They turned out
to be messengers or ambassadors from a large body of Indians,
united in the common cause of defence, near the Cordillera. The
tribe to which they had been sent was on the point of holding a
grand council, the feast of mare's flesh was ready, and the dance
prepared: in the morning the ambassadors were to have returned to
the Cordillera. They were remarkably fine men, very fair, above six
feet high, and all under thirty years of age. The three survivors
of course possessed very valuable information and to extort this
they were placed in a line. The two first being questioned,
answered, "No s‚" (I do not know), and were one after the other
shot. The third also said "No s‚;" adding, "Fire, I am a man, and
can die!" Not one syllable would they breathe to injure the united
cause of their country! The conduct of the above-mentioned cacique
was very different; he saved his life by betraying the intended
plan of warfare, and the point of union in the Andes. It was
believed that there were already six or seven hundred Indians
together, and that in summer their numbers would be doubled.
Ambassadors were to have been sent to the Indians at the small
Salinas, near Bahia Blanca, whom I have mentioned that this same
cacique had betrayed.
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