256 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 196 



category 4 are those families whose sanitary and hygienic practices 

 are very adequate. The difference between the last two groups is a 

 matter of "extras" present in the environment of category 4. 



CATEGORY 1. INADEQUATE 



This group is found most wanting in the minimal essentials of sani- 

 tation. The homes are small; the number of rooms is seldom more 

 than three. Usually the house is of roughhewn lumber. It is either 

 covered with building paper, or the owner intends to cover it at some 

 vague time in the future. If it is not a board house, it is constructed 

 of logs or poles. The yards are littered with debris including rusted 

 cans, broken bottles, and garbage (some of which is eaten by animals; 

 the remainder moulders on the ground) . A common sight in the yard 

 is a car which has begun to disintegrate. Chickens, ducks, dogs, and 

 cats are in dispute over the edible refuse. Their excrement is present 

 in the vicinity of the house. 



The water supply is always a spring or a stream. There are no 

 plumbing facilities in these houses. Dishwater is tossed out a door. 

 If there is a privy, it is a surface type which is never treated with 

 lime. (It should be noted, however, that it is never located near the 

 water source.) Frequently there is no privy. 



The interiors of these houses are similar. There are two or more 

 double beds in aU the rooms. The kitchen often has a cot or single 

 bed in it. Soiled blankets are commonly wadded up on the beds or 

 spread in a casual fashion over stained mattresses. Clothing, whether 

 it be freshly laundered or worn, is piled up on beds or upon other 

 pieces of furniture. The number of occupants to a bed is contingent 

 on the size of the family, but since the dwellings are always crowded, 

 three or four children usually sleep together. 



Wood-burning kitchen stoves provide heat for these homes. Aside 

 from the range, there are no other appliances in the kitchen. Some 

 families have washing machines, which are kept on the porch. These 

 are filled by pails of unheated water from the spring. 



There are no screens on doors or windows; panes are often broken. 

 Flies abound during the warm weather, drawn by the decaying 

 organic matter on the premises. One afternoon I visited a young 

 Conservative couple who had graduated from the reservation high 

 school. They have three small children. Flies were everywhere. 

 The two boys were very soiled. Between bites of bread, they threw 

 it at each other, then retrieved it from the floor and continued to eat 

 it. One of the boys got into some baby oil and saturated his head. 

 He rubbed against the baby. Martha, his mother, said, "Don't get 

 snot on her." 



