The Indians watched, with great jealousy, the intrusion of the Spaniards on their territory. Some of them, on a certain occasion, having sent out men into the forest to gather _maté_, or Paraguay tea, by some misfortune their hut caught fire, and eighteen of them perished in the flames. The Indians beheld the conflagration at a distance; finally, one of them, armed with arrows and a club, stole into the only remaining Spanish hut, where a single man had taken refuge. “So,” said the savage, with a stern aspect, “you have dared to enter these woods which were never yours. Know you not this is our soil, left us by our fathers? Are you not content with having usurped immense tracts and innumerable woods, in spite of the opposition of our fathers? Should any one of _us_ invade _your_ domains, would he return alive? No; and we will imitate your example. If, then, you are wise, if life is dear to you, haste away, and advise your countrymen carefully to shun our woods, unless they would be the cause of their own death.” The Spaniard, to save his life, offered knives, axes, garments, and other trifles; pacified by these gifts, the savage returned to his comrades. The former, deeming any further stay perilous, ran off, leaving many thousand pounds of the _maté_ which had been gathered. The Guaycuras or Albayas were very expert horsemen, and were in the highest degree hostile to the Spaniards; they were brave, and exceedingly skilful in the use of their arms. The Calchaquis, also, were formerly famous for their military ferocity, and their irreconcilable enmity to the Europeans. A branch of the Guaranies were said to wander over the remote forests, on the banks of one of the rivers of the interior, and leap from tree to tree like monkeys, in search of honey and little birds. The Guaranies were noted for their voracity. After fasting a few hours, it is said that one of them would devour a young calf. These Indians were accustomed, before they lay down to sleep, to place a piece of meat before the fire, that it might be ready for them to eat immediately upon waking. The havoc made by the Europeans among this tribe, as well as other Indians, especially those near Brazil, is almost incredible. It is supposed, that, in 130 years, 2,000,000 Indians were slain, or carried into captivity; and it is stated, that, in five years, 300,000 Paraguayans were carried off to Brazil; and that more than 1,000 leagues of country, extending as far as the River Amazon, were stripped of their inhabitants. In the years 1628-1630, 600,000 Indians were sold as slaves at Rio Janeiro. Upwards of 400 Indian towns were utterly destroyed, and such was the devastation, that King Joseph was obliged to make a decree, on the 6th of July, 1755, forbidding further ravages. This, however, is but a small part of the evils which the Spaniards and Portuguese inflicted on those unhappy regions.