Knowledge of the early experience of the Jesuits in Paraguay was communicated to Europeans exclusively by the Jesuits themselves; and the history of the beginning of the missions was written by persons who had been actually engaged in them, or on the basis of reports made by the missionaries. It was, therefore, to be expected that historical accounts framed under these conditions would show a strong partisan bias. The very flattering picture which they presented of the redemption of the Indians from the life of savage nomads naturally excited enthusiasm on the part of persons who knew little or nothing of the labours, difficulties, and discouragements of the missionaries in the wilderness. The first information concerning these labours that reached Europeans was derived from the letters of Padre Manuel de Ortega, Padre José de Catoldino, Padre Ruiz de Montoya, and Padre Roque González that were scattered about Europe. The _anuas_ were another source of information. These were the product of a regulation that required every Jesuit house or college to make a report on the work of its members for every period of four months. These reports, sent to other provinces or centres of missionary activity, were expected to serve as a stimulus for increasing the zeal of other members of the order. They increased in number to such an extent that it was found difficult to circulate them; it became necessary to make summaries of them to be printed. Sometimes individual _anuas_ were given special prominence. Those of 1626 and 1627, written by order of Padre Nicolás Durán and signed at Tucumán on the 12th of November 1628, were translated into Latin and printed at Antwerp in 1636. They were issued under the title _Litterae annuae Provinciae Paraquariae_. From time to time others were given equal distinction; some by Padre Schirmbeck were published at Munich in 1649 as _Messis paraquariensis_. [Sidenote: Bollo’s _Breve relación_] Additional information was derived from books written by missionaries. Padre Diego de Torres Bollo’s _Breve relación del fruto que se recoge en las Indias del Perú_ was a book of this kind. The author had been sent to the New World as procurador for the province of Peru. At this time little or no missionary work had been done among the Indians of Paraguay; the Jesuit province of Paraguay had not then been organized; this region and the pampas were still embraced in the province of Peru. Torres’ book was early translated into Italian, French, German, and Polish. [Sidenote: Ruiz de Montoya]