Armstrong – Table of Contents

of visiting, usually confined to members of their own clan. In addition, by the time the
epidemic had reached the stage where it might have been expected to spread rapidly, the
arrival of spring and warm weather had its usual limiting effect on the spread of typhus.
Despite these favorable circumstances, however, there were many obstacles to surmount
in eradicating the disease and controlling the epidemic. Some of these circumstances
include: The almost complete absence on the reservation of equipment to combat the lice;
the distance from markets; the scattered and constantly changing locations of the
Navajos’ dwellings, with the attendant difficulty in locating cases; the absence of roads;
the high percentage of louse infestations among the locals; the scarcity of available water
and fuel; the complete ignorance of the natives with respect to the spread of the disease;
and the natural fear and superstition which they held toward any new procedures, such as
bathing, together with the tendency to conceal cases because of these fears. Fear of the
unknown was also a major factor in concealing this information from the personnel
dedicated to eradicating the disease.
On June 24, 1921, because of problems of interstate quarantine involved, the
Office (now Bureau) of Indian Affairs, upon recommendation of DR. R.E.L. Newberne,
Chief Medical Supervisor for that Office, requested the USPHS to assume full control of
the situation. The Office of Indian Affairs and the Chief Medical Supervisor continued
their close and efficient cooperation under the new arrangement.
Dr. Armstrong arrived at the epidemic locale on May 31,1921. The other physicians on
the scene included Dr. Newberne, Dr. J.S. Perkins, Special Physician of the Indian
Service, and Dr. J.K. Kennedy, the Agency physician who had temporarily replaced Dr.