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page 73 ----Indian slaves---Guaycurus nation---
Guaycuru people
In exchange for European articles, they offer honey and the fruit of several
species of palm. They are principally Cayapos who visit the  canoes
on their way from the Tiete into the Tacoary,
and the Guaycurus who show themselves on the rest of the voyage.
The Cayapos, also called Caipos, are the most powerful
nation in the province of Goyaz:
they possess the wildernesses between the western bank of the Parana and the Paraguay,
and around the sources of the Araguaya,
and the streams which join it at the commencement of its course, and sometimes
extend their excursions further to the north and south. The Guaycurus or Quaicurus, called also Cavalleiros by the Portuguese,
inhabit the plains on the two banks of the Paraguay, which are
for the most part open and covered with grass, namely, on the east side
between the rivers Tacoary and Ipani, and
on the west side of the Serra
de Albuquerque. *
They
are the most numerous and powerful nation in Matto
Grosso and formidable to all their
neighbors. The chief object
of their frequent wars is to make prisoners, whom they carry off as slaves,
and keep in very rigorous servitude. There is perhaps no tribe of the
South American indians, among whom the state of slavery is so distinctly
marked, as among them.
Guaycuru indians
page 74 ---history---peace treaty of 1791---
Captivity and birth are the two causes which condemn an individual to  slavery. Both of these imply a certain difference of caste, which is maintained
with great rigor. The slave or his descendant can never contract a marriage
with a free person, because he would profane it by such a union. He is
condemned to menial occupations, and is not allowed to accompany his master
in war. We are informed that among the Guaycurus, there is no
means by which their slaves can be made free. The great superiority of
the nation over most of their neighbors, has induced many of the latter
to voluntarily become their vassals. Thus there are among them Indians
of the nations of the Goaxis, Guanas, Guatos, Gayvabas, Bororos, Ooroas, Cajapos, Xiquitos, and Xamococos; for they are constantly at
variance with all these different tribes, and almost always conquer them,
because the possession of horses likewise gives them a great superiority.
In former times, they made prisoners only of the youthful portion of their
enemies, massacreing all the adults; but their manners have now become
milder in this respect.
 
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