The Guaycurus and their allies the Payagoas are essentially shepherds. They are also thorough agriculturalists. The former are horsemen, and spend half their lives roaming about; the latter are stationary. They in general live on the banks of rivers and lakes, and are much addicted to fish.
Their habitations are mere huts of the most primitive description.
Diogo scarcely knew which route to follow to arrive at the village of the Payagoas—not only of the position, but even of the existence of which he was ignorant.
As he had already often found himself in connection with them, and knew their usages, he had darted off quite at random in the direction the chief had indicated to him, intending to follow as nearly as possible the bank of the river, convinced that there only he would find their village, if it really existed, which he had no reason to doubt.
He galloped all night, scarcely knowing where he was going, and ardently longing for sunrise.
At last the day dawned. Diogo ascended a rather high hill, and from thence he looked around him.
At three or four leagues from the spot where he had stopped, on the very bank of the river, the captain perceived—in a rather misty light it is true, but nevertheless distinct to his piercing eye—a confused and considerable mass of cabins, over which hovered a thick cloud of smoke.
Diogo descended the hill, and resumed his course, making straight for the village. When he approached it, he could see it was more important than he at first thought, and fortified by an enclosure formed by a large and deep ditch, behind which they had raised a range of sticks, bound together with ivy.
The captain called all his boldness to his aid, and, after a moment of hesitation, bravely advanced towards the village, into which he entered at a gallop.