A Vanished Arcadia

第3章

saysthatearlyinthiscenturytheywereoftenkilledbytravellers,whotetheredtheirhorsestothecarcassestopreventthemfromstrayingatnight。

FromCorpusChristiJuandeAyolaswassentouttoexploretheriver,andtrytofindthelong

sought

forwaterwaytothePeruvianmines。

HeneverreachedPeru,andCorpusChristineversawhimreturn。

Mendozawaitedayear,andthenreturnedtoSpain,leavinghisgarrisonwithprovisionsforayear,thebread`attherateof(`a/razonde\')

apoundaday,andiftheywantedmoretogetitforthemselves。\'

Onthepassagehomehediedinsane。ThepiouswereofopinionthatitwasajudgmentonhimforthemurderofDonJuanOsorio。

Beforeheembarked,DonPedrohaddespatchedarelative,GonzalodeMendoza,toSpaintobringprovisionsandrecruits。Gonzalo,havingobtainedprovisionsinBrazil,returnedtoCorpusChristi;thenceincompanywithSalazardeEspinosaheheadedanexpeditionuptheriverinsearchofJuandeAyolas,whohadbeenappointedsuccessortoDonPedro。

WiththemwentDomingoMartinezdeIrala,amandestinedtoplayagreatpartintheconquestofParaguay。

HuldericoSchmidel,`HistoriadelDescubrimientodeelRiodelaPlatayParaguay\'。

TheexpeditionwentuptheParaguaytoaplacenearFortOlimpo(21Degreeslong。,58Degreeslat。)aboutahundredleaguesaboveAsuncion。

HeretheysentoutexploringpartiesinalldirectionstoseekAyolas,butwithoutsuccess。IralaremainedwithonehundredmenatFortOlimpo。

GonzalodeMendozaonhisreturn,beingattractedbythesightofafinesiteforatown,landed,andonthefifteenthdayofAugust,1537,foundedAsuncion。HeretheSpaniardsfirstmettheGuaranis,whoweredestinedinafter

yearstobetheconvertsoftheJesuits,andbeassembledbythemintheirfamousmissions。

`AtthediscoveryofAmerica,\'saysFelixdeAzarainhis`DescripcionyHistoriadelParaguay\',`theGuaraniswerespreadfromtheGuianastotheshoresoftheriverPlate,andoccupiedalltheislandsoftheParanaextendinguptolatitude20DegreesontheParaguay,butwithoutcrossingeitherthatriverortheriverPlate。\'

TheyhadalsoafewtownsintheprovinceofChiquitos,andthenationoftheChiriguanaswasanoffshootfromthem。

InBraziltheyweresoonalleitherrenderedslavesorsocrossedwiththeAfricannegrothatthepureracehasbeenalmostentirelylost,thoughthelanguageremainsunderthenameoftheLingoaGeral,andmanywordsfromithavebeenintroducedintoPortuguesespokenbytheBrazilians,as`capim\',grass;`caipira\',half

caste,etc。

Infact,sogreatisthenumberofthesewords,idioms,phrases,andtermsofspeechderivedfromGuarani,thatDr。BaptistadeAlmeida,inhisprefacetohisgrammarpublishedatRioJaneiro(1879),computesthattherearemorewordsderivedfromGuaranithanevenfromArabicinthePortuguesespokeninBrazil。TheGuaranisinBrazilwereknowneitherasTupis,fromtheword`tupy\',savage,orTupinambas,from`tupynamba\',literally,thesavageorindigenousmen。

Perhapsthetwomostimportantworksuponthelanguagearethe`TesorodelaLenguaGuarani\',byRuizdeMontoya,Madrid,1639(itisdedicatedtothe`SoberanaVirgen\');

andthe`CatecismodelaLenguaGuarani\',byDiegoDiazdelaGuerra,Madrid,An~ode1630。Healsowrotea`BocabularioyArtedelaLenguaGuarani\'。

P。Guevara,inhis`HistoriadelParaguay\',relatesacuriousstorywhichhesaidwascurrentamongsttheIndians。Twobrothers,TupiandGuarani,livedwiththeirfamiliesuponthesea

coastofBrazil。

Inthosedaystheworldwasquiteunpopulatedbutbythemselves。

Theyquarrelledaboutaparrot,andTupiwithhisfamilywentnorth,andpopulatedallBrazil;whilstGuaraniwentwest,andwastheancestorofalltheIndiansoftheraceofGuaranis。

JeandeLery,thewell

knownHuguenotpastorandfriendofCalvin,passedayearonthecoastofBrazilabout1558,havingaccompaniedtheexpeditionofthefamousVillegagnau。Inhisbook(`Histoired\'unVoyagefaictenlaTerreduBrezil\')healwaysreferstotheIndiansasToupinaubaoults,andhaspreservedmanycuriousdetailsofthembeforetheyhadhadmuchcontactwithEuropeans。

Heappearstohavehadaconsiderableacquaintancewiththelanguage,andhasleftsomecuriousconversations`enlangagesauvageetFranc,ais\',inwhichhegivessomegrammaticalrules。ThelanguageofconversationisalmostidenticalwiththatofParaguay,thoughsomewordsareusedwhichareeitherpeculiartotheTupisorobsoleteinParaguayto

day。

HisaccountoftheircustomstallieswiththatofthevariousSpanishwritersandexplorerswhohavewrittenonthesubject。

Tobacco,whichseemstohavebeenknownunderthenameof`nicotiane\'toLery,hefindsinBrazilunderthenameof`petun\',thesamenamebywhichitiscalledinParaguayatpresent。Hebelievedthat`petun\'and`nicotiane\'weretwodifferentplants,buttheonlyreasonheadducesforhisbeliefisthat`nicotiane\'

wasbroughtinhistimefromFlorida,which,asheobserves,ismorethanathousandleaguesfrom`NostreTerreduBrezil\'。

HisexperienceofsavageswasthesameasthatofAzara,andalmostallearlytravellers,forhesays:`NosToupinambaoultsrec,oiventforthumainementlesestrangersamisquilesvontvisiter。\'

Lery,however,seemedtothinkthat,inspiteoftheirpacificinclination,itwasnotprudenttoputtoomuchpowerintheirhands,forheremarks:

`Auresteparcequ\'ilschargeyent,etremplisseyentleursmousquetsjusquesaubout……nousleursbaillionsmoitie/(i。e。,lapoudre)

decharbonbroye/。\'Thismayhavebeenawiseprecaution,butheomitstostateifthe`charbonbroye\'was`bailli\'atthesamepriceasgoodpowder。AccordingtoAzara,whotakeshisfactspartlyfromthecontemporarywriters

Schmidel,AlvarNunez,RuyDiazdeGuzman,andBarcodelaCentenera

theGuaranisweredividedintonumeroustribes,asImbeguas,Caracaras,Tembues,Colistines,andmanyothers。Thesetribes,thoughapparentlyofacommonorigin,neverunited,buteachlivedseparatelyunderitsownchief。

Theirtownsweregenerallyeitherclosetoorinthemiddleofforests,orattheedgeofriverswherethereiswood。Theyallcultivatedpumpkins,beans,maize,mani(groundnuts),sweetpotatoes,andmandioca;

buttheylivedlargelybythechase,andatemuchwildhoney。

Diazinhis`Argentina\'(lib。i。,chap。i。)makesthemcannibals。

Azarabelievesthistohavebeenuntrue,asnotraditionsofcannibalismwerecurrentamongsttheGuaranisinhistime,i。e。,in1789

1801。

LiberalasAzarawas,andcarefulobserverofwhathesawhimself,Iamdisposedtobelievethetestimonyofsomanyeye

witnessesofthecustomsoftheprimitiveGuaranis,thoughnoneofthemhadtheadvantageenjoyedbyAzaraoflivingthreehundredyearsaftertheconquest。Itmaybe,ofcourse,thatthepowersofobservationwerenotsowelldevelopedinmankindinthebeginningofthesixteenthasattheendoftheeighteenthcentury,butthispointIleavetothosewhosebusinessitistoprovethatthehumanmindisinaprogressivestate。

However,FatherMontoya,inhis`ConquistaEspiritualdelParaguay\',affirmsmostpositivelythattheyusedtoeattheirprisonerstakeninwar。\'

Azara,inhis`DescripcionyHistoriadelParaguay\',hasasimilarpassage:

`RecibebientodoIndiosilvestre,alestrangeroquevienedepaz。\'

`Porlocomunrepartenpedazosdeestecuerpo,delqualpedazocozidoenmuchaaguahacenunasgachas(`fritters\')yesfiestamuycelebreparaellosquehacenconmuchascerimonias。\'

TheirgeneralcharacteristicsseemtohavebeenmuchthesameasthoseofotherIndiansofAmerica。Forinstance,theykepttheirhairandteethtoanextremeoldage,theirsightwaskeen,theyseldomlookedyouinthefacewhilstspeaking,andtheirdispositionwascoldandreserved。Thetoneoftheirvoiceswaslow,solowthat,asAzarasays:`Lavoznuncaesgruesanisonora,yhablansiempremuybajo,singritaraunparaquejarsesilosmatan;

demaneraque,sicaminaunodiezpasosdelante,nolellamaelquelenecesita,sinoquevaa/alcanzarle。\'ThisIhavemyselfobservedwhentravellingwithIndians,evenonhorseback。

TherewasonecharacteristicoftheGuaranisinwhichtheydifferedgreatlyfrommostoftheIndiantribesintheirvicinity,astheIndiansoftheChacoandthePampas,forallhistoriansalikeagreethattheyweremostunwarlike。ItisfromthischaracteristicthattheJesuitswereabletomakesuchacompleteconquestofthem,for,notwithstandingalltheirefforts,theyneverreallysucceededinpermanentlyestablishingthemselvesamongstanyofthetribesintheChacooruponthePampas。

ThenameGuaraniisvariouslyderived。PedrodeAngelis,inhis`ColecciondeObrasyDocumentos\',derivesitfrom`gua\',paint,and`ni\',signoftheplural,makingthesignificationoftheword`paintedones\'or`paintedmen\'。Demersay,inhis`HistoireduParaguay\',

thinksitprobablethatthewordisanalterationoftheword`guaranai\',i。e。,numerous。BarcodelaCentenera(`Argentina\',booki。,cantoi。)

saysthewordmeans`hornet\',andwasappliedonaccountoftheirsavageness。

Bethatasitmay,itiscertainthattheGuaranisdidnotatthetimeoftheconquest,anddonotnow,applythewordtothemselves,exceptwhentalkingSpanishortoaforeigner。Theword`aba\',Indianorman,ishowtheyspeakoftheirpeople,andtothelanguagetheyapplytheword`Abanee\'。

`HistoireduParaguayetdesE/tablissementsdesJe/suites\',L。AlfredDemersay,Paris,1864。

`LaArgentina\',alongpoemorrhymingchroniclecontainedinthecollectionof`HistoriadoresPrimitivosdeIndias\',ofGonzalesBarcia,Madrid,1749。

Inthesamewaytheword`Paraguay\'isvariouslyderivedfromacorruptionoftheword`Payagua\'(thenameofanIndiantribe),and`y\',theGuaraniwordforwater,meaningriverofthePayaguas。

Others,again,deriveitfromaGuaraniwordmeaning`crown\',and`y\',water,andmakeitthecrownedriver,eitherfromthepalm

treeswhichcrownitsbanksorthefeathercrownswhichtheIndiansworeatthefirstconquest。Others,again,deriveitfromabirdcalledparaqua(`Ortolidaparaqua\')。Again,Angelis,inhiswork`SeriedelosSen~oresGobernadoresdelParaguay\'(lib。ii。,p。187),derivesitfromParagua,thenameofacelebratedIndianchiefatthetimeoftheconquest。Whatiscertainisthat`y\'

istheGuaraniforwater,andthisissomethinginaderivation。

`Y\'isperhapsashardtopronounceastheGaelic`luogh\',acalf,thenasal`gh\'inArabic,ortheKaffirclicks,havingbothagutturalandanasalaspiration。Itisrarelyattemptedwithsuccessbyforeigners,evenwhenlongresidentinthecountry。ThoughParaguaywassocompletelythecountryoftheJesuitsinafter

times,theywerenotthefirstreligiousOrdertogothere。AlmostineveryinstancetheecclesiasticswhoaccompaniedthefirstconquerorsofAmericawereFranciscans。TheJesuitsaresaidtohavesenttwoprieststoBahiainBraziltenyearsaftertheirOrderwasfounded,butbothinBrazilandParaguaytheFranciscanswerebeforetheminpointoftime。

Lozano,inhis`HistoriadelParaguay\',comparesittoGreek,butinmyopinionfailstoestablishhiscase;but,then,sofewpeopleknowbothGreekandGuarani。

SanFranciscoSolano,thefirstecclesiasticwhorosetomuchnoteasamissionary,andwhomadehiscelebratedjourneythroughtheChacoin1588

89fromPerutoParaguay,wasaFranciscan。Thus,theFranciscanshadthehonourofhavingthefirstAmericansaintintheirranks。

Itisnoteworthy,though,thathewasrecalledfromParaguaybyhissuperiors,whoseemtohavehadnoveryexaltedopinionofhim。

HepassedthroughthewholeChaco,descendingthePilcomayotoitsjunctionwiththeParaguay,throughterritoriesbutlittleexploredevento

day。PerhapsthemostcompletedescriptionoftheChacoisthatofP。Lozano,withthefollowingcomprehensivetitle:

`DescripcionchorographicadeTerrenoRios,Arboles,yAnimalesdelosdilatadisimasProvinciasdelGranChaco,Gualamba,ydelosRitosyCostumbresdelainumerablesnacionesbarbarose/infidelesquelehabitan。ConuncabalRelacionHistoricadeloqueenelloshanobradoparaconquistarlasalgunosGobernadoresyMinistrosReales,ylosMisionerosJesuitasparareducirlosa\\lafedelVerdaderoDios。\'PorelPadrePedroLozano,delaCompan~iadeJesus,An~ode1733。EnCordobaporJosephSantosBalbas。

Thisbookdidnotappearinaclandestinemanner,forithad:

1。Censura,porC。dePalmas。2。LicenciadelaReligion,porGeronymodeHuro/za,ProvincialdelosJesuitasdeAndalucia。

3。LicenciadelOrdinarioporelDr。DonFranciscoMiguelMoreno,pormandadodelSr。ProvisorAlonsoJosephGomezdeLara。

4。AprobaciondelRdo。P。DiegoVasquez。5。PrivelegiodesuMajestadporDonMiguelFernandezMorillo。6。Fe/deCorrectorporelLicenciado,DonManuelGarciaAlesson,CorrectorGeneraldesuMajestad(whoaddsinanote,`estelibrocorrespondea\\suoriginal\')。

7。SumodeTassa,asfollows:`Tassaronlossen~oresdelConsejoestelibroa\\seismaravediscadapliego。\'

Palma,inthefirst`censura\',saysthathehadreaditseveraltimes`conrepetidacomplacencia\',andthat,thoughitwas`breveenvolumen\'

(ithas484quartopages),thatitwasalsoshortinitsconcisestyle,keptcloselytotherulesofhistory,andwas`muycopiosaenladoctrina\'。

Charlevoixremarks(`HistoryofParaguay\')`thatitseemsasifProvidence,ingrantinghimmiraculouspowers,hadforgottentheothernecessarystepstomakethemeffective。\'Thathereallyhadthesepowersseemsstrange,butSanFranciscoSolanonarratesofhimselfthat,inpassingthroughtheChaco,helearnedthelanguagesofseveralofthetribes,and`preachedtothemintheirowntonguesofthebirth,death,andtransfigurationofChrist,themysteriesoftheTrinity,Transubstantiation,andAtonement;thatheexplainedtothemthesymbolsoftheChurch,thePapalsuccessionfromSt。Peterdownwards,andthathecatechizedtheIndiansbythousands,tensandhundredsofthousands,andthattheycameintearsandpenitencetoacknowledgetheirbelief。\'

Ofcourse,to

dayitisdifficulttocontrovertthesestatements,evenifinclinedtodoso;butthelanguagesspokenbytheChacoIndiansareamongstthemostdifficulttolearnofanyspokenbythehumanrace,somuchsothatFatherDobrizhoffer,inhis`HistoryoftheAbipones\',says`thatthesoundsproducedbytheIndiansoftheChacoresemblednothinghuman,sodotheysneeze,andstutter,andcough。\'

InsuchalanguagetheAthanasianCreeditselfwouldbepuzzlingtoaneophyte。

HealsosaysthatseveraloftheJesuitswhohadlabouredforyearsamongsttheIndianscouldnevermastertheirdialects,andwhentheypreachedtheIndiansreceivedtheirwordswithshoutsoflaughter。Thisthegoodpriestattributedtothepresenceofa`mockingdevil\'whopossessedthem。Itmaybethatthemockingdevilwasbutasenseofhumour,thepossessionofwhich,evenamongstgoodChristians,hasbeenknowntogiveoffence。

Butbethisasitmay,SanFranciscodeSolanoremainedtwoyearsatAsuncion,thoughwhilsthelivedtherehispowersofspeech(accordingtotheJesuits)

seemtohavebeendiminished,andheheldnocommunicationwiththeIndiansintheirownlanguages。Itmaybethat,likeSt。Paul,hepreferredtospeak,whennotwithIndians,fivewordswithhisunderstandingratherthantenthousandinanunknowntongue。

AtthetimeofthefirstconquestParaguaywasalmostentirelypeopledbytheGuaranirace。Itdoesnotappearthattheirnumberwaseververygreat,perhapsnotexceedingamillioninthewholecountry。FromthewritingsofMontoya,Guevara,Lozano,andtheothermissionariesofthetime,itiscertainthattheyhadattainedtonoveryhighdegreeofcivilization,thoughtheywerecertainlymoreadvancedthantheirneighboursintheGranChaco。

Itismostprobablethattheyhadnotasinglestone

builttown,orevenahouse,orthatsuchathingexistedsouthofNewGranada,totheeastwardoftheAndes,forwemaytakethedescriptioninSchmidel\'s`HistoryoftheCasadelGranMoxo\'eitherasamistakeorasastorywhichhehadheardfromsomePeruvianIndianofthepalacesoftheIncas。

Atanyrate,noremainsofstone

builthouses,stilllessofpalaces,areknowntohavebeenfoundinBrazilorParaguay。

ThisraceatonetimespreadfromtheOrinocototheriverPlate,andeveninthecaseofitsoffshoot,theChiriguanas,crossedtothewestbankoftheParaguay。PadreRuizMontoya,inhis`ConquistaEspiritualdelParaguay\',cap。i。,speakingoftheGuaranirace,says:`DominaambosmareseldelsurportodoelBrasilycin~iendoelPeruconlosdosmasgrandesriosqueconoceelorbequesoneldelaPlata,cuyabocaenBuenos

Ayresesdeochentaleguas,yelgranMaran~on,a\\elinferiorennadaequepasabienvecinodelaciudaddeCuzco。\'

BarcodelaCentenera,in`LaArgentina\',cantov。,alsorefersto`LaCasadelGranMoxo\'。Itwassituated`enunalaguna\',andwas`todadepiedralabrada\'。

To

dayalltheGuaraniswhoarestillunconqueredliveintheimpenetrableforestsoftheNorthofParaguayorintheBrazilianprovinceofMattoGrosso。

TheirlimitstothesouthextendtoneartheruinedmissionsofJesusandTrinidad。Bypreference,theyseemtodwellaboutthesourcesoftheIgatimi,anaffluentoftheParana,andinthechainofmountainsknowneitherasSanJoseorMbaracayu。

TheParaguayansgenerallyrefertothemasMonteses(dwellersinthewoods),andsometimesasCaaguas。Theypresentalmostthesamecharacteristicsastheydidatthediscoveryofthecountry,andwanderinthewoodsastheJesuitsdescribethemasdoingthreehundredyearsago。

Oliveincolour,ratherthicklyset,ofmediumheight,thinbeards,andgenerallylittlehairuponthebody,theirtypehasremainedunchanged。

ThedifferenceinstatureamongsttheGuaranisislessnoticeablethanamongstEuropeans。TheirlanguageispoorerthantheGuaranispokenbytheParaguayans,andthepronunciationbothmorenasalandguttural。

Theirnumeralsonlyextendtofour,aswasthecaseatthetimeofthediscovery。

Theirnumeralsarefourinnumber(`petei^,mocoi^,mbohapi=,ira^ndi=\');

afterthistheyaresaidtocountinSpanishinthesamewayasdotheGuarani

speakingParaguayans。MuchhasbeenwrittenontheGuaranitonguebymanyauthors,butperhapsthe`Gramatica\',`Tesoro\',andthe`Vocabulario\'ofPadreAntonioRuizMontoya,publishedatMadridin1639and1640,remainthemostimportantworksonthelanguage。PadreSigismundihasleftacuriousworkinGuaranionthemedicinalplantsofParaguay。Beforethewarof1866

70

severalMS。copiesweresaidtoexistinthatcountry。

SeeDuGratz\'s`Re/publiqueduParaguay\',cap。iv。,p。214。

Liketheirforefathers,theyseldomuniteinlargenumbers,andpaylittlehonourorobediencetotheirchiefs,whodifferinnorespect,eitherinarms,dress,orposition,fromtheordinarytribesmen。

InBraziltheyareconfinedtothesouthernportionoftheprovinceofSanPaulo,andarecalledbytheBraziliansBugres

thatis,slaves。

Amoreunfittingnameitwouldhavebeenimpossibletohitupon,asalleffortstocivilizethemhaveprovedabortive,andto

daytheystillrangetheforests,attackingsmallpartiesoftravellers,andburningisolatedfarm

houses。TheBraziliansassertthattheyarecannibals,butlittleisknownpositivelyastothis。

WhathasalteredthemsoentirelyfromtheoriginalGuaranisofthetimeoftheconquest,whoweresoeasilysubdued,itishardtoconjecture。Onethingiscertain:thattheexamplegiventhembytheChristiansettlershasevidentlynotbeensuchastoinducethemtoleavetheirwildlifeandenterintothebondsofcivilization。

Diaz,inthe`Argentina\',thinkstheCaribsoftheWestIndieswereGuaranis,andtheJesuitsoftenrefertothemunderthatname。

ThispointwouldbeeasilysetatrestbyexaminingifanyGuaraniwordsremaininthedialectoftheCaribsoftheMosquitocoast。

Astotheirrelativenumbersatthetimeofthefoundationofthemissions,itismostdifficulttojudge。Atnoonetimedoesthepopulationofthethirtytownsseemtohaveexceededonehundredandthirtythousand。

SeeDemersay,`HistoireduParaguay\',p。324,fornamesofGuaranitribes。

AlfredMauryalso,inhis`LaTerreetl\'HommeAme/ricain\',p。392,speaksof`lerameaubrasilio

guaranin,ouCara/ibe,quis\'etendaitjadisdepuislesPetites

Antillesjusqu\'auParaguay。\'

D\'Orbignyinhis`L\'HommeAmericain\',estimatestheGuaranisofBrazilatonehundredandfiftythousand。

Humboldtcitestwohundredandsixty

ninethousandastheprobablenumberofIndiansofeverykindintheBrazilianEmpire。

TheViscountdeItabayana(aBrazilianwriter)fixesthenumberattwohundredandfiftythousandtothreehundredthousand。

VelosodeOliveiraputsitateighthundredthousand;

andlaterstatisticiansrangebetweenonemillionfivehundredthousandandseventoeighthundredthousand。

ThenumbersgivenofIndiansbytheSpanishconquerorsarealmostalwaysgrosslyoverstated,fromthewishtheynotunnaturallyhadtomagnifytheimportanceoftheirconquestsandtoenhancetheirexploitsintheeyesofthoseforwhomtheywrote。

StruckbythetractablecharacteroftheGuaranis,MendozabegantobuildafortonAugust15,1537(whichisthedayoftheAssumption),andthenamehegavetohisfortwasAsuncion,whichafterwardsbecamethecapitalofParaguay。

EspinosareturnedtoCorpusChristi,andafterwardstoBuenosAyres,whereasmallforcehadstillremained。Thisforce,tiredoftheceaselessbattleswiththeQuerandis,orPampaIndians,embarkedforAsuncion。

Irala,afterwaitingformanymonthsatFortOlimpo,returnedtoAsuncion,wherehefoundRuizdeGalanactingasGovernor。Adisputeatoncearosebetweenthem,andIrala,afterhavingbeenimprisoned,wasallowedtoreturntoFortOlimpo。HerehefoundthePayaguaIndiansinrebellion,andinthebattlewhichensuedheisreportedtohaveslainsevenofthemwithhisownhand。HestillmaintainedafitfulsearchforJuandeAyolas,butwithoutsuccess。

Fewmodern`conquerors\'inAfricaseemtohaveengagedinpersonalcombatwiththenatives。EvenofMr。RhodesitisnotsetdownthathehaskilledmanyMatabelewithhisownhands。Timeschange,notalwaysforthebetteringofthings。

GalanreturnedtoBuenosAyres,and,stoppingatCorpusChristi,tookoccasiontofalluponthefriendlyandunsuspectingTimbuIndiansandmassacreaquantityofthem。Whyhedidsoisquiteuncertain,fortheTimbueshadbeeninthehabitofsupplyingthefortofCorpusChristiwithprovisions;itmaybethatthequalityoftheprovisionswasinferior,butneitherRuizDiaznorSchmidelinformsusonthepoint。

Galan,afterhis`victory\',re

embarkedforBuenosAyres,leavingAntoniodeMendozaincommandwithahundredmen。

Oneday,whenaboutthehalfoftheforcewashunting,theIndiansfelluponitandcutitofftothelastman;

butfortheopportunearrivaloftwovesselsthefortwouldhavebeendestroyed。However,manySpaniardswereslain,andAntoniodeMendozaamongstthem。

Afterthisbattle,inwhichSantiagoissaidtohaveappearedonthetopoftheprincipaltowerofthefortdressedinwhitewithadrawnswordinhishand,GalanandEspinosareturnedtoAsuncion,takingwiththemtheremainderoftheinhabitantsofBuenosAyres。

AtAsunciontheyfoundthatIralahadagainreturnedwithouthavingdiscoveredtracesofAyolas。IralawaselectedGovernorunderaclauseintheroyalletterspatentwhichprovidedforthecaseofAyolasnotreturning。HisfirstactwastoorderthecompleteevacuationofBuenosAyres。AnItalianvessel,whichwasgoingtoPeruwithcolonists,havingbeendrivenintotheriverPlate,unitedwiththeremainsofthecolonistsatBuenosAyresandproceededtoAsuncion。

Santiago,asindutybound,usuallyappearedwheneverSpaniardswerehardpressed。FewwritershadthecourageofBernalDiaz,whoofasimilarappearancesaid:`ButI,sinnerthatIwas,wasnotworthytoseehim;whomIdidseeandrecognisewasFranciscodeMorlaonhischestnuthorse\'(BernalDiaz,`HistoriadelaConquistadeNuevaEspan~a\',cap。xxxiv。,p。141;

Madrid,1795)。

Curiouslyenough,theremnantsofseveralexpeditionsthusjoinedtofoundthefirstpermanentcityintheterritoriesoftheriverPlate;

notatBuenosAyres,butathousandmilesawayintheinteriorofthecountry,whereitseemedlittleprobablethattheirattemptwouldprovesuccessful。

TopresideovertheheterogeneouselementsofwhichAsuncionwascomposed,DomingoMartinezdeIralawaschosen。HewasaBiscayan,amemberofthatancientracewhichneitherRomansnorMoorswereeverabletosubdue。Nothingisknownabouthisantecedents。NotimprobablyhewasasonofoneoftheinnumerablesmallgentlemenwithwhomtheBasqueprovincesusedtoswarm。Almosteveryhouseinthelittletownsevento

dayhasitscoatofarmsoverthedoor。Everyinhabitantclaimedtobeanobleman,andinthereignofCharlesV。theyfurnishedmanysoldiersofreputeinthewarsofEuropeandAmerica。

ThesystemofIralawastoconciliateratherthansubduethenatives。

Isolatedfromhelpofeverykind,thelengthofthevoyagefromSpainprecludingallideaofspeedysuccourinarebellion,itwastheonlycoursehecouldpursue。

Fromtheveryfirstheencouragedthesoldierstomarrywomenofthecountry,thuscreatingtieswhichboundthemtotheland。

TwoFranciscanfriarssetaboutatoncetolearnthelanguageandpreachtothepeople。TheyalsoseemtohaveendeavouredtoreducetheGuaranilanguagetowriting。So,fromseveralcircumstances,theearlyhistoryofParaguaywasverydifferentfromthatofeveryotherSpanishpossessioninAmerica。ToalltheothersSpanishwomenseemtohavegoneingreaterorinsmallernumbers。ToParaguay,atthefoundationofAsuncion,itseemsthathardlyanywomenwent。

ThusitwillbeseenthattheFranciscanswereatworkinthecountrylongbeforethearrivaloftheJesuits。Itmaybeonthisaccountthattheybecamesuchbitterenemiesofthelatercomers。

Sothereadifferentstateofsocietyarosetothat,forexample,inChileorinMexico。InboththosecountriesfewSpaniardsevermarriednativewomen。Thosewhodidsowereeithermembersofthehighestclass

whosometimes,butrarely,marriedIndianwomenofpositionfrommotivesofpolicy

orelsethelowestclassofSpaniards;

inthiscase,afterageneration,theirchildrenbecamepracticallyIndians。InParaguayitwasquitethecontrary,andthegrandchildrenofIndianmothersandSpanishfatherswerealmostreckonedSpaniards,andthenextgenerationalwaysso。

Washburne,inhis`HistoryofParaguay\'(p。32,cap。i。,vol。i。),pointsoutthecontrastbetweentheeffectsofthetreatmentmetedoutbyPenntotheIndiansinPennsylvaniaandthatbyIralainParaguay。

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