I30 



NA TURE 



[December ?, 1900 



TUBERCULOSIS AMONG THE INDIANS OF 

 NORTH AMERICA.' 



THE increasing prevalence of tuberculosis among 

 the North Amei ican Indians has for some time 

 attracted attention, and the results of a detailed in- 

 vestigation of hj'giene in the Indian reservations 

 form the subject of a report by Dr. Ales Hrdlicka, 



i of Spi 



published in the 42nd Bulletin of the Bureau of 

 American Ethnology. 



The facts disclosed in the course of this inquiry are 

 striking and alarming. This disease, which threatens 

 to exterminate the Indian population, seems not to 

 have existed among the natives of the continent prior 

 to the arrival of the whites. While the country was 

 still largely unsettled they were accustomed to a 

 natural and active life, were inured 

 to hardship, and were, as a rule, 

 provided with more suitable food. 

 These conditions have changed with 

 the advance of civilisation. .\t pre- 

 sent the Indian is more susceptible 

 to the disease than the white man ; 

 in other words, his system is less 

 immune owing to the more recent 

 introduction of infection among the 

 race. 



These inquiries sufficiently ex- 

 plain the etiology of tuberculosis 

 among the inhabitants of the re- 

 servations. Infection is facilitated, 

 particularly in the cold and rainy 

 seasons, by the neglect of hygienic 

 precautions, esoecially from over- 

 crowding and lack of ventilation. 

 No care is taken to destroy the in- 

 fective sputum, the tubercle bacillus 

 being dispersed bv the common use 

 of vessels, clothing, and musical in- 

 struments, while " pipe passing," 

 the usual mark of hospitality, is 

 common. In addition to these contributory causes, 

 there seems to be now a well-established hereditary 

 tendency, which is developed by exposure, dissi- 

 pation, indolence, and other causes contributing 



1 S.nlhsmian Inviuilion. Ri 



Bulletin 41 : Antidulties of th 

 Hmnf. By Ies<e Walter Kewk< 



liulletin 42 : Tubcc'ilosi.'; amone ct 

 Statei. By Alei Hrdlicka. Pp. vii + , 



NO. 2092, VOL. 82] 



to bodily weakness. There seems also to be little 

 doubt that the disease is spread by milch cattle in- 

 fected with tuberculosis. Lastly, the patient, with 

 the well-known stolidity and resignation of his race, 

 is imable to resist the progress of the disease as soon 

 as he understands that he is infected. 



The remedies suggested to improve this condition of 

 things are increased attention to hygiene, disinfection 

 of the sputum, and isolation of 

 the sick. It is clear that there will 

 be considerable difficulty in en- 

 forcing precautions of this kind 

 among such a people. Dr. 

 Hrdlidka gives a significant 

 warning that curators of mu- 

 seums should be on their guard 

 against the danger of carelessly 

 handling, vC'ithout previous disin- 

 fection, articles, particularly 

 fabrics, received from Indian 

 homes. 



The conditions of earlier In- 

 dian life are illustrated in an 

 interesting way by the report 

 published in the 41st Bulletin of 

 the Bureau, by Dr. J. W. 

 Fewkes, on the cliff-dwellings 

 known as the Spruce-Tree ruins 

 in the Mesa Verde National 

 Park, Colorado. Here we find 

 Kivas, or circular pit-dwellings, 

 in connection with the series of 

 caves once inhabited by a now 

 forgotten race. With a view to 

 mutual protection, a population of some four 

 hundred souls was crowded within this narrow 

 area. Dr. Fewkes believes that he can explain 

 the reason why the Kivas are built underground 

 and are circular in form, on the theory that 

 both conditions are survivals from the ancient 

 pit-houses or subterranean dwellings of a still 

 earlier race. From this point of view the Kivas form 



Park, Colorado. 



til of Ainerican Ethnology. 



lesa VerdE Nationil Park, Spruce 



Pp. viii + 57 : 21 plale=. (1909.) 



: certain Indian Tribes of the t 



! plates. (1909 ) 



the most ancient part of the existing ruins. These 

 people lived in the age of stone, no metal implements, 

 even those of copper, having been discovered. They 

 had some belief in a world beyond the grave, because 

 thev laid mortuary offerings with the dead. Their 

 conditions of life resembled those of the Pueblo popu- 

 lation, and as these survived until comparatively 

 modern times it is very difficult to assign a date to 



