CHAPTER XII.
THE PAYAGOA VILLAGE.
The Guaycurus and their allies the Payagoas are essentially shepherds.They are also thorough agriculturalists. The former are horsemen, andspend half their lives roaming about; the latter are stationary. Theyin general live on the banks of rivers and lakes, and are much addictedto fish.
Their habitations are mere huts of the most primitive description.
Diogo scarcely knew which route to follow to arrive at the village ofthe Payagoas--not only of the position, but even of the existence ofwhich he was ignorant.
As he had already often found himself in connection with them, and knewtheir usages, he had darted off quite at random in the direction thechief had indicated to him, intending to follow as nearly as possiblethe bank of the river, convinced that there only he would find theirvillage, if it really existed, which he had no reason to doubt.
He galloped all night, scarcely knowing where he was going, andardently longing for sunrise.
At last the day dawned. Diogo ascended a rather high hill, and fromthence he looked around him.
At three or four leagues from the spot where he had stopped, on thevery bank of the river, the captain perceived--in a rather misty lightit is true, but nevertheless distinct to his piercing eye--a confusedand considerable mass of cabins, over which hovered a thick cloud ofsmoke.
Diogo descended the hill, and resumed his course, making straight forthe village. When he approached it, he could see it was more importantthan he at first thought, and fortified by an enclosure formed by alarge and deep ditch, behind which they had raised a range of sticks,bound together with ivy.
The captain called all his boldness to his aid, and, after a moment ofhesitation, bravely advanced towards the village, into which he enteredat a gallop.
The warriors were still for the most part asleep, lying on hidesstretched on the ground, the body covered by the clothing of the women,and the head placed on little bundles of hay, of which their femalesmake use in riding on horseback.
In the streets that the captain traversed, he only met children or afew women going to seek a supply of wood. Others prepared the meal ofmanioc; some, crouched down before their cabins, were making eitherpottery or baskets, but the greater number were occupied in weaving thecotton stuff which they use for clothing.
Notwithstanding the early hour, great activity reigned in the village,which appeared to be very populous. The captain cast, as he proceeded,a curious glance on all that was offered to his view, inwardlyastonished at the laborious manner of living of these poor Indians,whom travellers are pleased to represent as so indolent that the leastwork is repugnant to them, and as rather liking to pass the entire dayin smoking or sleeping, than in concerning themselves with the careswhich the necessities of life so imperiously demand.
However, notwithstanding the curiosity that devoured him, and theadmiration that this spectacle gave rise to, prudence warned him toallow nothing to appear on his countenance.
Although he had successfully penetrated into the interior of thevillage, Diogo could not but be considerably embarrassed to find thecottage inhabited by the captain of the Payagoas.
Diogo vainly turned over in his mind, while continuing his gallop,the means of escaping from this embarrassment, when chance once morecame to his aid. At the moment when he passed before a cabin of goodappearance, forming the angle of a square, his horse, frightened by atame peccary, which suddenly rushed howling to fasten to the horse'slegs, began to rear, which in an instant brought round it twenty ofthose lazy people who always abound in the centres of population.
These idlers, whose numbers increased every minute, pressed more andmore round the horse, which the captain had extreme difficulty inrestraining, and in preventing from doing injury to some of the people,whose cries began seriously to frighten the animal.
At the same instant a man of tall stature came out from the hut ofwhich we have spoken, and, attracted by the noise, threaded the crowd,which separated respectfully on his appearance, and soon found himselfin face of the captain.
The latter, who, two days previously, when he had been on the searchof the guide, had met with the chief of the Payagoas, recognised himimmediately.
Saluting him in the Indian fashion, he jumped to the ground.
"Ai!" cried the chief; "A Guaycurus warrior? What has happened, then?"
"At the instant, when I was about to stop my horse before the cottageof the captain, for whom I have a message," answered Diogo withoutbeing disconcerted, "a peccary frightened him."
"Epoi! My brother is a complete Guaycurus horseman; the animal istame," graciously said Emavidi, "and is allowed to stray. What is mybrother's name?"
"The Grand Sarigue," said Diogo.
"Ai! I know the name of my brother; he is a renowned warrior; I haveoften heard people praise him; I am happy to see him."
The captain thought it necessary to bow.
Emavidi continued--
"My brother has made a long track to arrive here; he will accept thehospitality of a chief. The Payagoas love the Guaycurus; they arebrothers."
"I accept the generous offer of the chief," answered the captain.
Emavidi Chaime clapped his hands. A slave ran towards him. The chiefordered him to take charge of Diogo's horse. He then dismissed thecrowd which had stopped before his door with a gesture, and introducedthe captain to his cabin, the entrance to which he closed with a hurdlecovered with an ox's hide.
The cabin was spacious, well ventilated, clean, and internally arrangedwith uncommon intelligence.
In a distant corner of the apartment the slaves were occupied incertain labours, under the direction of the wife of the chief.
On a sign from Emavidi, she came with haste to welcome the stranger,and to offer him all the refreshment which she supposed he needed.
This woman was named White Star. She was tall and well made: herfeatures were intelligent, without being absolutely handsome. Theexpression of her countenance was sweet; she appeared to be abouttwenty-two or twenty-three years of age at the most.
Her costume was composed of a piece of stuff streaked with variouscolours, which enveloped her rather tightly from the chest to the foot,fastened at the hips by a large girdle, called ayulate, of a crimsoncolour. This girdle is white in the case of young girls, and they onlyabandon it when they marry. Pinia-Pai was neither painted nor tattooed;her long black hair, arranged in the Brazilian style, fell nearly tothe ground; little silver beads, threaded, forming a kind of chaplet,encircled her neck; metal plates attached to her breast half-concealedher bosom, and large semicircles of gold were suspended to her ears.
With this picturesque costume this young woman was not wanting in acertain piquant grace, and was calculated, as indeed was the fact, toappear charming to the captain.
With a celerity full of respect, White Star had in an instant garnishedthe table with dishes, the abundance of which made up for the frugalityof the repast, for it consisted only of meat, fruits, boiled fish, andmeat dried in the sun, and roasted on hot coals.
Diogo, on the invitation of the chief, proceeded to do honour to thisimprovised repast, of which he had begun to feel the want.
The chief, although taking no part in the repast, excited his guestto eat, and the captain, whose appetite appeared to increase as heproceeded, did not need any pressing to vigorously attack all thedishes.
Moreover, apart from the hunger Diogo felt, he knew that not to eatmuch, when one is invited to the table of a chief, is considered by thelatter as wanting in politeness, and almost a mark of contempt.
However, a time arrived when, notwithstanding all his good will, he wasobliged to stop.
Emavidi Chaime, who had followed with interest the prowess accomplishedby his guest, appeared charmed. He then offered him some tobacco in along pipe of palm leaves, rolled together, and the two men proceeded toemit large puffs of smoke in each other's faces.
When her presence was no longer necessary, White Star had discree
tlywithdrawn into another apartment of the cottage, making a sign to herslaves to follow her.
A considerable lapse of time now elapsed, without a single word beingexchanged. The nature of the Indians is contemplative, and has much incommon with that of the Orientals. Tobacco produces on them the effectof a narcotic, and if it does not completely send them to sleep, it atleast plunges them for a considerable time into a kind of somnolentecstasy.
It was Emavidi Chaime who first broke silence.
"My brother, the Grand Sarigue, is the bearer of a message from TarouNiom to me?" said he.
"Yes," answered Diogo.
"Is this message personal, or is it addressed to the other captains ofthe nation, and to the grand council?"
"It is only for my brother, Emavidi Chaime."
"Epoi, does my brother think proper to communicate it to me at once, ordoes he prefer to wait and take some hours of repose?"
"The Guaycurus warriors are not weak women," answered Diogo; "a journeyof a few hours on horseback takes nothing from their vigour."
"My brother has well spoken; what he says is true. My ears are open;the words of Tarou Niom always rejoice the heart of his friend."
"Tarou Niom is prudent," answered Diogo; "he knows that the Pai dogsnow tread the sacred earth of the Guaycurus and the Payagoas. Treasonhas come with them."
Then, removing from his girdle, where he had placed it, the knife thatthe chief had sent by him, he presented it to the Payagoas.
"Here," said he, "is the keaio of Tarou Niom. Does the captain, EmavidiChaime, recognise it?"
The chief took it in his hands, considered it for an instant withattention, and, replacing it on the table--
"I recognise it," said he; "my brother can speak."
Diogo bowed as a sign of acknowledgment, passed the knife again intohis girdle, and answered--
"Here are the words of Tarou Niom; they are graven in the heart of theGrand Sarigue. Tarou Niom reminds the captain of the Payagoas of hispromise; he asks him if he has really the intention to keep it?"
"Yes, I will keep the promise made to my brother, the captain of theGuaycurus. This very day the grand council will assemble, and tomorrowthe war canoes will ascend the river; I myself will direct them."
"What, then, does my brother mean?" said Diogo; "I do not understandhim. Does he not say that the war canoes will ascend the river?"
"I have, indeed, said so," answered the chief.
"For what reason will my brother take that direction?"
"Why, to aid, as has been agreed between us, Tarou Niom, to conquer thePai dogs."
"Listen to the words of the chief; the Pai are surrounded by mywarriors; flight is impossible for them; already discouraged and halfdying with hunger, in two or three suns at the latest they will fallinto my hands, if my brother remember his promise."
"Well?" interrupted the chief.
"Other enemies more serious," imperturbably continued Diogo, "threatenus at this moment."
"Is that true, then, which, this very morning, one of my scouts toldme?" cried the chief.
"It is, unhappily, but too true," coolly answered Diogo. "It isespecially with the design of assuring you of that news, and of takingwith you the necessary dispositions--that is to say," said he, with agracious smile, "to concert only measures of safety that it may suityou to adopt in the general interest, and to report them immediately toTarou Niom, in order that he may efficiently support you, that he hassent me to his brother."
"So the whites are entering in all directions?"
"Yes."
"The captain, Joachim Terraira, has then really set out from VillaBella?"
"There cannot be the least doubt of that," boldly answered Diogo.
"And Tarou Niom," pursued the chief, "thinks that I ought to disputethe passage of the Pai?"
"Six thousand warriors will join those of the Payagoas chief."
"But it is especially the passage of the river that it is important todefend."
"This opinion is also that of Tarou Niom."
"Epoi, my warriors, aided by those of my brother, Tarou Niom, will keepthe ford of Camato, whilst the great war canoes will intercept thecommunications, and harass the Pai along the river."
"My brother has perfectly understood his wishes."
"What may be the number of the Pai who come from Bella Villa?"
"Tarou Niom has been assured that they were at least two thousand."
"Ai; that is extraordinary; I have been told that their number is notmore than five hundred."
Diogo bit his lips, but immediately collecting himself--
"They are more numerous than the leaves strewed by the hurricane," saidhe, "only they are divided into little war detachments."
"Ha!" cried the chief, with alarm, "That is terrible."
"Moreover," added Diogo, who knew the terror Indians have for Negroes,"each war detachment is followed by a considerable number of coatas(Negroes), who have taken the terrible oath to massacre all thePayagoas wanderers, and to carry away their wives and daughters."
"Oh!" said the chief, with a feeling of ill-concealed fright; "Thecoatas are not men, they resemble evil genii. The warning of my brothershall not be lost. This very evening the women and children shall leavethe village to withdraw into the Llano de Manso, and the warriors shallproceed to march to the ford of Camato, followed by all the war canoes."
Diogo rose--
"Does the Grand Sarigue leave, then, already?" asked the chief, risingalso.
"It is necessary, chief; Tarou Niom has charged me with making thegreatest haste."
"Epoi, my brother will thank the great captain of the Guaycurus."
The two men went out. On the order of Emavidi Chaime a slave broughtout Diogo's horse; the latter leaped into the saddle, exchanged a fewmore words with the chief, and then they separated.
The captain was delighted. Up to the present time all had succeededbeyond his hope; not only did he know the plans of the enemy, but alsohe had learned that the Paulistas, who had suddenly appeared on thebattlefield, could, at any moment, come to aid them. Moreover, he hadhindered the junction of the two Indian nations, which, by preserving afree passage of the rivers, offered a chance of safety to the caravan.
Diogo left the village at a gentle trot, plunged in these sanguinereflections, and only wishing one thing--to rejoin his companions assoon as possible.
When he saw the desert plain spread out before him, he leant over theneck of his horse, refreshed and invigorated by two hours of repose,touched it with the spur, and began to dart along with the rapidity ofthe wind.
On a sudden, at the turn of a path, he came across a horseman who wascoming towards him with a rapidity equal to his own.
Diogo could not repress an exclamation of surprise, and almost of fear.In this horseman he recognised Malco Diaz.
"Fortune turns," grumbled he between his teeth, at the same time urgingforward his horse, which appeared to annihilate space.
The Guide of the Desert Page 12
