48 MEMOIR OF 



" Their ignorance of their origin and past history 

 is extreme, as may he illustrated hy the opinion of 

 the PayaguaS) a powerful nation which has given 

 its name to the river Paraguay. Our first father, 

 was the fish we call Pacu ; yours, was the one you 

 call Dorado ; that of the Guarantee, a toad. Hence 

 the lighter and more beautiful colour of your skin ; 

 for we surpass you in all other respects, and hence 

 the despicable character of the Guaranies. 



" The condition of the women is, in every respect, 

 most degraded, and female virtue is unknown. 

 They marry at the age of nine, ten, and eleven 

 years. Infanticide likewise is carried to the most 

 deplorable extreme. A Mlayas mother will not 

 attempt to rear more than a son and daughter, and 

 these the last of her progeny. Some nations have, 

 by this dreadful practice, been exterminated. The 

 Guaicurus was wont to be one of the most famous 

 of the nations : it was one of the most numerous, 

 proudest, strongest, and most warlike. They lived 

 by the chase. Of this nation there now exists but 

 one man ! the best made man in the world, stand- 

 ing six feet and a half high. He has three wives. 

 The extermination of this superb nation has arisen 

 not merely from their constant wars with the Spa- 

 niards, but from the execrable practice above 

 referred to. How melancholy that the finest na- 

 tions in the world are thus destroying them- 

 selves." * 



Azara likewise studied, with an observant eye, 

 * Vol. ii. 146-7. 



