The news came to him at length, shouted out by hoarse defiant voices
from the recesses of the forest on the banks. For a while the Spaniards
would not believe the surly message of death given by the unseen
Indians. In the end, however, its truth could not be doubted, and Irala
assumed command of the party. Returning to Asuncion, he was unanimously
appointed Governor by the settlers of the place.
[Illustration: SUGAR-MAKING.
A seventeenth-century representation of the whole of the processes of
the manufacture of sugar.
_From "Historia Antipodum."_]
The character of Domingo Martinez de Irala was eminently suited to the
post he now held. His courage was high, his determination inflexible,
and his energy abundant. It is true that, in the same manner as his
colleagues of the period, he was frequently totally careless of the
means employed so long as the end was achieved. Nevertheless, he was in
many respects an ideal leader, and his vigorous personality kept in
check both the ambitions of the Spanish cliques and the dissatisfaction
of the less friendly Indians.
Irala was destined to undergo many vicissitudes in the course of his
Governorship. Very soon after he had been elected to this post it was
his fate to be superseded for a while.
Pages:
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108