40
single case of cholera occurred till the 5th August, when the disease had almost;
ceased everywhere else ; then 18 deaths took place in a few days. In the present
year it broke out as early as the 14th April, and between this date and the 15th
May 28 deaths occurred.
140. To the west and north-west of Jubbulpore the country opens out into·
a rich alluvial plain; to the north the granite rocks extend in a narrow line
between the sandstone that borders Sonepore pergunnah and the Lumeta hills
(metamorphic) that lie to the east of Punagurh. The soil is everywhere light and
sandy ; the smaller streams are dry in the hot weather, and the villages depend
chiefly on wells ; these, however, run very low in the hot weather, and water
becomes scarce. In this tract of country cholera did not attack very many vil-
lages, but a few suffered severely.
141. Richai,—a village with a population of 630,5 miles north of Jubbul-
pore, close to the line of railway ; situated immediately under a boulder hill; the
soil a fine sandy grit; the houses greatly crowded together. A well quite under the
hill, and a little distance from the village, forms the sole source of water-supply ;
it is sunk 26 feet through the sandy soil, a granite boulder forming the botrom.
In December last the bottom of the well was visible, there being only a few
inches of water in one corner ; the people said it was in the same condition when
cholera broke out. In the rainy season of ordinary years the water rises to
within three or four feet of the surface of the ground, but it soon runs low. Last
year there was scarcely any rise in the level of the water ; there was no coping
round the mouth, and all water splashed on the surface would fall back into the
well. Cholera broke out on the 20th June, and prevailed for a month, and in
that period 53 deaths were reported. The first person attacked was a woman,
—a mat-maker, who had not left the village for many days previously ; the next,
another woman living in the house adjoining. When asked the question, one man-
said the bodies of those who died were thrown into the Pureyat, which is about
two miles distant ; the other, however, denied this.
142. The Pureyat river rises in the trap hills of Koondum, traverses the
Sonepore pergunnah, and after crossing the Northern road, 7 miles north of
Jubbulpore, takes a northerly course through the alluvial plain, and joins the
Hirun below Indrana. It is confined in a narrow channel between high banks of
alluvial clay; the bottom is sandy; the stream was not much more than ankle
deep in the cold weather; but it has long pools, some of which are of considerable
depth, others are shallow and much choked with weed.
143. In the alluvial plain most of the villages have wells ; in the sandy
tract of country they more commonly depend on the river, and these last suffered
more or less from cholera. At Mutamur,—a small village with a population of
125, on the right bank of the Pureyat, 2 deaths from cholera occurred on the
18th June, and 7 others were reported between that date and the 28th, — 9 in
all, or 7 per cent of the population. The first case was that of a man who had
returned from Burrailla two days before he was attacked ; the next case a Gond,
who was taken ill the day the first case died ; it then spread over the village. The
dead bodies were thrown into a long deep pool above the village. On the other
side of the stream, a few yards higher up, is the village of Burgowan ; the bank on
which it stands rises 50 or 60 feet above the stream. The soil is very light and
poor, and covered only with a stunted jungle. 12 deaths from cholera
were reported from this village on the 25th June, 1 on the 7th July, and 12 on
the 13th July,—25 in all; the natives say they lost 28, or 13 per cent of the
population in from 15 to 20 days. The first person attacked was a dhobee who
recovered ; a day or two afterwards a boy was attacked, and died; it then spread
over the village. The part of the river where the people of Burgowan draw water
is a long, still pool, extending a mile or more above the village, and the place at
which they drew water was very foul. In this pool also were thrown the bodies