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Show 159 Cattle was not known to the nativer; the alpaca and vicuna were the only beasts of burden. Thus, they lacked milk, cheese, lard, butter and, above all, meat; in other words, their meals had inadequate fat content which also limited the culinary possibilities of satisfactory food preparation. The author queries, "Does not the general use of coca by the native American people prove the miserableness of their alimentation which required them to use substances that made food less necessary and that helped them to withstand their hunger?" The conquerors found in the modest kitchen of the Indian all kinds of animal life, such as snakes, worms, toads, lizards, vermin, etc. He cites the following conclusion of Dr. Escudero of Argentina on the diet of Indians contrary to that of Sr. Bejarano, "that it was more than anything a diet sufficient to maintain obedient masses, without rebelliousness and without the will for self-betterment, but not likely to provide for physical and mental vigor. McGibony, J. R. (United States), "Trachoma Among Indians of the United States of America," America Indigena, II No. Ill (July, 1942), Mexico, D.F., pp. 21-23. Article written in English with a summary in Spanish. Leon, Luis A. (Ecuador), "Un Caso De Gigantismo En La Raza India," America Indigena, II No. 4 (October, 1942), Mexico, D.F., pp. 35- 38. English Summary: Dr. Leon describes one of the few "giants" of Indian race known to medicine. The case, that of a young Indian from Imbabura province, Ecuador, exhibits all the physical characteristics of an acromegallic gigantism, and the mental characteristics of infantilism. The boy died of grippe at the age of twenty-three; this was to be expected since such cases usually expire prematurely from common diseases. While living he walked slowly and awkwardly, and tired very easily. He was 2.04 meters tall (the average height of the rest of his group was 1.58 meters) and weighed 255 pounds at the age of twenty, when Dr. Leon made his observations. He was timid and unsociable unless he had been drinking; hostile or indifferent, to women, he did not want to get married. He never wanted to leave his community, and refused to go to the capital to have a more detailed examination made. Dr. Leon presents a table of his anthropometric measurements in comparison with those of a normal individual of the same ethnic group. Ramos Espinosa, Alfredo (Mexico). "La Alimentacion En El Campo y Los Ninos," America Indigena, II No. 4 (October, 1942), Mexico, D.F., pp. 7-10. English Summary: The author describes the extremely poor diet of children in Mexico's rural areas, deficient not only in quantity and quality but also in the lack of hygiene in the way it is obtained, conserved, transported, etc., which are the |