DON FELIX d'aZARA. 37 



and shall begin Avith an epitomized account of the 

 Charruas. 



" The Charruas constitute an Indian nation, Avith 

 a distinct language, different from all the others, and 

 so guttural that our language cannot give the sound 

 of its syllables. At the time of the conquest it was 

 migratory, inhabiting the north bank of the La 

 Plata, from Maldonado to the river Uraguay, and 

 extending thirty leagnies northwards. * * * These 

 Charruas killed J. Diaz de Solis, the discoverer of 

 La Plata. His death led to a bloody war, which con- 

 tinues to the present day, and which has occasioned 

 an immense loss of life. The Spaniards very soon 

 endeavoured to confine these people within their own 

 territory ; and with this view erected buildings and 

 a fort in the colony of Sacrament, then a town on 

 the river San Juan, and another on the St. Salvador ; 

 but the Charruas destroyed these, and would never 

 allow any one to settle in their territories, till Monte 

 Video was founded in 1724. Since that time the 

 savages have been insensibly forced northwards, 

 but not without many bloody encounters. Those 

 which remain continue to wage war with fire and 

 sword, Avith the greatest obstinacy. They will not 

 listen to any terms of peace, and moreover attack 

 not only the neighbouring tribes, but also the Portu- 

 guese. When I travelled in this country, these 

 Indians often attacked my party though a hundred 

 strong, and killed many. 



" Their mean height is greater than that of the 

 Spaniards, and is more uniform. They are agile, 



