HKDLicKA] PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS 15 



the tattooing, practised most aiuoiijj; the Mohave, Yuina, and Pima, 

 is undoubtedly attended with physical inconveniences and dangers 

 as among the whites. Tlahuiltec women color their hair with the 

 juice of a plant known locally as shok-il-lt. This turns the ordi- 

 narily black hair at first greenish and then reddish yellow. It is 

 difficult to judge of the effect of this treatment on growth or vitality 

 of the hair, but a head of good hair among these women is uncommon. 



Dwellings 



The character, degree of segregation, and especially the site of a 

 dwelling and its cleanliness, are all items of much hygienic importance. 

 The dwellings of the Indians of the region under consideration may be 

 divided into permanent and temporary structures. The first include 

 dwellings built more or less after the style of those of the neighboring 

 whites, of the aggregate pueblo structures (pi. ii, h), and various brush, 

 reed, and earth dwellings (pis. ii to xii) ; the second comprise shelters 

 and brush structures of varying forms, and tipis or tents (pis. viii, 

 IX, c, XI, d). 



All except the modern Indian dwellings possess certain points in 

 common. With the exception of some pueblo dwellings, the native 

 houses are windowless and are provided with only a small opening for 

 entrance and exit, which, when the dwelling is occupied, is usually 

 kept closed with a blanket. The only additional aperture is a smoke- 

 vent in the roof or at the apex. Owing chiefly to the absence of 

 larger openings in the walls, the inside of the dwelling is much dark- 

 ened, but possesses the merit of being warmer in winter and cooler in 

 hot weather than the outer air. Ventilation is good in only the less 

 substantial structures, particularly those made of brush. In the 

 earth-covered hogans (pis. ii, a, vi,a), in the hemispherical Pima mud 

 dwellings, in some of the adobe houses, and especially in the pueblo 

 communal rooms or kivas, ventilation is poor even when aided by 

 fire. Over night, or when a large number of Indians congregate in 

 such a dwelling, as they often do for social meetings or for gambling, 

 the air becomes foul and deleterious to health. The smoke, also, is 

 annoying and irritates the eyes. Dampness of the dwellings, even of 

 the more massive structures, is unknown during the dry season, but in 

 rainy weather humidity can not be avoided, and houses of all kinds 

 generally become less comfortable and healthful. 



In the arrangement of Indian dwellings two opposite tendencies are 

 noticeable, one apparently the result of long-continued habit, due to 

 necessity, the other arising from social impulses. Every Indian 

 family (with exceptions among the Pueblos) builds its dwelling iso- 

 lated, yet at the same time there is an inclination toward congrega- 

 tion. The common outcome of these opposed motives is a scattered 

 village. In a typical Indian village, the pueblo excepted, the cluster 



