BOOK neighbourhood of Salamanca, which are supposed to be LXXXIX. the largest in Spain. One breed is remarkable for its Chacos, Native tribes. small head and thick hair. The chiros is another variety, so called from its erect and conical horns. The wild herds of oxen may be easily tamed; it is probable that they might be a source of riches in the hands of a more industrious people. But the inconsiderate avarice of hunters has incited them to destroy immense numbers of these animals. From the Falkland islands to the 27th degree of south latitude, the cattle seldom frequent the barreros, or saline and nitrous lands; the waters and pastures of the country contain perhaps a sufficient quantity of salt. Nearer the equator, they thrive only in the vicinity of these lands. The barreros, says D'Azara, are necessary for their existence. Eastern Paraguay and a great portion of Brazil confirm the truth of his remark. Chacos is almost wholly occupied by Indian tribes, and all of them are still in a savage state. Some change both their country and name, in order to conceal themselves more effectually from their enemies. The Lules, whose language is said to be different from most of the American dialects, have done so more than once. The Guaicuras, the most warlike of these Indians, are nearly extinct. Their depopulation is the effect of their barbarous habits; it is not uncommon for parents to destroy their children.* A like custom prevails among the Lenguas. The Guanas are the least savage of these Indians, yet they have hardly any notion of religion, the women are devoid of humanity, they have been known to bury their own children alive.t The Enimagas, and Guentuses accompany each other in their emigrations; the Moyas, who are generally at war with them, live by agriculture, and force their slaves to cultivate the ground. Abipones. But of all these tribes the Abipones are the most renowned, their number amounted formerly to five or six *D'Azara, Voyage au Paraguay, II. 146-147. + Idem, ibid. page 93. thousand souls, they inhabited Yapizlaga, a country on BOOK the banks of the Plata, between the 28th and 30th LXXXIX. degrees of latitude. They surpassed other savages in subduing the wild horse, and in the use of the bow. Their warlike spirit proved formidable to the Spaniards, and the labours of the missionaries amongst them were attended with little success. Defeated in several battles, the Abipones were at last reduced to seek for protection from the settlers. Since that period they have gradually decayed. The features of the men are regular; the wemen are nearly as fair as those of Spain. proper. Paraguay derives its name from the Payaguas, a Paraguay treacherous and deceitful people that subsist by fishing. It was believed that they worshipped the moon, but D'Azara denies that they had any religious creed; contrary, however, to the custom of neighbouring savages, they covered their burying places, and preserved, with superstitious care, whatever was left by the dead. The Portuguese having passed the frontiers fixed by several treaties, not only invaded the territory of the Payaguas, but established the military station of New Coymbra on the right bank of the river. The conquest of Spanish Paraguay might have been facilitated from the advantages which such a position afforded them.‡ There is no reason to believe that the mines of Brazil Mines. extend as far as Paraguay. In the manuscript dedicated to the king of Spain, which has been already quoted, no notice is taken of any gold mines in the country, although mention is made of an inconsiderable one near the Uraguay, and this fact gives additional weight to the statements of the Jesuits. Paraguay produces the famous Brazilian tree, but it is much more common in the beautiful country from which it derives its name. The cotton plant is seen throughout the province, and the * Dobritzhofer, de Abiponibus. + D'Azara, Voyage au Paraguay, II. 119-149. Muratori. Murator Missions du Paraguay, n. 275. BOOK sugar cane grows without culture in the marshy grounds. LXXXIX. Dragons-blood, cinchona, nux vomica, and vanilla, are Animals. Towns. the common productions of the country. The pomegranate, the peach, the fig, the orange tree, and a variety of palms, flourish in rich luxuriance. The leaves of a species of ilex are made into the matté or Paraguay tea so much used in South America. The most extensive plantations are near New Villarica and the mountains of Maracayu. If the labourers be deprived of that western tea, they refuse to work the mines. The quantity sold every year in Peru, Chili, and Buenos Ayres, is worth more than two millions of dollars. Paraguay tea is more used in these countries than Chinese in England; the twigs are put in with the leaves, and it is taken through a silver or glass tube. D'Azara takes notice of three different kinds of simiæ, the miriquoina, the cay, and the caraya. The last sort is the most common; from sun-rise to sun-set the woods re-echo its hoarse and dismal cries. The large armadillo burrows in the forests, and a smaller species haunts the plains. Guazou, which is said to be like our word gazelle, is a general name for four kinds of wild deer, different from any in the old world. The jaguar, the Felis pardalis, and the erva, are species of the tiger cat, that have been only seen in America. There is no considerable town in the province of Paraguay, the capital, Asuncion or Neuska Senora de la Asuncion, was at first a small fort built on an angle made by the eastern bank of the Paraguay, about eighteen miles from the first mouth of the Pilcomayo. It became in time the chief town of the diocese; its streets are ill built and inconvenient from their many windings. The population consisted formerly of about two thousand Spanish colonists, and several thousand Mestizoes and Indians. The climate is temperate, and the adjacent country rich and fertile; throughout the year many of the trees are either in foliage or loaded with fruit. The trad ing boats from Buenos Ayres to Asuncion take two or three BOOK months to ascend the Plata. The only difficulty in sailing LXXXIX. up that river proceeds from the force of the descending current, for the passage is made more easy by the prevailing south winds. The other towns in Paraguay, with the exception of Curuguaty and Neembuco, are unworthy of notice. The population of the first amounted, some years ago, to 2250 inhabitants, and that of the latter to 1800 souls The parishes consist for the most part of country houses, a few of which are situated in the vicinity of a church or chapel, and the rest removed at a great distance from each other. The Indians dwelt in hovels, but the Jesuits built villages for such as were converted. It appears from an official report, that in the year 1804, the population of the whole province was less than a hundred thousand souls. The countries eastward of the Parana were divided into Provinces three provinces; the first was the government of Corientes on the Uraguay. and the missions between the Parana and Uraguay; the second, Uraguay, between that river and the Rio Negro; and the third, Monte Video, between Rio Negro and the Ocean. But all these divisions are commonly supposed to form a part of Paraguay. The vegetable productions of these provinces are very valuable; the sugar cane grows in abundance; the wood of some trees is well adapted for building ships, others are used for dying; the country produces lint, cotton, and the most useful plants of Brazil. The population has been calculated at forty thousand Spanish colonists, sixty thousand conquered Indians, and several thousand savages. The Guaranis extended their settle- Native ments to these remote regions. The Charruas, a very warlike tribe, defended with much bravery the banks of the Plata against the inroads of European invaders. The natives are silent, morose, and ignorant of dancing, an amusement so common among the American savages. There are several guttural words in their language, which our alphabet cannot express. tribes. Monte Video derives its name from a mountain near Towns. BOOK the city. The town is completely enclosed with fortificaLXXXIX. tions, and situated on the Plata, at twenty leagues from its mouth. The harbour, though exposed to the north-east winds, is the best on that river. The streets are not paved, and the inhabitants are ill supplied with spring water. The population, consisting of Spaniards, Creoles, and Indians, amounts to fifteen or twenty thousand souls; but a great many of the inhabitants reside in the suburbs and vicinity of the town. Maldonado, a place of some importance in this province, is built on the same side of the Plata as Monte Video; its harbour is large and spacious, and tradMissions of ing vessels pass from it to Buenos Ayres. The Jesuits sent the Jesuits. their missionaries to these provinces. Some have considered such institutions as the germs of a future empire, and establishments, the unsuccessful results of which, religion and humanity must ever deplore, have been embellished by zeal or degraded by envy. These enlightened and judicious monks, in their endeavours to civilize the Indians, did not confine themselves to the spread of the gospel. But it must be confessed that they used their temporal advantages with the utmost moderation and prudence. The formation of these colonies along the banks of the Parana and Uraguay, has been attributed to the hardships which the Indians suffered from the tyranny of the Portuguese. Every plantation was governed by two Jesuits; a curate was placed at the head of the secular administration, and it frequently happened that he could not speak the language of the Indians. The vice curate, or companion, was a subordinate officer, to whose care the conversion and spiritual improvement of the natives were committed. Their only laws were the gospel and the will of the Jesuits. The magistrates chosen from the Indians were so many instruments in the hands of a curate; they had no authority in criminal cases. The natives of both sexes were obliged to labour for the welfare of the community, and no individual enjoyed the right of property. The curate, as guardian of the public treasure, managed the produce |