_Asuncion_ was, however, for the meantime spared, for the scene of action of the first Jesuit Fathers was at some three hundred miles’ distance in the three settlements above mentioned. Of these settlements, and of the _reduction_ of _Loreto_, scarcely a vestige now remains. The early settlers suffered so much from the natives and from the hostile Portuguese, that the province was abandoned. Twice was the site of _Villa Rica_ changed, and the present town of that name dates from 1678. The Fathers then descending the river, established themselves in the district of _Misiones_, on the left bank of the _Paraná_, a district which is at the present day, and has long been, in dispute between _Brazil_ and her neighbour. The early success of the Jesuits in converting the natives was very remarkable; but it may be as well to remember that it is the Jesuits themselves, and not independent writers, who have chronicled the fact. The Paraguayans, they say, not only embraced the faith, but voluntarily entered the _reductions_, and accepted the rule of the spiritual teachers. Before their coming the name of the foreigner had been terrible. The Spaniards, disappointed in finding gold, had taken possession of the territory, forcing the Paraguayans to a lot of unrequited drudgery. The Jesuits, however, had come to live and to die amongst them, seeking nothing for themselves but to be allowed to teach the arts of civilization and to show the way to paradise. It is not surprising that the contrast between their ways and those of their secular countrymen should have won the natives’ confidence. Indeed, as one of the conditions granted by the crown to the founders of the _reductions_ was that these were to be free from all colonial control, the Paraguayans would at first sight seem to be the gainers by entering them. It was one of the principles of the order that the natives should not be subjected to unrecompensed labour.