NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
398
Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [ APP. VI.
a Sergeant living at healthy and sea-blown Manora, and that case
was accounted for by the cook having plague in the compound and
the child running about barefooted. The police and native soldiers
probably owed much of their-safety to their boots.
Description of
. the Sukkur
camps.
The camps were, of course, unpleasant in that heat of Upper Sind
which to be in any way realised must be felt. The huts were, however,
as substantial protection as could be got. Mr. Gwyther and Mr. Rickie,
of the North-Western Railway, and later on Mr. Strong, did prodigies
of rapid work. It suggested itself to them to utilise sleepers, and
huts made by sinking sleepers in the ground, and across these
uprights placing a roof of sleepers covered with mud, were multiplied
by the hundred at little expense. Water was laid on to the camps,
and paved and enclosed bathing places provided. Shops moved
themselves bodily in, and with a few screens for the better classes
life was bearable.
Good effects of
removing the
population to
health camps.
Of the results of some of these camps, one or two instances may
be quoted, as they illustrate the way plague was summarily checked in
many quarters all over Sind.
Gharibabad was the worst infected corner of New Sukkur, ac-
counting for 106 cases of plague in the three weeks ending the 16th
April. On the 15th there had been 6 cases, on the 16th 6 cases,
but on the 17th Mr. Lucas encircled them with a cordon of men of
the Wiltshires and quickly removed the entire population of nearly
600 to the health camps, where next day all were disinfected. Not
another case occurred. The camp inhabitants were free to go about
their business as usual, but most worked at their trades in the camp.
There was individual medical inspection twice daily.
Limji Charhi was another plague-infected quarter of small size,
but giving 4 or 5 cases daily among only some 300 people. On the
26th April they were similarly moved and disinfected. The plague
disappeared from that day.
Disinfection of
evacuated
localities.
The inhabitants of these camps were detained for 30 days to
permit Mr. Cadell, who commanded the disinfecting gangs, to finish
the work of house-cleaning, so that when the population returned
not a nook or corner had escaped the perchloride of mercury, and
not a rag or rubbish heap remained, while walls inside and out shone
with limewash, with which disinfectant had been mixed, and light
and air penetrated to the darkest recesses through holes in walls
and roofs. Both in Karachi and Sukkur Mr. Cadell's work was most
thorough and systematised, his subordinates being carefully trained
by himself. Amid the great heat, he spent the whole day in the
399
APP. VI. ] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind.
solitude of the empty quarter with his gangs of men, toiling to cast
out the dirt of years. The result was that there was no re-appear-
ance of plague when the streets were again tenanted by a living multi-
tude. As at Hyderabad, the return was most carefully watched, and
the new comers were all taken to the camps to be disinfected and
observed. This detention was necessary because so many deaths had
occurred in the villages.
Outbreak at
Dharki in
Shikarpur
District.
Villages in the
Sukkur Taluka,
Mr. Lucas' hands had been strengthened by a strong contingent
of officers. Plague had to be kept out of Shikarpur, and should it
get a footing there, it was desired to have officers ready to put into
the town, and plague had to be beaten back, if that might be possible
from the Punjab frontier. The frontier station is Reti. At Dharki,
the next station south and only some 15 miles from the boundary,
a sudden and sharp outbreak occurred—34 cases and 24 deaths in
all. Surgeon-Major Baker and Mr. Mountford, I.C.S., the Assistant
Collector in charge of the taluka, were on the spot immediately.
Some good work had already been done by the local authorities, and
the people had segregated themselves under trees. A disinfecting
gang was organised, all the inhabitants removed, the houses systema-
tically cleaned, the people replaced, and the public health restored.
Mr. Pringle had been moved up from Hyderabad, and was again
selected for the duty of clearing plague out of the villages in the
Sukkur Taluka. Mr. Lucas had done a great deal of preliminary
enforcement of orders by special Plague Inspectors. Mr. Pringle,
after visiting every village, was able to confirm the intelligence that
plague was in May confined to two villages in the Sukkur Taluka and
had never been local in more than three or four. These two villages
gave some trouble, but yielded eventually to the effective method
of turning out the population, and disinfecting and cleaning the
houses, and after the re-occupation there were no more cases. This
reads easy, but May in Upper Sind represents the worth of the
workers who stayed not to rest till their task was done. The result
of the Gharibabad exodus was widely known, and the villagers quietly
accepted the same remedy.
Plague at Rohri.
On the opposite bank, Mr. Mountford, I.C.S., was in charge of
the Rohri Sub-division, and defended the bridge and watched the river
with determination; but the Sukkur fugitives in their sudden flight
had slipped across and infected several villages within 2 or 3 miles
of Rohri. Cases were occurring towards the end of March, and by
the middle of April the left bank, including Rohri, was badly infected.
Mr. Mountford was reinforced by Lieutenants Leith, Hislop and Bailey,
400
Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [ APP, VI.
who were unsparing in their movements, and with the aid of Hospital
Assistants the sick were treated in sheds under trees and made as
comfortable as possible.
Arrangements at
Rohri.
:
Mr. Mountford's arrangements in Rohri were admirable. He
held the disease thoroughly well in check all the time, and the bulk
of the population remained, so that the town at no time looked empty.
Mr. Mountford went on the plan of emptying thoroughly particular
streets. He always got good information of sickness, and carried the
sensible part of the townsfolk with him, and his administration was
thoroughly successful.
Shikarpur.
All these weeks, Surgeon-Captain Milne, now helped by Surgeon-
Captain Clark, was both defending Shikarpur and preparing for out-
break. The inhabitants got two excellent plague hospitals fully
equipped, one for Hindus and one for Mohammedans, and spent a
good deal of money in providing the necessary quarters for nurses
and attendants and renovating the buildings selected. The Govern-
ment Plague Hospital was also in readiness and received the few
imported cases. Large camps were standing to receive the population
of the area to be immediately vacated wherever plague might make
its attack. The railway and road approaches were rigorously guarded,
and every new comer found himself in the observation camp.
Even if ingenuity had aided his reaching a house, concealment did
not last long. The people were thoroughly determined that no plague
should enter, if they could help it, and some one or other always
conveyed a hint to Dr. Milne, and the travellers and the shelterers
were soon in the huts. The examination of every dead body was
another strong deterrent to any person taking a sick relative to
. Shikarpur. The Deputy Commissioner of Jacobabad tells a story of
a plague child being conveyed into his town in a carpet bag. But
such incidents were rare. As a rule, after the first scare, people
presented themselves at hospital, or were brought by friends, or gave
intimation, and the danger of the disease spreading became every
day less as the towns and villages set themselves against admitting
strangers, and the desire to run away with the sick gave way to the
feeling that they could nowhere be better cared for than in the hospi-
tals, Government and private.
Disinfection of
the baggage of
railway travellers.
By the aid of Messrs. Rickie and Strong, of the North-Western
Railway, large steam disinfectors were erected at Shikarpur and
Sukkur, and a smaller one at Rohri. To these disinfectors, bathing
sheds were attached. A trainload of passengers was turned out, all
their effects passed into the steam chamber, while the passengers
401
APP. VI. ] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind.
bathed in disinfectant tubs, and so the passengers were passed on to
the Punjab and to Baluchistan. Surgeon-Captain Milne turned his
steam disinfector to the useful purpose of making all the washermen
in the town carry their bundles to it, when the soiled wearing apparel
of the whole town was thus thoroughly steamed. Whatever he did,
Surgeon-Captain Milne did methodically and with the keenest eye to
any weak spot in his defence ; but, as he says himself, the safety of
Shikarpur is primarily due to the attitude of the people led by the
Judges, Messrs. Dayaram and Tyabji, and seconded by the City
Magistrate, Rao Bahadur Choithram, Ali Baksh Muhammad Husein,
Mr. Chainrai Kairo, of the Charitable Dispensary, Lady Doctor Nash,
of the Lady Dufierin Hospital, and Mr. Mathieson, Engineer and
Secretary of the Municipality. No crafty cunning was set to work to
defeat the measures taken. On the contrary, any attempt was exposed
Sukkur was a terrible object lesson of what concealment of plague
led to, and the attitude of the people from first to last was exemplary,
nor could they have been better served than by Surgeon-Captains
Milne and Clark.
Thar and Parkar
and Upper Sind
Frontier Dis-
tricts.
The Thar and Parkar and Upper Sind Frontier Districts escaped
with 3 and 4 cases of plague respectively. The Deputy Commis,
sioners very early took precautions, and persons seeking to hide a
sick relative found no welcome. Mr, Mules' arrangements at
Jacobabad were very thorough, and he was among the first to depend
upon an observation camp as a deterrent. It would be impossible
to mention all the Deputy Collectors and Mukhtyarkars who,
throughout their charges, with the co-operation of the people,
cleaned and whitewashed the villages till officers on duty have
once and again been so struck that, from remote corners of Sind,
they have reported the thoroughness of the cleansing undertaken.
Conspicuous, however, as much exposed to danger, was the town of
Larkana on the railway line and rushed at by the Sukkur fugitives.
The Deputy Collector, Khan Bahadur Sadik Ali, and the Mukhtyar-
kar, Rao Saheb Jagatrai, carried out the instructions with intelligent
thoroughness, and after a long period of anxiety brought the town
safely through (though there were 20 imported cases). In the rest
of this Deputy Collector's charge only one imported case occurred.
General statistics.
The extent of the plague in the province of Sind is exhibited
in the table below. There were 6,063 cases and 4,779 deaths. The
population of the province was returned in 1891 as 2,871,774. Dur-
ing the cholera epidemic of 1892, the three districts of Karachi,
Hyderabad and Shikarpur lost 14,659 persons by cholera. Of the
number attacked by plague, nearly 79 per cent, succumbed.
b51
402
Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [ APP. VI.
Total plague cases and deaths in the province of Sind.
Locality.
Karachi city
.„
...
...
Karachi DistrictT
atta
Jungshahi
...
,,,
...
Kotri
Other places
...
...
Total Karachi District
Total Karachi District, including the
City of Karachi.
Hyderabad District,
Hyderabad
...
...
...
Tando Alahyar ...
.,,
...
Other places
...
...
...
Total Hyderabad District
Shikarpur District.
Shikarpur
...
...
...
Sukkur
...
...
Abad, Taluka Sukkur
Rohri
Thati, Taluka Rohri
Miani Baghat, Taluka Rohri
Tando Mir Muhammad Hasan, Taluka
Rohri.
Larkana
,,.
...
»
Khairpur Dahirki, Taluka Ubauro
...
Other places
...
...
...
Total Shikarpur District
...
Thar and Parkar District .,.
...
Upper Sind Frontier
„.
Total for the whole Province of Sind
IMPORTED
Cases. Deaths.
1
...
32
18
27
l08
185
185
42
5
37
84
27
...
6
32
3
4
20
...
47
139
3
3
. 414
...
21
9
1
90
137
137
38
4
33
75
18
...
3
16
3
...
l
14
...
41
96
2
2
312
INDIGENOUS
,Cases. Deaths.
4,181
21
10
17
5
53
4,234
544
13
...
557
5
537
39
119
47
26
16
...
34
34
857
...
1
5,,649
3,398
20
8
8
5
41
3,439
413
II
...
424
3
391
29
72
33
15
15
...
24
21
603
...
I
4,467
TOTAL
Cases. Deaths
4,181
53
28
44
113
238
4,419
586
18
37
641
32
537
45
151
5o
26
20
20
34
81
996
3
4
6,063
3,398
41
17
25
95
178
3,576
451
15
33
499
21
391
32
88
36
15
16
14
24
62
699
2
3
4,779
Percentages
of deaths
to cases,
8l.27
77.36
60.71
56.82
84.07
74.79
8o.92
76'96
83.33
89.19
77.85
65.63
72.81
71'11
58.28
72.00
57'69
80.00
70.00
70.59
76-54.
70.18
66.67
75.00
78.82
40 3
APP. VI. ] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind,
The weekly total of cases and deaths, imported and local, in each
district and in the chief towns and villages attacked will be found in
the appended table, marked A.*
Khairpur State.
With the exception of a few imported deaths, the Khairpur State
remained clear of plague, which was most creditable to the precau-
tions taken by His Highness the Mir's administration. His Highness
also considerately offered the services of his Assistant Surgeon when
he heard doctors were required in Karachi, but being the only medi-
cal officer, it was thought better that the Assistant Surgeon should
remain where he was in case his services became necessary in the
State.
End of the
epidemic in Sind.
As already stated, the last plague cases in Hyderabad and Suk-
kur occurred on the 2nd of June. The town of Rohri and the whole
district of Shikarpur were free of plague by the week ending the 25th
June, though one death took place in hospital on the 3oth June. The
Hyderabad hospitals were closed on the I5th, and the Sukkur and
Rohri hospitals on the ßoth June. Plague lingered fitfully in Kara-
chi till the 27th July, when it finally ceased, and the last case was
discharged from hospital on the 6th August, In accordance with the
terms of the Venice Sanitary Convention of 1897, 10 days must elapse
from death or discharge of the last case. By Notification No. 4039,
dated 17th August 1897, the City, Cantonment and Harbour of Kara-
chi and the whole province of Sind were declared free from infection
by plague, and on the 5th September there were thanks giving services
In the churches of all denominations at Karachi.
Expenditure.
The approximate expenditure incurred in connection with the
plague is detailed, so far as is at present possible, in Appendix C.
The total amounts to about six lakhs of rupees, of which more than
half was spent on the Karachi District, one lakh in the Hyderabad
District, and one and three-quarter lakhs in the Shikarpur District.
Services of
Officers.
The pleasing task remains of endeavouring to acknowledge the
services of the officers through whose instrumentality, under Divine
blessing, the plague disappeared after being epidemic during a little
more than seven months.
During the plague, no officer rendered more valuable and con-
spicuous service than Mr. Robert Giles, the Collector of Karachi. To
him first the thanks of the Acting Commissioner are pre-eminently
due for experienced, unreserved advice, well considered suggestions,
and the ability and determination with which he prosecuted to a suc-
cessful issue whatever he undertook. On him fell chiefly the heavy
burden of controlling plague operations in Karachi, and whatever
success is due to those measures largely belongs to him.
* Not printed.
404
Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [ APP. VI.
To General T. A. Cooke, Commanding Sind District, the Acting
Commissioner would respectfully offer hearty thanks for the apprecia-
tive way in which the General has spoken of all the officers serving
under him. From the day he took charge, the General and the Plague
Committee were most active, first in house-searching and then in
turning out people from badly infected quarters and providing
new accommodation. Not only places in Karachi, but every place
within reach to which temporary colonies had migratad and where
plague appeared was visited and thoroughly dealt with. The camps
were concentrated and placed under European supervision and mili-
tary guards. The disinfection arrangements for the clothing were
most successful, and the arrangements at the port for the disinfection
and detention, where necessary, of arrivals are admirable. The Gen-
eral used the Military—officers and men—freely, and the advent of
this large establishment, controlled in every detail and all working
together, had an almost immediate effect in diminishing the number
of cases.
With General Cooke must be mentioned Surgeon-Captain Arnim
and Mr. Strachan, C.I.E. The former, before the formation of tue
Plague Committee, has already been mentioned for the help he rendered
in cleaning and disinfecting and in taking charge of quarters, and
thereafter General Cooke and Mr. Giles testify to the valuable aid
received. The latter was the executive officer of the Municipality to
whom every one turned, and he met all demands with promptness
and temper. The water-supply and the public buildings of Karachi
will long remain a record to Mr. Strachan's exceptional ability
and his work during the plague added to his reputation.
Mr. Tahliram Khemchand, the President of the Karachi Muni-
cipality, greatly assisted in explaining the necessity of the plague
measures to the people, and to him the thanks of the Acting Com-
missioner are specially owing for loyal support. As the Collector
states, Mr. Tahilram set an example of personal courage and loyalty
to the measures that alone would have made him conspicuous, but he
was also valuable for his constant presence in the city and in bring-
ing the full resources of the Municipality to the aid of the Superin-
tendents.
Dr. Kaka, the Municipal Health Officer, was extremely active in
visiting the houses of all plague cases reported and seeing that the
prescribed measures were taken, and to him is due the credit of pro-
curing daily a fairly accurate return of the cases and deaths occur-
ring during the preceding 24 hours—a return that soon was worked
up to a high degree of accuracy.
405
APP. VI. ] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind.
In this work, Mr. C. Mclver assisted by his supervision of the
burial and burning grounds and by the readiness with which he lent
his police to aid all operations. For this and for the cordiality with
which he personally undertook any duty, the Acting Commissioner
would offer Mr. Mclver his thanks. There was no panic among
the Karachi Police, and Assistant Superintendent Rook and the
Inspectors and European Constables all did good service. The Collec-
tor specially mentions Inspectors Nedou, Jashanmal, Khushaldas and
Samson, and Chief Constables Rahimdad and Pir Muhammad, and
Constables Mathieson and Miles.
As assisting the Plague Committee, the General prominently
mentions Major Bayly, D.S.O., Assistant Adjutant-General, Super-
intendent of the Sadar Bazaar and Cantonments, and Captain Mennie,
30th Bombay Infantry, their indefatigable Honorary Secretary.
And now follows the long roll of that fine body of officers, the
Superintendents of quarters, on whose shoulders rested everything,
in whose hands all authority was concentrated, and who each and all
worked with tact, energy and patience the whole day long, week after
week, month after month, with the same painstaking attention to
detail, the same gentle compulsion and persuasive decision, first
turning people out of their houses and then putting the people safely
back into their houses, till at length they were rewarded by success and
the confidence of the people.
Mr. P. R. Cadell, I.C.S., both in Karachi and afterwards at
Sukkur, did splendid work, the worst quarters in each falling to his
share. His cleaning of Gharibabad in Sukkur was a fine bit of work
under trying heat.
Messrs. Gloster and Lawrence did excellent work in the worst
infected quarters from the beginning, and were conspicuous for the
method as their arrangements and the authoritative weight that they
lent to the Superintendents generally. To the work of these three
officers must be attributed that change in the attitude of the people
which prepared the way for medical treatment. They were seconded
in the city by the Secretary to the Port Trust, Mr. R. H. Cumming,
and by the Abkari Inspector, Mr. G. J. Barker, who each had an
independent charge. Mr. Crouch, the Public Prosecutor, voluntarily
undertook a distant charge, and visited it daily, while Major Morris
was indefatigable at Keamari. Later on, Mr. Doig, the Chief En-
gineer, Lieutenant-Colonel Mayne, 30th Bombay Infantry, Mr. Forrest
Brunton, Manager of the Tramways, Lieutenants Anderson, 30th
Bombay Infantry, Law, 1st Wiltshire Regiment, Rambaut, R.A., and
Dalby, 1st Wiltshire Regiment, did excellent service.
4o6
Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [ APP. VI.
In the Trans-Lyari extensive and troublesome district, Sardar
Khan Bahadur Muhammad Yakub was in responsible charge, and his
remarkable success is one of the most gratifying episodes in the his-
tory of the plague, and this distinguished officer has again earned
the thanks of Government. Under him, Khan Saheb Rasul Baksh
worked with energy and tact, as did the Muhammadan doctors,
Assistant Surgeon Subhan Ali, and especially Hospital Assistant
Sheikh Abdul Rahman and Mr. Fazul Ahmed.
- The work of the Civil Surgeons, Surgeon-Lieutenant-Colonels
Henderson and McCloghry, has been noticed in the report, as also the
services of Surgeon-Lieutenants Niblock, Cornwall and King. All
these were in charge of Plague Hospitals. Of the untiring devotion of
these medical officers to the sick, it is impossible to speak too highly.
To the nursing sisters and the nurses and the ladies who helped,
the Acting Commissioner would tender his respectful thanks for their
ready and devoted aid in an hour of great need and in a work of dan-
ger. They and the doctors have done a great work in demonstrating
to the people the determination of Government to do all that was
possible to abate the plague and all that was possible to succour the
sufferers, After Sister Heriberta, Miss Home must be mentioned,
for she returned to her work in the Plague Hospital after her reco-
very from plague.
In charge of camps are mentioned Surgeon-Captains Bray,
Rivers and Fleury, A.M.S., each of whom did thorough work, and
passed the population through with attention to every detail.
The thanks of all Karachi are due to Surgeon-Captain Jenney,
I.M.S., for his able and thorough arrangements under the direction
of the Plague Committee to prevent, if possible, the introduction of
plague into Karachi through arrivals by sea. The Observation Camp
is supervised by Lieutenant Law. Upon these officers, and upon Sur-
geon-Lieutenants Niblock and Cornwall, who watch the town, the
sickness and the mortality, very great responsibility rests. They are
all careful officers and specially selected.
The train examinations at Karachi still continue as an additional
precaution, and one very necessary against arrivals by land or coasting
boats from Cutch. Throughout the plague, Surgeon-Lieutenants Rainier
and Gwyther, I.M.S., and Surgeon-Captain Clark were deputed to
the duty of medically examining the passengers by trains, and to their
careful work, disagreeable as it was and at hours that kept them early
and late at the Railway Stations, must be ascribed the decided check
very early given to the movement of the sick. Assistant Surgeon Mc-
Mullen, at Kotri, also was useful in this work. In this work, too,