Part 18

THAT day and four more having passed without the return of the Indian Payaguá, the governor sent for the interpreter, and asked him what he thought of this delay. And he said that he believed the chief would certainly never make his appearance, because the Payaguás are very sly and cautious; that the chief's motive for sending an envoy to treat for peace was only to gain time and prevent the Spaniards and Guaranís from advancing and finding out the settlements of the Payaguás, and that while they (the Spaniards) were waiting the arrival of the chief, the Payaguás were removing their settlements, wives, and children, and that he thought they had fled to some place of concealment higher up the river. He advised the governor to follow, as he was certain that he would overtake them, because he knew they would be heavily loaded. In his opinion, the Payaguás would continue their flight till they reached a lagoon formerly inhabited by a tribe called the Mataraes, whom these Payaguás had slain and destroyed and had taken possession of their land because it abounded in fisheries.

The governor immediately gave orders to raise anchors, and brigantines and canoes went on navigating up the river. Wherever he halted, great numbers of the Payaguás might be seen along the bank, who, as the interpreter had said, were going by land with their wives and children, because the canoes could not contain them. After eight days' navigation the governor arrived at the lagoon of the Mataraes, and entered it, without finding the Indians he was in search of there. He entered with half his people to seek them out and treat with them, but seeing they did not appear, and in order not to waste his provisions, he ordered all the Christians and Guaranís to return. They had found certain canoes with their paddles concealed under the water, and had seen the track by which the Indians had withdrawn; but the governor would not delay any longer, so, reassembling his people and collecting all the brigantines and canoes together, he pursued his navigation up the river, sometimes sailing, at other times rowing and towing, because of the many bends in its course, till he arrived at a part of its banks where many cassia trees grow.

These are very lofty and vigorous trees, yielding a fruit one palm and a half in length and as thick as three fingers. The people ate much of it, and the inside is as sweet as honey. It does not differ the least from that kind which is brought into Spain from other countries, except that it is much larger and rougher to the taste, because it is uncultivated. There are eighty of these trees united together on the bank of the Paraguai. In these parts of the river there was an abundance of wild fruit, which the Spaniards and Indians ate. Among them was one like a lemon of Ceuti in colour, acidity, peel, and smell, but smaller, no larger than the size of a pigeon's egg. The tree bearing this fruit has leaves like a lemon. There is a great variety of trees and fruits in this country, and a wonderful diversity of fish, the quantity killed by the Indians and Spaniards surpassing belief. Whenever the wind was unfavourable for sailing they hunted the water-pigs and otters (which were also abundant), using for this purpose the light, swift canoes of the natives. This was a great pastime.

As we were now approaching the country of the Guaxarapos Indians, who inhabit the bank of the Paraguai, and are neighbours and traffic with the port of Los Reyes, for which we were bound, and as these Indians might have been alarmed at such a multitude of people and canoes, and might have fled inland, the governor, in order to allay their fears and pacify them, divided his flotilla into two parts, and, taking five brigantines and half the canoes, led the advance, leaving Captain Gonzalo de Mendoza to follow with the other vessels, canoes, and people, charging him to govern all the people kindly and not abuse his authority. He particularly warned him not to allow any wrongs or violence to be committed upon the native riverine population, and to pay for all the provisions he took, so as to keep the peace and safeguard His Majesty's interests in that land. Taking with him the five brigantines and the canoes, the governor continued his voyage as I have stated, and, on the 18th October, arrived at a settlement of Guaxarapos Indians. Here thirty Indians having come out, he halted his flotilla within earshot, and addressed them through the interpreter, repeating what he had said to the other tribes lower down the river, exhorting them to give their submission to the king, and promising, if they did so, he would regard them as friends. They accordingly submitted; one of their number was a chief, to whom the governor gave presents and promised to do what he could for them.

Not far from the place where we met these Indians flowed another river. It is about half the width of the Paraguai, with a violent current, and it falls into this river, which comes from Brazil.[346] This was the river along which, old men tell, Garcia the Portuguese came and made war in that land. He entered it at the head of a large number of Indians, fought many battles, and destroyed many tribes, having only five Christians with him. The Indians say that he was never seen to return. He brought with him a mulatto named Pacheco, who returned to the country of Guaçani, who killed him on the spot. Garcia returned to Brazil. Of his Guaraní followers many are said to have been lost in the interior, and the natives told us that we should find many of them there from whom we might obtain information concerning the deeds of Garcia and the nature of the country. Some Indians, called Chaneses, had also sought refuge there, and had allied themselves with the Sococies and Xaquetes, who live near the port of Los Reyes.

[346] This river must have been the Cuyabá.

Having obtained this information from the Indians the governor pushed on to see the river by which Garcia had come, for he was near the place indicated by the Guaxarapos. When he had arrived at the mouth of the river called Iapaneme, he caused soundings to be taken, and the depth was found to be very great. This river has a rapid current, and is bordered on either bank by trees. Cabeza de Vaca ordered one of the brigantines to ascend it for a league and continue the soundings, all of which proved its depth to be great. The Guaxarapos said that along its banks lived various tribes, who cultivated maize and manioc and had large fisheries, obtaining as much fish as they could eat, and extracting oil from these fish, besides killing a quantity of game. The party sent to explore this river reported having seen smoke in several places on the banks--a sign of settlements. It was already late when the exploring party returned, and the governor ordered that the vessels should be moored that night off the mouth of that river, at the foot of a range of hills called Santa Lucia. This sierra was crossed by Garcia. The following morning the pilots observed the elevation, and found the estuary of the river to be in nineteen degrees and one-third.[347] That night a heavy fall of rain, accompanied by a strong wind, caused us great inconvenience. Great fires were made on shore, and many of the people slept by them, while the others remained on board the vessel under coverings of mats and skins.

[347] This is an error. The mouth of the river Cuyabá is in 18° lat.

CHAPTER THE FIFTY-FIRST.

_How the Guaxarapos spoke with the governor._

THAT morning the Guaxarapos, who had been the previous day to speak with the governor, came again in two canoes with supplies of fish and meat, which they distributed among our people, and, having spoken once more with the governor, and received promises of friendship and protection, took their departure. He told them of the other vessels, canoes, and soldiers that were behind, and begged them to receive them kindly and treat them well, as in such case they would suffer no injury; this they promised they would do, but did not keep their word. The cause of this was certainly a Christian, who was punished for it, as I shall presently relate.

The governor left those Indians, and continued his navigation of the river all that day with a fair wind, arriving at sunset at certain settlements belonging to the same tribe of Indians on the river shore, near the water's edge; but in order not to lose time, and favourable weather for the voyage, he passed on without stopping. These people are agriculturists, sowing maize and other roots, hunting and fishing a great deal, both fish and game being abundant. Men and women wear the skins of wild animals, except a few, who only cover their privities. They tattoo their faces in points and lines, and pierce the lips and ears. Their canoes are only large enough to contain two or three persons at a time. They are exceedingly light, and the skill with which they manage them is admirable. When going up or down the river, the motions of these canoes are so swift that they appear to be flying. A brigantine (though made of cedar wood), and whether propelled by oars or sail, cannot overtake one of these skiffs, though the latter have only two oars, whereas the brigantines have a dozen. They fight in their canoes on the river as well as on land; nevertheless, they traffic with one another, bartering bows and arrows for canoes, which are supplied to them by the Guaxarapos and Payaguás, besides other things. So they become, by turns, friends and enemies with one another.

CHAPTER THE FIFTY-SECOND.

_How the Indians come and establish themselves on the shore of the river._

WHEN the waters are low, the people from the interior come and live on the banks of the river with their wives and children, and pass their time in fishing, for the fish are abundant and very fat at this season. They lead pleasant lives, dancing and singing day and night, like persons who are relieved from all anxiety about food; but when the water begins to rise, which is in January, they retire inland, because at that season the floods begin, and the waters rise six fathoms above the banks of the river. At such time the country is under water for over one hundred leagues inland, spreading over everything like a sea, so that even tall palms and other trees are covered, and vessels may pass over their summits. This usually happens every year, when the sun crosses one tropic and approaches the other in the latitude of the mouth of the _rio del oro_. At such times the natives keep very large canoes in readiness for this emergency; and in the middle of these canoes they throw two or three loads of mud, and make a hearth. The Indian then enters with his wife, children, and household goods, and floats on the rising tide wherever they like. He lights a fire on the hearth to cook his food and for warmth, and thus he voyages for four months of the year, or as long as the floods last. While the waters are rising he lands at certain spots not yet inundated, and kills deer, tapirs, and other wild animals which have escaped the flood. As these retire into their channels, he returns the same way, hunting and fishing, and not leaving his canoe till the banks whereon he is wont to dwell are uncovered.

It is a sight to see the enormous quantity of fish left on the dry land after the waters have subsided. This happens in the month of March or April, when all that country smells awfully bad, owing to the poisonous mud which covers it. At this period all the natives, and we ourselves, were very ill, so that we thought we should die; and, as it is then summer in these parts, it is barely endurable. In the month of April the sick begin to recover.

All these Indians spin the thread, of which they make their nets, of a kind of teasel. These teasels are pounded and thrown into muddy pools; after leaving them there fifteen days, they take them out and scrape them with mussel-shells; the fibre is then clean and white as snow.

This tribe, unlike others, has no chief; they are all fishers and woodsmen, inhabiting the borders of the country. These, and all the other people living on the river by which we were now passing, would not suffer any Spaniard or Guaraní to land. In order that they should not molest his people, the governor distributed some presents among them, and told them of the other ships that were following with his friends, whom he begged them to receive and entertain well.

Continuing the voyage one Friday morning, we arrived at a rapid, where the river passes between steep rocks. Large quantities of gold-fish (_dorados_) descend this rapid, and it was the largest rapid we had yet met with. We passed it sailing and rowing. Here the Spaniards and Indians caught in one hour large quantities of gold-fish, as many as forty of them being taken by one man. These fish are so big that they weigh half an arroba[348] each, and some as much as one arroba. They are excellent eating, the head being the best part. A quantity of oil is extracted from these fish, and those who eat of it become fat and sleek. Broth made of them, if taken continuously for a month, cures skin diseases and leprosy.

[348] The arroba is a Spanish weight, equal to twenty-five pounds of sixteen ounces each.

Continuing the voyage with a fair wind, the governor arrived, on the evening of the 25th October, at a place where the river divides into three channels. One arm forms a great lagoon, which the Indians call the Black River; it runs towards the north into the interior of the country. The other arms, in which the water is of a good colour, reunite a little way further down. The governor continued his navigation till he came to the mouth of a river which flows into the interior of the country to the left, towards the west. Here the Paraguai loses itself in a number of other river channels and lagoons. And the navigation is so intricate that the Indians themselves, who are always navigating them, have difficulty in distinguishing one from the other, and often lose their way. The river now entered by the governor is called by the natives Yguatu,[349] meaning "good water." It flows towards the lagoon in our favour. Hitherto we had been ascending against the current; we now went down stream.

[349] I believe the name is Igatú, now Jaurú.

CHAPTER THE FIFTY-THIRD.

_How they erected three crosses at the mouth of the river Yguatú._

THE governor ordered several sign-posts to be made at the mouth of this river of felled trees. He then had three high crosses erected to serve as signs for vessels, in order that they might not mistake the entrance. During three days we advanced by rowing; then we left the river, and ascended two of its arms which have their source in large lagoons.

On the eighth of the month, one hour before daybreak, we arrived at some high and round craggy rocks in the middle of the river. They are bell-shaped, contracting towards the summit. These rocks are completely barren, producing neither tree nor herb. Their colour is red. We believe they contain much metal, because the country beyond the river is mountainous, forested, and clothed with grass; these rocks, on the other hand, have nothing of the kind, an indication that they contain much metal, because, wherever this is found, neither trees nor grasses grow. The Indians told us that, in bygone times, their forefathers obtained white metal here; but as all our people were ill, and as we had no mining nor founder's tools with us, nor the implements necessary to probe and search for ore, the governor did not cause search to be made for the metal, leaving it for another time when he passed by that way again, for these rocks are near the port of Los Reyes.

Pursuing our voyage up the river, we entered a lagoon upwards of one league and a half in width at its entrance, and, issuing from it by a second mouth, came to the dry land. At ten o'clock in the morning we anchored at the entrance of another lagoon where the Sacosies, Xaqueses, and Chaneses had established their settlements. The governor did not wish to go any further without acquainting the Indians of his arrival. He accordingly sent an interpreter with some Christians in a canoe to speak with them in his name and summon them to an interview. These envoys returned at five o'clock in the evening, and announced that the Indians had come forth to receive them, showing great pleasure, and telling the interpreter that they already knew of their arrival and were desirous of seeing the governor and the Christians. They reported that the waters had fallen a good deal, and by reason of this it had been difficult to take their canoe there; that in order to pass the shallows and arrive at the port of Los Reyes, it would be necessary to lighten the vessels, as the depth was only one span, whereas the draught of the loaded brigantines was five or six. These shallows were near the port of Los Reyes. The following day the governor ordered the departure of the ships and of all the people, Christians and Indians. They rowed till they came to the shallows, when everybody had orders to get into the water, which did not reach to the knee. Then the Indians and Christians ranged themselves round the sides of the brigantine named _St. Mark_, and pushed with their shoulders, nearly lifting her out of the water by the strength of their arms without unloading her. That shallow was more than an arquebuss shot and a half long, and the difficulty of passing it was very great. When this was over, the other brigantines were passed in the same way with less trouble, because they were smaller. Having floated them into deep water we disembarked at Los Reyes, where we found a great assemblage of natives with their wives and children waiting for us. The governor and all his people landed, and the natives came towards them. He told them that he had been sent by His Majesty to warn them to be Christians and receive the Christian doctrine, to believe in God the creator of heaven and earth, and to be the vassals of the king. If they did this they would be protected and defended against their enemies and against all who would injure them, and that they would be well treated and looked after in accordance with His Majesty's orders; if they conducted themselves well he would not fail to give them presents, as he always did to those who were good. He then convoked the clergy and told them he wished a church built where Mass could be said and other divine rites celebrated for an example and comfort to the other Christians; and he charged them to have a special care of these. He ordered a large wooden cross to be erected on the bank of the river, under some tall palms, in the presence of the officers and many others there present. He took formal possession of the country in the name of His Majesty, and in the presence of the notary, as newly discovered land, and, having conciliated the natives by bestowing presents upon them, he ordered the Spaniards and Guaranís to take up their quarters on the shore of the lagoon, cautioning them to do the natives no injury or violence, because they were friendly, and vassals of the king. Moreover, he gave them strict orders not to enter the native settlements and houses, because what the Indians fear and hate most, and what irritates them more than anything, is to see the Christians, accompanied by Indians, entering their houses, disturbing their things, and taking away the few possessions they have. If they trafficked with them, they were to pay for whatever they bought, or they would be punished.

CHAPTER THE FIFTY-FOURTH.

_How the Indians of the port of Los Reyes cultivate the soil._

THE Indians of this port of Los Reyes are agriculturists, and sow maize and manioc (the cassava of the Indies), and an abundance of _mandubies_ (which are like large filberts). They sow twice a year. The land is fertile, abounding in provisions, game, and fisheries. These Indians rear numbers of geese, as a protection against crickets (as I have described). They also rear fowls, and shut these up at night to protect them from bats, which cut off their combs, and, in this way, cause their death. These bats are an evil kind of animal, and numerous on the banks of the river. They are larger than our doves in Spain, with teeth so sharp that their bite is not felt. They never bite a man except in the toes and the tip of the nose. When several persons are together, and this animal has bitten one, he will not touch the others, but never leaves that one he has attacked. They bite at night, but never appear in the day-time. We had great difficulty in protecting our horses' ears from them. When a bat enters a stable, the horses become so frightened that they waken all the people in the house, and it is impossible to quiet them till the bat has been killed or driven out. The governor was bitten by one of those animals while he was asleep in a brigantine, one of his feet being uncovered. All night the blood kept on flowing, till he woke from feeling his leg cold, and finding the bed soaked with blood, thought somebody had wounded him; but those on board searched for the place where he was wounded, and, when they found what they knew, by experience, to be the bite of a bat, they laughed. The governor found that a slice of his toe had been bitten off. These bats always bite where there is a vein. They served us a bad trick on one occasion. When we were starting on our voyage of exploration we had six pregnant sows, and hoped to rear a race of pigs. When the little pigs were born, and tried to suck their mother, they could not find her teats, because these had been bitten off by the bats; so the young pigs died, and we had to eat the sows, because they were unable to rear their young.

There are other bad animals in this country; these are very large ants of two kinds, red and black. It is most pitiable to see a person who has been stung by either of these ants, for he utters loud cries, and rolls on the ground for twenty-four hours, during which the pain lasts; and there is no remedy for it. There are very many rays in this lagoon, and, if a fisherman happen to tread on one, it bends its body up, and inflicts a smart blow with the tip of its tail, which is about the thickness of a finger, and has a saw-like edge. This fish is about the size of a _xeme_,[350] and, if the blow it delivers strike the foot, it goes right through, and the pain is as intense as that from the ant-stings; but it may be stopped at once by chewing and applying to the wound a certain weed the Indians know of. This takes the pain away completely, though the wound does not heal for a month.

[350] The _xeme_ is the span from the extremity of the thumb to that of the forefinger, when stretched to their utmost, equal to about six inches.

The natives of this country are of average height. They are quite naked, and pierce holes in their ears large enough to pass the fist through; in these they insert gourds of a medium size, afterwards replacing them by larger ones, distending the lobe of the ear till it hangs down to the shoulder. For this reason they are called _Orejones_, like the Incas of Peru. When they fight, they take these gourds or discs out of their ears and roll them up, or else tie their ears behind their heads. The women do not cover their nakedness. Every person lives separately with his wife and children. The occupation of the women is to spin cotton; the men cultivate the fields, returning to their homes in the evening, when they find their meals ready. The women do no other work except at harvest time, when they assist in gathering the maize, and garnering it. From that place the Indians begin to be idolaters; they worship idols made of wood; but, according to the reports brought to the governor, those farther inland have idols of gold and silver.