Part 4

Now we again made ready our ship, and sailed to an island or land, the name whereof is S. Jacob, or, in Spanish, Sancte Augo (Santiago); there is a town belonging to the King of Portugal; the Portuguese entertain that town, and the Blackamoors are their subjects: this town is at a distance of three hundred miles from the said Island Palman, from which we sailed.[26] We remained there five days, and again furnished our ship with new and fresh victual, as bread, meat, water, and all that necessity demands at sea. The whole fleet, namely, fourteen ships, were now once more together. We then went again to sea and sailed for two whole months, and then arrived at an island wherein there was nothing else than birds, in such quantities that we killed them with sticks. Here we lay three days. This island is entirely uninhabited; it is in length and breadth about six miles either way, and is distant from the above-mentioned island, _S. Augo_, whence we sailed, fifteen hundred miles. In this sea there are flying-fishes and other marvellous great fishes of the balena kind, and great fishes called _schaubhut_, for that they wear on their heads a large trencher, with which they may become dangerous in fighting with other fishes; it is a wondrous great and evil fish. There are also other fishes which have on their backs a knife of whalebone, and are called in the Spanish tongue _Peschespate_,[27] and furthermore, other fishes which have on their backs a saw of whalebone, and are also evil fishes; their name is _Peschedeferre_,[28] and also there are several other rare fishes whose form, size, and other features I cannot at this time describe.

[26] All distances given by Schmidt are erroneous, and it is astonishing that Don Felix de Azara, a geographer, should have written to the contrary. By the distance given in miles between Palma, one of the Canary Islands, and St. Iago, one of the Cape Verd Islands, it may be seen that Schmidt's miles are more properly _Castilian leagues_ of 17½ in a geographical degree, the legal measure of distance in his time.

[27] Peje-espada, or sword-fish.

[28] Peces-sierras.

Afterwards we sailed from this island to another, named Riogenea,[29] at a distance of five hundred miles from the former, belonging to the King of Portugal; this is the island Riogenea in India, and the Indians are called Toppis.[30] We lay there about fourteen days. There Petrus Manchossa,[31] our chief captain, ordered Hans Ossorig,[32] as his sworn brother, to take the command over us in his stead, forasmuch as he was always melancholy, weak, and ill. But he, Hans Ossorig, very soon was belied and ill-spoken of to Petrus Manchossa, his sworn brother, even as though he had in his mind to cause a mutiny among the people against Petrus Manchossa, the chief captain. Thereupon he, Petrus Manchossa, ordered four other captains, named Johann Eyollas, Johan Salleisser, Jörg Luchsam,[33] and Lazarum Salvaischo,[34] that the aforesaid Johan Ossorig should be killed with a dagger or otherwise put to death, and should be exposed in the midst of the place as a traitor; and besides he ordered and proclaimed to the effect that no one should dare to pity Ossorig, for that he himself, whoever he might be, would meet with no better fate. Yet Ossorig was treated wrongly, God Almighty knows it, and may He be merciful to him, for he was a pious, fair-dealing, and valiant warrior, and kept well all the warriors.

[29] The discoverers were Spaniards, and this is proved by the name _Rio de Henero_, as the word _Enero_ was spelt in the sixteenth century. The _h_ was at the time aspirated (especially by the natives of Andalusia), and hence the name became corrupted into _Jenero_, changed afterwards into _Janeiro_ by the Portuguese.

[30] Tupys.

[31] Don Pedro de Mendoza.

[32] Juan Osorio.

[33] Juan de Ayolas, Juan Salazar, and Jorge Lujan.

[34] If this name is rightly spelt, it may be one of the Flemish who took part in the expedition. In Barcia's Spanish translation, Salvaischo is interpreted as Salazar; but there is no mention in any document of a Lazaro Salazar.

From there we sailed to Riodellaplata, and came into a river[35] called Paranau Wassu,[36] which is in width at its mouth, where one leaves the sea,[37] twenty-four miles. And from Riogenea to this river there is the space of five hundred miles. There we came to a haven, the name whereof is S. Gabriel, and there, in the said river Paranau, we anchored the fourteen ships.

[35] In orig.: "süss fliessend wasser."

[36] Parana Guazú.

[37] Between Cape Santa Maria and Cape San Antonio there are 188 English geographical miles.

As we were constrained to ride at a gunshot's distance from shore with the great ships, our chief captain, Petrus Manchossa[38] ordered to set the people ashore in the small ships, which are for that purpose intended, and are, therefore, called pat or podel.

[38] Don Pedro de Mendoza.

So by the grace of God we arrived at Riodellaplata, Anno 1535, and found there an Indian place inhabited by about two thousand people, named Zechurias,[39] who have nothing to eat but fish and meat. These, on our arrival did leave the place, and fled away with their wives and children, so that we could not find them. This Indian people go quite naked, the women having only their privities covered, from the navel to the knees, with a small piece of cotton cloth.

[39] Charúas.

Now the captain, Petrus Manchossa, commanded to bring the people into the ships again, and to convey them to the other side of the Paranau, where it is not broader than eight miles.[40]

[40] From the Island of San Gabriel to the place where Buenos Ayres was founded there are 29 English miles.

There we built a new town and called it _Bonas Aeieres_, that is, in German, _Guter Wind_.

We also brought from Hispania on board the fourteen ships seventy-two horses and mares.

Here, also, we found a place inhabited by Indian folk, named Carendies,[41] numbering about three thousand people, including wives and children, and they were clothed in the same way as the Zechurias, from the navel to the knees. They brought us fish and meat to eat. These Carendies have no houses, but wander about, as do the Gipsies with us at home, and in summer they oftentimes travel upwards of thirty miles on dry land without finding a single drop of water to drink.

[41] Quirandis.

And when they meet with deer or other wild beasts, (when they have killed them) they drink their blood. Also if they find a root, called Cardes,[42] they eat it to slack their thirst. This--namely, that they drink blood--only happens because they cannot have any water, and that they might peradventure die of thirst.

[42] Cardo, _i.e._, thistles.

These Carendies brought us daily their provision of fish and meat to our camp, and did so for a fortnight, and they did only fail once to come to us. So our captain, Peter Manchossa,[43] sent to them, the Carendies, a judge, named Johan Pabon, with two foot-soldiers, for they were at a distance of four miles from our camp. When they came near to them, they were all three beaten black and blue, and were then sent back again to our camp. Petrus Manchossa, our captain, hearing of this from the judge's report (who for this cause raised a tumult about it in our camp), sent Diego Manchossa, his own brother, against them with three hundred foot-soldiers and thirty well-armed mounted men, of whom I also was one, straightway charging us to kill or take prisoners all these Indian Carendies and to take possession of their settlement. But when we came near them there were now some four thousand men, for they had assembled all their friends. And when we were about to attack them, they defended themselves in such a way that we had that very day our hands full. They also killed our commander, Diego Manchossa, and six noblemen. Of our foot-soldiers and mounted men over twenty were slain, and on their side about one thousand. Thus did they defend themselves valiantly against us, so that indeed we felt it.

[43] Don Pedro de Mendoza.

The said Carendies[44] use for their defence hand-bows and tardes[45] which are made in the shape of half-pikes, and the head of them is made out of flint-stone, like a flash; they have also bullets made out of stone with a long piece of string attached to them, of the size of our leaden bullets at home in Germany.

[44] Quirandis.

[45] Darts.

They throw such bullets round the feet of a horse or a deer, causing it to fall; it is also with these bullets that they killed our commander and the noblemen, as I have seen it done myself, but the foot-soldiers were killed by the aforesaid tardes.

Thus God Almighty graciously gave us the victory, and allowed us to take possession of their place; but we did not take prisoner any of the Indians, and their wives and children also fled away from the place before we attacked them.[46] At this place of theirs we found nothing but furrier-work made from marten or so-called otter; also much fish, fish meal, and fish fat. There we remained three days and then returned to our camp, leaving on the spot one hundred of our men, in order that they might fish with the Indians' nets for the providing of our folk, because there was there very good fishing.

[46] This fight with the Quirandis took place at a few miles' distance from Buenos Ayres, on the banks of the river which since then is called _de la Matanza_.

Every one received only six half-ounces of wheaten flour a day, and one fish every third day. The fishing lasted for two months, and if one would eat a fish over and above one's allowance, one had to go four miles for it.

And when we returned again to our camp, our folk were divided into those who were to be soldiers, and the others workers, so as to have all of them employed. And a town was built there, and an earthern wall, half a pike high, around it, and inside of it a strong house for our chief captain. The town wall was three foot broad, but that which was built to-day fell to pieces the day after, for the people had nothing to eat, and were starved with hunger, so that they suffered great poverty, and it became so bad that the horses could not go. Yea, finally, there was such want and misery for hunger's sake, that there were neither rats, nor mice, nor snakes to still the great dreadful hunger and unspeakable poverty, and shoes and leather were resorted to for eating and everything else.

It happened that three Spaniards stole a horse, and ate it secretly, but when it was known, they were imprisoned and interrogated under the torture. Whereupon, as soon as they admitted their guilt, they were sentenced to death by the gallows, and all three were hanged.

Immediately afterwards, at night, three other Spaniards came to the gallows to the three hanging men, and hacked off their thighs and pieces of their flesh, and took them home to still their hunger.

A Spaniard also ate his brother, who died in the city of Bonas Aeieres.[47]

[47] All this is exaggerated and incredible, though accepted as true by the pseudo-poet, Barco Centenera, in his _Argentina_ poem.

Now our chief captain, Petrus Manchossa,[48] saw that he could not any longer keep his men there, so he ordered and took counsel with his head men that four little ships (called Parchkadienes[49]) should be made ready, which must he rowed, and three more yet smaller ones, which are called podell or patt.

[48] Pedro de Mendoza.

[49] Brigantines.

And when these seven little vessels were ready and equipped, our chief captain ordered all the people to assemble, and sent George Lauchstein[50] with three hundred and fifty armed men up the river Paranau in order to find out the Indians and so obtain victual and provisions. But as soon as the Indians were aware of us, they wrought us the most abominable piece of knavery, by burning and destroying all their victual and provisions and their villages, and then all took to flight; in consequence whereof we had nothing to eat but three ounces of bread a day. One half of our people died during this voyage through hunger, therefore we had to return again to the said place, where was our chief captain.

[50] George Lujan.

Petrus Manchossa desired to have a relation from George Lauchstein, our commander, as to the circumstances of our voyage, why so few of them had returned, since they had only been absent for five months. To whom our commander answered thus: the people died for hunger, since the Indians burnt all the provisions, and then took to flight, as has been related before.

After all this we remained still another month together in great poverty in the town of Bonas Aeieres, until the ships were prepared.

At this time the Indians came in great power and force, as many as twenty-three thousand men, against us and our town Bonas Aeieres. There were four nations of them, namely, Carendies, Zechurias, Zechuas, and Diembus.[51] They all meant to go about to destroy us all. But God Almighty preserved the greater part of us, therefore praise and thanks be to Him always and everlastingly, for on our side not more than about thirty men, including commanders and ensign, were slain.

[51] Quirandis, Charúas, and Timbus.

And when they first came to our town, Bonas Aeieres, and attacked us, some of them tried to storm the place, others shot fiery arrows at our houses, which, being covered with straw (only the house of our chief captain, covered with tiles, excepted), were set on fire, and so the whole town was burnt down. Their arrows are made out of cane, and carry fire on their points.

They have also a kind of wood, out of which they also make arrows, which, being lighted and shot off, do not extinguish, but also set fire to all houses made out of straw.

Moreover they burnt down four great ships which were half-a-mile distant from us on the river. The people who were there, and who had no guns, hearing such great tumult of the Indians, fled out of these four ships into three others which were not far from these, and did contain cannon.

But seeing the four ships burning that were lighted by the Indians, the Christians set themselves on defence and fired at the Indians, who becoming aware of this, and hearing the firing, soon departed from thence and left the Christians alone. All this happened on St. John's Day, Anno 1535.

All this having thus happened, our people had to return into the ships again, and Petrus Manchossa,[52] our chief captain, gave the command to Johann Eyollas,[53] and put him in his place to be our commander and rule us. But when Eyollas mustered the people, he found no more than five hundred and sixty men who were yet alive, out of two thousand five hundred, the others being dead and having been starved for hunger. God Almighty be gracious and merciful to them and to us. Amen.

[52] Don Pedro de Mendoza.

[53] Juan de Ayolas.

Johann Eyollas, our commander, now ordered eight small ships, Parchkadienes and Podells, to be made ready, and took with him on these ships four hundred men out of the five hundred and sixty, leaving the others, namely, one hundred and sixty men, in the four great ships to guard them, and he gave them a commander, named Johann Romero, and left them victual for one year, so that each soldier might have four ounces of bread or flour daily; he who wanted more was at liberty to find it.

When all this had been done and arranged as here described, Johann Eyollas[53] and the four hundred men sailed with the Parchkadienes and the Podells[54] up the river Paranau, and Petrus Manchossa,[52] our chief captain, sailed with us, and in two months' time we reached the Indians, at a distance of eighty-four miles. These people are called Tyembus[55]; they wear on either nostril a small star, made out of white and blue stones. The men are tall of stature and erect, but the women, on the contrary, young and old, are very deformed, having all the lower part of their faces scratched, and always bloody. These people have nothing else to eat, and have all their lives through lived upon nothing else but fish and meat. They are reckoned to be fifteen thousand strong, or more. And when we came to about four miles' distance from this people they took notice of us, and came to meet us in sign of peace, with over four hundred canoes, in each of which were sixteen men.

[54] Brigantines and boats.

[55] Timbus.

Such a skiff is made out of a single tree, eighty feet long and three feet wide, and must be rowed as the fishermen's boats in Germany, only that the oars are not bound with iron.

When we met them on the water, our commander, Johann Eyollas, presented the chief of the Tyembus Indians, Zchera Wassu,[56] with a shirt, a red cap, a hatchet, and several other things. After this, Zchera Wassu went with us to their place, and gave us there fish and meat in abundance.

[56] Chera Guazú.

But if this said journey of ours had lasted ten more days, we would all have died of hunger, for even without that, fifty men out of four hundred who came in the ships had already died on this journey. But in this danger God mercifully helped us, be He praised and thanked for it.

In this said place we abode four years, but our chief captain, Petrus Manchossa,[57] who was full of infirmities, and was unable to move his hands or his feet, and who had spent during this voyage forty thousand ducats of his own in cash, could not remain any longer with us, and he sailed off in two small Parchkadienes to Bonas Aeieres to the four great ships, and took two of them with fifty men and sailed for Hispania. But when he was come nearly half-way, the hand of the Almighty so smote him that he died miserably. May God be merciful to him!

[57] Pedro de Mendoza.

But before his departure he had promised us to send two other ships to Riodellaplata, as soon as he himself or the ships should arrive in Spain, and this was faithfully laid down in his will. Accordingly, when the two ships arrived in Spain, and the councillors of His Imperial Majesty were informed of this, they speedily, in the name of His Majesty, sent two ships with people, provisions, and merchandise, and all necessaries, to Riodellaplata.

The commander of these two ships was called Alvanzo Gabrero,[58] who brought with him also about two hundred Spaniards and provisions for two years. He arrived at Bonas Aeieres (where the two other ships had been left) in the year 1539, with one hundred and sixty men.

[58] Alonso Cabrera.

The said commander, Alvanzo Gabrero, having come to the island Thiembus, to our chief, Johann Eyollas,[59] they ordered a ship to be sent to Spain, according to the will and order of the councillors of His Imperial Majesty, in order to report to them how all things were situated there in that country.

[59] Juan de Ayolas.

Then Johann Eyollas, our chief captain, held a council with Alvanzo Gabrero and Martin Domingo Eyolla,[60] and some other of his officers, and it was resolved to muster the men. And this being done, it was found that, together with those who had come from Spain, there were five hundred and fifty men. Of these they took four hundred men to themselves, leaving the other one hundred and fifty men at Thiembus, because there were not enough ships. They gave these men a commander, named Carolus Doberim,[61] who had been for some time page of His Imperial Majesty.

[60] Domingo Martinez de Irala.

[61] Carlos Dubrin.

After this had been resolved, they sailed with these four hundred men in eight small Parchkadienes up the river Paranau, in order to seek out another river, called Parabor,[62] where the Carios live, who have Turkish corn and a root named Mandeochade,[63] and other roots such as padades[64] and mandeoch parpie, mandioch mandapore, etc. The root padades resembles an apple, and has the same taste. Mandeoch parpie have the taste of chestnuts. Wine is made from mandepore,[65] and the Indians drink it. These Carios have fish and meat and great sheep, as big as mules. They also have wild boar, ostriches, and other wild beasts; also very many hens and geese.

[62] Paraguai.

[63] Manioc.

[64] Yams, or sweet potatoes.

[65] Mandioca or algarroba.

So then departing from the haven of Bonesperanso[66] with the said eight Parchkadienes vessels, we reached the first day, after a voyage of four miles, a nation called Curanda,[67] who abstain from fish and meat, and number over twelve thousand men, all of whom are fit for war. These people resemble the Thiembus spoken of before; they have little stones on their noses, and the men are tall, but the women are hideous; young as well as old have their faces scratched and always bloody. They are clothed like the Thiembus, from the navel to the knee with a small cotton cloth, as was described before. These Indians have great plenty of otter skins; also many canoes or skiffs. They liberally parted with us their fish, meat, and skins. We gave them in exchange glasses, paternosters, looking-glasses, combs, knives, and fish-hooks. We remained there two days, and then they gave us two Carios who were their captives, to show us the way, and help us with the language.

[66] Buena Esperanza, also called Corpus Christi, was the name given by Don Pedro de Mendoza, says Herrera, to the settlement founded by him four old Spanish leagues below the abandoned fort of Sebastian Cabot.

[67] Coronda.

Sailing further we came afterwards to another people called Gulgaises,[68] who number forty thousand men of war and abstain from fish and meat. These have also two little stars on their noses; they are situated thirty miles from the Curandas,[69] and speak the same language as the Thiembus[70] and Curandas. They dwell on a lake six miles long and four miles wide, on the left side of the river Paranau.[71] We stayed four days among them, and these men imparted to us of their poverty and we did the like by them.

[68] Guaicurús.

[69] Quirandis.

[70] Timbús.

[71] Paraná.

From thence we sailed further, and during eighteen days we did not find any people; then we came to a river flowing inland. And there we found a great multitude of people, called Machkuerendas.[72] These eat nothing but fish and a little meat, number over eighteen thousand men of war, and have many canoes or skiffs.

[72] Perhaps _Mocoretás_. But the Indians living in those parts were the Agazes and Abipones. The Timbus and Corondas were the same folk.

They received us well, after their manner, sharing with us of their poverty; they live on the other side, _i.e._, the right side of the Paranaw, speak a different language from the former, wear also two little stars (stones) on their nose, are tall and of a good proportion; but their women are as hideous as those before spoken of; and they are distant sixty-seven miles from the Gulgaises.[73]

[73] Guaicurús.

After having lived among them for four days, we found on the land a marvellous great and monstrous snake five and twenty foot long, and as thick as a man, black and yellow in colour, which we fired at and killed. The Indians marvelled much at seeing such a snake, for they never before had seen such a large one. This snake, so they told us, had done much harm to them, for when they were bathing this snake was also in the water and it would coil its tail around one of them, taking him under water and devouring him there, so that oftentimes the Indians did not know what had become of him. I myself carefully measured the length and thickness of this snake, which the Indians cut up in pieces and carried home with them, and having boiled and roasted it, did afterwards eat thereof.