Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/75

PUERPERAL CONVULSIONS 67 These Indians constituted several distinct tribes with different languages. Some of them are now extinct; those still existing are: 1, the Zunis, inhabiting Zufii ; 2, the Toltos, inhabit- ing Taos, with whom some unite the Picuries and the people of Sandia and Isleta; 3, the Teguas in San Juan, Santa Clara, Nambe, San Hdefonso, Poiuaque, and Tesuque ; 4, the Queres in Cochiti, San Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Afla, Zia, Laguna, and Acoma; and 5, the Jemes, occupying a town of the same name. The population of these 19 pueblos, and some now abandoned, toward the close of the last century was given at 10,000 or 11, 000. Under the Spanish government schools were main- tained and religious instruction given by Fran- ciscan and other Catholic missionaries, who began their labors before 1600, and still con- tinue them. They were protected from hostile tribes and oppression, and supplied with cattle and sheep ; but under Mexican rule they were deprived of this support, and have declined till they now number only about 7,000. They were recognized as citizens under Mexican rule, but since New Mexico became a part of the United States the matter has been left in doubt. In 1857 Chief Justice Slough decided that the Pueblo Indians were under the treaty citizens of the United States. An act of congress passed Dec. 22, 1858, had confirmed old Span- ish grants to the Pueblos. Their status as tribes has not, however, been recognized by any treaties; and though Judicially declared to be citizens, the laws of New Mexico deprive them of the suffrage. They retain their own government, each village having an elected gov- ernor, and a court consisting of three old men ; but executions for witchcraft have led to in- terference by the territorial authorities. A Baptist mission established a few years ago at Laguna led to dissensions and punishments there, which again called for interference. Under the division of tribes among the differ- ent denominations, the Pueblos, though Cath- olics, were assigned to the Christians, and, on their non-action, to the Presbyterians. This led to a protest from the governors of 15 pueblos at Santa Fe, Aug. 16, 1872, and to an appeal to the government made through the Catholic commissioner in 1874. Under the new agency eight schools are supported, which number 298 pupils. The total wealth of the Pueblo Indians in 1873 was given at $535,750. PUERPERAL CONVULSIONS, or Pnerperal Eclam- psia (Lat. puer, child, and par ere, to bring forth), a dangerous disease occurring during the puerperal or lying-in period of women, either before, during, or after delivery. It has been the source of much discussion and dis- agreement, and although recent advances in physiological chemistry have shed much light on the causes of the disease, many points re- main in dispute. It has been asserted by Dr. Karl Braun of Vienna that it is commonly the result of ursemic poisoning, and is produced mostly by carbonate of ammonia in the blood, arising from decomposition of urea ; but al- though it is conceded that uraemic poison- ing is a frequent cause of puerperal convul- sions, the ammonia theory, which originated with Dr. Frerichs of Berlin, is not general- ly accepted, and many believe that a variety of causes other than urea in the blood are competent to produce convulsions by acting upon the highly developed nervous system of the puerperal woman. Even when the at- tacks are connected with organic or functional disease of the kidneys, and when the urine is albuminous, the presence of urea in the blood is not always made out ; and in many marked cases of albuminuria during pregnancy convul- sions do not occur. Constipation, retention of urine, extreme pain, and great mental distress may, it is contended, bring on in the puerperal state convulsions precisely similar in character to those produced by ura;mia. According to Braun and Wieger, more than half of all the cases occur during labor, but others consider the relative frequency during the three epochs to be in the order, pregnancy, labor, delivery. It is more likely to occur in first than in suc- ceeding labors. The frequency of the dis- ease, as indicated by statistics, is about one case in 350 labors. There are usually, but not always, premonitory symptoms. One of the most important and common of these is oede- ma or dropsy, especially of the ankles and feet, which is usually developed some weeks before the appearance of the first fit. "When this symptom is present, an examination of the urine is almost sure to reveal by the ordinary tests of heat and nitric acid the presence of a large quantity of albumen ; and there may gen- erally be found, by the aid of the microscope, several tube casts, sometimes accompanied with blood corpuscles, or there may be evidence of a more advanced stage of Bright's disease. Pregnancy disposes toward this condition by reason of obstruction to the circulation from pressure of the gravid uterus. There are three objective premonitory symptoms which are also important: extremely acute headache, de- rangement of vision, and pain in the epigas- trium. The headache is generally in the fron- tal region, at first intermittent, but gradually becoming continuous. Derangement of vis- ion is a grave symptom; sometimes there is cloudiness or dimness, at others objects ap- pear to change color; there is often double vision, or only half of an object may be seen ; there are flashes of light, and sometimes the sight is suddenly lost. The convulsive seiz- ure is characteristic, and to have witnessed it once will impress its prominent features upon the memory. After a few precursory symptoms the patient seems deeply absorbed and preoccupied ; then her gaze becomes fixed and her whole body motionless. This is soon succeeded by twitchings of the eyelids and fa- cial muscles. The eyeballs roll upward so that only the whites are seen. The contractions of the muscles from being spasmodic or clonic