NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
140
Table showing the Total Deaths from Cholera in the several Jails of the Madras Presidency during the year 1870
JAILS.
Berhampore
Calicut
Chingleput
Chittoor
Cuddalore ...
Guindy
Guntoor
Her Majesty's Jail, Madras
Masulipatam
Nellore
...
Penitentiary, Madras
Rajahmundry, Central ...
Do.
District
Russelcondah
Vellore, Central
Do. -Fort
Vizagapatam
Bellary
Cannanore, Central
Do,
District
Cochin
Cuddapah
Kurnool
... ...
Mangalore
Tellicherry
Coimbatore Central
Do.
District
Lawrence Asylum Works
Madura, New Jail...
Do. Old Jail (Civil Debtors')-
Ootacamund, European ...
Do.
Native
Palamcottah
Paumbem...
...
Salem, Central
Tanjore
Trichinopoly, Central
Do.
District
Tranquebar
Total...
Strength.
. 180
. 159
217
291
305
74
100
21
96
182
488
845
89
52
576
152
285
384;
452
58
17
226
146|
146
93
924
137
243
180
50
26
220
382
121¡
466'
177
716
185
139
9598
ALL CAUSES
Admissions.
90
155
369
213
135
142
91
31
7
132
656
402
103
54
219
46!
100'
482"
438
10
38
384
151
206
158;
452
143
397
86
10
25
147
58
335
209
82Î
121
67
85
005
Deaths.
e
7
1
12
2
1
10
20
3
5
2
10
9
16
27
5
1
8
4
24
2
1
6
5
2
5
5
2
18
17
11
7
249
CHOLERA
Admissions.
1
8
2
16
3
1
1
1
2
S
1
41
Deaths.
7
4
4
...
15
RATIO PER 1,000 OF POPULATION.
All Causes
Admissions.
500
974.8
1700.4
749.1
438.5
1918.9
910.0
1291.6
72.9
725.2
1364.7
475.7
1157.2
1038.4
380.2
302.6
411.3
1255.2
969.02
172.4
2235.2
1699.1
1034.2
1410.9
1698.9
4891
1043 8
1633.7
477.7
200.0
961-5
668.1
151.8
2768.5
448.5
463.2
168.9
362.1
611.5
729.8
Deaths.
33.3
44.02
4.6
41.2
6.6
10.4
54.9
40.9
3.5
56.1
38.4
17.3
33.9
41.6
59.7
22.1
6.8
54.7
43.01
25.9
14.6
4.1
33.3
100.0
9.09
13.08
41.3
4.2
101.7
23.6
59.4
50.3
25.9
Cholera
Admissions.
41.6
43.9
4.1
179.7
176.4
4.4
10.7
1.08
14.6
100.0
2.6
4.2
Deaths.
38.4
44.9
...
80.0
1.5
MONTHLY PREVALENCE OF CHOLERA
January.
...
February.
*8
2
0
*6
6
March.
§1
1
§1
...
2
••
April.
‡1
1
May.
16
C
1
17
4
losed
...
4
June.
1
1
July.
!
fi
%
August.September.
...
-i
1
...
.1
1
October.
...
... |
November.
1
2
1
4
December.
‡1
.1
4
...
§2
2
Per-centage of Deaths to Attacks
87.5
25
...
80
35.8
* Given as Dyspepsia in Return. Rocorded as Cholora—see Report, page 139.
† Simple Cholera.
‡ Given as Choleraic Diarrhæa.
§ All among Civil Debtors in old Jail.
147
of a locality by another miasm, such as that of marsh fever or small-pox, is
antagonistic to cholera development in that particular field, the district statistics
of mortality should furnish the necessary evidence of it. I am aware that this
view has long been entertained by Inspector-General R. Lawson, and I am
disposed to think that the facts, as to the great prevalence of fever in certain tracts
untouched by cholera, seem to show a possible antagonism in the common pesti-
lential diseases of the east, so that the marked prevalence of one disease, such as
fever or small-pox, may be a cause of the temporary exemption of a locality from
another disease, like cholera.
CHAPTER VIII.
PILGRIMS AND CHOLERA.
203. I believe we are fast attaining a clearer insight into the real connexion
between pilgrim sites and cholera outbreaks, than we have hitherto reached.
Before I discuss the important bearings of such connexion, I shall briefly
chronicle the facts of 1870, that have been communicated to me in regard to
festivals in this part of the country.
South Arcot.—The festival at Trinamally in February passed off without
cholera. The usual sanitary measures were adopted. Cholera was dying out in
the district at the date of the festival.
Madura—Pulney Feast.—In March. 20,000 persons assembled. The usual
sanitary measures were adopted. Cholera broke out rather violently, and the
people dispersed ; twenty deaths were noted by the Police. (The district had
only recently been invaded by cholera, at the date of the festival.)
Madura—Ghittra Feast.—May. A large concourse of people, but no increase
of cholera. The epidemic had prevailed in the town during February, March, and
April, but appears to have ceased temporarily in May and June ; extra sanitary
precautions adopted at the festival time.
Bellary—Mailar Festival.—February. 44,000 persons present. No sickness.
(No cholera in the district.) Sanitary regulations adopted as usual.
Ganjam—Mahanadi.—Festival of Maha Sevaratri in April. 90,000 persons
present. No cholera (none in the district.) Sanitary supervision as usual.
Tinnevelly-—Trichendoor Festival.—In March. 40,000 persons present. No
cholera at the feast ; but the district was beginning to be invaded, and some
people in returning to their homes got cholera. Usual sanitary precautions.
Kurnool—Brahmochavam Festival.—5,000 persons. No cholera (none in the
district). Sanitary regulations carried out.
Bellary—Humphi Festival.—April. No cholera (not a case in the whole dis-
trict). Usual sanitary measures carried out.
North Arcot—Tripatty.—Festival early in May. Severe outbreak of cholera ;
deaths from the 2nd to 5th May, thirty-four. No proper sanitary supervision of
either Upper or Lower Tripatty can be made, as only " caste " people are per-
mitted to ascend the sacred hill. Cholera was prevailing all about the locality
from the time of invasion in 1869.
Madras—Conjeeveram.—Festival in May. Cholera had been prevailing at the
place of assembly from October to February 1870. It broke out again in May
p p
154
Cholera in the old Jail, Salem, 1829 to 1838.
Years.
Average yearly strength of
prisoners, 239
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
Total...
Admitted.
119
39
3
29
81
• • •
43
11
325
Died.
50
22
2
13
43
1
24
5
160
These figures give the following ratios :—
Annual cholera admissions to strength ... 135.9 per mille.
„
,,
deaths to strength
...
66.8
„
217. Some later data obtained for the period from 1855 to 1860, after which
year the jail was abandoned, show the monthly or seasonal prevalence of cholera.
Salem Jail, 1855 to 1860.
Year.
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
Total.
Strength.
143
195
225
257
239
244
217
January.
A.
24
1
an 10
6
77
D.
14
1
15
5
1
36
February.
A.
24
3
16
9
1
1
54
D.
.
9
8
...
26
March.
A.
3
2
9
9
2
D.
1
]
2
6
2
12
April.
A,
1
2
7
10
D.
1
1
3
5
May.
A.
2
10
12
D.
2
5
7
June.
A.
7
1
9
D.
S
1
4
July.
A.
2
6
1
2
11
D.
4
2
1
August.
A.
2
3
2
1
8
D.
2
1
2
5
September.
A.
1
5
6
D.
4
4
October.
A.
6
6 2
November.
A.
9
5
1
1 5
D.
4
3
December.
A.
1
19
10
3
33
D
8
5
2
15
Total.
A
70
6
114
49
9
18
266
D.
33
fi?,
29
3
10
129
These figures show a higher ratio of cholera in the last six years of the jail's
history, than in the period when it was looked upon as a" new" jail. The
proportions are as follow :—
Annual cholera admissions to strength ... 204.3 per mille.
,,
„
deaths to strength
99.0 ,, „
To such a degree in fact had cholera clung to this building, that of every
one-hundred prisoners confined in it, one-fifth or twenty per cent. were sure to be
attacked by the disease, while nearly ten of every hundred of strength would die
of it.
Removal to new Jail
in 1861.
218. We now come to a new stage in the cholera history of the prisoners at
Salem. In 1861 they were moved into a new building at
the foot of the Shervaroy Hills. This new jail was originally
constructed of 120 cells to carry out a system of solitary imprisonment. For
various reasons the idea had to be abandoned, and instead of keeping one
155
Great overcrowding
preceding cholera out-
break of 1863.
prisoner in each cell, as intended, the numbers accumulated so
fast that, in 1863, it is the fact, that seven men were locked
up in a cell originally designed to hold a single prisoner.
Subsequently, the jail has been much enlarged, and the solitary cells converted
into wards, so that the jail now affords ample accommodation, according to
approved sanitary regulations, for 500 prisoners.
219. The following table shows the strength and. cholera admissions from
1861 to 1870 :—
New Salem Jail, Cholera admissions from 1861-1870.
Years.
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
Average Strength...
Strength.
308
520
498
395
533
720
650
574
506
466
517
January.
A.
1
1
D.
1
1
February.
A.D.
March.
A.
21
21
D.
7
7
April.
A.
1
58
59
D.
32
32
May.
A.
D.
June.
A.D.
July.
A.D.
August.
A.
1
1
D.
1
1
September.
A.
17
17
D.
7
7
October.
A.
1
1
2
D.
1
1
November.
A.D.
December.
A.
1
3
4
D.
1
1
Total.
A.
1
2
80
22
1
106
D.
1
39
9
1
50
From this table the following ratios may be deduced :—
Annual cholera admissions to strength 20.5 mille.
Deaths to
,,
9.6 ,,
Thus in the last ten years the cholera admissions and mortality have fallen
to just one-tenth of the average prevalence of the disease in the old building,
during the later years of its occupation.
Explanation of out-
breaks in new jail.
220. In the ten years to which this table refers there have been two cholera
outbreaks m the new Jail, one in 1863, and the other in 1866.
The outbreak in the end of March 1863 occurred at a time
when cholera (the final break up of the 1859 invasion) was
very rife in the Salem valley. Droughts and bad seasons had sent a large num-
ber of badly nourished persons into the jail, so that at the date of outbreak nearly
700 prisoners were locked up in cells built to hold only 120. All the advantages
of site and locality, in fact, were temporarily nullified by a system of overcrowding
which, with the present system of jail administration, is never likely to occur
again. Cholera was introduced into the jail by a new gang of prisoners, and
under the circumstances of their overcrowding, and previous bad health, the
disease spread very actively for a few days. This cholera occurred in March and
April, which are the hottest months in Salem. The last outbreak occurred in
1866, the third year of the 1864 invasion, and in this year again the people had
suffered much from drought and famine, and the disease was proved to have
been introduced by a new gang of prisoners. Cholera had no abiding-place in the
jail. The outbreak ceased on removal of the affected prisoners to camp quite
close to the jail.
R R
156
Condition of popula-
tion of Salem not im-
proved as regard cho-
lera from 1861-70.
221. It may perhaps be urged that the comparative freedom from cholera of
the new Jail was due to the exemption of the Salem valley,
and that the improved hygienic condition of the prisoners,
especially since 1863, was nothing more than the normal
condition of the people in the neighbourhood. But I have
evidence to show that cholera was just as frequent at Salem in many of the years
following 1860, as it had been at any former period. The following return of the in
and out-patients treated for cholera at the Civil Dispensary, from 1845 to 1870,
will show that the frequency of attacks had not diminished in the town, during the
years of such marked change in the condition of the prisoners in jail. The
change I attribute entirely to improved sanitary conditions, that is, to the choice
of a better locality for the jail site ; to better water ; better food ; and what is
perhaps of still more importance, to better segregation from the cholera-stricken
inhabitants of the town. The only two outbreaks in the last ten years were the
direct result of importation, and the 1863 outbreak was much aggravated by the
excessive overcrowding within the jail. In 1866 the whole country felt the
influence of cholera, and its introduction into the jail, under the circumstances of
a population suffering from actual famine, was almost certain.
Return showing Admissions and Deaths by Cholera among In and Out-Patients at the Civil Dispensary, Salem, from 1845 to 1870.
YEARS.
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860 ...
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
18/0
Total ...
January.
In.
A.
3
2
8
2
2
5
7
4
8
5
8
1
50
D.
3
2
1
2
5
4
2
5
2
26
Out.
A.
1
12
7
9
3
8
4
8
9
16
3
17
23
12
5
45
183
D.
8
3
3
2
4
2
2
1
1
8
2
1
9
46
February.
In.
A.
6
2
4
4
2
4
10
2
1
7
3
26
1
72
D.
4
2
1
2
4
3
2
1
1
2
6
28
Out..
A.
6
5
1
5
8
2
2
3
3
11
7
12
2
231
1
299
D.
4
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
17
31
March.
In.
A.
3
4
1
1
2
2
6
4
25
D.
1
1
5
1
2
4
2
16
Out.
A.
6
6
2
1
1
3
4
5
4
2
15
5
54
D.
1
2
1
1
2
1
8
April.
In.
A. D.
Out.
A.|D.
May.
In.
A.
No returns.
1
2
1
1
2
5
2
1
5
2
22
1
1
1
1
3
11
4
1
ft
3
1
?,
1
1
7
8
1
5
2
42
...
2
3
3
1
1
1
15
2
1
7
1
4
19
D.
2
2
1
3
1
11
Out.
A.
4
2
1
1
1
18
1
2
35
D.
1
1
1
1
]
1
5
...
11
June.
In.
A.
2
4
3
i
1
8
...
3
5
27
D.
1
3
1
5
2
2
114
Out.
A.
1
4
2
1
1
6
3
4
1
23
D.
1
2
1
3
2
1
1
July.
In.
A.
2
1
2
1
4
6
2
5
4
D.
1
..
1
1
5
2
2
12
Out.
A.
5
3
6
5
4
1
12
3
5
6
52
D.
2
1
2
3
3
...
1
3
August.
In.
A.
1
]
...
7
2
3
6
D.
1
3
1
3
Out.
A.
2
2
2
1
6
9
1
D.
2
1
1
2
2
1
September.
A.
2
8
5
In.
D.
4
4
Out.
A.
1
2
1
2
D.
1
...
...
October.
In.
A.
2
1
2
5
D.
2
1
2
2
Out.
A.
1
1
6
1
11
47
D.
...
16
November.
A
7
1
8
3
1
2
3
1
4
5
No returns received for these months.
15 20 8 26 15 8 6 1 10 7 67 16 30
In.
D.
4
1
8
3
2
1
3
4
21
Out.
A.
9
1
9
7
1
6
2
1
14
43
D.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
7
December.
In.
A.
17
I
4
6
4
1
1
12
2
48
D.
10
1
1
1
7
2
7
1
30
Out.
A.
1
1
1
13
3
8
24
8
64
D.
1
1
1
1
1
4
2
11
Total.
In.
A.
28
18
13
5
2
...
4
1
18
51
20
4
25
39
26
18
15
28
30
3
28
2
378
D.
16
15
7
1
2
1
1
6
26
5
3
19
24
13
15
6
14
19
2
6
2
203
Out.
A.
4
3
43
11
22
21
8
9
19
13
35
65
17
11
56
62
18
57
33
4
27
241
69
848
D.
3
1
18
8
9
7
5
3
6
7
14
11
5
2
8
5
6
3
8
6
6
18
19
178
Grand
Total.
Admissions
32
21
56
11
27
23
8
9
23
14
53
116
37
15
81
101
44
75
48
72
57
3
269
71
1266
Deaths.
19
16
25
8
10
y
5
3
7
8
20
37
10
5
27
29
19
18
14
20
25
2
24
21
381
REMARKS.
158
222. Another instance of good results following sanitary improvement may
here be given.
Sanitary results of
providing quarters for
the Warrant and Non-
commissioned Officers
of the Ordnance De-
partment.
In the year 1864 my attention, as registrar of deaths in Madras, was drawn
to a circumstance in connexion with the house accommoda-
tion of the Warrant and Non-Commissioned Officers of the
Ordnance Department. In this year an Armourer Serjeant
and his wife, recently arrived from England, took up their
abode in an unhealthy locality, and in a few weeks both sickened and died of
cholera. The facts were reported by me in the quarterly report on deaths in
Madras, 1864, and in the following year the Sanitary Commission investigated
the subject still further. They found that out of an average strength of fifty men,
ten had died in five years, or in the ratio of forty per thousand per annum, and that
amongst the families of these people—strength unascertained—there had been
thirty-seven deaths during the same period. Of the total of forty-seven deaths
twenty-four, or rather more than fifty per cent. of the whole, had been caused by
cholera. This remarkable preponderance of cholera mortality led to inquiry, and
it was ascertained that forty-two heads of families occupied houses in Black Town
and John Pereiras, four in Chintadrapett and Vepery, and four only in public
quarters.
The house accommodation was generally defective, giving an average of
superficial space of only thirty-six feet for each inhabitant, and for this scanty
accommodation the rents averaged about 14 rupees per mensem for each family.
On examining the quarters, it was found that the sanitary condition of the
locality was " good or fair " in twenty-two instances, and "bad" in sixteen. In
twenty-five of the houses the water-supply was scarce and bad, so that drinking
water had to be purchased and brought from a distance. In four instances all
the water required for household use had to be purchased.
223. These facts were brought to the notice of Government by the Sanitary
Commissioner on the 15th January 1866, and, in due course, new family quarters
were built for the accommodation of the men and families on the Fort Esplanade.
These quarters are separated from a crowded part of the Native Town by about
100 yards only. The cottages are single storied, with well raised floors, and
are open to the sea breeze. They contain ample space ; tolerably good water
is available for use.
The new quarters were occupied as soon as finished, some in April others
in December 1868, and a few in April 1869.
The strength of the occupants and their mortality since the change of
residence is as follows :—
Strength ...
Deaths in 1868
„
1869
„
1870
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Total
...
...
...
...
...
Men.
36
1
...
1
2
Women.
32
...
1
2
3
Children.
77
...
1
1
2
Total.
145
1
2
4
7
160
which the European Barracks at Thayetmyo are built is undoubtedly a very
dangerous one, inasmuch as no cholera invasion of Burmah has yet occurred,
without that locality being struck by the invading epidemic. Rangoon, on the
other hand, is a station in which epidemic cholera is almost unknown amongst
European Troops. When places like Thayetmyo and the old Salem Jail show a
marked preference for the receptivity of cholera, the wisest course is doubtless
to abandon such sites, and experience has shown that it is not necessary to go
to any great distance in search of a more healthy locality. It is not possible,
in the present state of our knowledge of the laws of health, to guarantee immunity
from disease in situations where the physical features of the locality are such as
to attract epidemics, but sanitary experience can be utilized for the avoidance of
such sites in future, and much more can be done to remedy natural disadvantages
than has ever yet been attempted in India.
228. On the whole, so far from being discouraged at the results of the efforts
made to diminish the liability to disease, I think the facts noted in this chapter
afford us every hope of still better results in the future.
Indeed I trust that the day may not be far distant, when a systematic
effort to attack and defeat cholera in its endemic home, shall be made with
every prospect of modifying those periodical invasions of epidemics which now
carry terror and dismay, and destruction of life, over nine-tenths of the habitable
globe.
W. R. CORNISH, F.R.C.S.,
Sanitary Commissioner for Madras.
MADRAS. 1st March 1871.
APPENDIX I.
CHOLERA INQUIRY SPECIAL REPORTS.
(Section V. of the Code of Instruction of the Army Sanitary Commission.)
PALAVERAM.
1. Station
Palaveram ; 11 miles south-west of Madras.
2.
Presumed
population.
About 3,000 natives, and 1,000 European and East Indian.
3. Height above
sea level.
About 35 or 40 feet.
4. Height or de-
pression in regard
to
surrounding
country.
There are two hills to the east and south, from the bases of which the
ground slopes down to the cantonment.
The cantonment lies on a gentle slope of ground with two conical, meta-
morphic hills, about 350 feet high, between it and the sea. Through
the narrow gorge between these hills the sea-breeze rushes up with
some violence. To the west and north the country is almost a level
plain, in some parts cultivated with rice, and in others with dry grains.
The plain is not densely wooded.
5. How far from
(a.) The sea
(b.) River
About 6 miles from the sea.
The Adyar river runs to the north-west of the cantonment, about half a
mile to the west of the barracks and hospitals. The river sometimes
rises so high as to flood the lower barracks and parade ground.
Usually there is a small stream of water flowing all the year round.
(c.) Tank
There are a few shallow tanks in the neighbourhood, but none which do
not dry up in the hot weather. About three miles to the south-west are
the remains of a very large tank, the bund of which is now partially
destroyed. When this tank was in order it impounded the flood
waters of the Adyar river, and an area of many miles must have been
submerged.
(d.) Marshy lands,
and in what direc-
tion do these lie
with reference to the
locality.
There is some low marshy land between the conical hills and the sea
and also along the valley of the Adyar river, which, when water
abounds after the north-east monsoon, is put under wet cultivation.
6. Level of loca-
lity as regards
water-level in adja-
cent river or lake.
The general level of the station is about 15 or 20 feet above the bed
of the Adyar river. This river, where it passes Palaveram, is an
insignificant stream as to width and size. Occasionally the barracks .
of the European troops, which are built within half a mile of the river,
are flooded, and in 1844 the lines of the Native troops, which then
occupied a site between the barracks and the houses of the Officers,
were destroyed by inundation.
7. Description of
surface of country
around the station
or locality.
The country around Palaveram is quite open with some hills to the
south-west, and laterite and alluvial plains to the west and north-west.
The station is well exposed to breezes from the sea.
iv
Connexion of Ma-
laria with Cholera.
13. Condition of
Agriculture.
Palaveram is the Depot of Native Corps on foreign service, conse-
quently many of the fever admissions in the Depot are not due to
local malaria. Many men return from Burmah, the Straits, or China
on account of fever.
In this station there is a marked immunity both from malarious
fevers and cholera.
The surrounding plains are very little cultivated, owing possibly to the
thinness and poverty of soil. In the river valley, and wherever water
can be stored for irrigation, some rice is grown, but there is not much
cultivation around the cantonment.
(b.) Drainage ... The natural drainage of the whole station is good. Except for a few
days in a year, when the river is in flood, there is always a free
outlet for surface and sub-soil waters in the direction of the river
valley. Surface drains and channels are kept in good order, and the
fall of rain on the hill slopes gives sufficient velocity to carry off
all surface impurity.
(c.) Irrigation ... There is very little irrigation in the immediate neighbourhood.
14. River banks. The right bank of the Adyar skirts the cantonment to the north-west.
Usually the stream of water is small, but in the dryest seasons there
is always some water flowing. The banks are from ten to fifteen feet
above the river bed in this part.
(b.) Level of water
relative to surface
of cantonment.
On the 23rd April 1870 I made the following observations :—
A well in a field near the bazaar, had water 21 feet below the surface
of the ground.
A well near the Priest's house
A well at the Sepoys' Place of Arms
...
...
...
...
One of a row of wells near the European barracks
...
...
...
13
16>
11
feet.
"
The water level was, I believe, the same in all these wells. The dis-
tance from the surface depending on the fact that some wells were
sunk in higher ground than others. The level of the water in the
sub-soil near the European barracks corresponded very closely to
the water level in the river bed, about half a mile distant.
15. Position of
inhabited
build-
ings in regard to
Higher ground.
The native bazaar at Palaveram stands on an undulating swell of ground,
and has complete natural drainage except to the south, where the
Chapel Hill, a bare mass of rock, rises a little above it. The Native
Infantry lines are placed on sloping ground, below the level of the
bazaar. The European Veteran Company and the European Barracks
are located nearer to the level of the river, and on the lowest level
of all. The Officers' houses are built along the bases of the hills, and
from these, the ground slopes away down to the almost level plain
on which the barracks and family-quarters stand.
16.
Sub-soil
drainage.
Depth of water-
line below surface
in,
There is no artificial sub-soil drainage, but, owing to the configuration
of the surface, water does not stagnate in the sub-soil, the natural
fall being towards the river bed.
(a.) Wet weather. About seven or eight feet, in the barracks near the river.
(b.) Dry weather. From twelve to sixteen feet.
(c.) When Cholera
prevails.
There is no prevalence of cholera here.
(d.)
Slope of
ground.
Towards the river.