An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3)

THE MANDIYÙ, COTTON

As the mandiò is very serviceable in feeding the Americans, the mandiyù does much towards clothing them. It is produced by shrubs scarce larger than a hazel of our country, with wood and bark like the elder, and clothed with plenty of soft, woolly leaves. Between three small leaves, with which the unripe nuts are surrounded, grow flowers larger than roses, composed of five broad yellow petals, streaked with red: yellow stamens grow in the bottom of the flowers. The blossoms at length become fruit of a green colour, oval-shaped, or rather conical, and when full grown larger than a plum. When ripe it turns black, and separates into three parts, thrusting out white cotton, full of black seeds, resembling pistachio nuts in size and shape. Under the black skin of these seeds is concealed a yellowish white pith, of a sweet taste, very oily, and of much use in allaying cough and difficulty of respiration. The oil expressed from them is said to be efficacious in cases of stone and in cutaneous disorders. Cotton itself, when burnt, will stop the flowing of blood. As the cotton gradually ripens and bursts from its prison, it is not gathered all at once, but collected day by day. In the Guarany towns this is the business of the girls, who walk about the field, and pluck the fruit with a gentle hand, that the shrubs may not be injured. The cotton daily collected is spread on hides in the court-yard of the house, and laid out in the sun to dry. If this be properly attended to, it may either be safely kept for years in a leathern bag, or spun into thread as soon as you like. To extract those seeds from the cotton the women make use of a wooden machine, consisting of a couple of cylinders, the thickness of two fingers, into which they insert the cotton, and, twisting it about with their hands, cause the seeds to fall out of themselves; because, as they are thicker than the space between the cylinders, they are squeezed out by them.

Some parts of Paraguay produce yellow cotton, but this is very uncommon; for in every other place throughout the country the cotton is as white as snow, and grows on shrubs which are reared from seed sown in little plots of ground, and yield fruit many years. If any plant withers, or grows old, fresh seed is sown, and another succeeds which bears fruit the first year. Cotton loves a sunny elevated situation, exposed to the winds on every side, and full of stones. However favourable the soil may naturally be to the production of cotton, it always requires exquisite culture. It must be ploughed, and weeded over and over again, to clear it of thistles, tares, and grass. The furrows and ditches, into each of which three or four fresh cotton seeds are placed, must be dug in a right line, and at such a distance from one another that the oxen and ploughmen may have room to pass through the intermediate spaces. The same field, indeed, must be fresh ploughed every year, and, at the approach of spring, the plants, which have been stripped of their leaves in the winter, are cut like vines, and quickly covered with new foliage. The poorer sort amongst the Spaniards of Paraguay wear cotton shirts; the richer, linen ones. They prefer paying an inordinate price for linen webs brought from Europe to the trouble of cultivating flax.

RICE

During the first years that I spent in Paraguay, rice was so scarce that, as it was brought from other countries, it hardly ever appeared at our table. It was never sown, and none would go of their own accord to gather or carry away rice, which grows at a great distance on the northern shores of the Paraguay; justly fearing the Payaguas, who infested those places. Instructed, at length, by the Portugueze Brazilians, we began to sow rice, and the crop was more than could be consumed. But as it is very difficult to take the grains of rice out of the ear, the Indians preferred eating maize, which is pounded in mortars with little trouble. Let no one entertain a notion that the sowing and cultivation of rice require any particular artifices; for it is sown and reaped exactly in the same manner as European wheat, with this difference only, that the seeds must be committed to the earth at the commencement of spring, and in a moist situation. Many have affirmed positively that rice will only grow in marshy places; but we found that which was sown in woods, or rather in ground that had formerly been wooded, to yield a more abundant harvest than what was sown in a marshy situation. For a place that has been previously occupied by trees, retains, for a long time, its native humidity, and the ashes of the trees that have been cut down and burnt on the spot, incredibly fertilize the soil. In places of this kind the Guaranies used to sow tobacco, maize, and most other things except cotton, with great success. But, good heavens! how have I lost myself in this labyrinth of trees, shrubs, and plants! I shall hardly be able to find my way out of the wood; yet it is best to tarry there awhile till, after having described the medicinal trees, I have enumerated all the rest which are useful in building, or on other accounts worthy of note.

THE TAYỸ, OR URUNDEỸ QUEBRACHO

The tayỹ, or tajibo, and the urundeỹ quebracho, either of a red, or pale colour, excel in hardness and size; both trees are called by the Spaniards quebracho, or quebrahacho, because, unless dexterously cut by a skilful woodman, or carpenter, they break the axe at the first blow, being as hard as iron; for hacha means an axe, and quebrar to break. The quebracho colorado, when covered with its bark, is red. As soon as it is cut down and worked upon, the rosin in which it abounds is melted by the hot air, and flowing to the exterior parts of the wood, gives it a red hue, and causes it to shine like porphyry. The Guaranies burn pieces of the tree tayỹ, receive the smoke or soot arising from them into a clean dish, and by pouring hot water upon it, convert it into ink, which, mixed with gum and sugar, is by no means to be despised.

THE LAPACHO

The lapacho is remarkable for the hardness and heaviness of its wood, and is particularly useful in making the mills for squeezing the sugar cane, olives, and other things, and also for wheels of waggons.

THE VIRARÒ

The virarò affords white, not very hard, but extremely durable materials.

THE ESPINILLO

The espinillo has very strong wood, but its indocility renders it fitter for the fire than for carpenter's work.

THE NETERGE

Of the pith of the neterge very strong spears or pikes are made. This tree is remarkable for the width and height of its trunk. Its leaves, which are like oblong thorns, point towards the ground. For fruit, it bears pods or bags, which are about a span long, and have a balsamic odour. The pith of this tree equals iron in hardness, and is of a violet colour, which however changes to black, after the spears made of this wood have been rubbed some time by the hand.

THE ỸBARÔ

The large tree ỹbarô bears black, shining berries, about the size of filberts, which are pierced in the middle, and made into rosaries.

THE ÇEVIL

The çevil produces bark for dressing hides, together with certain pods, which the savage Indians used formerly to burn, inhaling the smoke into their mouth, nose, and whole body, which rendered them drunk, mad, and for some time furious.

THE SEIBO

The seibo, a middle-sized tree, adorned with violet-coloured leaves, consists of crooked boughs, and a spungy wood, as soft as that of the cork tree, so that, when fresh, it may be cut with a knife like an apple; but after it is dry, axes are not sufficient to hew it. A bough of this tree fixed in the ground takes root, and grows immediately. Whenever the tiger feels his claws burn, he is said to rub them against the bark of this tree to relieve the pain.

PALO DE LECHE

This tree is called palo de leche, the milky tree, by the Spaniards, because its wood is white as milk, and so soft that it may be cut with a common knife, and is used for small carpenters work.

THE ỸÇAPỸ

The ỹçapỹ, a large tall tree, is covered with leaves like those of the citron, but smaller, and of a paler green. It is a remarkable circumstance, that when the air is mild, and always in the night, its leaves drop a quantity of water, which moistens the space round about the tree and renders it muddy. The wood of the tree is very soft and flexible, but not moist, on which account it is well calculated for making stirrups. John Verkens of Leipzig, in his account of a journey taken by the Dutch to the East Indies, relates, that in the island of Ferro, one of the Canaries, they found a very large tree which dropped water day and night, every part of the year, and that the inhabitants hung up large pitchers to receive it for their own use, and that of their cattle; fresh water, he says, being incredibly scarce there. If this be true, I suspect that it must be the same tree as that which the Guaranies call ỹçapỹ in Paraguay. They say that this water possesses a medicinal virtue, but of what kind I do not know.

THE TREE OF ANTS

This is called arbol de hormigas, the tree of ants. It consists of a weak spungy wood. The whole tree is full of holes like a sieve, and being covered with ants, should be avoided by all passers by; for if you do but touch the tree, a host of ants rush out of their lurking-holes, and will cover both you and the tree itself.

THE UMBÙ

So wide are the boughs and trunk of this tree, that the sun never sees its foot. It affords plenty of shade to fifty persons seated beneath it, and completely defends them against the rain. The linden trees of Europe are mere dwarfs compared with an aged umbù.

THE WILLOW

The willow, though it covers the islands of the Parana, and the banks of certain rivers, is not to be seen elsewhere throughout a vast extent of country. The wood and leaves of willows, used both medicinally and for other purposes, were often vainly sought by us.

THE AMBAỸ

The ambaỹ, a kind of wild fig, grows pretty high in the course of a few months. The body of the tree is slender, and perforated like an elder; the bark such as is peculiar to figs; and the wood white like that of a birch, but so soft that it may be cut with a knife. It has few boughs, but is adorned with very large leaves, for the lively verdure of which it is greatly commended, as well as for the salubrity of its bark, juice, and leaf, which, applied in various ways, stop running of the reins, too copious discharges, and looseness of the bowels.

THE WALNUT

Walnuts, no ways differing from those of our own country, are very common in the woods of Tucuman, but scarce seen in other parts of Paraguay. Their wood is employed in making pistol-cases, handles, and for other kinds of cabinet-maker's work. The nuts are of different sorts, for some are very large, with a soft rind, others quite dwarfish, and with rinds as hard as a stone.

THE URUCUỸ

The urucuỹ, which is half shrub half tree, resembles a hazle in the whiteness of its wood, and the blackness of its bark. Its leaves are rather large, and heart-shaped. The flowers, which are composed of five white petals, tinged with red, are about the size of a common rose, but have no scent whatever. For fruit it bears pods, which are green at first, and afterwards red, each containing about forty grains the size of peas, but plain on both sides, and with a white pulp, like the seeds of apples. The surface of them is of a deep bright red, and immediately dyes the hands of all who touch it with that colour. The pods, when ripe, burst open of themselves. These grains, either dry or fresh, supply the place of vermillion: when pounded, and sprinkled with water, they are used by the savages, sometimes for painting their bodies, sometimes for dying or staining cloth, vessels, or other things. This scarlet colour, when a thing is once tinctured with it, adheres pertinaciously, if the grains of the urucuỹ, steeped in water, be mixed with alum or urine. The same grains are thrown into boiling water, and of the colour that settles at the bottom cakes are made, which the women in Europe paint their faces with, and painters and dyers use for other purposes. They are used also both as food and medicine, variously prepared and mixed. Of the bark some weave cables, cords, and ropes, stronger than hempen ones.

THE AÑIL, OR INDIGO

That mass of blue colour which the Spaniards call añil, or añir, and other Europeans, indigo, is made of a plant, with a long slender root, branching out into a number of shoots; on which account its long stalks partly creep on the ground, and partly stand upright. They are red on one side, and are loaden with small boughs, and round leaves, about the size of one's little finger nail, of a dark green, on one side, and a silvery white on the other. The little blossoms of this plant are of a palish red, with flowers like a husk of corn, or as others explain it, like an open helmet: and are succeeded by pods, hanging from the stalk, full of an olive-coloured seed, very like rape seed. The leaves of the plant, when perfectly mature, are gathered in bundles, pounded in stone mortars in the first place, and next steeped, and turned about in a pan of tepid, or as others say, cold water. They use them poured out on a wooden table, surrounded with a high wooden brim, and hollowed here and there into ditches. After the water has escaped, the thicker part of the colour settles into those ditches, coagulates, and hardens. The solid particles are then taken out, and dried for many days; for the dryer they are, the nearer they approach to that colour which we call Venetian blue. Those who dyed webs, or garments with that colour in Paraguay, mixed children's urine, instead of alum, with it, to prevent the colour from flying. The plant añil is sown in other places, and grows spontaneously in the plains of Paraguay, but is generally neglected, the industry of the inhabitants seldom answering to the liberality of nature. I never had the least doubt but this plant might be cultivated in those countries of Europe where the climate is milder. The seed must be sown in a soft, and well-tilled soil. The young plants must be removed, like lettuce, and cabbage, and placed at proper distances: great care must likewise be taken to prevent their being choked with weeds.

COCHINILLA

The Paraguayrian cochineal is produced by winged insects, which sit continually on certain little thistles, and suck their juice. There are many kinds of these thistles, which differ from one another in their form, and fruit. The plant on which the cochineal is found, is called tuna by the Spaniards, and opuntia by botanists. From a very short root rises a thick stalk, sometimes four-cornered, green, crooked, with a white fragile pulp, and covered with thorns: on this, instead of boughs and leaves, grow other stalks, the same as the former, very long, and extremely full of juice. Yellow flowers are succeeded by fruit of a red colour, larger than a common fig, with a sweet, and at the same time, rather acid flavour, which renders them very delightful to the palate. Their pulp is full of small, black seeds, like grape stones, and when peeled has a delicious taste. From these shrubs therefore, the women collect cochineal, which consists of very small, white, fluid particles, closely resembling moss. Most of the particles are made into small, round cakes, and, after exposure to the air, become red and hard. Nothing further is requisite to fit them for painting, and dying. The Jesuit priest of the Guarany town Nuestra Senhora de Sta. Fè, took care to have the tuna thistle planted in a large garden, that they might not be obliged to seek the cochineal necessary for his town in distant plains. When the thistles were grown up, those winged insects, resembling bugs, were carried by the Indians from the plain, and scattered up and down, with more than the desired success; for so abundant, and so excellent was the cochineal collected from them, that it was anxiously bought, at any price, by the neighbouring priests, for the use of their towns; because it was of a deeper, and brighter red, than that of the plains, and the woods, and was, moreover, scented with citron juice. In succeeding years, the same Father prevented all access to the town by means of these thistles, that the equestrian savages, who had committed much carnage amongst them, might not be so easily able to approach it. This kind of living hedge, which the Spaniards use both in their gardens and estates, became not only a means of security, but at the same time, an ever fertile nursery of cochineal, which, as well as a most beautiful paint, affords the Paraguayrians a medicine for strengthening the heart, creating perspiration, and counteracting poison; so that it may be safely, and usefully mixed with vinegar, and other seasoning liquors.

GOLDEN-ROD

Golden-rod, which has a very straight stalk crowded from top to bottom with leaves, is sometimes four, sometimes five feet high, and adorned with a bright, yellow flower, abounds in the plains of Paraguay. Both its trunk, and leaves, boiled in water, and mixed with alum, afford painters, and dyers a most splendid yellow colour, and mixed with blue a very bright green. The same golden-rod is also of great, and various use amongst physicians. I remember a gentlewoman, who had been confined to her bed for years by some disease which baffled the skill of many physicians, being quickly, and happily cured, by a German, who prescribed the use of this medicine. There are many species of golden-rod, but I was acquainted with only one in Paraguay.

ROOTS OF A RED COLOUR

The Guaranies in marshy places dig up roots called yzipò with a dusky surface, which they use to dye woollen, and cotton cloths of a dark red. Whether this root be the rubia of dyers I cannot venture to affirm, for though that plant is cultivated in Austria, I never happened to see it.

THE BARK CAATIGUÀ

The bark of the tree caatiguà, when dipped in water, imparts a pale red colour, and is chiefly used for dying leather.

MATERIALS FOR A BLACK COLOUR

To dye cloth black, they make use either of a kind of alfaroba, which I have described elsewhere to be like the Egyptian tree acacia, of a well-known Paraguayrian herb, or of a rich, black clay. Though cotton will take a black dye, it will not hold it long; consequently the cotton dresses which we wore in Paraguay, became almost of no colour, and the blackness, by degrees, faded away. The Spanish ladies of St. Iago, and the Chiquito Indians have the art of dying cotton with a very lasting black, a secret unknown to every one else.

A NAMELESS FRUIT AFFORDING A GREEN COLOUR

Walking in a wood on the banks of the Narahage I discovered a shrub, before unknown to me, covered with leaves of such a very bright green that I felt an inclination to taste them. I found them sweeter than sugar, and thought to use them for sweetening the herb of Paraguay. Applauding myself vastly, for what I thought so useful a discovery, I gave a leaf to the Spaniard, my companion, to taste; but he prudently declared, that he should take care not to eat, or even touch that strange plant. The Indian old women were consulted on this affair: they told us that these leaves were used for dying things green, but were very poisonous.

WOODS USED FOR DYING

Woods, moreover, used for dying various colours, which are brought into Europe from Brazil, Guayana, and other countries of America, are found in that part of Paraguay, which borders on Brazil. The same may be observed with regard to roots, oils, juices, gums, rosins, kernels, &c.

CARDONES, or CEREI

To the thistles called tunas, or Indian figs, you may add the cardones, or cerei, the trunk of which is large, and tall, with a spungy, and brittle pulp. In the place of branches and leaves there grow on them other stalks, both thick, and long, which are thorny on every side, full of juice, and straight upright. They bear white flowers, and oval-shaped fruit larger than a goose's egg, which produce a red colour, and are eaten by the Indians with impunity. In the deserts of Paraguay, I have often traversed immense woods of cardones. The honey which bees deposit in them is very famous in Europe. Every part of the cardo is converted into medicinal uses, both by the Europeans, and Americans. There are many species of cardones, of strange, and monstrous forms. Some creep on the ground, others stand upright. The most remarkable is the large, thorny, Peruvian cereus, which is twenty feet high, and one foot thick. Its trunk has various corners, and channels, as it were, together with knobs, and thorns. The bark is green, and the pulp fleshy, and under it lies a ligneous substance, the pith of which is white, and juicy. It bears but few flowers. If you wish to know more of this cereus, it is to be seen in the gardens of princes.

VARIOUS SPECIES OF THE CARAQUATA

Many species of this plant are commonly to be met with in Paraguay. I will briefly mention those with which I am best acquainted. The caraquatà guazù, or the great caraquatà, is supported by a short thick root. It consists of about twenty very thick leaves, dentated on both sides, remarkably sharp, and about two feet in length, in the midst of which rises a stalk, like a trunk, five, and often more feet high. The top of it is crowned with yellow flowers. The Indian women spin threads of the fibres of the leaves, as others do of flax, or hemp, and weave them into cords, cloths, and nets. But no time, or art can make these threads perfectly white, nor will they hold any colour with which they may be dyed. Creditable authors write that in the province of Guayana such beautiful stockings are woven of this same thread, that they are sometimes preferred to silk ones in France for strength, and softness. Another kind of caraquatà, very like the former, is seen in the woods, but it cannot be spun into threads. In the woods of Mbaèverà, the Indian women who inhabit there make thread, and garments, not of the caraquatà, but of the bark of the tree pinô, after it has been properly cleaned: for the webs woven of the thread of this bark, after being exposed for sometime to the sun, and frequently sprinkled with water, become beautifully white and will retain any colour with which they are dyed, extremely well. It is much to be lamented that this tree pinô is found in the larger woods only, and is not to be seen in many parts of Paraguay. Another caraquatà of a different shape produces a kind of artichoke, or anana. It bears fruit of a scarlet colour, and has plenty of seed contained in a straight slender stalk. It is surrounded with very large leaves, denticulated like a saw, and pointing towards the ground, in the centre of which travellers find a tolerable supply of very clear water, and with it often quench their thirst in dry deserts, where sometimes not a drop of water is to be found. Another caraquatà with leaves very like a sword, and armed on both sides with a threatening row of thorns, bears fruit of a pale yellow within and without, full of black seeds, and pregnant with an acidulated, and pleasant juice. But to extricate this fruit from the many thorns, with which the leaves that guard it are armed, without being wounded, is the labour and the difficulty. Of this fruit mixed with sugar a very wholesome drink, and an excellent medicine for various diseases are made. These, and other kinds of caraquatà are of great use to the Americans. Planted around gardens, and the buildings of estates, they, by their thorns, prevent all secret, and improper access, more effectually than any other kind of hedge, and will survive every inclemency of the weather. Their leaves supply the place of flax in making thread, as well as of tiles in covering temporary huts, and their thorns serve for needles. Their leaves, on being pricked, yield a thick juice which washerwomen use for soap, and when boiled on the fire are fit to be eaten. The Indians look upon the various fruits of the caraquatà as food. From their leaves, when scraped with a knife, flows a sweet liquor, which is thickened on the fire, and condensed into sugar. This liquor of the caraquatà, mixed in water with the seeds of oranges, or lemons, undergoes a vinous fermentation; exposed to the sun it turns to vinegar. By what method, and in what cases, wounds and disorders are healed by the juice of the caraquatà, would be long to tell. A polypodium, preferable in the opinion of physicians to any European one, grows on the caraquatà.