ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
deed, I have seldom found races whose members had eyes 
in such poor condition. Conjunctivitis was the most 
prevalent form of eye disease. Ophthalmia was fre¬ 
quently met with. They seemed to have no efficacious 
method of curing those complaints, and the result was 
that one found an appalling number of blind or half-blind 
persons among them, quite out of proportion to the small 
population. The Bororos did not, of course, know of 
spectacles or any other way of protecting the eyes. Even 
when their eyes were in a normal condition, they nearly 
all had some defect of vision. Squinting was frequently 
to be noticed among them, and nearly invariably uneven¬ 
ness of the eyes. Cataract was common at a comparatively 
early age, and they knew no remedy for it. An abnor¬ 
mally marked discoloration of the upper part of the iris 
was constantly to be noticed, even in young people. 
Among the healthiest, I never saw one man or woman 
with extraordinary powers of vision such as are most 
common among savage tribes of Asia and Africa. The 
diseased condition of their blood was also perhaps to a 
certain extent responsible for this. 
Their hearing was good, but not much more acute than 
with the average European, and infinitely inferior to that 
of the natives of Asia and Africa. They suffered con¬ 
siderably from the most terrible of blood complaints, 
general among them, also from leprosy, and various skin 
troubles. 
The Bororos made considerable use of the urucu plant 
(Binea orellana L.) which they called nonoku, from the 
fruit of which they obtained a brilliant red colouring 
matter for tinting their bows and arrows. The shell of 
the fruit contained a number of shiny seeds, which, when 
squashed, exuded a vivid red juice. It adhered easily to 
the skin of the forehead and cheeks, for which purpose also 
the Indians extensively used it. 
The black paint which the Indians used for smearing 
192 
