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YCHOALAY.

THIS individual attained to great celebrity among the Abipones, a tribe of Paraguay, famous for their skill in horsemanship, and the wars they maintained against the Spaniards. He was not a native of this tribe, but was born of what was called an honorable family among the tribe of the Riikahes. When a boy he was taught to manage a horse, and soon became an expert cavalier. A peace having been established between this tribe and the inhabitants of Santa Fe, Ychoalay, still a youth, impelled by curiosity and a roving disposition, visited that city, and after a time entered into the service of one of the inhabitants, called Benavides, whose name he took. He was assiduous in his attempts to learn the Spanish language; and, after a residence of some length at Santa Fe, he left that city for Chili, where he enjoyed more ample means of pursuing his studies. He appears to have formed a strong attachment to the Spaniards, and to have possessed sufficient sagacity to appreciate the superiority of their arts over the rude barbarism of the aborigines. He remained some time in Chili, and then established himself at Mendoza, on the estate of the person with whom he had travelled from Santa Fe. His employment was the cultivation of vines.

Although occupied with the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, Ychoalay, ever mindful of his origin from

a tribe of warriors, affected the habits of a soldier, and never appeared abroad in the fields without a spear. In the predatory attacks upon the inhabitants of that region, by the Charruas and Pampas, which not unfrequently happened, he soon distinguished himself by his courage; and while his companions were often robbed or murdered in the deserts of Paraguay, he always escaped by exertions of bravery and dexterity. Having remained some years at Mendoza, he became involved in a quarrel with the person whom he served, respecting the payment of his wages. This gave him a sudden disgust toward the Spaniards, and his resentment was inflamed into rage by being informed that one of them—for a reason which is not assigned-had attempted his life. Under feelings thus excited, he immediately left the Spaniards and joined the Abipones.

These Indians were remarkable for their determined and unflinching hostility to the Spaniards. Neither the armies nor the priests of the European invaders could control them. They could neither be subdued by arms nor conciliated by gifts. They zealously maintained their liberty-now fighting, now flying, as circumstances required-for two centuries. Perceiving the great superiority in war, which the Spaniards possessed over them by means of their cavalry, they stole the horses from their settlements, and, in the course of fifty years, carried off, it is said, a hundred thousand of them. They soon became the most admirable horsemen on the western continent; and though the number of their warriors did not exceed a thousand men, they kept the Span

iards in constant terror. They rode over craggy mountains, crossed wide and rapid streams, and traversed trackless deserts, full of rushes, thick woods, marshes, lakes, and swamps slippery with mud, regardless of all impediments. A distance of three hundred leagues was not an insurmountable obstacle when the hope of booty or the desire of annoying their enemies invited them upon an enterprise.

They were accustomed to rush to the assault at full gallop, brandishing a long spear, pointed at both ends, that if one should be blunted the other might be used. Their expertness in horsemanship was such that they could turn their animals round in circles, with the utmost swiftness, and retain them perfectly at command. While the horses were at full speed, they could suspend their bodies from their backs, and perform all the dexterous feats of an exhibitor at the circus. To prevent themselves from being reached by the shot of the enemy, they would hide entirely under the horse's belly. By these arts they wearied and baffled their pursuers, and seemed to make a mockery of the bullets hurled against them by the enemy. Their courage, activity, and inappeasable hatred of the Spaniards were such as to render them the most formidable enemies encountered by that nation in all the regions watered by the La Plata. Their very name was sufficient to strike terror into a whole settlement. "The Abipones are coming!" was a cry that would throw the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres into such consternation that they would run up and down the city, nearly bereft of their senses, and utter the most dismal shrieks and exclama

tions, even though the enemy was not in sight. One of the Spanish commanders declared that if the Abipones were reduced to ten men, it would be necessary to maintain a guard upon the whole frontier.

At the time that Ychoalay joined this formidable tribe, they were harassing the territory of Cordova by daily inroads; and, being eager to pursue their hostilities, they welcomed his appearance among them with demonstrations of great satisfaction. Possessing a tall figure, a hardy frame, and a strength adequate to all the fatigues of predatory warfare, he soon distinguished himself among their boldest warriors, and was appointed the leader of the whole band. His shrewdness, activity and bravery were equalled only by his good fortune. The attacks which he planned against the Spaniards were always successful. Amidst his numerous incursions, he was observed always to spare the territories of Santa Fe, where he passed a portion of his life; and he never took the lives of men devoted to religion, or permitted his soldiers to do so, although he had not embraced Christianity. He appears to have been above the current prejudices and superstitions of his tribe, never suffering any of the jugglers, common to that race, to associate with his men.

Although Ychoalay was the chief warrior of the Abipones, he was not the titular chief of the nation, The cacique Ychamenraikin exercised the nominal sovereignty. He had been celebrated for his warlike actions; but, during the latter part of his life, he fell into habits of indolence and sensuality, which rendered him a mere useless image of power. Ychoa

lay, by the force of his character and the fame of his exploits, obtained supreme authority in the tribe, and· managed all its affairs. After a long period of warfare against the Spaniards, his old attachment for that people began to revive; the memory of former wrongs was weakened by the lapse of time, and he exerted himself to put an end to the strife. By his exertions a peace was concluded, and Ychoalay, with a body of Abipones, established themselves at the Spanish settlement of St. Jeronymo.

At this place a number of Jesuits had taken their station, for the purpose of converting the natives. Ychoalay assisted them in their labors with great zeal. He obliged his men to attend church and receive baptism. Being solicited by the Jesuits to profess Christianity himself, he begged for a respite till he had slain a rival, Oaherkaikin, who sought to supersede him in his command, and with whom he was then at war; but shortly afterwards, having concluded a truce with that chieftain, he became a convert. After his conversion, he totally abandoned his marauding course of life, and conducted himself in a manner to win the applause of his spiritual guides.

Ychoalay ever after faithfully adhered to the Spaniards, and took great pains to prevent the Abipones from violating the peace, often at the risk of his life. By his zeal in preserving and recovering the property of the Spaniards, he incurred the hatred of the other savage tribes; and many of his own countrymen regarded him with aversion, as a partisan of the Spaniards and an enemy to their own race. This caused him to utter the daily complaint: "My coun

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