This work follows the faltering steps of one translator in exploring the Tupi -Guarani and Chiquito languages, and the enriching effect they have had on Brazilian Portuguese. The colonial history of South America was written in the blood of the native Indians of the Paraná basin. Step by inexorable step they were haplessly exterminated between the pincers of the opposing colonial powers. These Indians left behind nothing to mark their passing: no art, no music, no architecture, no writing, no tools, no unique skill, religion or craft; nothing except their language. Yet the few surviving words from the native South American dialects stand out in their remarkable beauty, tripping off the tongue with a lightness that has very few parallels among the world's other languages. Why should translators concern themselves with a dead language? Innate curiosity or an enthusiasm for language?