Anyone who has traveled in the Cavera Mountains must have noticed that every five leguas there is an umbu tree. Umbu are old trees that have stood for centuries on this land.
The old people living in the mountains say that these trees were planted by the priests - they were planted so that they would serve as milestones on their way.
On the road from Kaseki to Alegrete, these trees, due to the fact that they stand on the plain, are especially clearly visible. They are also clearly visible on the road from Kaseki to Rosario and from Rosario to Karay; walking in this direction, you meet them all the time.
I know one such huge tree that grows near the Ibiqui River. Sitting on its roots and looking to the right, you can see the whole of Rosario; look to the left and you will see the beautiful Kavera mountain range blue on the horizon. And looking straight at the mountain, we will see another umbu, which stands at the ranch, called “Umbu”.
This is how, following through the Kavera mountains, we meet umba on our way; shepherds say that the umbu tree is found all the way to Montevideo.
Umbu is a strong tree species. It is not afraid of direct rays of the sun. The more severe the drought, the greener the umbu foliage. The stronger the cold, the more magnificent it blooms.
Some umbu are witnesses to historical events: under their shadow, matters of great importance were discussed. In the Stone Yard estate there grows such a mighty umbu that ten people holding hands cannot grasp it; in its shade the orator Silveira Martins more than once prepared his own shurrasco. And another tree stands proudly over Pontcho Verde, as a symbol of bygone centuries, testifying that it saw the leader of the uprising of the ragged Canabarro, arguing about whether they should die or surrender their arms to the imperial government.
In the shadow of its branches sheltered indomitable warriors: first those who defended their homeland from foreign invaders, then the gaucho monarchists who defended their monarch and the Empire, and finally the sons of these gauchos who defended their ideas, which they considered more noble. And they all died; the stone of life rolls across the endlessly rotating globe, and today the sun illuminates the young man’s black hair, tomorrow it highlights the silver threads in the same hair, and the day after tomorrow he no longer sees this man, for he has fallen asleep in eternal sleep. In the shade of umbu we frolic as children and shelter from the scorching sun in old age. And umbu remains evergreen, strong and joyful!
One of these umbu, lost in the Kavera mountain range, has its own history worthy of attention. They told it to me, and, driven by curiosity, I went to this tree - a good friend.
This is an old umbu, its bark has wrinkled from longevity and the storms it has experienced, from which it had nowhere to hide.
Nearby are the sad ruins of an abandoned ranch.
Once upon a time there lived a couple who, at the end of their days and in extreme poverty, took in their granddaughter, who was left an orphan.
One day, the old woman saw that the girl was suffering from a deadly fever, and offered the tree to become the godmother of this angel, who would otherwise die unbaptized.
The girl survived; She grew up, turned into a beautiful girl, and boys passing by the ranch began to harass her. Grandfather had died by this time, and grandmother and granddaughter were left completely alone in this vast, deserted area.
There was no one to cultivate the land, poverty was knocking on the doors of the house; and then one day, late at night, a gang of robbers rode to the ranch to kidnap the girl.
The old woman was on her knees praying to the Mother of God when bandits began knocking on the dilapidated door, demanding that it be opened for them, and threatening that otherwise they would break it down!
The girl was crying and trembling with fear, but then the window, which was visible from the wall, opened, the girl jumped out and found refuge in the dark branches of her godmother.
Already at the gates of the rancho, the bandits noticed the girl and tried to grab her, but while she was hiding in the green foliage of the godmother, a snake with burning eyes crawled out from under the roots of a tree and stuck out its tongue.
The amazed kidnappers stopped, then took up their weapons and opened frantic fire at the enraged reptile, but it fearlessly defended itself, wriggled, and then slid under the root of a tree. Tired of fighting and depleted of ammunition, the villains saw in the rays of the morning dawn a huge, heavy, strong, terrifying reptile, still ready to guard the girl, trembling in the branches of the protector tree. The day has come, and with it the world; The attackers, driven by shame, fled, abandoning their criminal intent.
Thanks to this legend, the noble umbu has become a revered tree by all, and there are few travelers who, when passing by it, would not take off their hat.
What the tree quietly and silently did, people could well do, only, unlike the tree, they must make their tool not a snake, but good.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru