238 



palm or plaintain-tree. Though they live less 

 commodiously in the conuco, they love to retire 

 thither as often as they can. We have already 

 spoken of that irresistible desire of fleeing 

 from society, and of entering again on a savage 

 life. The youngest children sometimes leave 

 their parents, and wander four or five days in 

 the forests, living on fruits, palm-cabbage, and 

 roots. When travelling in the Missions, it is 

 not uncommon, to find the villages almost de- 

 serted, because the inhabitants are in their gar- 

 dens, or in the forests, al monte. Among civil- 

 ized nations, the passion for hunting is owing 

 perhaps in part to the same sentiments, to the 

 charm of solitude, to the innate desire of inde- 

 pendence, to the deep impression made by Na- 

 ture, whenever man finds himself in contact 

 with her alone. 



The condition of the women among the Chay- 

 mas, like that in all semibarbarous nations, is 

 a state of privation and suffering. The hardest 

 labour is their share. When we saw the Chay- 

 mas return in the evening from their gardens, 

 the man carried nothing .but the knife (ma- 

 chette), with which he clears his way among 

 the underwood. The woman however bent un- 

 der a great load of plantains ; she held a child 

 in her arms ; and sometimes two other children 

 were placed upon the load. Notwithstanding 

 this inequality of condition, the wives of the 



