23
75. On the opposite bank of the river, about of a mile from Kuladehee,
and in constant communication with it, is the village of Khapa with about 400
inhabitants, but not a single case of cholera occurred among them ; it is situated
partly on blacksoil, partly on clay, it is a richer village than Kuladehee, more
crowded with cattle and more dirty, but the water-supply is drawn from two
good wells having several feet of water in the hot weather at 25 feet from the
surface of the ground.
76. The village of Hoolkee, situated on the side of the road, consists of
about 50 houses, and is chiefly a bazaar for travellers ; it lies on clay and has two
wells sunk 30 feet through the clay, and from this the inhabitants draw their
drinking water. Although the several gangs of coolies encamped near here on
the bank of the river suffered severely, no death from cholera occurred in the
bazaar. Opposite the bazaar, on the other side of the road, is the Mail chowkee ;
here 16 horse-keepers were employed, and of these, four died in the course of the
epidemic ; the water both for men and horses was drawn entirely from the
Terry ah river.
77. Dhoomah is a large village of 1,200 inhabitants, traversed by the road ;
it is one of the chief halting places for travellers, and there is a Mail chowkee and
a dâk bungalow ; a weekly bazaar is also held Nine persons died here of cholera
in the course of the epidemic, but they were all travellers. No deaths occurred
among the inhabitants ; the village is rather crowded, a great number of cattle are
kept in it, and it was not particularly clean. The water-supply is drawn solely
from two wells 30 feet deep, a great part of the bore being through rocks.
78. Poonwarra is a village three miles off the road and above five miles from
Dhoomah. A resident of this village, a Bhat, had attended the Bharat that
went to Saleewarra from Khyrnara on the 4th May ; he was taken ill there and
died two days after his return home ; other Bharatees returned sick with him, two
went on to Khyrnara, one of whom died ; another went oh to the village of
Joobah, and is said to have died (according to the returns four deaths occurred at
Khyrnara, none at Joobah). About the time when the Bhat returned sick a
Chumar family—father, mother, and son about 12 years of age,—joined a Bharat at
Khyrnara ; while there the lad met one of the Bharatees who had returned from
Saleewara ; at a tank where they both washed, an hour or so afterwards the lad
was taken ill, he was brought back to Poonwarra the next day, and died the day
following; no other cases occurred in this village. The only water-supply is a
surface well under a large tree below the hill some 400 yards from the village;
in November it contained several feet of water, standing at a level of 4 feet
below the surface of the ground ; the people stated that the supply continued
abundant throughout the year. The clothes of the Bhat that died were taken
by a dhobee and washed in the Shere river, some miles distant.
79. Lucknadown, the tehseel station, is a large village, with a population
of 1,540 ; it is situated about half a mile from the road, on rooky ground with a
rapid incline towards a stream. A weekly bazaar is held here, and there is a Go-
vernment Dispensary ; the place was inspected by the Civil Surgeon of Seonee and
thoroughly cleaned in April, when cholera first appeared at Gunneshgunj. The
first cases of cholera occurred on the 15th May, it prevailed severely for about
10 days only, but cases continued to occur now and then till August ; altogether
81 cases occurred, and of these, 41 died. The first persons attacked were coolies
employed on the road and living in a hamlet or tola a short distance further up
the nullah. There are wells in the village, but the majority of the lower classes
drink water from the stream, which is also resorted to for washing and bathing
and the banks of which are habitually defiled