11
been ignored altogether, 2 had been Visited, but nothing was done, and in 4 only did I see
any results this has been reported to your office, and in accordance with your orders the man
has been fined and dismissed.
His cases have been, as a matter of course, struck out of the returns.
I intended to have examined still more closely both his and Nabbú Khàn's circle, but I
hurried back on April 20th to send off the returns only to find that few of the vaccinators had
sent in their returns; they were all, however, received by the 25th of April, with the exception
of Nabbú Khan's, whose returns were delayed till the end of the month, and those of Abdulsa-
lám Khán, who failed altogether to forward his. I sent four parwánas ordering him in with his
books, of these he took no notice, I at length sent out a man for them, who did not return
till the 17th of May.
My plan of inspection was as follows Avoiding altogether the main lines of communication,
where probably the work was well done, 1 went backwards and forwards through each man's
circle, examining about 6 to 10 villages a day, or as many as I could accomplish In each village,
after having examined the children and compared the numbers vaccinated with the returns,
and having collected as many listeners as could be procured, I explained the objects of vacci-
nation, the diffeience between, or rather its similarity to small-pox, and impressed on the
people the value of the operation, and although the vaccinators had done a good deal in the same
direction, still 1 found the ideas of many very hazy on the subject, while others again said all
they knew was that it was the Sarkâr's huk n. In some villages again, I found that the people
were disposed to view the matter in a religious light, and from the fact of small-pox and vac-
cination being in some way connected in their minds, they resolved to worship their god Delí
after the vesicles had healed, in the same manner that they are accustomed to do after leco-
veiy from small-pox, with a cocoanut, a kid, rice, pan, &c.
This new feature I considered rather a fortunate one, and did not discourage the idea But
it must not be supposed that the vaccinators had an easy task, or that people who
had never heard of vaccination befoie would willingly bring their children to be scored by a
strange man simply because they were asked to do so , they had never heard of vaccnation in
then lives, not had their fathers before them, and they not unnatulally were very unwilling
to submit to the operation ; the same tale was told me in about 9 out of every 10 villages that
I visited, directly the people heard that the vaccinator was coming to their village, the ma-
joiu.y of the poorer and more lgnorant classes tied to some adjoining villages, staying away
two or three days, meanwhile the vaccmator had prevailed on the Málguzár probably, or some
other influential person, to consent to submit their children, when therefore the poorer people
heard or saw what their betters had done, and that no harm resulted, they returned, the re-
sult being that after much loud talk on both sides,—on the one hand assurances that good would
result and not injury, and on the other a emi determination not to give in, not always unac-
companied by tears,—the end would be accomplished and the children vaccinated. In conversa-
tion with me afterwards many appeared rather ashamed of these performances, and said they
should have known the Saikár would do them no harm and that all was for their good.
A small percentage escaped vaccination, either from a determination on the part of the
parents not to submit from religious motives, or in consequence of absence from their homes
at the time of the vaccinator's visit; again entire villages followed the example of their lead-
ers and steadily refused to have anything to do with the vaccinators, in these cases the
men had orders from me to push matters as far as possible by explanations and persuasions,
or by any other means at their command short of coercion, and if all failed to report to me.
I was particularly anxious not to resort to force or driving, and so avoid bitterness or angry
feelings, a few Chapiásís armed with authority would no doubt soon cut the matter short
by collecting the children nolens volens, but the discoutent that would result would I think
far overbalance the good done ; moreover, if trouble be taken the ínstances are rare indeed
where the scruples of the ignorant cannot be overcome In some villages in the Katangí tah-
síl where the vaccinators reported total failure, I succeeded with a little trouble.
During my tour I ascertained that a terrible epidemic of small-pox passed over the
district during the previous year—Tálukas Ghansor and Gondi suffering most severely. I did
not see one village in the Ghansor ilaka that escaped the disease; the type in a large number
of cases was malignant, but the majority was of a mild type; the mortality was, I feel per-
suaded, far in excess of that exhibited in the Police returns. I took some little trouble in
endeavouring to ascertain the approximate number, and in carefully excluding the deaths of
the previous year, and have come to the conclusion that the deaths during the year 1870 could