A detailed ethnographic narrative records the lives of an equestrian indigenous people in Paraguay, based on long residence and travel. It describes their social organization, customs, religious beliefs, military practices, hunting and equestrian skills, and interactions with neighboring tribes and colonial settlements. The work also surveys regional geography, settlements, plants and animals, and missionary activity, and offers reflections correcting popular misconceptions and contemporary accounts. Material ranges from practical descriptions of daily life and economic arrangements to ceremonial rites and the vicissitudes of newly founded colonies.