Barreda pursued the Abipones and Mocobios, who continued hostile, with the rigour of arms, as he had conciliated the peaceful Vilelas by gentle measures. If he did not entirely repress their boldness, he certainly restrained and punished it with frequent discomfitures. The Royal Governour, desirous of rewarding his merit, conferred on him the supreme administration, in his name, of all affairs, civil and military, in all the colonies of St. Iago. How well he answered to the good opinion entertained of him, you may discover from the circumstance, that he held this office for thirty years, and never laid it down till his death, equally beloved by all good men, and dreaded by the savages. Many declared that they saw nothing to object to in him but his goodness, which almost appeared carried to an excess. In the punishment of criminals, he showed himself more lenient, than hasty or severe; for he used to say he would rather suffer ten guilty men to escape unpunished, than punish one innocent man. Whenever he pronounced sentence, as a judge, he endeavoured to favour the Indian rather than the Spaniard, usually saying: _Hé de attender a la parte mas flaca_: I must defend the weaker side. He had a very gentle disposition, by which he conciliated all hearts; his person was handsome, and his body large and vigorous, so that it was easy to infer how great a soul inhabited it. In uprightness of conduct, in purity of mind, and in sincere piety, he excelled, or at any rate equalled all the civil and military commanders of his time. His love and reverence for the priesthood were very great. In the presence of hundreds of soldiers, and of my Abipones, he disdained not to honour my hand with a pious kiss; and to assist me as I was performing the sacred rites. He devoted himself entirely to promoting the advantage of the province committed to his care, so that he had no time to think of heaping up riches, which is commonly thought the chief business of Europeans in America. But though not very opulent, he was exceedingly liberal. In short, by the splendor of his virtues, and by his famous achievements against the savages, he obtained an immortal reputation, but at the same time excited the envy of cowards and sluggards; a fate which attends all eminent men, and is their constant inheritance. Noble actions however clearly refute the accusations of the envious. Barreda not only attended thirty expeditions against the Abipones and Mocobios, but headed them all himself except three. The number of his victories, such victories as are gained in America, was the same as that of his expeditions. You would have thought that fortune waited on his footsteps. But he used to impute his success not to fortune, but to the favour of the Almighty, and to the activity and sagacity of his soldiers; as if he himself had contributed little or nothing to the prosperous event of the war. Yet it is allowed on all hands that the success of these expeditions was chiefly owing to the prudence, industry, and caution of Barreda. But he was not one of those generals, who, to speak in the words of Livy, enter a contest, relying more on their courage, than on their strength. The desire of fame or booty never induced him to hazard an attack, unless he thought the hope of victory greater than the likelihood of the most trifling slaughter. In order to judge of this he carefully marked the situation of places, the numbers of his adversaries, and the opportunities of the journey and of the road. A band of scouts was daily sent forward, to discover the ambuscades of the enemy, to examine their dwellings and their numbers, or to surprize them unawares. Barreda detested any slaughter of the savages, if attended by that of his own soldiers. "Where I am present," he said, "every thing goes on well. But if," added he, "I were utterly to destroy all the savages in Chaco, at the expense of two soldiers only, verily, on my return to the city, I should expect to be saluted with mud and stones. The people are extremely desirous of the deaths of the savages, but expect their own soldiers to be immortal in every battle." As it had been clearly proved that Barreda was by no means rash in undertaking expeditions, the people of St. Iago with willing minds followed whithersoever he led, and under no leader did these excellent soldiers make more daring achievements.