the event of this combat, took a journey to the town of St. Jeronymo for the purpose of appeasing Ychoalay's mind, which, however, he would have failed to effect, had not Chitalin, Cacique of the Mocobios then acting as guards in the town of St. Jeronymo, for fear of Debayakaikin, inspired Ychoalay with milder sentiments. But as the hatred existing between these tribes was only laid asleep for a time, not extinguished, that short-lived calm was the forerunner of dreadful tempests, one following hard upon another. CHAPTER XXVI. MY JOURNEY TO ST. IAGO ON BUSINESS PERTAINING TO THE COLONY. Affairs were in such a state that both colonies seemed on the verge of destruction, as well from mutual enmity, as from the persecutions of foreign foes. "One of us," said Father Sanchez, "must go to St. Iago to inform the Governor of Tucuman, or his deputy Barreda, of our present jeopardy, and ask his advice on the subject. This journey, of an hundred and seventy leagues, amid vast wildernesses, where you can scarce discover a vestige of mankind, except wandering savages, who sally forth to plunder, is, as you are well aware, full both of peril and inconvenience." Unterrified by this representation, I preferred going to the city, as a messenger, to remaining as a guard in the endangered town, foreseeing that, should it be destroyed in my companion's absence, the whole blame would be laid on me by the Spaniards. I entered upon this difficult journey accompanied by three Indians, who, though converted to Christianity, were more uncivilized than any of the savages. To these was added a Mulatto, who had been kept in chains at Sta. Fè, for stealing ten thousand Spanish crowns from a waggon conveying Peruvian money to the merchants; but escaping from prison was ordered, by the Corregidor, to preside over the guards of the cattle, by way of atoning for his crime. Thus a man convicted of theft, and escaped from prison, was my companion on the way. Oh! what a noble guard, and attendant! Yet his services were both necessary and useful to me. That part of the country which we had to cross was, in great part, covered with lakes and marshes over-grown with reeds and bulrushes, and swelled to such a degree by continual rain, that our horses could scarcely ford them; the deep holes, and ant-hills, too, hidden under the water, caused us to stumble perpetually. The rest of the plain country was deluged with water, and scarcely afforded a turf where we might lie down at night, or our horses take pasture. For the first three days of our journey, we were persecuted, day and night, by unceasing rain and thunder. Our clothes, our bodies, even the breviary, in short whatever we made use of, were dripping with water. Our provision, which consisted of beef alone, was continually moistened till it swarmed with worms; the weather at last becoming tranquil, we tied it to a rope and hung it out