48
SKETCH OF THE MEDICAL HISTORY OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BOMBAY.
Injuries.—Sixty-six (66) cases, of which fifty-five (55) were contusions, five (5) sprains,
two (2) burns, one (1) rupture of muscle, one (1) dislocation, one (1) simple fracture of tibia, and
one ( 1) fracture of clavicle.
Small-pox invaded the cavalry camp in April, the people affected being with one excep-
tion—a sowar—native followers. Twelve (12) cases occurred. As to how the disease was intro-
duced I am sorry to say that I have nothing definite to state. In the hot weather the disease
assumed an epidemic form in and around the city of Poona. The epidemic was of a mild type,
the general health of those affected having remained comparatively good during the course of
the disease.
Cholera.—It is worthy of note that during the month of July cholera invaded the syce
lines. Of the eight (8) cases reported, six (6) died, and two recovered notwithstanding that the
grass-cutters and syces, as a matter of necessity, continued to keep up free communication with
the sowars, yet not a single case occurred among the latter. I lament my inability to trace the
disease to its cause. That the water-supply was not the cause is obvious from the fact, that
the sowars use the same wells as the followers. I consider the water in the wells used by the
cavalry to be good and wholesome. The evil is not in the water ; there is the far greater evil
of eight hundred and thirty-five (835) low-cast followers huddled together as in pigsties—ill-fed,
ill-clothed, and ill-lodged ; and, during the rainy season, living in an atmosphere charged with
decomposing matter of vegetable and animal origin. The remedial measures are obvious. Let
the syces and grass-cutters have new and spacious huts, built on a well-selected site, let them
have better pay, to enable them to procure sufficient food and clothing, and let them, while in
the lines, be under strict military supervision.
It would seem that these measures of improvement might be conceded without any great
expenditure of money. Dr. Maitland, Deputy Inspector General of Hospitals, P.D.A., in his
report upon the outbreak of cholera among the syces, urged very strongly the desirability of
erecting new lines on a well-selected site. This is a sanitary measure of the highest import-
ance, which, when completed, will have great influence in preventing disease within the cavalry
reservation.
The Cavalry Lines are built on an elevated piece of ground, 191 yards to the north of
the G. I. P. Railway. To the north of the lines at the distance of 771 yards, runs the river
Moota Moola in an easterly direction. To the east and west the cavalry reservation abuts
upon fields under cultivation. On the low ground between them and the river, stand the syce
lines. The site has a gradual slope towards the river, thereby allowing good natural drainage.
The lines consist of 12 rows of houses, 33 yards apart, parallel to each other, and ranging east
and west. Their great sanitary defect is want of ventilation. The horses are fastened by picket
lines in front of the houses. In consequence of this arrangement the atmosphere of the lines,
during the rainy season, is poisoned by the decomposition of animal and vegetable matter, and
the houses in many instances rendered impure from overcrowding. Passing south-west from the
cavalry lines, and crossing the railway from Poona to Sholápur, the village of Ghorpuri is
reached, with all its filth and stench, standing nearly midway between the cavalry lines and
t he Ghor pur i ba r r a c ks ; a nd whe n I s a y t ha t i t i s one of t he mos t f r ui t f ul s our c e s of di s e a s e
to the cavalry and infantry soldiers, I do not think I shall be accused of exaggeration by those
who have given the subject consideration. On various occasions I have in special reports re-
ferred to the importance of improving the sanitary condition of this village, chiefly as affecting
the health of the European and native troops located in its neighbourhood. With this object
in view, it has been proposed to transfer the village along with the fields surrounding it, from
the civil administration to the cantonment authorities, and such would certainly be a step in
the right direction. Should, however, the village still continue to be a nuisance and source
of disease to the troops, no more useful sanitary work could be desired than the levelling of the
entire village to the ground.
The Syce Lines. —The mud huts occupied by the native followers, 200 yards to the north
of the cavalry lines, have been reported unfit for human habitation, on account of their objec-
tionable location and construction. The huts are overcrowded and inhabited by people who
set at defiance every sanitary law; hence, cholera and small-pox prevailed amongst them during
the past year. The necessity of building new syce lines, on a proper site, is beyond question.
The Cavalry Hospital.—A substantial stone building, 40 yards south of the lines, fronting
west, and standing on the northern side of G. I. P . Railway, is excellent in plan and furnishes
few grounds for criticism or suggestions for improvement. The building is considered to be
the best of the kind in the Bombay Presidency—the ventilation is complete.
The hospital has a capacity for 29 patients, which number may be increased, if an emer-
gency arise by fitting up the verandahs with beds and screens. The highest number under
treatment at any time was forty, eleven of which were accommodated in the verandahs.
Vaccination. —From the very commencement of the epidemic of small-pox, the sowars
and followers were constantly urged to resort to vaccination and re-vaccination, as the most
effectual means of preventing infection and of stamping out the disease. A great majority of