Chapter VII: Part 7

Horses in Paraguay are valued, or the contrary, not according to their colour, or the conformation of their bodies, but chiefly according to their natural method of going, which is of four different kinds. The most esteemed are those which have not the common trot, but move very gently, and when spurred begin to amble, so that the rider might hold a cup full of liquor in his hand, and not spill a drop. They are either born with this kind of pace, or are taught it by art. If the mother be an ambler, though the father may not have been so, the colt will generally prove an ambler also; but more certainly if both parents have been of that kind. The young horses that are most remarkable for beauty of form, and for strength, are selected from the rest, and taught that easy and swift manner of moving. Their fore feet are fastened to their hinder ones in such a manner, that, though still able to walk, they cannot practise their natural method of leaping, which is so unpleasant to the rider. Others tie to the feet of the young horse a round stone, wrapped up in a skin, which strikes his legs when he attempts to trot, and makes him endeavour, through fear of the pain, to walk gently. This method of teaching is practised in all the Guarany towns. An ambling nag goes two leagues in the space of an hour, unless impeded by the roughness of the road; nor can a common horse keep up with him, unless spurred by the rider to a gallop. But the natural pace of those horses which the Spaniards call _trotones_, the Abipones _nichilicheranetà_, and the Germans _trabganger_, is very unpleasant to the rider; for they lift up their feet like pestles, violently shaking the rider's body: yet as they tread firmly, and lift up their feet at every step, they stumble seldomer than the amblers, which, scarce raising their feet from the ground, and uniting the greatest swiftness to gentleness, by striking their hoofs against stones, roots of trees, and hard clods, more frequently fall and throw their rider, especially when there is no beaten path. In long journeys, especially through rugged places, it is best to make use of those horses between the amblers and the trotters, which, as they approach more nearly to the human method of walking, fatigue the rider less, are not so soon fatigued themselves, and are not so apt to stumble.

Much are those historians mistaken, who have persuaded the celebrated Robertson that the American horses have small bodies, and no spirit, and that they are mere dwarfs and spectres in comparison with those of Europe. I boldly affirm that the Paraguayrian horses differ nothing from those of our own country in size, shape, and good qualities. You meet everywhere with horses of lofty, or of middling stature; some well fitted for a vaulter, and others for a man armed cap-a-pié. Pygmies, like Corsican horses, are as rare in Paraguay as comets in the sky. I allow that Paraguay is as yet unacquainted with horses like the natives of the Styrian mountains, which almost resemble elephants in their immense back, huge limbs, and broad hoofs: this country produces slenderer horses, better adapted for riding and racing than for chariots and waggons. But were they fed like those of Europe on oats and barley, and defended in a stable against the inclemencies of the weather, they would very probably grow to the same size. The horses of Paraguay are born out of doors, and remain there, night and day, the whole year round; are fed upon any grass they can find, (which is not always either very good, or very plentiful,) and upon leaves of trees, or dry wood; they often seek in vain for water to quench their thirst, and find it neither good, nor in sufficient quantities. Being constantly in the open air, they are exposed at one time to the scorching sun; at another to continual showers; sometimes to hoar frosts; when a south wind is up, to bitter cold; and at all times and places to the stings of flies, gad-flies, and gnats, infinite swarms of which flit up and down. I attribute it to these causes that the horses of Paraguay never attain to the size of the Styrian, Holsatian, Danish, and Neapolitan horses. During the winter months, the former grow lean from feeding upon poor grass, and their hair becomes darker, but at the return of fine weather, they regain their strength and natural colour. They fatten so much in fertile pastures, abounding in grass and nitre, that you might count money upon their back, as on a table—a common saying in regard to very fat horses amongst the Spaniards. But though the richness of the grass greatly fattens the Paraguayrian horses, it never gives them that strength which European horses derive from food composed of oats, barley, straw, and hay, which enables them to bear a rider, and to draw a cart, every day, and all day.

All the different colours, by which horses are distinguished in Europe, are to be found in those of Paraguay. They are oftener, however, white, and chesnut-coloured, than black or bay; a circumstance which gave me much surprize, as men born in the same climate, whether of European or American parents, are almost always distinguished by very black, coarse hair. White and chesnut-coloured horses are indeed very pleasing to the eyes, and possess great gentleness and docility; but experience has taught me that they are much sooner fatigued, and seldom possess that strength which we see in horses of a black or reddish colour, especially those in which the red resembles the colour of toasted bread: the patience with which these horses endure labour, and travelling, is expressed in an old Spanish proverb, importing that they will die before they are fatigued: _Alazan tostado antes muerto, que cansado_. We have, however, frequently found white horses sprinkled with black, with black manes and tails, to possess a great deal of strength. The same may be said with regard to the darker bays, which have manes and tails of a blackish colour. Pybald horses in Paraguay are thought crafty and dangerous; nor are they slandered in this respect, as I have frequently found to my cost, although I may truly say that I never bestrode a Paraguayrian horse, of whatever colour it might be, with that confidence and security which I feel in mounting an European one; for many of them are apt to wince, and be stubborn, to stumble and throw their rider, and almost all are startlish and fearful, being terrified at any sudden noise, or the sight of any strange object; whereupon, if the bridle be neglected they will stand with their head lifted up to the breast of their rider, or rear, and throw him off, or fling him to a distance, if he be not very firmly seated.

In such a vast multitude of horses, there is necessarily great variety. You will see some handsomer, stronger, and swifter than others, as in Europe. Those which have a broad breast, a small head, large and black eyes, short and pricking ears, wide nostrils, a bushy mane, a large and long tail, hairy feet, a small belly, a wide round back, straight slender legs and hard hoofs, not indented, like a comb; those which, with playful alacrity, provoke the rest to fight in the plain, leap ditches without the least hesitation, cross marshes quickly, and, as soon as they are released from the saddle and bridle, joyfully roll themselves on the ground, are esteemed superior to all others in Paraguay. Those born in rough, stony situations are preferred to the natives of a soft, clayey soil; for this reason, that if you remove a horse accustomed to such places, to soft, marshy plains, you will find him slacken his pace, and walk slowly and timidly for a long time. This fear is occasioned by the earth's yielding to their hoofs. But a horse bred on a soft soil, when brought to stony places, and gravelly roads, will often stumble and get lame—his hoofs being bruised, and even made bloody by the roughness of the stones. Horseshoes are never used in Paraguay, though that country abounds in rocks and stones. A horseshoe would cost more than any horse, on account of the dearness of iron, and moreover because blacksmiths are not even known here by name. The experience of many years has taught me that horses, wherever they are born, in a few months grow accustomed to any soil. Mares kept for the purpose of breeding have their manes and tails shorn by the Spaniards, that they may fatten sooner, for I know of no other reason. But horses kept for riding are adorned with a long bushy tail, which increases their beauty and value. Even the meanest negro slave would think it an indignity and a punishment were he ordered to ride on a horse that was deprived of its tail. The Indians think we are jesting when they hear us say that in Europe there exist men who cut off the tails of their horses, and reckon it an improvement; for they think that a handsome tail is not only a great ornament to a horse, but likewise his instrument of defence, with which he drives away the swarms of flies and gnats. A Spanish priest, of an advanced age, who had long been in a bad state of health, had in his possession a horse of an extremely gentle disposition, as well as of a quick and easy pace. This horse the old man made use of, in preference to innumerable others that he possessed, in all his necessary journeys. A certain Spaniard had long wished for the horse, and vainly offered to give for it whatever price the owner chose. Impatient of repulse, he dared to threaten that, unless the old man would sell the horse of his own accord, he should steal it from him. The owner, fearing that he would have very little difficulty in accomplishing his threat, said to his servant, "Go, and cut off the tail of that horse of mine: it is better to lose a part of him than the whole. When deprived of his tail he will be laughed at by all who see him, but he will at least be secured from thieves. I would rather be derided myself for using a horse without a tail, than have all my bones and limbs jolted to pieces, like pepper in a mortar, by any other trotting beast." To mutilate the tail of another person's horse, is a bitter and not uncommon kind of revenge amongst the lower orders of Spaniards; it is also thought an insufferable insult for one man to call another _un rabon_, a horse without a tail.

To keep horses in good condition, or make them so, it is of much importance that they be kept extremely clean; for if their skin is covered with dust, their mane uncombed, their tail full of scurf, and their hair matted together, the perspiration is obstructed by the pores being stopped up, and consequently they, by degrees, grow lean and scraggy, or get the mange. On this account, the Spaniards and Abipones, who are most careful of their property, though less solicitous than Europeans about combing, washing, and rubbing down their horses, and unprovided with instruments for those purposes, take great care to prevent their growing dirty, though they have no other stable than the open plain, day and night, during every part of the year. If thistles, thorns, and other prickly plants of that kind stick to their tails, they carefully extricate them by anointing their hair with tallow. After performing a journey, when the harness is taken off, they wash and wipe the back of the horse, which is bathed in perspiration, and lest the coldness of the air should cause it to swell, keep it covered, for some time, with a horsecloth. Moreover the health and liveliness of horses are best preserved by taking care that their pastures be not situated very far either from clear lakes or limpid rivers, where the horses may drink and bathe at their pleasure; for in the winter months the cold air makes them lean and mangy, and the frequent droughts produce the same effect in the summer season, unless they have an opportunity of laving and swimming.

In the plains of Paraguay, which abound in cattle, not only are numerous snakes concealed in the grass, but even many herbs, more noxious than the most deadly snake, present themselves to their hungry jaws. The commonest of these is that which the natives call _nio_. It has a tall stalk with a yellow blossom, but contains a deadly poison. Horses after feeding upon it are seized with a feverish trembling, which terminates in death. Horses born in places which produce this poisonous herb, devour it with impunity, but are always contemned as feeble and incapable of enduring the fatigues of a journey. The Spaniards use the following method to prevent their horses from tasting this deadly food. When marching against the enemy, they daily send forward some of their companions to explore the whole country round about where the horses are to feed. Whenever they find any of those poisonous herbs they pluck a few, tie them into a bundle, and set fire to them, so that the smoke arising from thence is conveyed by a contrary wind to the troop, and the smell of it inspires them with a horror of the pestilent herb. For though they eagerly crop the rest of the grass, they leave that untouched. But alas! there are many other instruments of death, tigers, serpents and worms, by which an incredible number of horses are yearly destroyed. The worms which gnaw the horses are occasioned by the saddles made use of in Paraguay. Those that are made of dressed leather are stuffed with two bundles of rushes, which lie upon the ribs of the horse in such a manner, that the saddles do not touch the spine of the back. They are quite unprovided with cushions, in the place of which, the back of the horse is covered with four ells of woollen cloth, folded up together, and on this, by way of harness, they place the horsecloth of softish leather, variously embossed and adorned with figures. All this is placed beneath the saddle, that it may not hurt the horse's back, on which, that the rider may sit the easier, is placed a sheep's skin, or an ornamented horsecloth of sheep's wool, died of various colours. The saddles are fastened on the horse's back, not with a hempen girth, but with a thong of cow's leather, so that there is no need of buckles. The wooden stirrups, curiously carved, and plated with silver, in use amongst the better sort of people, are called by the Spaniards _baules_, baskets; for they really are little baskets, entirely inclosing the rider's feet, and covering, and defending them against the injuries of the weather and the road. But if the horse fall suddenly, and throw his rider, stirrups of this kind are very dangerous, as it is more difficult to extricate the foot quickly from them than from those of Europe. The stirrups which the Spanish peasants, who never wear shoes, make use of, are likewise made of wood, but the opening is so small that nothing but the great toe can be inserted into it. The savages, according to the custom of their ancestors, do not use stirrups, and most of them are unfurnished with saddles even. The Paraguayrian bridles, also, differ from those of our country in size and shape. The Indians make use of a bridle composed of transverse spikes of cow's horn, like a hurdle, which fills the whole mouth of the horse. The spurs of the Spaniards are very large, and furnished with pegs, with which they rather bruise, than prick, the sides of the horse. They abhor the small sharp European spurs, with which they think that horses are easily wounded and infuriated. This is the whole furniture used for horses, in Paraguay. I will now give you some account of their diseases, and the remedies for them.

It frequently happens that the friction of a rough horsecloth, or the hardness or compression of the saddle galls the back of the horse; and if, after long fatigue, his horsecloth be taken off, whilst he is still smoking with sweat, it is swelled by the sudden admission of the cold air, or of rain, till the tumour by degrees grows into a wound. The ulcerated and bloody flesh is quickly infested by swarms of flies, the eggs and filth of which ingender white worms. Delay is dangerous; for the worms increase rapidly every hour, and creep to the interior parts of the animal. If you wish to save your horse, you must immediately dig the worms out of his flesh with a small stick, and stop up the cavities where those insects lay with chewed tobacco leaves, the bitterness of which kills the worms, drives away the flies which breed them, and prevents the progress of corruption. The scar must be anointed with tallow every day, that fresh hair may grow there. The Indians smear their horses' backs either with the root _guaycuru_, well masticated with their teeth, or with melted tiger's fat, or with the shell of the _armadillo_ burnt to ashes; but these remedies seldom effect a complete cure. From a book of Father Martin Szentivan, a Hungarian, on the treatment of animals, I learnt a remedy much superior to any of those American ones, and which has been successfully adopted by many Paraguayrians. Salt, well ground, and mixed with vinegar and yolk of egg, is applied to the horse's back once a day, as it cleans away the blood, keeps off worms, and in a few days removes the swelling, and renews the skin and hair. The same author advises the application of a white onion, pretty well roasted. We ourselves have seen many horses preserved by both remedies. Certain large birds, of various colours, carnivorous, and of the vulture kind, may aptly be called horses' physicians; for they perch upon their ulcerated backs, and are deterred by no kicking from taking away the blood and the worms; though with their sharp beaks they very often enlarge the wound. Bats, also, greatly exceeding those of Europe in number and size, not only molest, but even injure the horses. Vast numbers of them fly up and down the plain. They sit upon the horse, and whilst they wound his back with their bills, create a gentle breeze by the continual motion of their wings, lulled by which the horse makes no resistance, and suffers his blood to be sucked by the bat. The wound that remains, unless it be sprinkled with hot ashes, soon swells, and by degrees becomes ulcerated, which clearly proves that bats are in some measure venomous. Showers continuing day and night, for many weeks, necessarily deluge the whole plain country with water, and the horses can find no dry land whereon to place their feet. Hence, from feeding so long, immersed in water, their hoofs are softened to such a degree, that being unable to stand on their feet, and to seek pasture, they perish, though perfectly healthy in other respects. Sometimes horses labour under strangury, or dysury. A Spaniard saddles a horse afflicted with such a disease, instead of physicking him, and spurs him to a full gallop, till he is covered with sweat. Nor is there any occasion to repeat the operation. A horse, which was in a dying condition a little before, soon recovered, for he inundated the plain. Sometimes horses are seized with convulsion of the nerves, or with rheumatism, so that they cannot stand on their legs; on such occasions the Spanish soldiers tie their feet with a rope, and lay them on the ground, then throw plenty of urine on their legs, and kick them several times with their heels; when untied they mount and compel them, however unwilling, to run. This violent, but speedy method of healing, I found, to my surprize, attended by the desired effect. As Paraguay swarms with horses, in as great number as insects, she cares very little about curing them when they are sick. In Europe, where horses are scarcer and more valuable, we cannot wonder at their having many physicians and many medicines. What if I should say that, in Paraguay, both are unnecessary? For there it is plain that horses are afflicted with less frequent and less heavy complaints; because they generally enjoy their full liberty, wander up and down the plains at will, breathe the pure air of Heaven, feed on the fresh grass, drink and bathe at pleasure in running streams, are never employed in bearing burdens and drawing carts, and are consequently more healthy and spirited than European horses, which, during the greatest part of their lives, are chained, like thieves, in dark stables, which resemble dungeons, are obliged to fill rather than refresh their stomachs, with hay dryer than a stone and straw harder than a board, taste oats seldomer and more sparingly than country people do cakes, and endure frequent and long hunger and thirst, sometimes through the dishonesty or laziness of servants, sometimes through the avarice of their masters, who are more anxious about employing than about feeding their beasts; not to mention the continual annoyance they undergo from the putting on and taking off of their iron shoes; and even the pain frequently inflicted on them in this operation from the awkwardness of blacksmiths. All these circumstances considered, instead of wondering that the horses of our country are subject to so many diseases, I rather feel surprized that one remains alive.

Mules in company with horses fill the plains of Paraguay, nor shall they be separated in my relation. You will see many of them equal in height to horses, but, on the other hand, the major part are less than those which Italy or Spain produces. You may judge of the multitude of them from this circumstance, that Paraguay yearly sends about eighty thousand to Peru, in return for which she receives all the silver to be seen in her churches and houses, with no inconsiderable advantage. For unbroken mules, two years of age, valued, generally speaking, at three Spanish crowns in Paraguay, fetch ten and often fourteen in Peru. Who can reckon the number of mules, employed either in bearing burdens or in carrying a rider, in the cities and estates of Paraguay? Many thousands of them are constantly occupied in conveying the herb of Paraguay from the woods to the cities, and numbers are yearly sacrificed both to the roughness of the road and the cruelty of their drivers. I have known estates which contained four thousand mules, and many more thousand mares kept for breeding mules.

The young mules, at two years old, are taught to carry burdens or to bear a rider; but being extremely wild, occasion their instructors continual trouble and danger. However docile and obedient they may have appeared in times past, you never can entirely trust to them. For as the Spanish proverb goes, a mule will serve his master seventy years, that he may kick him to death at last. Broken legs, bodies dragged along the ground, cut hands, heads dashed against trees or stones, and other accidents of the same nature, mournfully confirm the truth of this adage. For mules, though stronger than any horse, though accustomed to traverse woods, rocky places, and trackless plains, with both a firmer and gentler pace, and though less liable to hurt their feet, are much more to be dreaded by their riders, on account of their being constantly suspicious of danger. All of a sudden they halt on the road astonished, smell the grass, prick up their ears to listen, and with eyes wandering in every direction descry the most distant objects. The uncommon colour of a plant, a strange smell, the piping of birds, the rustling of trees, or an unusual agitation of the leaves occasioned by the wind, fills them with suspicions of the approach of a tiger, especially at dusk, or at dark night. Presently, seized with sudden terror, they run away with their rider, and unless he be possessed of great presence of mind, either throw him on the ground or drag him along with his feet sticking in the stirrup. The kicking of mules is very dangerous, on account of its being so quickly and frequently repeated. These animals, therefore, are never more to be dreaded than when they are themselves afraid, for at such times they become unmanageable, and seem as if they had lost their senses. As the trade in mules is lucrative in Paraguay, it is also dangerous to the merchants, on account of the exceeding timidity of these animals. Ten thousand mules, entirely free and without bridles, are often driven, by a few Spanish guards, in one drove. At the slightest alarm they all take to flight, hurry over the plain, and hide themselves in interminable deserts, whilst no industry in the horsemen, nor swiftness in the horses, is sufficient to bring them back again. Many have been ruined by mules running away and being lost in this manner.

I have been acquainted with men, in other respects brave and intrepid, who, warned by the danger of others, resolved never in their lives to ride on a mule. I have known many more, who, scorning the most excellent horses, would never travel on any other animal. Neither is this preference to be condemned, for mules, though fearful and treacherous, possess many good qualities which do not belong to horses. Their pace, especially that of the amblers, is easy and firm, by which means they always tread with safety, whether they have to ascend rocks or to creep over marshy places, though horses are better for crossing deep marshes and rivers, on account of their height. One mule is sufficient in a long and difficult journey which would fatigue four horses. Mules are contented with the readiest and coarsest food, though generally fat and sleek. Many of them surpass the swiftest horses in speed, as I have often observed in the races of the soldiers. They are longer lived than most other beasts. In the town of S. Joachim I had mules more than thirty years old, which would bear a rider, and sometimes contrive to kick him off too. Moreover they are possessed of athletic strength, for they are accustomed to carry almost four hundred weight, in journies of many months, through very rough roads, when laden with the herb of Paraguay. In a word, I am unable to determine whether the virtues or vices of mules preponderate.

By the right of relationship asses should be spoken of between horses and mules. They wander by crowds in the plains of Paraguay, and with their braying prevent the neighbouring inhabitants from the enjoyment of sleep. In Italy and Portugal the ass is a very much employed animal, and used both for the pannier and the saddle. In Paraguay they enjoy a perpetual exemption from labour. In the larger estates great numbers of asses are maintained for the purpose of breeding mules. The female asses are less prolific than you would imagine, but we were never able to discover the cause of their sterility. Asses continually fall a prey to tigers, especially those kept to breed mules, which they prefer to the common sort. No American ever accused asses of pusillanimity, for they bravely repel any tiger, whom they see approaching, with their heels, and defend themselves more pertinaciously than horses; but being here, as every where else, stupid and dilatory, are generally vanquished by the swiftness or cunning of tigers. The Spaniards also kill a great number every year for the sake of the fat which they have in their necks, and which is used, by tanners, to dress and soften stags' skins, and for other purposes. In this vast abundance of horses and mules which Paraguay rears, would not the most needy of the Spaniards or negroes be ashamed to ride upon an ass? But in the territories belonging to Rioja and Catamarca, where horses are not so abundant, the lower orders of Spaniards do not disdain to saddle asses. By a useful edict we took care to prevent the Guaranies from possessing horses, to deprive them of the dangerous opportunity of wandering. Persons of both sexes made use of their own asses to carry home the produce of the neighbouring fields. But those charged with guarding cattle and other offices in the town, always had horses and mules prepared and in readiness.

Paraguay also abounds in numerous flocks of sheep, no ways differing from those of our country. Some of the Guarany colonies have counted thirty thousand, others fewer, according to the number of inhabitants and the size of the pastures. The wool was used chiefly for the clothing of the male Indians, for the women covered themselves with a piece of white cloth made of cotton. An Indian is never content unless he has his belly well filled, and his body well covered; so that a number of sheep and oxen seemed requisite to the preservation of these colonies, the latter supplying meat for food, and the former wool for clothing. Sheep, on account of their tenderness, demand greater care than the larger cattle. Hence we were extremely solicitous to supply them with diligent and faithful shepherds, whom we frequently admonished to bring the flock at stated hours to the folds, which being furnished with a roof, though not with walls, commodiously defended them against the night dew, the heat of the sun, and the attacks of lions and tigers; not to send the sheep into the plain till the sun and wind had dried up the dew; carefully to keep them from marshy places, from the dewy grass, and from thistles and thorns; for too much moisture affects sheep with a mortal cough, and thorns tear their wool; and, lastly, to look about anxiously for pastures abounding in nitre, wholesome grass, and plenty of water. Shepherds should take great care to collect the young lambs, as soon as they are yeaned, and remove them to a safe place, where they may be suckled and licked by their mothers. Should this precaution be neglected, they will certainly be crushed under foot by the old sheep. It is also proper to see whether they are afflicted with worms, which are often bred in the wool. It conduces much to the enriching an estate to distribute the whole flock, consisting of ten or thirteen thousand sheep, into lesser companies, and to assign to each separate folds, pastures, and shepherds, that the care being divided amongst many, each may perform his own office more easily and completely. By these arts the estates of the Guaranies daily gained such accessions of sheep as an European will hardly credit.

Something must now be said of the climate of Paraguay. The temperature of the air varies in different places. Those which are nearest to the south are colder. In the Magellanic region, which is included in Paraguay, the cold is generally intense, the neighbouring mountains are constantly covered with snow, the south winds are extremely violent, and dreadfully agitate that sea, which is dreaded by all sailors. The territory of Buenos-Ayres itself, situated in the 34th degree of lat. is too cold for tobacco, cotton, the sugar-cane, the herb of Paraguay, apes, and various kinds of parrots, to subsist there, though it produces plenty of wheat, as well as citrons, peaches, quinces, pomegranates, figs, &c. if the diligence of the agriculturist answer to the fertility of the soil. I never saw any snow beyond the mountains near the province of Chili. The year is divided into four seasons as in Europe, but in different order:—whilst the Europeans enjoy summer it is winter there; whilst it is spring in Europe, it is autumn with the Paraguayrians. For with them November, December, and January, are summer; February, March, and April, autumn; May, June, and July, winter; August, September, and October, spring. In the month of August the trees bud, the birds build their nests, the swallows return from their places of retirement. In the winter there is no snow and very seldom frost, so that melons and vegetables will grow up, and not be hurt by the asperity of the air. But in the mountains of Taruma, three frosts succeed one after another. The third, which is much severer than the other two, is always followed, about noon the same day, by a tempest, accompanied with thunder, lightning, and torrents of rain, which causes the herbs, killed by the frosts, to revive, or fresh ones to spring up. The temperature of the air varies according to the wind. The south wind is cold, the north, hot: hence we often had winter and summer in the same day, whenever one wind succeeded to the other. Nor is the difference of winter fixed and certain. For some countries, Brazil for instance, are afflicted with continual rain at that season, whilst others are distressed by long droughts, lasting many months, as is the case with the territory of St. Iago del Estero. Thunderstorms are not peculiar, as in Europe, to the summer season, but are common to every part of the year: nor can it ever be said that this or that month, though a winter one, will be free from thunder, lightning, and hail. The heat of the sun is excessively painful to horses in travelling, but often more endurable to them when resting in the shade, than in Austria during the hottest part of the summer. That the cold in winter is not very intense you may collect from this circumstance, that the Indians of both sexes and of every age are accustomed to endure it, without danger of any bad consequence, with naked feet, uncovered heads, and no other clothing than a thin piece of linen, and that the animals remain out of doors day and night. I do not deny that the Indians sometimes use cloaks made of otters' skins to defend them against the cold air. The shortest day with the Paraguayrians is in the month of June, the summer solstice in Europe. The sun rises at the sixth hour and fifty-second minute, and sets at the fifth hour and seventh minute. Their longest day is in the month of December, our winter solstice. The sun rises at the fifth hour and seventh minute, and sets at the sixth hour and fifty-second minute. I speak of that part of the sky under which lie the Guarany colonies situated in the 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th degrees of latitude. From which it appears that there is no day in Paraguay so long or so short as in our Germany. The air of so extensive a province is necessarily various, but for the most part extremely healthful, and calculated to induce longevity.

A history may justly be called defective, if it do not slightly touch upon what is most worthy of note in the wild beasts, amphibious animals, birds, fishes, plants, trees, and their fruit. We will begin with quadrupeds. The tiger appears first on the scene.

THE TIGER.

Paraguay abounds in tigers from the number of its cattle, which are the food of these beasts. They are all marked with black spots, but the skin of some is white, that of others yellow. As the African lions far exceed those of Paraguay in size and ferocity, the African tigers yield in like proportion to the Paraguayrians in the size of their bodies. In the estate of St. Ignatius, which belongs to the Cordoban college, we found the skin of a tiger, that had been killed the day before, fastened to the ground with wooden pegs: it measured three ells and two inches in length, which is no smaller than the dimensions of the hide of a full grown ox. But the largest tiger is much slenderer than any ox.

Tigers, whether springing out like cats or in the act of flight, run extremely quick, but not for a long time together; for as they soon tire, an active horseman may overtake and kill them. In the woods they defend themselves amongst the trees and rocky places, and pertinaciously repulse assailants. It is incredible what slaughters they daily commit in the estates. Oxen, sheep, horses, mules, asses, they kill without difficulty, but never eat till putrid. They devour stinking flesh in preference to sweet, as the following facts will clearly prove. Should a Spaniard, an Indian, and a Negro sleep together near the same fire and in the same place, the tiger will reject the Spaniard and Indian without hesitation, and rush to devour the Negro; for Negroes' flesh they reckon a dainty, because it is most stinking. Tigers will devour, to the last morsel, horses' carcasses streaming with liquid putrefaction, though living horses be at hand. Both Spaniards and Indians conspire against these destructive beasts. They construct a very large chest, like a mousetrap, composed of immense pieces of wood, and supported upon four wheels, and drag it with four oxen into that place where they have discovered traces of tigers. In the farthest corner of the chest, a very stinking piece of flesh is placed, by way of bait, which is no sooner laid hold of by the tiger, than the door of the chest falls and shuts him in, and he is killed by a musket or a spear put through the interstices of the planks. In the town of the Rosary we spied a tiger not yet full grown, but menacing and formidable to all he met, in a wood, a gun's shot distant from my house. Myself and three armed Spaniards flew to kill him; on seeing us, by flying here and there amongst the trees and brambles, he contrived to get out of sight. Following his footsteps we found him lurking in an aged, very large, and almost hollow tree, which, to deprive the tiger of all egress or means of escape, we strewed about with pieces of wood, making a hole in the side of it, that the lurking beast might be put to death with arms, which I at last effected without the least danger to myself. You cannot conceive how the tiger leapt up and down in the hollow of the tree after receiving a few wounds. The skin, which was pierced with shot and the sword till it was like a sieve, could be made no use of, though the flesh afforded the Abipones a sumptuous supper. But as tigers are possessed of singular strength, swiftness, and cunning, it is scarcely safe for one person to pursue them in the open plain. I do not deny that a tiger may be sometimes pierced or strangled, by a Spaniard or Indian alone. But a Spaniard or Indian is often torn to pieces by a tiger from the spear's thrust missing, or failing to inflict a mortal blow; for unless the interior of the head, the heart, or the spine of the back be wounded, this powerful beast does not fall, but gets infuriated, and attacks the aggressor with rage proportioned to the pain of the wound.

On this account, whenever any of those beasts are to be destroyed, many men armed with spears unite together; the use of the musket alone is almost always dangerous; for unless the tiger is knocked down by the first ball, he leaps furiously to the place whence the fire proceeded, and tears the man that inflicted the wound. He, therefore, that does not choose to run the risk of his life, goes accompanied on each side by two spearmen, who pierce the tiger as it advances to attack him, after he has fired his musket. Taught by the danger of others, I found that bullets must not be rashly used against tigers. Travelling with six Mocobios, from the city of Santa Fè to the town of St. Xavier, I passed the night on the banks of the round lake, in the open air, as usual; the earth was our bed, the sky our covering. The fire, our nightly defence against tigers, shone for a while in the midst of us as we slept, but at length grew very low. In the middle of the night a tiger crept towards us. My Indian companions, that they might not appear distrustful of the friendship of the Spaniards, had begun the journey unarmed. Anticipating no danger, I had neglected to load my musket. At my direction, firebrands were dexterously hurled at the approaching tiger. At each throw he leapt back roaring, but resumed courage, and returned again and again, more threatening than before. Meantime I loaded my musket. But as the darkness deprived me of all hope of killing the tiger, and left me only the desire to escape, I loaded my musket with plenty of shot, and fired it off without a ball. The beast, alarmed at the horrid thundering, instantly fled, and we lay down to sleep again, rejoicing in our success. Next day, at noon, in a narrow path, bounded on one side by a lake, and on the other by a wood, we met two tigers, which would have been caught with a noose by the pursuing Mocobios, had they not fled and hidden themselves in the wood.

Innumerable tigers are yearly caught with leathern thongs by the Spaniards and Indians, on horseback, and are strangled, after being swiftly dragged for some time along the ground. The Pampas wound the tiger's back with a slender arrow, and kill him instantly. At other times, for the same purpose, they use very strong arrows, or three round stones suspended from thongs, which they hurl at the tiger. How great their strength must be you may judge from this, that if they meet two horses in the pastures tied together with a thong to prevent their escaping, they will attack and slay the one, and drag him, along with the other live one, to their den. I should not have believed this, had I not myself witnessed it, when travelling in company with the soldiers of St. Iago. Their cunning is equal to their strength. If the wood and the plain deny them food, they will procure it by fishing in the water. As they are excellent swimmers, they plunge up to their neck in some lake or river, and spout from their mouths the white froth, which, swimming on the surface of the water, the hungry fishes eagerly devour as food, and are quickly tossed on to the shore by the claws of the tigers. They also catch tortoises, and tear them from their shells by wondrous artifice, in order to devour them. Sometimes a tiger, lurking unseen under the high grass or in a bramble bush, quietly watches a troop of horse passing by, and rushes with impetuosity on the horseman that closes the company. On rainy and stormy nights they creep into human habitations, not in search of prey or food, but to shelter themselves from the rain and from the cold wind.

Though the very shadow of this beast is enough to create alarm, yet those are most to be dreaded which have already tasted human flesh. Tigers of this description have an intense craving after men, and continually lie in wait for them. They will follow a man's footstep for many leagues till they come up with the traveller.

It will be proper in this place to give account of some methods of defence against tigers. If you climb a tree to avoid falling into the clutches of a tiger, he will ascend it also. In this case urine must be your instrument of defence. If you cast this into the eyes of the tiger, when he is threatening you at the foot of the tree, you are safe—the beast will immediately take to flight. In the night a blazing fire affords great security against tigers. Dogs also are dreaded by them, though these they sometimes cruelly flay and tear to pieces. The Spaniards have mastiffs which are very formidable to tigers. In the town of St. Ferdinand a tiger often stole by night into the sheepfolds, killed the sheep, sucked their blood, and leaving their bodies, carried away their heads. This audacity at length appearing to us no longer endurable, at sun-set twenty Abipones armed themselves with spears to kill the mischievous beast, and placed themselves in ambush. Another, armed with pistols, lay down in the midst of the flock. Though the men were silently concealed in the court-yard close by, yet the tiger, aware of the circumstance, either from the smell or hearing, durst not approach the sheepfold. At length, despairing of his arrival, the watchers, about night-fall, returned to their huts. Scarcely had they turned their backs, when the tiger returned and tore to pieces ten sheep. To search him out, all the Abipones that were at home set off on foot, armed on both sides with spears, ready to strike whenever the beast appeared. At the request of the Indians, I closed the company, armed with a gun and bayonet and some pistols. After diligently exploring the vicinity, as no tiger appeared, we returned home without effecting our business, and saluted by the hisses of the women. But the very same tiger at sun-set daily approached the town, to tear away part of the carcass of a dead horse, without ever being caught by the Indians who lay in wait for him. The Abipones have continual contests with tigers, and unless the spear misses, are uniformly victorious. Hence an Abipon is very rarely devoured by a tiger, but innumerable tigers are devoured by the Abipones. Their flesh, though horridly ill-savoured even when quite fresh, is eagerly craved after by the equestrian savages, who also drink melted tiger's fat, esteeming it nectar, and even believing it a means of producing valour. They all detest the thought of eating hens, eggs, sheep, fish, and tortoises, imagining that those tender kinds of food engender sloth and languor in their bodies, and cowardice in their minds. On the other hand, they eagerly devour the flesh of the tiger, bull, stag, boar, anta, and tamandua, having an idea that, from continually feeding on these animals, their strength, boldness, and courage are increased. In repeated battles with tigers many persons are wounded by their claws. The scars, after the wounds are healed, occasion excessive pain and burning, which no time nor medicine can ever relieve. The tigers themselves are tormented with the heat of their own claws, and in order to relieve the pain, they rub them against the tree _seibo_, and leave the mark of their nails in the bark.

The tiger spares no living creature; all it attacks, but with various fortune and success: for horses and mules, unless they save their lives by speedy flight, are generally overcome; asses, when they can gain a place where they may defend their backs, repel the assailant, by going round and round, and kicking very quickly for a long time; but in the open plain they seldom obtain a victory. Cows, trusting to their horns, defend themselves and their calves with the utmost intrepidity. Mares, on the contrary, at the approach of a tiger, desert their foals and take to flight. Antas lie down on their backs, await the advancing foe with expanded arms, and immediately on his assault squeeze him to death, if we may credit the testimony of the natives. Tigers' skins are used by the Abipones for breastplates, for horsecloths, for carpets, and for wrappers. In Spain, every skin is sold for four, and sometimes six German florens. In the hope of gain, a number of Spaniards join together in Paraguay, and go out to hunt tigers. A vast quantity of tigers' skins are yearly sent to Spain. In the city of Sta. Fè, I knew a Spaniard at first indigent, who, from this trade in skins, within a few years excited the envy of others by his opulence.

To the tiger kind belong two other wild beasts, but smaller, and not so ferocious. One of them is called by the Spaniards _onza_, the other by the Guaranies _mbaracaya_. These, though seldom offensive to other animals, often depopulate a whole henroost by night, but are seldom seen by day.

THE LION.

The Paraguayrian lions seem unworthy of so great a name; for they are quite unlike those of Africa in form, size, and disposition. They never attempt any thing against horses, oxen, and men, and are dreaded only by calves, foals, and sheep. The Paraguayrian lions suit well with the old Spanish saying, _No es tan bravo el leon, como se pinta_, the lion is not so fierce as his picture. You can scarce distinguish their flesh from veal, so that the Spaniards and Indians devour it with avidity. Their skin is tawny and spotted with white. Their head is large and round, their eyes sparkling, and nose flat. Their whiskers are composed of long hard hairs, like bristles, for I have handled them myself; but hear on what occasion. The guards of the estates, both Spaniards and Indians, had a custom of preserving the heads of the lions and tigers which they slew, fastened with stakes to the folds of the cattle, as testimonies of their vigilance and courage, in the same manner as the heads and hands of criminals are seen fixed to a pole in the place appointed for their punishment. In a certain estate I got up upon the hedges, examined the heads of the lions and tigers, of which there was an immense number, observed their eyes, ears, and teeth, and tore some hair out of the whiskers of the tigers, which resembled wire, were thick at the root, and endued with a kind of elastic property. I cannot understand why the Abipones do not rear the whelps of lions, as they reckon tigers' whelps a dainty, though they are never procured without danger. Before they are full grown they give proofs of their native ferocity, and with their little tender claws and teeth fly upon all they meet, especially in the heat of the sun. One man deprived a tiger's whelp of its teeth and claws, to prevent it from doing any mischief, but though destitute of its arms, it used to rush upon children and calves, and would certainly have crushed and strangled them, had they not been instantly rescued. That the danger might not increase as he grew up, he was forced to be shot.

THE WILD CAT.

In most of the woods you may see wild cats, differing from the domestic ones in our country in no other respect except that the extremity of the tail is flatter and more compressed, and that they are superior in size. They are also of various colours. The Indians eat them roasted, but being extremely swift and shy, they are not killed without difficulty. We had a young cat in the town of Conception, born of a tame mother and a wild father, than which I never saw a larger or handsomer, or one more ferocious and fugitive.

THE ANTA, OR THE GREAT BEAST.