[350] The xeme is the span from the extremity of the thumb to that of the forefinger, when stretched to their utmost, equal to about six inches.
The natives of this country are of average height. They are quite naked, and pierce holes in their ears large enough to pass the fist through; in these they insert gourds of a medium size, afterwards replacing them by larger ones, distending the lobe of the ear till it hangs down to the shoulder. For this reason they are called Orejones, like the Incas of Peru. When they fight, they take these gourds or discs out of their ears and roll them up, or else tie their ears behind their heads. The women do not cover their nakedness. Every person lives separately with his wife and children. The occupation of the women is to spin cotton; the men cultivate the fields, returning to their homes in the evening, when they find their meals ready. The women do no other work except at harvest time, when they assist in gathering the maize, and garnering it. From that place the Indians begin to be idolaters; they worship idols made of wood; but, according to the reports brought to the governor, those farther inland have idols of gold and silver.
The governor tried, with kind words, to turn the natives of Los Reyes from idolatry, persuading them to burn their idols, and believe only in God, who created heaven and earth, man, the sea, fish, and every living creature, and that he whom they worshipped was the devil, who deceived them. They burned some of their idols, but their chiefs were frightened, saying the devil would kill them, and that he would be angry with them. As soon as the church was built, and Mass had been said, the devil fled from that country and left the Indians in peace and tranquillity. This was the first settlement of the campo; it was a little over half a league in extent, and contained eight hundred houses of agriculturists.
[CHAPTER THE FIFTY-FIFTH.]
How the Indians of Garcia settled in this place.
HALF a league off there was a small village of about seventy houses, belonging to the same tribe of Sacocies, and four leagues farther two villages of Chaneses, who settled in this country, and took wives when Garcia came from the interior. A number of them came to see the governor, and said they were friendly with Christians because of the kind treatment they had experienced from Garcia[351] when they followed him from their own country. Some of them had glass beads and other things which they said Garcia had given them. They are all agriculturists, and rear geese and fowls, the latter like those of Spain. The governor treated them well, and gave them presents, receiving them as vassals of His Majesty. He begged them to be faithful to the king, and good to the Christians, adding that, if they conducted themselves well, he would favour and treat them better than they had yet been treated.
[351] Of course, this is not the Pilot Diego Garcia who went at the same time as Sebastian Cabot, nor the fabulous Alejo Garcia mentioned by some writers as having been in Paraguai before them.