16
RANCHEE CIRCLE.
tendent was sent out with men, and from the 6th of October work went on in this and
the surrounding villages. On the 9th I saw 29 cases of small-pox in this village. One case
proved fatal while I was there. There had been no small-pox in the neighbourhood, and it did
not spread from the one village affected. After the vaccinators reached the village, one or
two persons took small-pox, but the epidemic was put a stop to.
5. The illaquadar of Bijlia, Bolonath Misser, gave us great assistance. He helped the
native Superintendent with his work in Bijha, went with him to all the villages around, and
aided him in every way in his power. One vaccinator gave annoyance to his fellows here
and also to the villagers, so that I had to discharge him. Operations around Bijlia as a centre
went on favorably, and tended much to the success of the year. I had an opportunity of
commending vaccination to the influential people about the widows of the late Maharajah of
Chota Nagpore, when at Ratu, where they live. Ratu is near to Bijlia. The consequence
was that work was actively carried on in villages belonging to them in that quarter.
6. In the beginning of December there was news of small-pox from Palamow, the
sub-division of Lohardugga Two men were detached from the party near Bijlia to attend
to it. These men began to work in Palamow on 12th December near Munka thannah.
This ground was new, and the distances often great between villages where people could
be found to employ the vaccinators. In January a mali, formerly engaged in inoculating,
came forward at Daltongunge, the Palamow head-quarters, and offered to become a vaccin-
ator. His instruction was accordingly attended to, and he was supplied with materials for
working on his own account Two other men have since been similarly employed in Palamow
by Mr. Forbes, the officer in charge of the sub-division, who takes great interest in
vaccination. During the season vaccination was performed in 214 villages of Lohardugga
district. The native Superintendent and vaccinators generally did their work creditably.
Two men were convicted of inoculating—one, the mali above-mentioned, was convicted by
Mr. Forbes, the other man by the Deputy Commissioner of Lohardugga.
7. II.—Hazareebaugh.—Starting
with fresh lymph from the cases at Bijlia, Native
Superintendent Mahomed Ishak with three of his party proceeded towards Hazareebaugh,
working in three villages of Lohardugga district by the way, in which their work was
looking well on 8 th November.
On the 27th of October small-pox had been reported in Jurpoo and Barajo, two villages
eastward from Hazareebaugh station. Thither two vaccinators were despatched next day.
No further report of small-pox was received from that quarter.
8. In December the native Superintendent and the men with him joined the vaccin-
ators working near Jurpoo and Barajo. Operations were prosecuted vigorously in the
country around, and in .January the party had moved on towards Echack, a large native town
a few miles north of Hazareebaugh station. In the vicinity of this town they remained till
the end of the season. One man was sent to the sub-division of Pachamba in December on account
of small-pox there. The number of villages in Hazareebaugh district in which vaccination
was done during the season is 190. The zemindar of Ramghur, Kalidass Gossain, who last
year assisted us, assented to the advantage of having a Brahmin inoculator from Maunbhoom
to vaccinate in his illaqua. The people would probably give such vaccinator fees similar
to those which inoculators were wont to charge.
9. III.—Maunbhoom —The native Superintendent and party destined for this district
proceeded thither in November, trying to find work along the Ranchee and Purulia road ;
but in this part of the circle it has not been so easy, as in most others, to induce the people
to be vaccinated. Work was begun in December, few miles south of Purulia, near the
ground occupied last season, and notwithstanding the time lost before a start could be made,
the results are better than might have been expected. Another drawback consisted in
several of the men falling sick.
10. The native Superintendent did not attend to my instructions to keep the party
together as much as possible. I found also that the forms, which ought to have been left
with the head man of each village after being filled up, had been, in some instances, carried
off by the native Superintendent's orders. In other respects too, native Superintendent
Mukkun Lall did not behave so satisfactorily as last year.
11. In January small-pox was reported from near Jhulda, in the west of Maunbhoom
district, and a vaccinator was sent thither. On the 9th February I found that he had
vaccinated most of the unprotected in the affected villages. During the past season this party
worked in 107 villages in Maunbhoom district, and three villages in Lohardugga district.