Part 12

THE governor, having full information concerning those parts through which he had to enter in order to discover the land and relieve the Spaniards, and being supplied with all things necessary for his journey, on the eighteenth of October of the same year ordered the embarkation of the people that were to follow him in the discovery, with the twenty-six horses and mares which had survived the sea voyage; and he ordered them to cross the river Ytabucu and subdue it, and take possession of it in the name of His Majesty, as newly discovered land. He left in the island of St. Catalina one hundred and forty persons, who were to embark and go by sea to the river La Plata, where the port of Buenos Ayres is situated; and he charged Pedro Estopiñan Cabeza de Vaca, whom he left there in the capacity of captain of the said people, that before leaving the island he should supply and furnish the vessel with provisions both for the people he was taking with him, as well as for those in Buenos Ayres; and before his departure he gave many presents to the natives of the island, in order that they might remain, and some of them readily offered their services to accompany the governor and his people, to show the road and be useful in other ways; and their assistance happened to be very handy. On the 2nd November of the said year the governor ordered that all his people, besides the provisions carried by the Indians, should each take what he could carry for the road. And the same day he began his march, with two hundred and fifty arquebusiers and crossbowmen, very well trained in arms, twenty-five horses, the two Franciscan friars, and the Indians of the island; then he sent the vessel back to the island of St. Catalina in order that Pedro de Estopiñan Cabeza de Vaca might embark and go with his people to Buenos Ayres; and so the governor went on his way into the interior of the land, where he and his people underwent many troubles. In nineteen days they crossed great mountains, cutting roads through forests, to enable the men and the horses to pass, for all the land was uninhabited. And at the end of these nineteen days, having exhausted the provisions which they had carried when they began their march, and having nothing left to eat, it pleased God that, without the loss of a man, they discovered the first inhabitants, who are called "del campo", where they found certain villages of Indians, whose chief lord was called Añiriri, and at one day's journey from this people there was another whose chief was Cipoyay. And beyond this people again there was a third tribe of Indians, whose chief said that he was called Tocanguasú. And when the Indians knew of the arrival of the governor and his people, they went out to meet him laden with plenty of provisions, showing great joy at their arrival. The governor received them affably, and, besides paying the value of the provisions into the hands of the chiefs, he graciously gave them many shirts and other things, with which they remained satisfied. This is a people and tribe called Guaranís; they are cultivators, sowing maize twice in the year, and also cassava. They rear fowls as in our Spain, and geese; keep many parrots in their houses, and occupy much land, and the whole are of one language. They eat human flesh, as well that of their Indian enemies as of Christians; they also eat one another. This people is very fond of war, and they seek it; they are very vindictive. Of this people and their territory the governor took possession, in the name of His Majesty, as newly discovered land, and called it the province of Vera,[307] as it appears from the deeds of possession that were drafted before Juan de Aroaz, notary royal. And this being done on the 29th of November, the governor and his people left Tocanguasu. And after two days' march, on the 1st of December, they arrived at a river called by the Indians Yguazu,[308] which means big water; here the pilots took the depth.

[307] Alvar Nuñez took the name of his mother's family, 'Cabeza de Vaca'; the name of his father, a descendant of the Adelantado of the Canary Islands, was 'de Vera'.

[308] The Iguazu, or Yguassu, a large affluent of the Paraná, rises in the Sierra do Mar, near the city of Curitiba, and flows nearly due west. It forms the boundary of the provinces of Paraná and Santa Catharina.

CHAPTER THE SEVENTH.

_Which treats of what happened to the governor and his people in his journey, and of the nature of the land._

FROM this river Yguazu the governor and his people advanced on their discovery; and on the 3rd of December they arrived at a river called by the Indians Tibagi.[309] Its bed is paved with large stones, placed in such order and regularity as though by hand. In crossing to the other side of this river there was great trouble, because the people and the horses slipped on the stones and could not keep their footing, and to remedy this they joined hands. And although the river was not very deep, the water ran with great force. At about two leagues beyond this crossing the Indians came with great delight, and brought the army provisions, so that they were never short of food, and had sometimes even more than they could take, and left it on the road. This caused the governor to give the Indians much, and to be generous with them, especially with their chief, to whom, besides paying the price of the commodities which they brought, he gave many presents, and did them many favours and treated them so well that the fame went through the land and the province, and all the natives laid aside their fear and came to see and to bring all they had, and they were paid for it as aforesaid. The same day, being near another Indian settlement, whose chief said he was called Tapapirazú, there arrived a newly converted native Indian whose name was Miguel, who came from the town of the Ascension, where the Spaniards resided who were to be relieved. This Indian was returning to the coast of Brazil, as he had been a long time with the Spaniards. The governor conversed for some time with him, and informed himself of the condition in which were the province, the Spaniards and the natives, and of the great danger in which the Spaniards were because of the death of Juan de Ayolas, and of other captains and people killed by the Indians. Having given full information, this Indian, of his own wish, offered to return in company with the governor to the town of the Ascension, whence he had come, to guide and show the Spaniards the road they had to take. Then the governor discharged the Indians that came with him from the island of St. Catalina, and ordered them to return. These Indians, owing to the good treatment and many presents they had received, returned well satisfied and merry. As the people that the governor brought with him were wanting in experience, and for fear lest they should do wrong or mischief to the Indians, he ordered that they should neither traffic nor communicate with them, nor visit their houses and villages, for the Indians are of so easily excitable a nature, and shocked at the least thing, that great inconvenience might have resulted in all the land. He therefore ordered that only those persons who understood the Indians should have dealings with them, and buy the provisions for all the people at the governor's cost. And so every day he distributed the provisions himself, and gave them gratis without any interest. It was curious to see how feared were the horses by the Indians of that land and province, that for the terror they had of them they dropped on the road, and set food for them, such as fowls and honey, saying that, provided they would not be angry, they would give them plenty to eat; and to tranquillize them they said that they would not abandon their settlements. But fearing lest the Christians should use violence with them they fixed their camps at some distance off. Owing to the good order that was kept, and seeing that the governor punished everyone who offended them, all the Indians, with their wives and children, had such confidence that it was a sight to see. And from very distant parts they came, laden with provisions, only to see the Christians and their horses, as a thing that had never before been seen in the land.

[309] The Tibagi, an affluent of the Parana-panéma, rises not far from the Iguassu, and flows N.N.W. with a very rapid course and a total fall of 1,550 feet in 300 miles. Its characteristic rocks are trap and basalt. (See Bigg-Wither in _Journal R. G. S._, vol. xlvi.)

The governor and his people, continuing their journey through the land and province, arrived at a settlement of Indians of the tribe of Guaranís, and the chief of this tribe went out with all his people in great joy to receive and welcome him. And they brought with them honey, geese, fowls, flour, and maize. And the governor, through the medium of interpreters, spoke to them affably, and told them he was pleased at their coming, and ordered that they should be paid for what they brought, which gave them great satisfaction. Moreover, he sent as a present to the chief of this tribe, whose name was Pupebaie, some presents, such as knives and scissors and other articles. We left the Indians of this tribe so merry and pleased that they danced and sang for joy all through the settlement.

On the seventh of December they arrived at a river known to the Indians as the Taquari.[310] This river has a copious stream and a strong current; and they found its banks inhabited by a tribe of Indians whose chief was called Abangobi. This chief, in company with all the Indians of his tribe, together with their wives and children, came out to receive the governor, showing great joy at his arrival; and they brought plenty of provisions, for which they were paid as usual. All these Indians belong to one tribe, and all speak one language. From this place they went on, leaving the natives so well satisfied that they carried the news from place to place of the good treatment used towards them, and showed everything they had received, so that wherever the governor and his people had to pass, the natives were friendly and came to meet them laden with provisions, receiving payment according to their satisfaction. On the 14th December, having passed through some tribes of Guaranís, by whom he was well received and entertained, the governor and his people arrived at a settlement whose chief said he was called Tocangusir. Here they halted one day to rest, because the people were tired; and the direction they were following was west north-west a quarter north. And at this place the pilots observed for latitude in twenty-four and a half degrees, at a distance of one degree from the tropic. Since entering the inhabited region they had found the country to be very pleasant, with large plains, forests, and many rivers, streams and rivulets, with abundance of good drinking water. In fact, it is a land very suitable for cultivation and stock-rearing.

[310] This river Taquari is a tributary of the Paraná-Pané, now called by the Brazilian geographers Paraná-panema. On this river Taquari the Jesuits founded one of their ancient missions of Guaira, under the tropic in the present Brazilian province _do Paraná_.

CHAPTER THE EIGHTH.

_Of the troubles that the governor and his people underwent on their way, and of a kind of pine tree, and of the fruits of that land._

FROM the place called Tuguy, the governor and his people continued their journey to the 19th December, without finding any settlements; this circumstance, and the many rivers and bad passages that had to be crossed by men and horses, caused them much trouble. They had to make as many as eighteen bridges in a single day, across rivers as well as over marshes, many of which were dangerous; and they had to pass great sierras and steep mountains and large thickets of reeds that had hard, sharp points, and other jungle. Twenty men had to be constantly in advance, cutting and clearing a road; and it took many days to pass through these forests, which were so thick that the sky could not be seen overhead. And on the said nineteenth day of the said month they arrived at a certain settlement of Guaranís, who with their chief, their wives and children, showing great pleasure, came forth to meet the Spaniards, two leagues from their settlement, bearing many commodities, such as fowls, geese, honey, potatoes and other fruits, maize, and flour of the pine tree, of which they make great quantity.

There are many pine trees in that land so great that four men with their hands joined cannot compass one. They are tall and straight, and very suitable for masts of ships and caracks, according to their length. Their fruit is large, and the kernel about the size of an acorn. The husk is like that of chesnuts, yet they differ in flavour from those of Spain. The Indians gather them, and make of them a great quantity of flour for their nourishment. There are many wild boar and monkeys in that country, which feed on those kernels in the following way: the monkeys climb to the tops of the pine trees, and suspend themselves by their tails; then with hands and feet they detach a number of these fruits and let them fall to the ground. And when they have thrown down a quantity of these fruits they descend and eat them; but it often happens that the wild beasts are watching while the monkeys pull down the fruit, and when they have thrown them down, while the monkeys are descending from the pine trees, the boars come out against them; and they steal and eat the fruit, the monkeys all the while uttering cries from the branches of the trees. There are also other fruits, of different kinds and taste, that ripen twice a year. In this place of Tuguy the governor remained during the feast of the nativity, both to celebrate this feast as well as to rest the people. They found here an abundance of provisions, for the Indians supplied them with all commodities. So the Spaniards, partly owing to the festivities, and partly to the good treatment they received from the Indians, were much refreshed, although such repose was very prejudicial to them, because, taking no exercise and eating plentifully, they could not digest what they ate, and they immediately caught fevers, which did not happen while they were marching. As soon as they resumed their march, after the first two days they got rid of the disease, and regained their health. At first the people importuned the governor, entreating that he might stop and rest some days, but he would not consent to it, for he had already experienced what would be the consequence; but the people thought that he declined because he wished to give them more trouble, till at length they were fain to acknowledge he had so acted for their good, since by eating much they suffered; and of this the governor had great experience.

CHAPTER THE NINTH.

_How the governor and his people found themselves starving, and appeased their hunger with worms from reeds._

THE twenty-eighth day of December the governor and his people departed from the village of Tuguy, where they left the Indians well pleased, and, pursuing their route by land the whole day without finding any inhabitants, they came to a wide and deep river with a strong current, and along it were forests of cypress and cedar, and other trees; in crossing this river they had plenty of trouble that and the three following days. Marching through the land, they passed by five villages of the Guaraní Indians, all of whom came forward and greeted us, with their wives and children, bringing plenty of provisions, so that our people were always well supplied, and the Indians very pacific, owing to the good treatment and the payment they received. All this is a very pleasant land, abounding in water and woods. The inhabitants sow maize, cassava and other seeds, and three kinds of potatoes, white, yellow, and reddish, very large and well flavoured. They rear geese and fowls, and gather much honey from the hollows of the trees.

The first of January of the year A.D. 1542, the governor and his people left the Indian settlements, and advanced across a mountainous region, through dense thickets of reeds, where our people underwent much trouble, because, up to the fifth of the month, they met with no settlement, and had to suffer much from hunger; and they kept themselves alive with great difficulty, besides having to open roads through the reed jungle. In the hollows of these reeds there were some white worms,[311] about the length and thickness of a finger; the people fried these for food, obtaining sufficient fat from them to fry them in very well; all ate of them, and thought it excellent food. And from the hollows of other reeds they collected good drinking water, and were much comforted by it. They used to search for these worms during their march, in order that they might have enough to eat, and so provide for their necessities and hunger in their journey through that inhospitable region. They crossed, with great difficulty, two wide and very deep rivers, flowing towards the north; and the following day, being the sixth of January, after marching through uninhabited country, they encamped for the night on the bank of another deep river, with a very strong current and with plenty of reed thickets, where the people gathered the worms and subsisted upon them. So they pursued their journey, and the next day they passed through a very good region, well watered and abounding in game, such as boar and deer, and they killed some and divided it among the people. That day they crossed two small rivers, and it pleased God that none of the Christians fell sick, and everybody kept on marching in good condition, cheered by the hope that they would soon reach the town of the Ascension, and the Spaniards whom they were going to relieve. From the sixth to the tenth of January they passed many Indian Guaraní settlements, all of whom received them peacefully, and greeted them joyfully; the inhabitants of each village, with their chief, accompanied by their wives and children, came laden with provisions, from which the Spaniards derived great help. But the monks Bernardo de Armenia and Alonzo his companion went in advance to collect provisions; and when the governor and his people arrived, it happened that the Indians had nothing more to give; and the people complained to the governor of this, as they had oftentimes done before, and he warned the monks not to do so, and not to take along with them certain Indians, of all ages, who were of no use, and to whom they gave food; but the monks declined to obey. Then all the people were ill-disposed towards them; but the governor favoured them, as they were engaged in the service of God and His Majesty. At length the monks separated themselves from the people, and, against the will of the governor, took another road. He directed that they should be brought back from the Indian settlements, where they had taken refuge; and had he not so ordered their withdrawal, they would have come to grief. The tenth of January, continuing their march, they passed many rivers and rivulets, and other bad passages, great sierras and mountains, and thickets of reeds abounding with water; every sierra[312] having a fertile valley and a river, besides other streams and forests. In all this land there is plenty of water, because it is under the tropic, and the direction of their route on these days was west.

[311] The "reeds" of the text must certainly be bamboos, and the larva or grub found in them answers to that of the _Calandra palmarum_, a species of weevil which is still cooked and eaten in the way here described.

[312] Sierra is a chain of mountains.

CHAPTER THE TENTH.

_Of the fear the Indians had of the horses._

THE fourteenth of January, continuing their journey among settlements of Indians of the nation of Guaranís, all of whom came to meet the Spaniards with much pleasure, bringing maize, fowls, honey, and many other commodities; and as the governor always paid them to their contentment, they brought such a profusion that the surplus remained on the road. All their people go naked, men as well as women; they had a great fear of the horses, and asked the governor to tell the horses not to be angry with them; and in order to appease them they brought them food. So they arrived at a wide river of mighty waters called Yguatú,[313] a very noble river, abounding in fish and bordered by forests; on its shore there is a settlement of Guaranís, who sow maize and cassava, as in other parts they had already passed through; and they came out to receive the governor, being aware of his coming, and of the good treatment they would receive; and they brought plenty of provisions. In all that land there are pine trees of many different kinds, with fruits like those I have spoken of. And the Indians waited upon the governor and his people, because he always treated them well. The Yguatú flows due west in the twenty-fifth degree, and may be as large as the Guadalquivir. Its banks (according to the accounts of the natives, and as I saw with my own eyes) are populous, and the inhabitants are the richest people of all that land and province, both for agriculture and stock-raising. They rear plenty of fowls, geese, and other birds; and they have abundance of game, such as boar, deer, _dantas_,[314] partridges, quails, and pheasants; and they have great fisheries in this river. They grow plenty of maize, potatoes, cassava, _mandubies_, and many other fruits; and from the trees they collect a great quantity of honey. From this settlement the governor decided to write to the officials of His Majesty, and to the captains and people residing in the town of the Ascension, to let them know that by order of His Majesty he was on the way to relieve them, and sent two native Indians of that land with the letter. While staying on the river Pequiry,[315] a dog bit a certain Francisco Orejon, citizen of Avila in Spain, in the leg; and fourteen other Spaniards fell sick because of the long journey. These remained with Orejon, in order to follow by short stages. The governor recommended them to the natives, in order that these might favour them, and guide them on the way to follow him when they recovered their health. And in order that they might do this the more willingly, he gave many presents to the chief and other natives, who were much pleased with them. All this country, through which the governor was marching with his people making his discoveries, is filled with large fields abundantly watered by rivers, rivulets, and springs, well shaded by trees and cultivated. It is the most fertile land in the world, adapted for cultivation and colonization. Many parts of it are conveniently situated for sugar refineries; and the country is full of game. The inhabitants are of the nation of the Guaranís, who eat human flesh, and are all agriculturists and rear geese and fowls. They are a domesticated people, friendly towards the Christians, and with a little trouble would accept our holy Catholic faith, as experience has proved. And, judging from the nature of the soil, it is certain that if there are mines of silver anywhere, it is here they may be found.

[313] The Yguatú is an oriental affluent of the Paraná, entering this river at 25° lat. S. The name is not to be found in modern maps.

[314] Anta or tapir.

[315] The Pequiry flows into the Paraná ninety miles north of the Yguassu; the governor of Paraguai founded on its margin the town of Ciudad Real de Guaira in the sixteenth century, destroyed afterwards by the Paulistas.

CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH.

_How the governor navigated the river Yguazú, in canoes, and how, in order to avoid a cataract of that river, he carried the canoes one league by hand._