WHOLE VOL. THE WEST INDIES VAZQUEZ DE ESPINOSA 6/ 



get clothing, food, and drink, and make their beds, shoes, and what- 

 ever they need. 



172. Near the tribe of the Tibitibes is that of the Chaguanes, who 

 always go in bands ; they live along the banks of the River Orinoco 

 and others, maintaining themselves by hunting and fishing and on 

 turtle eggs, of which there is great abundance, and they get food 

 from this same palm. Adjoining them is the tribe of the Guayanes, 

 where the city of Santo Tome is located ; it numbers over 40,000 

 Indians ; some are peaceful and render service to the Spaniards, but 

 these latter are few, and there is no prelate to convert them, so that 

 they have relapsed into heathendom. 



173. Right next the province and tribe of the Guayanes come those 

 of the Caribs in Upper and Lower Caura, river-mouth estuaries run- 

 ning up the Orinoco and Peos, over 50 leagues up the Orinoco. The 

 Peos tribe numbers over 5,000 Indians; they live distributed among 

 various villages, through distrust and fear of their Carib enemies, so 

 that, when there is news of their coming they can send word from 

 one village to another to put themselves in hiding, or in state of de- 

 fense if they can resist. Their next neighbors are the tribe of the 

 Aruacos, and theirs, the Mapueyes, who number over 6,000 Indians ; 

 next comes the tribe of the Guaiqueries, who are said to be descended 

 from those of the island Margarita ; they went inland and are settled 

 at the mouth of the Rio Guarico, which empties into the Orinoco 100 

 leagues above Santo Tome. 



174. The tribe of the Amaibas lives on the banks of the Orinoco ; 

 they feed on turtles and tortoises, which swarm on the river beaches ; 

 they farm their yucca patches and other crops ; the country is full of 

 gold. This tribe counts over 10,000 members ; next comes the tribe 

 of the Parabenes, and after them countless other tribes. Next follows 

 the tribe of the Chimeres ; they are very orderly and intelligent 

 Indians ; they live in villages well-administered ; they plant and har- 

 vest their crops of corn, cassava, and other products ; they will num- 

 ber over 3,000 Indians, not counting women and children ; they have 

 not been converted to the Faith for lack of a prelate, and for that 

 reason there is no one in that section to undertake the saving of 

 their souls. 



175. Next the Chimeres comes the tribe of the Viroteros, a war- 

 like people numbering more than 12,000 Indians; adjoining them live 

 the Arutos, a degenerate people without villages or organization ; they 

 live like savages, feeding on fish and on their own filth dried and 

 ground up, which they keep in baskets they call mapires ; and if they 

 are taken out of this kind of life, they die at once. Beyond this tribe 



