Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-14
WHITE PLAGUE AND RED MEN
Susceptibility Of Indians to Infections
of Civilization.
RESULTS OF AN INVESTIGATION
Recent Oriuin OF Tuberculosis Among
various Tribes, the Cause aud
Cure-Preventivc Meas
urcs Needed.

The very great activity that has prevailed
during recent years in the study Of pre-
veutive diseases and especially Of tuber-
culosis. has been very widespread. The
increased prevalence Of the dread White
Plague has been found to extend far be-
yond the confines Of city life and investiga-
ton has shown its Increase to a marked
degree In it's various forms among tho
indian i'm the United States. This subject
is naturally Of very great Importance and
calls for vigorous attempts to limit the
spread Of the infection, unless we are will
ing that the red man shall follow the
bison and other aboriginal forms to ex-
termination.
DR.. Ales Hrdlicka Of the scientific staff
Of the United States National Museum un-
dertook during the summer Of 1908. under
the joint auspices of the office of Indian
! Affairs and the Smithsonian institution, n
study of the conditions with regard TO
tuberculosis among five selected tribes
Of Indians in the United States. He made
an exhibit and presented a preliminary ac-
count Of his studies before the sixth In
ternational tuberculosis congress that was
held in Washington during September and
October Of 1905. This preliminary paper,
extended by the insertion Of his complete
report and with numerous illustrations has
just been published with the title Of
tuberculosis Among Certain Indian
Tribes Of the United States" As bulletin
forty-two of the Bureau Of American
Ethnology OF the Smithsonian institution.
susceptibility of the Race.
A brief summary of the bulletin can not
but be of interest to the general public as
well as to the specialist. In his introduce
ton, DR.. Hrdlicka discusses the history of
tla Aevo1nnpnapf 81 tho 1faaaea aUnonp the
Indians, and he finds while there is no
reference made to it by writer's who re-
ported on the period Of the earliest con-
tact Of the whites with the various tribes,
still at the present time the Indians show
a greater susceptibility to the disease than
the white man, thus clearly indicating q
lesser immunization Of his system which
implies the more recent introduction of the
infection into his race. DR.. Hrdlicka cor
rectly assumes that the disease must
have been much less frequent among the
Indians in former times when they lived a
more natural and active life. were better
Injured to hardships, and, with the excep-
ton Of particular localities and periods,
were better provided with suitable food"
Carefully prepared tables on the NOR
bidity and mortality Of tuberculosis among
the Indians are presented by DR.. Hrdlicka,
| COulDlleQ from the census reports, from
statistics collected by physicians in the
Indian service in 1904, and from statistics
on mortality gathered by the Indian Of
flee during 1908, In a general way this
data may be summarized as showing that
among 1000 Indians there are 81 per cent
cases of pulmonary tuberculosis; Los per
cent Of tuberculosis of bones and joints,
and Is per cent Of cases of glandular tuber-
culosis.
Personal Investigation.
In greater detail even, he discusses his
own results regarding the actual state of
the different tribes, and statistical data
based on the examinations made from ac-
tual visits to the tribes themselves. He
first visited the M~enominee, a tribe con-
sisting of 74 men and $50 women; then
the ogaialla Sioux, where the population
is 1868 persons; and next the Quinaielt, a
small tribe of only 1n individuals; next
the Hupa, 426 in number; and lastly the
Mohave, or rather Colorado River Mohave,
who live in Arizona, and consist of 465 per-
sons. The physical condition of these var
ious tribes of Indians are contrasted and
the influence of civilization upon them
for better or for worse" clearly shown.
Most interesting is his discussion Of the
EliOiOBy VI dAiOhb hS AhuloAS'
He finds that the most potent Of all factors
is the facility of infection, particularly
during the cold or rainy season. Almost as
serious is the frequent hereditary faint
among the young, He says: I'm a tribe
such as the Sioux it would be very diff
flcult, if not impossible, to find a family
In which there have not been tuberculosis
individuals, some OF whose progeny are
congenitally pTedisposed to the disease"
Among other causes cited are the greater
racial susceptibility the presence of
tuberculosis glands or other tuberculosis
processes in Individuals; and "the influ-
ence of diseases other than those OF the
respiratory tract" He calls attention to
the fact that dissipation, Incidence, and
all other weakening conditions contribute,
doubtless. as much TO the susceptibility Of
the Indian TO tuberculosis infection as they
do among the whites" Want and con-
sequent de%bilitation" are cited as respon-
sible for a fair proportion Of the cases
of pulmonary tuberculosis among the In
dians.
Under the heading therapeutics, DR..
Hrdlicka discusses treatment. This in
cludes naturally combating the ignorance
that prevails among the Indians and the
introduction Of sanitary measures, such as
isolation OF cases, with care by nurses and
physicians. Cleanliness and proper nutri-