18
SKETCH OF THE MEDICAL HISTORY OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BOMBAY.
Fifteen years ago the population was estimated at 25,000, and it was believed that an in
-
crease had taken place since then ; but, according to the census taken
on 21st February 1872, the total only amounted to 22,000, and was
made up as follows :—
C i v i l .
Males,
Females.
Hindoo
.
.
.
662
192
Mussulmans . . .
9,978
6,531
Christians . . .
257
96
Buddists . . .
17
Jews . . .
666
769
Parsecs
.
.
.
93
28
Military.
Europeans . . .
854
183
Natives . . .
1,652
744
Total . . .
14,179
8,543
The streets are regular, of good breadth, and the sanitary condition, so far as can be.
j udg
ed from external appearances, decidedly good. Now almost all
the houses, from one to three stories high, are built of stone and
kutcha chunam, and have flat roofs. The smaller houses simply consist of a quadrangular
enclosure, with apartments round about, and a yard in the centre. I have not seen the
interiors of many of the houses; but, from what I have seen and considering the disposition and
habits of the people, they must be as filthy as it is possible for houses to be. The Somali
village, midway beween camp and Steamer Point, consists to a great extent of reedhuts, and
there are also a few houses of this description in the outskirts of the town. The Abyssinian
expedition and the opening of the Suez Canal added greatly to the prosperity of Aden, and,
consequently, building has made rapid progress. The treasury, jail, court-house, and other
public buildings, with the exception of the church, are very poor looking erections, situated in
the crater near the town. Recently a bakery on a large scale, to be worked by machinery,
has been completed ; but the building has not added to the beauty of the station.
As earth is a thing almost unknown, vegetation is not abundant, but small trees and
flowering shrubs are found in many of the villages. Provisions,.
generally in abundance, are brought
many
the interior.
Wells are numerous, but the water is brackish, unfit for drinking or cooking purposes
and even unfit for the bath. Water, however, of fair quality, but
limited quantity, is conveyed by aqueduct from Shaik Othman, and a
scheme has recently been proposed by the engineer for bringing in an abundant supply of
good water from the interior, a distance of 30 miles, by means of pipes. Condensed water is
used by the troops and followers for drinking and cooking purposes—the government con-
- d e n s e r s a r e t h r e e i n n u m b e r , o n e a t e a c h p o s i t i o n .
Population.
Town.
V e g e t a t i o n .
Water.
Rainfall.
The rainfall is very limited and uncertain. During the past ten
years the amount gauged was as follows:—
1863.
1864.
1865.
1866.
1867.
1868.
1869.
1870.
1871.
1872.
Inches . . .
. . .
4
1
1
2
1
3
7
. . .
1
Cents . . .
71
. . .
3 1
41
57
8
17
1 9
3 4
26
The large well-known tanks, to the north-west of the town, for the collection of rain
-water from the hills, are huge reservoirs of great age. Originally a cleft in the rock and a
valley had been utilized in forming the tanks, and, apparently, various engineers have improv
-ed, repaired, and added to them. Report says, that a heavy rainfall of two hours' duration is
sufficient to fill them to overflowing, as little water is absorbed. On the arrival of the reg
i - m e n t i n D e c e m b e r 1 8 7 0 , t i l e t a n k s w e r e f u l l , b u t h a v e c o n t a i n e d l i t t l e o r n o w a t e r d u r i n g t h e
past twenty months.
Good thermometrical observations have not been taken for many years. The coldest
month of the year was January, the average temperature as ascer -
tained by a common thermometer, being 76º 6' at 6 o'clock A.M., 79º
6' at 2 P.M., and 78º 9' at 4 P.M. The averages at the same hours during the hottest month,
Climate.