** P. Guevara, in his `Historia del Paraguay', relates a curious story
which he said was current amongst the Indians. Two brothers,
Tupi and Guarani, lived with their families upon the sea-coast of Brazil.
In those days the world was quite unpopulated but by themselves.
They quarrelled about a parrot, and Tupi with his family went north,
and populated all Brazil; whilst Guarani went west,
and was the ancestor of all the Indians of the race of Guaranis.
--

Jean de Lery, the well-known Huguenot pastor and friend of Calvin,
passed a year on the coast of Brazil about 1558, having accompanied
the expedition of the famous Villegagnau. In his book
(`Histoire d'un Voyage faict en la Terre du Brezil') he always
refers to the Indians as Toupinaubaoults, and has preserved
many curious details of them before they had had much contact with Europeans.
He appears to have had a considerable acquaintance with the language,
and has left some curious conversations `en langage sauvage et Franc,ais',
in which he gives some grammatical rules. The language of conversation
is almost identical with that of Paraguay, though some words are used
which are either peculiar to the Tupis or obsolete in Paraguay to-day.
His account of their customs tallies with that of the various
Spanish writers and explorers who have written on the subject.
Tobacco, which seems to have been known under the name of `nicotiane' to Lery,
he finds in Brazil under the name of `petun', the same name
by which it is called in Paraguay at present. He believed
that `petun' and `nicotiane' were two different plants,
but the only reason he adduces for his belief is that `nicotiane'
was brought in his time from Florida, which, as he observes,
is more than a thousand leagues from `Nostre Terre du Brezil'.
His experience of savages was the same as that of Azara,