Through Five Republics on Horseback, Being an Account of Many Wanderings in South AmericaRay, George Whitfield
Religion
Through Five Republics on Horseback, Being an Account of Many Wanderings in South America
Ray, George Whitfield
Ray, George Whitfield, 1868- -- Travel -- South America; South America -- Description and travel
The mission station previously referred to lies one hundred miles in
from the river bank, three hundred miles north of Asuncion, among the
Lengua Indians. As far as I am aware, no Paraguayan has ever visited
there. The missionaries wish their influence to be the only one in
training the Indian mind. The village bears the strange name of
Waikthlatemialwa (The Place Where the Toads Arrived). At the invitation
of the missionaries, I was privileged to go there and see their work. A
trail leads in from the river bank, but it is so bad that bullock carts
taking in provisions occupy ten and twelve days on the journey. Tamaswa
(The Locust Eater), my guide, led me all during the first day out
through a palm forest, and at night we slept on the hard ground. The
Indian was a convert of the mission, and although painted, feathered
and almost naked, seemed really an exemplary Christian. The
missionaries labored for eleven years without gaining a single convert,
but Tamaswa is not the only "follower of Jesus" now. During the day we
shot a deer, and that evening, being very hungry, I ate perhaps two
pounds of meat. Tamaswa finished the rest! True, it was only a small
deer, but as I wish to retain my character for veracity, I dare not say
how much it weighed. This meal concluded, we knelt on the ground. I
read out of the old Book: "I go to prepare a place for you," and Locust
Eater offered a simple prayer for protection, help and safety to the
God who understands all languages.
My blanket was wet through and through with the green slime through
which we had waded and splashed for hours, but we curled ourselves up
under a beer barrel tree and tried to sleep. The howling jaguars and
other beasts of prey in the jungle made this almost impossible. Several
times I was awakened by my guide rising, and, by the light of a palm
torch, searching for wood to replenish the dying fire, in the smoke of
which we slept, as a help against the millions of mosquitos buzzing
around. Towards morning a large beast of some kind leaped right over
me, and I rose to rekindle the fire, which my guide had suffered to die
out, and then I watched until day dawned. As all the deer was consumed,
we started off without breakfast, but were fortunate later on in being
able to shoot two wild turkeys.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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