sions were nearly exhausted, and the new converts were informed that it was necessary to plant maize and manioc, under pain of soon seeing their rations suppressed, their neophyte zeal began to grow cool. At last the time came when the laziness of the converts and the impossibility of providing for them any longer wearied the patience of the missionaries. Exasperated at having been doped by red-skins, the Portuguese replaced the padre with the feiter, and declared the Indians slaves to punish them for their rebelliousness to Christianity. The latter gave themselves no great concern about their now condition, feeling secure in their proximity to the forest, whither they took refuge on the first opportunity. But these first relations with the whites perverted their habits and their tastes; forest-life appeared to them too rude, and, like the Hebrews in the wilderness, they sighed for the flesh-pots of fertile Egypt Therefore they went in quest of an other baptism, and one day an Indian tribe was seen to arrive an hundred leagues from the province where they formerly dwelt, offering themselves for conversion. The bishop and the captain-general were written to, who, charmed by the proposal, sent monks, garments, tools, and provisions, with directions to evangelize the new-corners and found a Christian colony. It is needless to say that this colony ended like the rest, after passing through the same phases, and moved further on in quest of a new baptism.
INDIAN GOVERNMENT
If religion little disturbs the Indian, politics concerns him scarcely more. Each village is governed by a capitao, selected from among the most respectable of the tribe. Many a time has a mulatto fleeing from slavery or deserting from military service been proclaimed capitao by an Indian tribe with whom he took refuge! The selection is easily explained. The Indian is conscious of his inferiority, even to the dark-colored mulatto, who, moreover, is almost always his superior in physical strength. Add to this consciousness the prestige of dress and sometimes of arms upon people who go nearly naked and are acquainted only with the bow and arrow, and lastly the need of having a chief conversant with the language and customs of the whites, to make themselves heard by the latter when chance or necessity requires it, and the fact is not surprising.
FICKLE HABITS
The efforts hitherto made to employ the Brazilian Indians as domestics have been almost thrown away. Several fazendeiros who have tried it, and whom I have questioned on the subject, have unanimously replied that they were obliged to give it on of the incredible fickleness with which they performed their service. If they felt longing for the forest, forest, they left the house without saying a word to any one, returned to the woods, built themselves a hut with stakes fixed in the earth and a few palm-branches, and there rested themselves from their pretended fatigues, only interrupting their far niente to gather a little fruit or catch a few fish. Some time afterwards, say after two, three, or six month's absence, bring satiated with savage life, they came to resume their work as if they had only left it the day before, never comprehending why the master looked astonished at seeing them, and asked them for explanation. They thus went on with their work for a little while, but soon, wearied a second time of civilized life, they silently effected their escape from the plantation to recruit themselves in the forest and reappear again the following year. These escapades especially occurred upon the day when they received their wages. It is needless to say that all their money went to purchase cachaça, and it not till the last of this was gone that the memory of their for master returned.
A population of such indolent humor
