[230] Hácese... silencio, Silence falls again.
[231] Juan sin Ropa, picturesque name given to the devil by the gauchos.
[232] le ha encontrado, i.e., a la leyenda; trans., has found in it.
[233] la doctrina bíblica del Génesis, i.e., the downfall of man.
[234] su orgullo, i.e., the pride of Santos Vega.
[235] Juan Díaz de Solís, a famous Spanish explorer of the sixteenth century who discovered the Río de la Plata, in 1516, and called it Mar Dulce, thinking he had discovered a sea. Landing on the island of Martín García, he was killed by the Charrúa Indians, a very warlike tribe that occupied the Plata basin.
[236] Sebastián Gaboto. The name Cabot is usually connected with Newfoundland, but it has historical importance for Argentina also. Sebastian was the son of the well-known North American explorer, John Cabot. He explored the Plata and Paraná rivers during the reign of Charles V.
[237] suyos, i.e., los hombres de don Nuño de Lara.
[238] brindando... amistad, in which Spaniards and Indians, mingling freely, drank to the god of friendship.
[239] entrada ya la noche, when night had already fallen.