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packing up their property preparatory to moving. The question whether
a house was infected or not was entirely one of evidence, and the District
Officer had to decide each case on its merits. Thus 5 cases at short
intervals in a house containing 50 or 100 people would show that con-
tinued residence there involved great danger to their lives, but if the
population was 1,000, or there was a considerable interval between the
cases, the same inference could not so confidently be drawn. A good
deal more trouble was experienced with Mahomedans than with Hindus
in carrying out this measure ; and difficulties were often made by land-
lords, who foresaw a loss of rent, when the tenants were willing and ready
to go. But with the assistance of volunteers, who explained to the
people the dangers of continuing to live in an infected house, the District
Officer could almost invariably get the people to leave. The cost of
moving was paid from the discretional relief fund, and considerable sums
were spent in assisting those whose daily work was interfered with, and
this went far to smooth away difficulties. How the people were dealt
with aiter they were moved is described in the chapter on " Camps."
It is difficult to give any clear idea of the nature of this work ; the figures
convey but little ; but it was common in the city during the epidemic
to see a street almost blocked up with carts, hurriedly collected from all
directions, loaded up with furniture and kit of every description : the
men busily carrying boxes and bundles out of the chawl to the carts,
the women and children sitting on the top of everything, the District
Officer standing by listening to and smoothing away difficulties, with the
relief fund in his pocket, and directing and arranging the whole operation.
A few extracts are given from reports showing the nature of the work
done.
" I, this morning, vacated the whole of Bhangwadi, 175 people and 33 cart-
" loads of kit. I entrusted the carrying out of this work to Mr. Parshotam Udhowji,
" Chairman of the Local Committee. I would like to draw your attention to the
" great assistance and excellent work involved ; a great deal of worry and trouble
" has been taken by him and his Committee."
In this case the people heard overnight that they were to be re-
moved , and attempted to migrate during che night. As the locality was
hadly infected, this would have been fatal. Mr. Purshotam heard of this,
and promptly was on the spot ; he communicated with the police and
obtained ready assistance from Superintendent Hack and the move was
prevented, some 14. people did go away but were found and sent to camp
the following day.
Another day Lt. Warneford wrote :—
" I, this morning, from 6 a.m. to 11 a. m., vacated 5 chawls in Limachiwadi
and sent 141 people to the Goculdas Camp and (about) 277 people to the Charni
Road Camp, making a total of 418 people in all. These chawls have an old plague
record, are dirty and badly overcrowded ; on 26-12-98 one plague case occurred there
and ou 31-12-98, I personally removed 3 plague cases in one morning from there, so
I have now completely vacated the place. The Goculdas and Charni Road Camps
are both again completely full up."