53
Nor is the explanation far to seek. It has been several times expressed in our An-
nual Reports that the Vaccine Department has, practically, no influence whatever on the
Mahomedan portion of the community, from the poorest mendicant and fakír to the
richest merchant and millionaire, wherever residing. Former experience having taught
that assault and abuse are the only, but certain, recompense of any interference or offi-
ciousness on the part of our establishment, and persuasion in whatever shape useless, no
attempt even, at it, is made by our men. It thus happens that the number of Mahomedans
vaccinated almost wholly consist of such as are brought to the stations for the operation at
their own sweet and free will, and at their own convenience; and improvident and apathetic
as they generally are, and having, besides, in their general ignorance, a false sense of ten-
derness for their little ones, believing them to be too tender for the opeiation till they
are thee or four years old, it very frequently happens that they are surprised by that terrible
scourge of humanity which respects neither the rank or position, caste or creed, nor the
color or age of any body, and is supremely indifferent to their convenience. A painful in¬
tance, in corroboration of this statement, was met with last year in connection with the
district of Kámáthípurá.
14. That I may be acquainted with the localities where small-pox was prevailing
most, or where its ravages were the greatest, so that I may be enabled to visit those places
specially and more frequently than otherwise would have been the case, I was in the habit
of referring to the mortuary returns as they appear in the daily papers. I found that
Kámáthípurá was a locality that had the greatest number of deaths from small-pox. I be-
gan to work then twice a week, but no change was produced. Thrice a week and even
oftener, and yet without at all lessening the deaths. Do what I would, I always found
that I had made no impression upon the disease in that quarter. I knew that some of the
Kámáthís and the low-caste people, that live there in such numbers, tried to conceal their
children,—not that they had no confidence in the protective power of vaccination, but be-
cause small-pox was actually present in their homes, or in their immediate neighbourhood
and they were sore afraid to incur the displeasure of the dreaded deity " Deví." The fear
of being called upon to furnish lymph in case of success must have had its share of influence,
too, to a certain extent ; but still all this was not sufficient to account for the persistent
mortality of the place. I was astounded ; I did not know what to say or do. I could
only continue my operations there, though very few .subjects were procurable for operation.
The mystery, however, was satisfactorily cleared when tabulating the deaths from small-
pox ; for I then found that the mortality was chiefly amongst the Mahomedan portion of the
community, whom I scarcely ever saw at our improvised stations, during our visits there,
and it was they that had paid so dearly for their temerity. Out of a mortality of 156 there
were 80 deaths among the Mahomedans, and only 40 among the Hindús, and 20 in the low¬
caste people that throng the place in such numbers.
15. The same may be said with, if possible, less reservation of the Pársís, the
Bhátyás, Lohánás, and the Kutchí Hindús generally, and it is these communities that are
almost the first to suffer severely, and the rest are then forcibly drawn into the vortex
created by them. A reference to the tables will at once show that it is such localities alone,
as are so inhabited, that suffer most from small-pox.
16. It is very sad to contemplate the enormous loss of human life that takes place,
year after year, solely as the results of improvidence and procrastination, aided afterwards,
to a certain extent, perhaps, by ignorance and superstition —in a community, too, that
does not lack confidence in the protective power of vaccination, nor has any serious or
unsurmountable religious scruples to overcome, but who, on the contrary, get their children
vaccinated by the thousand without any let or hindrance, social or religious,and who