ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
attracted and pointing sharply at anything moving 
anywhere about, to be satisfied of the intense suspicious¬ 
ness of these people. 
The Bororos were restless nomads and could never 
settle anywhere. They were always on the move — 
hunting, fishing, and formerly on warlike expeditions with 
other tribes. They showed great skill with their arrows, 
which they threw with wonderful accuracy even under 
conditions of unusual difficulty. When fishing, for 
instance, they showed remarkable calculating powers when 
the line of vision became deviated by the surface of the 
water and made it difficult to judge the exact position 
of the fish at different depths. Their long arrows had a 
double-barbed, bone head, which was poisoned when 
fighting men. 
The Bororos were not quarrelsome by nature; on the 
contrary, they were dignified and gentle. They always 
avoided fighting. It was only when driven to it, or when 
hunted down or attacked, that they naturally endeavoured 
to defend themselves. This has brought upon them the 
reputation of being barbarous and cruel savages. Even 
among themselves they seldom quarrelled; they never 
offended one another with words. They had great respect 
for their elders. 
At night the men collected in the village. One of 
them spoke aloud to the crowd, delivering a regular lecture 
on the events of the day, their hunting or fishing adven¬ 
tures, or tribal affairs. The greatest attention was paid 
to the orator, and after his speech was over a warm 
but orderly discussion followed. 
When a Bororo man was angry with another, he 
would not descend to vulgar language, but he generally 
armed himself with a bony spike of that deadly fish, the 
raja (Rhinobates batis) or mehro , as it was called in the 
Bororo language, which he fastened to a wristlet. With 
it he proceeded in search of his enemy, and on finding him, 
198 
