11
village coolies dispersed to their houses in the adjoining villages, and the 45
Purdesees remained in their huts, situated on the side of the road on high
ground, soil yellow, clay containing kunkur, among the ravines of the Gujna
nuddee, the water of which they drank. They remained in health throughout the
crisis and continued at their work of digging kunkur."
" In the 15th and 16th mile there were 450 village coolies employed
breaking stone and digging kunkur. They lived at Burgee, and on the 10th May
dispersed. On the 15th June they began to return, and up to the present 200
have returned and are at work."
" In the 13th and 14th mile 160 village coolies were employed breaking
stone in the hills near the road. On the 6th May all deserted the work except
25 coolies of Ramjee's gang, who remained at work and had no sickness
whatever. They had their huts in village Kumureeya, 1½ mile from the 13th
milestone. They drank the water of a cutcha well (jeerah) sunk in the bed of
the dry nullah which runs by the village."
"In the 9th and 10th mile there were 120 village coolies employed,
90 at digging kunkur and 30 at breaking stone. They lived in their villages
and used to come to work in the morning and return to their work in the
evening."
" 6th mile—Goarheeghat Works, Nerbudda. Lieutenant Jackson, Assis-
tant Engineer, was in charge of these works, and had about 350 people at work.
He reports that on the 15th May the first case appeared; from that date up to the
23rd May, the day the gangs all deserted the works; 25 cases occurred, of
which 18 died."
" On the 2nd June a fresh party of 200 was assembled again at the ghat,
and by the 7th it was increased to 400. They have worked from that time up to
the present and been quite free from sickness. They have been hutted on high
blacksoil ground among ravines in the Jubbulpore side of the river. Lieutenant
Jackson's gangs were on the opposite side."
32. We now go back to the gangs south of Gunneshgunj. The northern
section of the road extends only as far as the north bank of the Wyngunga at
Chupparah, 9 miles from Gunneshgunj. In the vicinity of Chupparah 120
Purdesee coolies and 138 village coolies were under Koonie Lall Darogah. The
following is the account of them given by Mr. O'Donnell :—
" Sahowlee mate with 76 Purdesee coolies, and Munrukhan with 55 local
coolies, and Chuudersing with 43 local coolies, were employed digging kunkur.
The two first were hutted together on the banks of a small nullah, a feeder of the
"Wyngunga, and about 200 yards from the village of Gharaghat on the banks of the
Bangunga. The gangs and the people of Gharaghat drank the water of tempo-
rary cutcha wells dug in the bed of the feeder. Chundersing and his gang were
hutted on the banks of the Bangunga about a mile below Garaghat and
half a mile from the village of Mahumbara. They drank the water of the
"Wyngunga."
" Mujee with 44 Purdesee and Nund Lall with 40 villagers were
employed breaking stone near the Chupparah bridge. Mujee and his men were
hutted near the bridge between the dak bungalow and the river Wyngunga.
Nund Lall and his men lived in Chupparah."
" Koonie states that a marriage procession arrived at Garaghat on 18th
May from Chundeyree with a case in camp. On the 19th the disease broke out