iSo A VOYAGE TO BookVII. 



perior of the miflions, who is a different perfon 

 from the fuperior of the Guaranies : and with the pro- 

 duce, a frefli ftock of goods is laid in. The princi- 

 pal intention of this is, that the Indians may have 

 no occalion to leave their own country, in order to 

 be furnifhed with necefiaries and by this means are 

 kept from the contagion of thofe vices, which they 

 would naturally contract in their intercourfe with the 

 inhabitants of other countries, where the depravity 

 of human nature is not corrected by fuch good ex- 

 amples and laws. 



If the civil government of thefe towns be fo ad- 

 mirably calculated for happinefs, the ecciefiafticai 

 government is dill more fou Every town and vil- 

 lage has its particular prieft, who in proportion to its 

 largenefs, has an affiftant or two of the fame order. 

 Thefe priefts, together with fix boys who wait on 

 them, and alfo fing in the churches, form in every 

 village a kind of fmail college, where the hours are 

 under the fame regulation, and the exercifes fucceed 

 eash other with the fame formalities as in the great 

 colleges of cities. The mod laborious part of the 

 duty belonging to the prieft, is to vifit perfonally the 

 chacaras or plantations of the Indians and in this 

 they are remarkably fedulous, in order to prevent 

 the ill confequences of that flothful difpofuion fo 

 natural to the Guaranies \ who, were they not fre- 

 quently roufcd and ftimulated by the prefence of the 

 prieft, would abandon their v^ork, or, at leaft, per- 

 form it in a very fuperficial manner. He alfo at- 

 tends at the public flaughter-houfe, where every day 

 are kjlled fome of the cattle , large herds of which 

 are kept for the public ufe by the Indians. The flefh 

 of thefe beafts are dealt out by the prieft, in lots pi^- 

 portionable to the number of perfons each family 

 confifts of .; fo that every one has a fulBciency to 

 fupply the calls of nature, but nothing for wafte. 

 He alfo vifits the fick^ to fee that they v/ant for 



nothing. 



