24
31. Circumstanees rendered it necessary that I should return to Head-quarters to-
wards the close of February, I had not therefore an opportunity of seeing the remainder of
the work, and as I was unable to go out during March for more than three or four days at a
time I saw no more of it below the ghats.
32. I made a few hurried trips through the Seoni tahsil in March, the first being through
Ghondi and Ashta taluqas; work had only commenced there, it looked well, but both
men were slow.
33. I next visited Ghansor. Here Abdul Wahad was again doing good work, but Kareem
Bux was as usual slow, he took on an average three days to vaccinate each village, whilst he
should have done 3 each day, his average number of children was 7 daily , but nothing less than
20 could be considered good in one small village that he reported complete I picked up and
vaccinated 27 children, and in another, where he vaccinated 9 and reported the village complete
the Superintendent picked up 25 more; this was nothing but pure laziness as the people there
are not averse to vaccination. Notice has been taken of his conduct.
34. In April I was able to make somewhat longer tours and more minute inspections.
The first seen was the work under Fyzood Deen ; he had been working better latterly, but as
no trust can be placed in him he has been dismissed.
35. South-west of Seoni, Ramsaroop's work was not as in Karola, and in consequence- of
his being laid up with fever the total vaccinated is low.
36. I next examined the strip of country between Korai and Kawasa, under Kadir Bux.
This was as well done as I could wish, vesicles were good, few children escaped, the number
of unsuccessful cases were few, and the man had succeeded in making the people contented;
in one village only had he any trouble, the Patel ont only baffled his efforts but mine also,
till the Deputy Commissioner's influence was brought to bear on him ; he is a troublesome
man by nature, but I succeeded eventually in getting all the children in his village vaccinated.
37. I could not spare time to see the work east of Kori, but the Superintendent re-
ported that it was good so far as it was done; many children, however, escaped, as the
Vaccinator was young and inexperienced, the greater number of those unvaccinated were
picked up by the Superintendent while on his tour subsequently.
38. I made another trip through Ashta and Ghondi towards the end of April. Maho-
med Ally, a young Vaccinator, was working well, the results were good though the total
was small. The other man, Behari Lall, through an old hand, showed miserable results,—during
6 weeks he had only vaccinated 200 children, and this in a place where the people were by
no means averse to the operation, it having been practised there during the previous year
successfully. I showed him what could be done, by vaccinating 137 children on my route
in one morning, or more than he had done during the previous month.
39. My last trip was around Seoni towards the close of April; the vesicles were looking
rather small and dry, I therefore ordered the men to stop work at the end of the month and
count up results.
40. During my trips I found very little small-pox, but the majority of the children had
either had or were ill with varricella or what the natives call chota mata; it is contended yet
by some that the disease is a modified form of small-pox, but if anything were still wanting
to prove its distinct nature, the fact that vaccination is perfectly successful on children who
have recently recovered from varicella, and that children recently vaccinated sicken with
chicken-pox, should, I think, be accepted as sufficient proof of the distinct nature of the
two diseases ; few children escape either this disease or measles, and both are looked on by
the natives as merely a variety of the more severe complaint.
41. I had just examined a Teli's village near Khorai; the Patel, a very intelligent man,
collected every child in the village for my inspection, all had been successfully vaccinated,
and I was congratulating myself on the favourable impression made on the minds of the
simple folks, when the Patel said to me—" Now, Sir, you see there is not another child in the
village, I have had all vaccinated because the Sircar wishes it, but what is the use of it ? My
five children were all vacinated successfully, and I'll show you all five ill with small-pox."
I heard a chorus of coughing inside the house from many little chests which aroused my
suspicions, and on the young ones being produced, they were, I found, suffering from rather
severe attacks of measles; it was not easy to undeceive the Teli or prove to him the difference
between the two diseases.