HRDLicKA] PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS 179 



affections are also rare. A San Carlos woman had uterine and lum- 

 bar pains ill the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy; she had 

 suffered in a similar manner for about a month before her previous 

 child was born; though wanting relief she would not be examined. 



In only one small child on the San Carlos reservation, out of about 

 500 seen, were there present distinct signs of malnutrition, and none 

 such was met with among the other Apache. 



The Apache school children complain little of itching in any part 

 of the body; but the spines of the xez cactus (Opuntia leptocaulis) 

 often produce a hard swelling that itches. Among the larger boys in 

 the San Carlos school four cases of gonorrhea occurred within a year ; 

 there were none among the girls. 



Impetigo contagiosa in children is quite common among all the 

 Apache. It seems to occur in all parts of the body. A Mescalero 

 girl was seen who was much affected with it about the ears, and a 

 small abscess developed in the right cheek. A case of herpes zoster 

 was seen in a Mescalero about 75 years old. Numerous cases of warts 

 on the hands existed at the time of the writer's visit among the 

 Mescalero school children. 



Among the Walapai, stomach and intestinal disorders were found 

 to be conmion in the adults as well as in the young; in this respect 

 the school children fared much better than those in the camp. Con- 

 sumption is not rare, and according to Doctor Perkins, the agent, it 

 is sometimes very rapid in its course. In' one case which the Doctor 

 noticed, the patient succumbed in two months. At the beginning of 

 1902 an epidemic of pneumonia developed among the school children; 

 it was attributed indirectly to the introduction of steam pipes and 

 more abundant clothing. In the early part of 1904 an epidemic of 

 measles visited the school and spread to the Havasupai, causing a 

 large number of deaths among the children. Venereal diseases are 

 not rare in the tribe, but reliable data were not obtainable. 



The Navaho, except perhaps those around Fort Defiance, are a 

 healthy tribe. The country the}^ inhabit is among the most salubri- 

 ous regions in the Southwest. The most common disorders in the 

 tribe are those affecting the digestive tract. Like other Indians, the 

 Navaho have learned within recent years to make an inferior kind 

 of bread in which they use much cheap baking powder; besides this 

 the bread is not baked well, and being eaten in large quantities 

 indigestion necessarily results. 



The increasing use of large quantities of black coffee must also have 

 a bad effect. Headache, not infrequently complained of, and ver- 

 tigo, prevalent to some extent, are probably largely due to disturb- 

 ance of the digestive organs, although they sometimes follow pro- 

 longed exposure to the sun of the habitually uncovered head. Signs 

 of syphilis, especially the tertiary signs, are very rare. The writer has 



