PERUVIAN QU1PUS. 407 



so much mony, and remaineth debtor so much. The proofo 

 being presently made with these numbers of knottes and 

 handfulls of cords, it rernaiues for a certaine testimony and 

 register. I did see a Landfall of these strings, wherein an 

 Indian woman carried written a generall confession of all 

 her life, and thereby confessed herselfe as well as I could 

 have done it in written paper. I asked her what those 

 strings meant that differed from the rest : she answered meo 

 they were certaine circumstaunces which the sin required to 

 be fully confessed. Besides these Quippos of thred, they have 

 an other, as it were a kindo of writing with small stones, 

 by means whereof they learne punctually the words they 

 desire to know by heart. It is a pleasant thing to see the 

 olde and the impotent (with a wheelo made of small stones) 

 learno the Pater noster, with another the Ace Maria, with 

 another the Creede ; and to remember what stone signifies 

 &quot;Which was conceived by the holy-ghost&quot;, and which 

 &quot; Suffered under Pontius Pilate&quot;. 



It is a pleasant thing to see them correct themselves 

 when they doe erre ; for all their correction consisteth 

 onely in beholding of their small stones. One of these- 

 wheeles were sufficient to make nice forget all that I do 

 knowe by heart. There are a great number of these wheeles 

 in the Church-yards for this purpose. But it seemes a 

 kinde of witchcraft, to see an other kinde of Quippos, which 

 they make of graines of Mays, for to cast vp a hard 

 account, wherein a good Arithmetitian would be troubled 

 with his pcnne to make a division ; to see how much every 

 one must contribute : they do drawe so many graines from 

 one side, and adde so many to another, with a thousand 

 other inventions. These Indians will take their graines, 

 and place five of one side, three of another, and eight of 

 another, and will change one graine of one side, and three 

 of another. So as they finish a certaiue account, without 

 erring in any poynt : and they sooner subrnitte themselves 



