Note 283 — Chapter XIII

Simson speaks of a “skin-disease common amongst all Indians of the higher Marañon, called ‘carata.’ The skin is ‘scaly and blotched all over with black’” (Simson, p. 178). This seems to be similar to the “cutaneous disease” mentioned by Bates, except that he explicitly mentions “the black spots were hard and rough but not scaly” (Bates, ii. 382). The Purupura Indians have also a skin complaint that causes them to be “spotted and blotched with white, brown, or nearly black patches” (Wallace, p. 357).