CHAPTER VI.
TAROU NIOM.[1]
Of all the Indians of the new world the aborigines of Brazil are thosewho have defended their independence the most obstinately, and foughtwith the greatest fury against the invasion of their territory by thewhites. At the present day this war, commenced in the early days ofthe conquest, is continued implacably on both sides, without any otherresult of it being perceptible, than the entire destruction of theunfortunate race so deplorably spoliated by Europeans.
By degrees, as we advance in our recital, we shall give morecircumstantial details on the singular and extravagant customs ofthe Brazilian natives--customs of which little is known in Europe.They are all the more interesting, as at an early day they will nolonger exist but in legend, by reason of the incessant progressof civilisation, which will effect the complete extinction of theaboriginal race, the same as in all the other countries of the newworld.
At about ten leagues from the plateau, where the caravan of which wehave spoken had camped for the night, the same day, a little beforesunset, in a vast glade situated on the left bank of the Rio Paraguai,at the entrance of a considerable cotinga, or low forest, three men,seated on the trunks of dead trees lying on the earth, were holding avery animated conversation.
These persons, although Indians, belonged to tribes completely distinct.
The first, as far as could be discovered--for the age of the Indianis extremely difficult to determine--was a man who appeared to haveattained middle age--that is to say, from thirty-five to forty.His tall and well-proportioned figure his vigorous and well-setlimbs, displayed great strength; his regular features would havebeen beautiful, had they not been disfigured by strange painting andtattooing. But, on examining him with care, there was seen to flash inhis eyes a cunning which denoted a rather uncommon intelligence. Thenobility of his gestures, and his bold and haughty countenance, gave tohis entire person a stamp of wild grandeur.
The costume of this Indian, although very simple, was not wantingeither in grace or elegance; the bright red band in which were stucksome parrot feathers, and which encircled his head, the hair of whichwas shaved like that of the Franciscans, proclaimed not only hisGuaycurus nationality, but also his position as a chief. A necklace ofjaguar teeth encircled his neck; a poncho of gaudy colours was thrownover his shoulders; his large leather drawers reaching to the knee,were fastened at the hips by a girdle of tapir skin, in which was stucka long knife; his legs were protected against the bite of serpents byboots made with the leather from the forelegs of a horse, cut away in asingle piece while still warm, and made into a kind of sheath, so thatthe leather in drying had taken the form of the limbs it was intendedto preserve.
Besides the knife hanging from his girdle, the Guaycurus chief hadplaced on the ground near him a quiver of tapir skin, four feet long,and filled with arrows. A polished and glittering bow of palo d'arcoof uncommon strength and size was lying near the quiver, and withinreach of his hand; leaning against the palm tree was an enormous lance,at least fifteen feet long, and furnished with a sharp blade, andgarnished at the other extremity with a tuft of ostrich feathers.
The second Indian was about the same age as his companion; hisfeatures, notwithstanding the paint and tattooing which disfiguredthem, were handsome, and his countenance possessed great flexibility.He was dressed and armed like the first; only by the headdress, madewith the fibrous and elastic cocoon of the flower of the ubassa palmtree, it was easy to recognise him as a Payagoas chief, a nation nearlyas powerful as that of the Guaycurus.
The last Indian was a poor devil, half-naked, lean, and of a timid andsickly appearance--to all appearance a slave. He stationed himself outof hearing of the two chiefs whose horses he was charged to watch.These horses, painted like their masters, of different colours, had noharness, but a thick coarse saddle, furnished with wooden stirrups,covered with tapir skin, and to the right and left of which hung alasso and the formidable bolas.
At the moment when we place these three persons on the scene, theGuaycurus chief was speaking, smoking all the while a kind of calumet,made of the leaves of the palm tree, rolled together, and was listenedto deferentially by the other chief, who was standing up before him,carelessly supported by his long lance.
"The man that my brother Emavidi-Chaime told me of does not come," saidhe. "The sun descends rapidly, several hours have flown since I waited.What thinks the chief of the Payagoas?"
"He must wait still; the man will come; he has promised; althoughdegenerate, he is not a paleface. He has in his veins some of the bloodof the Tapis."
"What is the name of this man?" asked the other.
"Does Tarou Niom know him? He is a mameluco; his name is Malco Diaz."
"I have seen him," laconically said the chief, letting his head fallwith a pensive air on his breast.
There was a silence of some instants; it was the Guaycurus who brokeit.
"Has my brother ever seen," he said, "the jaguars make war upon eachother?"
"Never," replied the Payagoas chief.
"Then why does the chief believe in the faith of this man? The Indianblood, if he has some drops of it, is so mingled in his veins with thatof the whites and blacks, that it has lost all its vigour."
"My brother speaks well, his words are just; only it is not on the goodfaith of this mameluco that I reckon."
"On what then?" asked Tarou Niom.
"On his hatred first, and then--"
"Then?"
"On his avarice."
"Yes," replied the Guaycurus chief, "it is to these two feelings onlythat we must trust when we wish to ally ourselves with these faithlessdogs; but this mameluco, is he not a Paulista?"
"No; on the contrary, he is a sertanejo."
"The whites are always bad. What guarantee has this Malco given?"
"The best that I can desire; his son, whom he charged with bringing methe message, has come into my village with two black slaves. One hasgone away again, but the other remains with the child."
"Good!" answered Tarou Niom, "I acknowledge in this the prudence of mybrother Emavidi-Chaime; if the father is a traitor, the child shalldie."
"He shall die!"
Silence reigned again for a considerable time between the companions.
The sun had completely disappeared, shadows covered the earth,darkness, as with a funeral pall, enveloped the forest in which thesetwo men were. Already in the inexplorable depths of the desert lowgrowlings began to reverberate, and announced the waking of the dreadwanderers of the night.
The slave, who was an Indian mundracus, on the order of his master,Tarou Niom, the captain of the Guaycurus--for the Indians of thisnation have adopted the Portuguese titles--gathered some dry wood,formed a pile of it between the two chiefs, and set fire to it, so thatits light might keep off the wild beasts.
"It is very late," said the Guaycurus.
"The journey to come here is long," laconically answered the Payagoas.
"Has the mameluco explained for what reason he wished the meeting ofhis warriors and mine?"
"No. Malco is prudent; a slave might betray the confidence of hismaster, and sell his secret to an enemy. The mameluco reserves it toinform us himself of the affair he wishes to propose to us."
"Good!" answered the chief. "What matters this man to me? I have onlycome on the invitation of my brother. I know that he will not betrayme."
"I thank my brother, Tarou Niom, for his opinion of me; for a long timeI have been devoted to him."
At this moment a far-off noise was heard--slight, and almostinappreciable at first, but which approached rapidly.
The two Indians listened for some seconds, and then exchanged a smile.
"It is the gallop of a horse," said Tarou Niom.
"In a few minutes he will be here."
The chiefs were not deceived--it was, in fact, the furious gallop ofa horse. Soon the branches snapped, the shrubbery separated under thepowerful effort the chest of a horse, galloping at full speed, and ahorseman
bounded into the glade.
Arrived within a few paces of the warriors, he suddenly pulled up hishorse, leaped to the ground, and gave the bridle to the slave, whotook it and conducted the noble animal to the two others.
The horseman, who was no other than the mameluco, saluted the Indiansand seated himself in front of them.
"My friend has tarried long," said the Payagoas.
"It is true, Captain," answered Malco, wiping his forehead, which wascovered with perspiration; "I ought to have been here long before, butthat was impossible. My master camped in a place farther off than Ireckoned on, and notwithstanding my wish to be exact, it was impossiblefor me to come sooner."
"Good, that is nothing, since here is the sertanejo; some hours lostare nothing, if the affair you wish to propose to us is good."
"Good I believe it to be; but are you still resolved to break the trucethat seven moons ago you concluded with the whites?"
"What is that to the sertanejo?" drily answered the Guaycurus.
"I want to know before explaining to you what brings me here."
"Let the warrior speak, and the captains will hear him; they will judgeof the truth of his words."
"Very well; this is why I wish to ask you the question. I know thehonour that you carry into all your transactions--even with the whites.If you consent, as I know for some days they have begged you, toprolong the truce, I should have nothing to propose to you, for thesimple reason that you would refuse to give me your assistance againstthe people with whom you would be at peace. You see I speak to youfrankly."
These words, which manifested the respect of the Indians for theirpledged faith, and for the honesty which they import into theirrelations with their mortal enemies, were, notwithstanding the praisethey implied, listened to coldly.
"Two suns have already passed," proudly answered the Guaycurus, "sinceI notified to the Paulistas the rupture of the truce."
Malco Diaz, master as he was of himself, could not suppress a gestureof satisfaction at this declaration.
"So you have recommenced the war," said he.
"Yes," briefly answered the Indian.
"Then all is well," said the half-caste.
"I am waiting," said the Guaycurus.
"The night advances; the sertanejo has not come so quickly to therendezvous that he himself made, that he may speak of futile things tothe powerful captains," added the Payagoas.
Malco Diaz appeared to be collecting his thoughts for some minutes;then he resumed:
"Can I reckon on my brothers?" said he, casting at the Indians the lookof a viper.
"We are warriors; let the mameluco explain himself. If he wishes togain some advantage by the war that is recommencing, we will serve himby serving ourselves," answered Tarou Niom.
The half-caste knew the Indians too well not to understand the ironicalmeaning of the words pronounced by the Guaycurus chief. However, hemade no sign of having perceived that meaning.
"I direct you to a numerous caravan; so much the more easy to surpriseas not having the least mistrust, and believing that the truce stillexists, it is on the march almost without any guard."
"Ah," said the two Indians.
"Yes," resumed Malco; "I am moreover so much the more certain of whatI advance, as, for two moons--that is to say, from the day when thiscaravan left Rio de Janeiro--I have served as guide."
"Good, so doubt is not possible," said the Guaycurus.
"In no respect."
"And towards what part is this caravan going?"
"They do not intend to stop until they come to the Rio San Lourenco."
"Are these men Paulistas?" asked Tarou Niom.
"No," briefly answered the half-caste.
The two chiefs exchanged a look.
"But," resumed Malco Diaz, "although they may not be Paulistas, theyare your enemies."
"Perhaps," said the Payagoas.
"Is he a friend who enters into a country to seize upon the riches itcontains without the authority of the true masters of that country?"
"Is such the thought of the chief of this caravan?" asked Tarou Niom.
"Not only his thought, but his design."
"Very well; but what are the riches which these men intend to seize?"
"The gold and the diamonds which are in the country."
"They know, then, that there are some?"
The ha