SKETCH OF THE MEDICAL HISTORY OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BOMBAY.
There are also two Government gardens, which form a pleasant resort in the evenings.
The station itself is situated on an eminence some twenty feet above the level of the
surrounding country : the camp consists of two rows of mud-built bungalows, one-storied
and fiat-roofed, roughly built, but, with their grey color, harmonizing not badly with the
green surroundings of the station. The points of interest in Haidarabad are the tombs and
the Fort ; the tombs are those of the Ameers of Sind for many generations back ; some of
these are kept in very good order and are well worth seeing ; several portions of the interior
being, in some instances, of carved marble, and the tomb of the chief rajah contains relics of
its last occupant.
The Fort, which stands just as it did when the English marched in to take possession after
the Battle of Meanee, is, in shape; somewhat irregularly oblong, and has a tower some fifty feet
high, the prospect from which is very varied, givin g bird's-eye view of the whole surround-
ing country ; this tower and some of the bastions of the Fort are mounted with cannon.
The Fort is, so to speak, in the very midst of the canals and nullalis, and is, consequently,
much more unhealthy for its inhabitants as an abode than camp, on account of the exhalations
arising from these impure sources; the Europeans living there suffer continually from fever,
but this of course is unavoidable as long as the sanitary condition of its neighbourhood re
-mains as it now does. The Fort covers an area of thirty-seven acres ; it contains the chief
arsenal in Sind, and also several small bungalows for the use of the employés in the Ordnance
Department, in addition to the store lascars' lines, which are now in process of being built.
The native town consists of an oblong mass of mud-built houses, interspersed with occasional
daubs of whitewash ; its population is of 32,162 ; it appears to be cleanly and well looked
after for a native town: with respect to the camp it is situated to the north-east and is built
on a plain still higher than the camp, which, consequently, receives the overflow from the city
during the rainy season, bringing with it, most probably, quantities of decayed animal and
vegetable matter, some of which pass into the nullahs which are close to the wells, from which
the drinking water is taken for the use of the Belooch regiment and of the European officers
of the station.
Drainage.—There is no drainage to speak of in the cantonment, the only artificial drain
being, as far as I can see, a narrow cutting opposite the Belooch Mess, which leads down to a
large nullah; otherwise the drainage is natural, the roads, during the monsoon, inclining to
-wards the low ground, act the part of drains, and help, more than anything else, to draw
off the water. During the heavy rains, such for instance as those of last July, the compounds
r esembl e so many pool s ; i n f act , t he whol e of camp, one mi ght say, i s al most one sheet of wat er ,
and the roads appear like rivers, the water being in some parts say from 6 to 9 inches
deep.
Last year the rainfall was an exceptionally heavy one for Haidarabad, being eight inches
and sixty-three cents, as will be seen by the accompanying table ; however, the lines and
houses in camp suffered less than may have been expected, taking into consideration the
nature of the buildings. The sepoys were not so much inconvenienced as may have been
supposed, as their quarters, at a first glance, would seem particularly liable to damage from
the rain, on account of their deficiency in plinth, the floors being on a level with the ground:
they are protected, however, by an elevated surrounding of chunam, of about a foot or so high,
which at the same time forms of itself a foot-path nearly two yards in width.
Table showing the Rainfall for the year 1872 :—
1872.
Inches.
Cents.
January . . .
. . .
. . .
February . . .
. . .
. . .
March . . .
. . .
. . .
April . . .
. . .
. . .
May . . .
. . .
. . .
June . . .
. . .
. . .
July . . .
6
18
August . . .
1
33
September . . .
1
12
October . . .
. . .
. . .
November . . .
. . .
. . .
December . . .
. . .
. . .
T o t a l . . .
8
63
164