GAXNl MAYA INDIANS OF YUCATAN AND BRITISH HONDURAS 37 



The splenic enlargement is treated by applying a number of small 

 circular blisters (xacal) containing chichem juice to the skin, over 

 the affected organ, which seem to be remarkably efficacious in reduc- 

 ing the swelling. 



In the winter \vhen the nights are cold the Indians often lie out 

 aU night in the wet, a practice which frequently results in pneumonia 

 and death. Hookworms and many other varieties of intestinal para- 

 sites are jjrevalent, owing to the earth-eating habits of the children, 

 the earth being taken usually from the immediate vicinity of the 

 house, where pigs and other domestic animals have their quarters. 

 This disgusting habit no doubt accounts in part for the swollen bellies 

 and earthy color of many of the children. 



SmaUpox (hilc) invading an Indian village is a terrible scourge, 

 far worse than in a more civilized community of the same size, w^here 

 |)artial immunity has been acquired. Sometimes the whole unaffected 

 pojiulation depart en masse, leaving the dead unburied and the 

 stricken lying in their hammocks, with a supply of food and water, 

 to do the best they can for themselves. The Indians employ the 

 same mode of treatment for this disease as for malarial fever — 

 sweating followed by immersion in cold water, treatment which, it 

 need hardly be said, is not infrequently followed by disastrous results. 



Venereal diseases of aU kinds are remarkably rare among aU the 

 Indian tribes. Among the Santa Cruz and Icaiche s'uch diseases were 

 practically unknown. Even among the mixed breeds of British 

 Honduras they are comparatively rare, notwithstanding the fact that 

 ■these natives have come much in contact with people of many other 

 races, especially of late years with Mexican Chicleros, nearly all of 

 whom are affected with venereal disease in one form or another. 



Sunple fractures of the long bones are set very neatly and skill- 

 fully in the following way: The fractured limb is pulled away 

 from the body with considerable fofce in order to overcome the dis- 

 |)lacement; over the fractured bone is wound a thick layer of cotton 

 wool, and over this are applied a number of small round, straight 

 sticks, completely surrounding the limb, their centers corresponding 

 nearly to the seat of fracture; these are kept in place by a firm 

 binding of henequen cord. The limb, if an arm, is supported in a 

 sling; if a leg, the patient is conlined to his hammock till the fracture 

 is firmly knit. Excellent results are secured by this method, the 

 union being firm, and the Imib nearly always uniting in good position. 



Bleeding, a favorite remedy for all complaints, is especially resorted 

 to in cases of headache and malarial fever. Usually the temporal vein, 

 less frequently one of the veins in the front of the forearm, is opened, 

 having been first distended with blood by tying a ligature around 

 the upper arm, A chip of obsidian, a sharp splinter of bone, or a 

 snake's tooth, serves as a crude lancet; the use of the last causes 



