the superior of all those religious, and the one against whom the devil and the Indians felt most bitter, because he was the principal minister of the gospel. Thereupon, without further investigation, she was immediately believed: and they came upon him like bloodthirsty wolves, with the purpose of carrying out that penalty. He was not disturbed or alarmed, but made them go with him to the Indian woman, and asked her some questions; and when the time was ascertained at which she had conceived, it was plain that the father had not been at that time, or for many days before or after, in that village. Thus they believed him firmly, while they and he who had stirred them up were ashamed and confused. Still the woman's artifice was of use to her; for the father repaid her for the false witness she had given, by delivering her from the death which they were going to inflict upon her--searching for devices to bring this about, just as the devil had searched for them to do evil; for kindness is no less subtle than malice. Later will be seen what was the life and death of this holy religious, whom the devil strove to discredit by other means, but without success. [The devil was finally banished from these villages, in which he had kept all the Indians in wretched slavery; for if he gave them some liberty to vice he demanded from them a much greater return.] In addition to the sacrifices that he required of them--which as has been said were costly, and which sometimes extended even to the death of men, he required them to do most painful things in their times of bereavement. For the first three days they did not have a mouthful to eat; for three more days they had only a little fruit; after this, for a long time, they had only boiled herbs or roots, without wine to drink, and with nothing savory to eat. During all this time they wore around the neck a little gold chain, which was a mark of mourning; and this they were not allowed to put off during all this period, unless they killed some one. As soon as they committed a homicide, there was an end of the mourning and the fast; and they made up by eating and drinking without limit or measure. Every little thing that happened to them caused them a thousand superstitions, painful, and sometimes expensive.