The Conquest of the River Plate (1535-1555). active 16th century Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
to the town Signora, according to the orders of our chief commander.
[107] Juan de Ayolas.
[108] Domingo Martinez de Irala.
How our chief commander Johann Eijollas made his voyage shall be presently recorded.
First, when he departed from the Peijembas,[109] he came to a folk named Naperus,[110] who are on friendly terms with the Peijembas; they have nothing but fish and flesh, and are a people of considerable numbers. Our commander took with him some of these Naperus to show him the way, for they were to pass through divers countries, and many nations, with great difficulty and penury of all things, and meet with much resistance; so much so that nearly one-half of the Christians died during this voyage. Finally, when he had come to a people called the Peijssennas,[111] he could not go any further, but was compelled to turn back again with all his people except three sick Spaniards, whom he left among the Peijssennas.
[109] This word Peiembas is not Guaraní. It must be the Payaguás, one of the tribes occupying the right bank of the river Paraguay, to which Schmidt refers here, or perhaps the Mbaiàs, the tribe adjacent to them.
[110] Yaperús, a tribe of the Payaguás.
[111] The Peyssennas are the same as the Peiembas. I believe the author is referring to the Payaguás.
Our chief commander therefore, Johann Eijollas being salvo mendo, i.e. in good health, had come back with his men to the Naperus, where he stayed until the third day, because the men were faint and overtired with the journey, and because they had no further supplies.
But the Naperus, understanding this, resolved with the Peijembas, and made an agreement with them to the effect, that they would kill and make away with the chief commander Johann Eijollas and all his men, and they did so afterwards, for when Johann Eijollas was going with his Christians from the Naperus to the Peijembas, and had gone about half-way, they were attacked unawares, and with loud cries by the Naperus and their allies the Peijembas, who fell upon them like mad dogs, as they were passing through a forest; and they were mercilessly and miserably slaughtered, sick and faint Christians as they were, including their commander Johann Eijollas,[112] so that not one of them escaped. God have mercy on their souls!
[112] Juan de Ayolas.
Now as we fifty men had gone to the town Noster Signora Desumsion, and were waiting there for our commander Johann Eijollas and our soldiers, to know how things had gone, we heard tidings from an Indian who had been a slave to the late Johann Eijollas, and had been brought by him from the Peijssennas, and who had escaped because of his knowledge of the language. But although this man told us minutely all that had happened from beginning to end, we would not believe him.
And having remained during a whole year in the above-named town, Noster Signora, we were unable to gather any certain information as to how it had fared with our soldiers; only the Carios told our commander Martin Domingo Eijolla[113] that the general report was, that our Christians had all perished at the hands of the Peijembas.[114] But we would not yet believe it until we should hear from a Peijemba himself that it was true. After two months the Carios brought to our commander, Martin Domingo Eijolla, two Peijembas whom they had taken captive. These Peijembas being asked if they had really slain them all, denied it most emphatically, and said that our chief commander and his men were not yet gone away from their land.
[113] Domingo Martinez de Irala.
[114] Payaguás. These were the Indians who killed Juan de Ayolas and all his people, according to Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca in his Comentarios, infra, and Ruy Diaz de Guzman in La Argentina; also Herrera, Década, v, libro 7, capitulo 5.
Our commander then obtained permission from the judge and the provost-marshal that the two prisoners should be put to the torture in order that they might tell the truth; and by his order they were tormented in such a manner that they were compelled to confess that they had killed the Christians and their chief.
In consequence thereof our commander Martin Domingo Eijolla had them judged, and ordered the two Peijembas to be tied to a tree around which a great fire was made in order to burn them.
Meanwhile it seemed good to us Christians to elect Martin Domingo Eijolla for our chief commander (especially because he had behaved so well against the war-people), until H. I. Majesty should give further orders.
Then Martin Eijolla ordered to prepare four parchkadienes,[115] and taking one hundred and fifty soldiers, the others being left in the aforesaid town of Noster Signora, he gave us to understand that he would gather together the other people who had been left among the Peijembas for reasons before mentioned,[116] and the one hundred and sixty Spaniards left at Bonas Aeieres[117] in the two ships, and bring them to the town Noster Signora Desumsion. Then he, Martin Domingo Eijolla, departed with these four brigantines down the rivers Parabol and Paranon.[118]
[115] Brigantines.
[116] On account of sickness, cf. ante, p. 26.
[117] Buenos Ayres.
[118] Paraguai and Parana.
Now before we came to the Thijembas,[119] it was resolved by the Christians who waited there for us, namely, by a captain named Franciscus Ruis, and Johann Paban, a priest, and a secretary named Johann Ernandus,[120] governors of the Christians, that they would kill the chief of the Thijembus, and certain other Indians, and they verily performed this impious and mischievous deed, and put from life to death the Indians who had rendered them for so long a time so many services before we came down there with Martin Domingo Eijolla.
[119] Timbus.
[120] These names are Francisco Ruiz Galan, Juan Pavon and Juan Hernandez; Juan Pavon was not a clergyman, but an alcalde.
And when we arrived at these Thijembus and Christians, our commander was alarmed at this murder and at the flight of the Thijembus.[119]