No.^78r' ^^^' EASTERN CHEROKEE GROUPS — KUPFERER 257 



During a visit to another home, a baby was given a bottle (a sup- 

 plement to breast feeding) which was picked up from the floor and 

 filled. The baby drank part of it. It was then given to a "yard 

 baby" who finished it. I discussed worms with Lucy, the mother of 

 this family. She said that two of her children had "killed" (passed) 

 nearly a hundred of them. I asked the cause of the worms. Lucy 

 answered vaguely, "I don't know what causes them." She is a close 

 relative of an Indian doctor. The young children are covered with 

 sores and scabs especially on their heads. Lucy says that these are 

 gnat bites. 



A final excerpt from notes of a visit made in 1959 summarizes these 

 generalizations about sanitation and hygenic practices. 



I visited with Dorothy on her porch. The house is a two-room cabin with four 

 double beds in the front room and a cot in the kitchen. All of them are unmade; 

 soiled blankets are heaped upon the beds . . . the kitchen table had dishes on it. 

 They appeared to have been unwashed for some time. With the dishes was an 

 open jar of beans . . . later I glanced up to see a chicken on the table foraging 

 among the unwashed dishes. There are nine cliildren and two adults living here. 



CATEGORY 2. MINIMAL 



The houses in this class are also small in proportion to the number 

 of residents, but not as crowded as those in category 1. Newer 

 houses in this group are frequently constructed of cinder block. The 

 areas directly adjacent to the houses resemble those about which we 

 have already spoken, but efforts are directed toward maintaining some 

 semblance of "neatness." The yards are often raked or swept. 

 Although there are no lawns, there are attempts to grow flowers. 

 Unpenned chickens are kept away from the porch. There is some 

 litter in the yards, but it does not match the accumulation noted 

 for the first group. As a probable consequence of this, there are far 

 fewer flies and many of the houses are screened against them. One 

 informant reflected a concern about flies when he said, *T think if 

 people would only screen, there would be less sickness. Flies are 

 nasty things . . . take Lucy; her children are always sick." 



The interiors of these houses are neater and more varied than are 

 those of the houses depicted in the first category. Frequently, 

 linoleum covers the floors. Less often are there beds in all the rooms ; 

 they are made each morning. Several of the kitchens boast refriger- 

 ators. There is no modern plumbing, but some of the occupants 

 discuss plans for its installation in the future. One informant said: 



I want to get water in my house this summer .... I'm going to build a reservoir 

 over behind my mother's house and pipe it down. To dig a well will cost $4.75 

 per foot and they'd have to go down 700 feet. ... I don't want that old sump 

 water. 



