of numerous droves of horses, and various household utensils of silver, which the Abipones had formerly taken from the Spaniards. The soldiers, returning to the city with a vast crowd of captives, filled the inhabitants with joy and wonder. It is difficult to say the exact number of those who were taken, of every age and sex, but I think it amounted to several hundreds. The wife of the Cacique himself, and his little son Kieemkè, graced the triumph of the soldiers. Raachik, the grandson of the same Cacique, escaped by the way on his swift horse, through the negligence of the soldier appointed to guard him, and returned to his own country. Some of the captives were sent to the remoter towns of the Uruguay and Parana, that, being deprived of all hope of a return to their friends, they might be instructed in the Catholic faith amongst the Christian Guaranies.

The success of this expedition, though it ought to have obtained glory for its author, Ceballos, served only to procure him the envy of his fellow-citizens, and, in the end, banishment. He was persecuted by the people of Corrientes to such a degree that he was obliged to quit the city, and sail with his family to the port of Sta. Fè. Do not confound this man with Pedro Ceballos, Governour of Buenos-Ayres, for no relationship exists between them, either of family or of country. After the departure of this excellent man from Corrientes, the affairs of the inhabitants grew daily more desperate. When Ychamenraikin understood, on his return from Cordoba, that so many women and children, together with his own wife and son, had been taken in his absence, he appeared quite frantic. Infuriated by the loss, and by his eager desire of vengeance, he called on all the nations of Chaco, whose friendship he could depend upon, to avenge this deed of the Spaniards. Hostile troops were seen traversing the plain as thick as locusts. The inhabitants were sought, and dragged from their safest retreats to suffer death or captivity. All the estates, villages, settlements and roads were besprinkled with the blood of these wretches. I collect from the journals of that period, that seventy or more were killed in one day. Such numbers of dead bodies were carried in waggons from the country to the city, that heaps of them were sometimes seen lying on each side of the parochial church, not single bodies in single graves, but all thrown together into one deep ditch. As in the remoter plains they could with difficulty find any to slay, they besieged the city with such a force, and so large an army, that for some days no one could depart from, or return to the city without danger of losing his life. Whilst guard was kept by day and by night, the faint-hearted crowd scarcely ever durst quit the churches, where they besought the forgiveness of offended Heaven, and the cessation of so heavy a calamity. The provisions already beginning to fail, and no hope of liberation appearing, their minds lost all courage, as their bodies all vigour. But at last the most merciful God seemed to favour the prayers of the supplicants; for on the eighth day of the siege the garrison made an eruption, which forced the Abipones to retreat to their encampments beyond the Parana.

After the short truce allowed them by the departure of the enemy, the people of Corrientes perceived that war was rekindling against them. Fresh violence was used by the troops of the Abipones towards the settlements and estates that were farthest from the city. Amongst them was a place called _Rincon de_ _Luna_, till then thought inaccessible to all assailants, because it was hemmed in on every side by deep and wide marshes and ditches, and the Spaniards were forced to approach it by means of a boat. The Abiponian horsemen swam across that sea. The place contained many thousands of cattle, and a sufficient number of Negro slaves to guard them, not one of whom escaped death or captivity, unless he concealed himself from the eyes of the savages. More than twenty youths were carried away, and a great number of the older men put to death. The churches were spoiled of the sacred utensils. Four large bells were taken away, and thrown into the water to prevent their being found. An incredible multitude of horses and mules were driven off: in a word, an estate inferior to none in opulence and security was, in the space of a few hours, brought to ruin. The same fate befel almost all the other estates of the Spaniards, which being now destitute of beef, and the fruits of the earth having been consumed long ago, they began to be at a loss for provisions. The scarcity of food daily increasing, they resolved to desert their native city, and passing through the river, to change their quarters, dreading death more than exile. Whilst the savages continued to lay waste the territories of Corrientes, neither the soldiers nor the captains were deficient in their duty. Bold incursions were repeated against them, and many movements and attacks made here and there. Spies were sent, day and night, to observe the motions of the enemy: but what Argus could watch men whose greatest care and dexterity were exerted to prevent themselves from being seen? The Spaniards frequently attacked the savages, but with various success; they were sometimes conquered, sometimes the conquerors. Ychoalay, the leader of the Abipones, was, in some skirmish, entangled by the soldiers in a noose used for catching horses, and would have been strangled had he not quickly extricated himself. But I firmly assert, that the cause of the fruitlessness of so many expeditions undertaken against the savages originated, not in the cowardice of the Spaniards, but in their boldness and intrepidity, blinded by which they were ignorant or insensible of the dangers which threatened them, and judged vigilance and swiftness unnecessary to their safety. The circumstance I am going to relate will be a proof of this. A company of Spanish horse was placed in a situation obnoxious to the enemy, as in an observatory. Whilst they ought to have taken a complete survey of all things in the open plain, they amused themselves with playing cards in the shade. Meantime a troop of Abipones suddenly appears, and carries away, before their eyes, the horses of the Spaniards, no one making any opposition. If thus they eluded them whilst awake and watching, was it a matter of much difficulty to slay and plunder them whilst asleep and without suspicion?

By the provident counsels of the elder Spaniards, estates and colonies of Indians had been placed on the higher shores of the Parana; that from them the enemies might be seen coming out of Chaco, and that the other remoter settlers might, by this means, be admonished of the approaching danger. The Parana, in these places, is often broken by little islands, which, affording resting-places to the horses when they are fatigued with swimming, offer the Abipones a very convenient passage. Hence, that all sudden assaults might be prevented by the neighbourhood of the settlers dwelling on the shore, Sta. Lucia, St. Iago Sanchez, Ohoma, and Ytati, four townlets of the Indians, were formerly built on the banks of the Parana, at intervals of some leagues. The Abipones, finding that these colonies stood in the way of their clandestine journeys to the interior parts of the province, resolved upon their destruction, and their endeavours proved by no means fruitless. The town of St. Iago Sanchez was at length ruined. Whilst the able-bodied Indians were employed in cutting bulrushes, and a crowd of women, children, and old men were listening to the preacher, the town and church were suddenly besieged by the savages, and consumed by fire. Flight was impracticable: the priest and the whole congregation were burnt to ashes. The neighbouring townlet of Ohoma was annoyed by continual inroads, till the inhabitants, fearing lest it should undergo the same fate, deserted it of their own accord, and removed to safer places. Ytati was miserably ravaged by the Payaguas, Abipones, and Mocobios, but recovered when peace was made by the enemy; and is at this day rich in cattle, though not in inhabitants. The colony of Sta. Lucia was assaulted for many years, but never completely conquered, though the number of inhabitants was incredibly thinned. As the circumference of it is very inconsiderable, it is entirely surrounded by a slender wall, to which it owes its security, as I was assured by the curate of the place. This man had made use of two precautions for the defence of himself and his fellow-citizens; he placed a high chamber on the top of his house, whence he diligently watched the enemy advancing through the flat country. He kept continually in readiness, moreover, a very small warlike machine, by the explosion of which, he both signified to his people, who were employed without the walls, that they should betake themselves home, as danger was nigh, and at the same time deterred the savages from approaching. Arriving at the town of St. Ferdinand, I was asked by one of the Abipones, which way I had come, and on my replying that I had passed through Sta. Lucia, "Alas!" said he, "that terrible Father lives there. He makes use of a huge musket; (alluding to the engine I have described.) Our horses could never support the thundering sound it emits, whilst we have laboured to approach it." Had he been candid, he would have added, that not the horses only, but also their riders, were often put to flight by the noise of that machine.

Whilst this little town of Sta. Lucia remained in security, the other towns and estates of the Spaniards were utterly ruined, being either sacked by the enemy, or deserted by the Spaniards through fear of the enemy. Therefore, whilst the country near the shore was entirely divested of the dwellings of the Christians, the Abipones crossed the Parana at their pleasure, and traversed the land, more like fixed inhabitants, than occasional visitors. The Spanish scouts sent from the city were generally eluded by the savages, and frequently slain by them. But a troop of Spanish horse had remained for the defence of the estates situated near the rivers Sombrero, Sombrerillo, Peguahò, and Riachuelo, and of those nearer the city; they also served to guard the oxen brought from those estates to support the city. Wherever you set your foot in the surrounding fields, you may behold monuments of the cruelty of the savages;—here the remains of dilapidated buildings;—there, numerous crosses planted in the ground. If you enquire what those crosses mean, you will hear that thirty, forty or more bodies of miserable wretches, who were slain by the savages, were formerly buried there. They will show you, in another place, a field sadly noted by the blood and dead bodies of the Spaniards, who were slain in an unfortunate engagement with the savages.

Another misery was added to the calamities of the city, namely, the want of wood. The eastern shore of the Parana, which the city occupies, is not entirely deficient in trees, which afford wood for fuel, but none grow there supplying useful materials for building houses, ships, or waggons. The western shore, however, abounds in such trees; but this being the land of the Yaaukanigar Abipones, no Spaniard can approach it without endangering his life. During the heat of the war, Father Joseph Gaete, of our College, who at that time managed the domestic affairs of the city, saw there was immediate occasion for a very long and firm plank, to prop a house which was almost ready to fall. To procure this with safety, he filled a ship fit to cross the river, with slaves, gave them a guard of soldiers, and accompanied them himself. But scarce had the trunk received a few blows from the axe, when the shouts of the Abipones were heard. The Negroes and soldiers, awaiting neither the arrival of the enemy, nor the Father's orders, left their tools, clothes, and food, flew to the ship, and entirely forgetting the plank which had been the object of their search, made for the opposite bank as fast as possible, flying "the cruel coasts and greedy shore"; their safe escape from which was reckoned amongst the blessings of their lives. From these accounts you may guess in what a condition the affairs of Corrientes then were. Upon the inhabitants of this city did the Abipones pour forth their most unrelenting persecutions, because they were the nearest and most hateful to them. Separated from the Corrientines by the river Parana alone, they easily reiterated their incursions, attracted to plunder by the short distance, and stimulated to revenge by the ever fresh remembrance of the injuries they professed themselves to have received. The peace concluded with the Abipones in the year 1747, and the colonies founded for them, at length put an end to these long calamities. By these means, also, the savages in Chaco were appeased, or at least restrained, so that the Corrientines, after weathering this furious storm, began at last to recover from their sufferings.