An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3) — John Shaqi
An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3)Dobrizhoffer, Martin
History
An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3)
Dobrizhoffer, Martin
Abipon Indians; Jesuits -- Missions; Paraguay -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
Our Indians, returning from the woods of Mbaeverà, brought news that the
quinsy was raging among the savages; that the jugglers, especially
Tupanchichù, endeavoured to persuade the ignorant multitude that this
pest was introduced by us, in order to inspire them with a hatred of the
Christians. I immediately despatched letters to my provincial, in which
I informed him of my journey, the savages I had discovered, and the
intended foundation of a settlement. He approved my design, and when my
return to the savages drew near, supplied my room in the town of St.
Joachim with another father. The royal governour, also, D. Joseph
Martinez Fontes, was made acquainted with what had been done and what
was further intended, and requested to invest me with the power of
founding the colony. But, alas! the devil interrupted this prosperous
course of affairs, by means of two of his agents, the inhuman
Tupanchichù and an opulent Spaniard. Attend and shudder at the detail of
their villainy. An unexpected messenger arrives from Mbaeverà with the
news that Cacique Roy had died of eating poisoned potatoes, administered
by Tupanchichù, who, not content with the murder of the old Cacique, had
attempted the life of his widow, that he might possess himself of the
knives and other iron implements which her husband had left. This woman,
despairing of safety in the forest, betook herself to the town with her
family. The mother having been well instructed in the rudiments of the
Christian doctrine, was baptized on the same day with her eight children
and a single captive, to the great comfort of the by-standers;—as for
_me_, my joy can scarcely be conceived. Though the iniquitous deed of
Tupanchichù is worthy of universal execration, yet still more detestable
appears the memory of that man who, actuated by the base desire of
self-aggrandizement, dared to frustrate the colony we had in agitation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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