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a still reach or lake, extending from Ramnuggur to the Khurrur ford, a distance
of 10 miles. The bend in which the town lies is very acute, the lower arm on the
western side of the town running almost parallel, but an opposite direction, to
the upper or eastern arm. At the apex of the curve the Bunjur river joins the
Nerbudda. Immediately below the junction, on the left bank of the river opposite
Mundla, is the village of Maharajpore ; between Mundla and Maharajpore the
river is about 250 yards broad; in the middle it is very deep, and the fall from
the bank is rapid. At the ghats on either side the water, 10 to 20 feet from the
bank, varies in depth from 10 to 15 feet in the hot weather ; the rapid at the
Khurrur ford, below Mundla, in the same season is from 3 to 4 feet deep. With so
shallow a stream from so large a lake the current in the latter in the hot weather
cannot be strong, and it is said to be not more than one mile in 4 hours ; it fol-
lows, however, from the form of the curve, that whatever current there is, must
run under the Maharajpore bank. On the returns a second time showing so
great a difference in the mortality of the two places, I wrote for accurate infor-
mation with regard to the current and depth of water on each bank; but before
my letter reached the river had risen. Dr. Kidd, the Civil Surgeon, however,
writes as follows :— " In the rains the greatest current is on the Maharajpore side,
at Maharajpore itself. The Nerbudda coming down meets the Bunjur almost
at right angles, the apex pointing to Maharajpore, where the joint curve
impinges ; it is thence thrown back upon the Civil station below Mundla, where
the carrent is usually very strong, passing close under the Cutcherry. I have
noticed that no sand is deposited on the Mundla side, whereas there is a good
deal on the Maharajpore side. A large quantity of mud is usually deposited on
the Mundla side between the old fort and the Civil station. A little sand
is seen on the right bank near the Khurrur ford, but the greatest quantity is on
the left bank all the way down the river."
115. It appears then that the portion of the river under Mundla between
the fort and the Civil station is a backwater, which in the hot weather would be
stagnant, the current running under Maharajpore and there crossing over to the
bank under the Civil station. In 1868 cholera broke out in Mundla in June
before any rain had fallen, and did not cease until the river was flooded in July ;
in the present year it broke out in the middle of May, and, after running a short
but severe course, terminated, without the river having been affected by rain. Of
114 deaths 80 occurred in the week ending the 22nd May. Dr. Kidd states :—
" The number of deaths in Maharajpore was very few, and when traced it was
frequently found that the attacked had gone over from, or visited Mundla. The
servants of the officers in the Civil station had no sickness, and the Police also
escaped ; the few cases that did occur among the Police were all from Mundla,
i.e., residing with their families in the town."
116. Eastward from Mundla cholera broke out at Ramnuggur, on the Ner-
budda, S miles distant, on the 12th June, where 42 persons died out of a popula-
tion of 714. Over the country east of this point cholera did not become epidemic.
An isolated out-break, however, occurred in the village of Kurondee, in the Ram-
giirh tehseel, 60 miles east of Mundla. The out-break was reported at the Ramgurh
Station-house on the 21st July, and 26 persons were carried off, out of a popula-
tion of 176 or 14 . 6 per cent. The country between Mundla and Ramgurh consists
of trap hills, covered with stunted forest, and is very sparsely populated. No
details of this out-break are available, but the infection was probably imported
from Mundla.
117. From Mundla to Burrailla, in the Jubbulpore district, a distance of 50
miles, the road lies through almost continuous jungle, and for miles together no
village or dwelling is visible. A little distance to the east of the road at several points
the forest opens out into wide glades, in which several villages lie. The formation
is still trap and the characteristics of the country are the same as have been