49
the crops had everywhere failed. The country is but little intersected by streams,
and the beds of those that I crossed (in January.) were dry. The only places that
suffered in this line of country was Salia,—a village with a population of 347; here
7 deaths, occurred in the end of July. The water-supply is derived from wells, and
from a small stream; the wells were 40 feet in depth, sunk through latente, but the
quantity of water was very scanty. Prior to the middle of July there had been
no heavy fall of rain in this part of the district, and the stream \vas dry. On the
18th and 19th nearly three inches of rain fell, and brought water to the stream,
which the people used. The first case of cholera occurred on, the 24th. The village
of Ootumpore, half a mile further on, and the villages of Peepuria and Khummurea
on the same line, were not visited by cholera. They were dependent entirely
on wells for water.
172. Bilheree is a straggling town, with a population of 2,600 ; once it was
much larger. It is built on high ground, of which the formation is latérite, overly-
ing sandstone. There are many wells of considerable depth, but the water they con-
tain is rather hard ; and the people chiefly use the water of two large tanks,—one
on either side of the town ; that on the east, is a large tank, faced on all sides
with stone masonry ; that on the west has shallow shelving sides, and the people
had to wade through 10 or 15 feet of mud to get into deep and clear water.
Cholera broke out in the end of June ; the first death was a man who returned
sick from Moorwarra ; the second case occurred the day after the arrival (if the
first. After this, two or three cases occurred daily ; there were 44 deaths in
about three weeks. Of those attacked, all but six drew their water from the tank
on the western side of the town.
173. From Bunkheira, a village three miles west of Bilheree, one death from
cholera was reported in August; and at Mujgaon, five miles north, one death
occurred in July ; but in no other village in the vicinity did cholera appear.
From Bilheree to Moorwarra the distance is eleven miles ; and there is frequent
traffic between the two towns. There are several villages on the road, but in none
had cholera appeared. Two villages that I inspected depended on the Kutna for
water ; the third had wells.
174. Moorwarra is a town with 4,000 inhabitants; it is situated on the
Kutna river, and the main road passes through it. The formation is latérite,
overlying sandstone ; the water-supply is derived chiefly from wells, but many
of the poorer classes drink water from the river ; the level of the water in the
wells varies from 25 to 30 feet from the surface of the ground. The first case
of cholera was that of a Nai (barber caste), who returned sick from Sleemanabad
on the 7th June ; between this date and the middle of July 23 deaths occurred.
Those that died were chiefly Cachees and Koles, and all drank water from the
river ; they were chiefly women and children.
175. Cholera appeared in a few villages in the neighbourhood of Moor-
warra, but they were not attacked until much later in the season,—in the end of
July, and in August and September. The water-supply in this tract of country
in ordinary seasons is, plentiful, and chiefly derived from wells, and well protected
by stone coping. From the porous nature of the soil the smaller streams are dry
in the hot weather.
176. The pergunnah of Bijiragogurh, in the extreme north-east corner of
the, district, was not visited by cholera till the epidemic had almost ceased els3-
where; it is for the most part a flat open tract of country, traversed through its
centre by a range of low hills; it is traversed by the Kutna and Mahanuddee
rivers, and several smaller streams. The geological formation is chiefly Rewah
sandstone, and the soil is everywhere light and sandy. Of 178 villages that
report to the station-houses of Bijiragogurh -and Burhee, deaths from cholera