100
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BOMBAY.
Kassim-ke-Joke the supply was by a canal from the Nari, but on the banks on either side is
a considerable village not tending to improve the quality of the water. At Bagh and
Hajee-ke-Sher the supply was from the river Na
r i
I am unable to give my opinion as to the water-supply along the route by which the
head-quarters marched, not having seen any of the stations.
Dadur is on an alluvial plain between the Chota Bolan and the Belooch and Murree
Hills. It is about two miles from the. entrance of the Bolan Pass. The camp consists of a
mud enclosure or fort, in which are the Commissariat stores, and adjacent to it transport
lines, &c., and a bazaar. At a distance of a mile is a rest-house and camping ground for
troops. Between these the ground is intersected by irrigation ditches, and from these the
drinking water-supply is obtained. In the absence of sufficiently stringent conservancy
rules, any one familiar with the habits of the natives or ignorant people of any nationality
will understand how liable such a water-supply is to dangerous pollution.
The Bolan Pass, which extends from Dadur to Dasht, is a deep cleft, the result of denu
- d a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e l i m e s t o n e a n d c o n g l o m e r a t e h i l l s o f B e l u c h i s t a n , a n d i n i t s b e d i s t h e
Bolan River, which, rising from a perennial rock spring in the Dozan Nullah, disappears fre
- q u e n t l y i n t h e d e e p s h i n g l y b e d o f t h e u p p e r p a r t o f t h e P a s s , b u t i s a s t r e a m o f v a r y i n g
breadth and depth from Kirta downwards, and at Dadur is about 40 feet broad by 2 feet deep.
The Pass varies considerably in width, spreading out into a wide plain between South Kirta
and Mach, and again between Mach and Lower Dozan, but the rest is a narrow glen, and in
parts between Kundilani and South Kirta, and in the neighbourhood of Dozan, it is of only some
30 or 40 yards width. The scene is generally bleak and barren, for there are few trees on
the hills, and no cultivation except at Kirta. The hills, which rise to a height of some 5,000
or 6,000 feet, or even in a few cases up to 10,000 feet above sea level, are rugged, precipitous,
and with numerous boulders and shingle, but with a considerable amount of grass. There
is but little brushwood, and in this dry climate no rank vegetation which could be a source of
malaria. But in most parts of the Pass the ground is cut up by nullahs, a possible source of
malaria in wet weather. The topographical features of the country show the action of
mountain torrents, which are apparently produced by the rapid collection of the rainfall or
incited snow from the steep hill-sides and from the numerous and extensive glens which
open into the Bolan. There does not appear to be evidence of a long rainy season, but
rather of a brief but heavy fall rapidly running off.
The soil of the Pass consists chiefly of deep gravel beds, with here and there alluvial
deposits, and is dry and wholesome.
The climate varies in diff erent parts and at different seasons. In the lower parts it
resembles that of Dadur, which is intensely hot in the hot weather, so much so, tha
t I believe the inhabitants generally migrate to the highlands.
At Dozan, which is at an altitude of some 5,600 feet, the heat in tents in the hot weather
reached 112°, but the nights were cool, and in properly constructed houses the climate would
not have been considered very hot. In the cold weather the thermometer falls to some 15°F
ahr. at nights, and there is a daily range of some 30 or 40 degrees. In November and
December the thermometer fell below freezing point on thirty-seven occasions.
The air in the cold weather is generally dry, fresh, and bracing, and hence pedestrian
exercise, which in Bombay is a trouble and only performed as a duty, is here spontaneously
resorted to. The sun, however, at noon is hot. The water-supply in the Pass is from the
Bolan River, a clear sparkling stream of rather hard water, and therefore tending to the
development of dyspeptic complaints. The Dozan Nullah branches off from the Bolan Pass
at Lower Dozan. At a distance of two miles from this place the nullah widens to about 1,000
yards, and on the western side of this on a slope is the camp of Upper Dozan. The bed of the
Dozan Nullah is shingle, and the hills are of the usual barren, stony appearance, with a
sprinkling of stunted trees and shrubs. With the exception of the rough and irregular
surface of the ground, which in a wet season might retain water and be a possible source of
malaria, there is nothing morbific in the situation.
Speaking generally, then, the stations in the Bolan Pass, or at all events those in the
upper part, if in well selected positions, should be healthy; there is nothing in the configura
- t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y o r i n t h e s o i l t o o r i g i n a t e d i s e a s e . T h e e f f e c t o f p r o l o n g e d r e s i d e n c e
under the condition of soldiers on a campaign will be referred to further on.
The Regiment has been under canvas during the whole of the year. The tents are
sepoys' pals; Bengal pattern, and accommodate 44 men. This would be overcrowding but
that many of the occupants are constantly absent on guard or other duty. The slope on
which the camp is situated has been cut into terraces, and on these the tents are pitched.
As a protection from the cold, biting winds which blow in the cold season, walls 8 feet
high have been built on three sides of the terraces. The subsoil is dry; there is nothing to
interfere with the free movement of air, and there is nothing insanitary in the surroundings.