7
a description of this locality and for the details of the outbreaks in the several
gangs employed on the northern section of the road, I am indebted to a very
clear report furnished by Mr. O'Donnell, the Executive Engineer in charge.
22. The Gunneshgunj valley lies between two trap ridges. Where it is
traversed by the road it is about 3 miles wide: the soil over the greater part of
its extent is blacksoil overlying a deep bed of clay containing much kunkur;
but in some parts, particularly along the bank of the Mooteyah nullah, the basal-
tic rock crops up to the surface. Its main drainage channel is the Bijna nuddee,
which crosses from west to east not far from the ridge that bounds the valley on
the north. The Mooteyah nullah crosses the road ¼ mile beyond the 57th mile-
stone, and taking a south-easterly course, joins the Bijna river about ¾ mile
below the bridge by which the road crosses that river. About midway in its
course through the valley the Mooteyah is joined by the Kooiah nullah. Of
these nullahs the Bijna is by far the largest; even in this, however, the stream in
the hot weather is small, but there are pools of considerable depth. The Mooteyah
nullah is much smaller, the stream trickling over barriers of black basaltic rock
into pools of from 2 to 4 feet deep. The Kooiah nullah in the hot weather is dry.
The beds of these nullahs all cut through the clay which forms the bottom of the
valley, and then beds are formed of basaltic rock lying between steep clay banks,
varying in depth from 10 to 30 or 40 feet. By means of these rivers the sub-
soil of the area between them is perfectly drained. Near the bank of the Mooteyah
the rock comes to the surface or has only a thin layer of clay over it; but 600
yards from the Mooteyah, and nearer the Bijna, a well was being sunk by the
Department Public Works when 1 inspected the locality in November. After
sinking 33 feet through the clay, water was reached lying on the rock ; through
the upper 6 or 8 feet of the clay, the moisture had penetrated from the surface,
but below this, until within a little distance from the rock, the clay was compara-
tively dry.
23. In this valley 824 coolies were distributed in gangs under their
several mates, as follows :—
On the north bank of the Bijna, near 55th milestone, 233 Purdesee coolies
in 5 gangs and 55 local coolies in 2 gangs.
On the north bank of the Mooteyah, near 57th milestone, 411 Purdesee
coolies in 6 gangs and 125 local labourers.
24. Cholera first appeared in the gangs of Purdesee coolies on the bank of
the Mooteyah nullah. The following account of them is given by Mr. O'Donnell,
the Executive Engineer of the northern section of the road :—" Mate Bindrabun's
gang of 200 coolies came from Jokhye, on the Mirzapore road, in January, and
commenced breaking basalt in the bed of the Mooteyah. On the 23rd March
Koonj Lall Darogah arrived from Myhere with 289 coolies, and on the 25th
.another gang of 42 joined, making in all 331 ; 120 of these he sent on to Chup-
parahand211 he retained in the Gunneshgunj valley, hutting them on the bank of
Mooteyah near Bindrabun. The greater number of these coolies hud been em-
ployed for months previously on the Mirzapore road near Jokhye and Anun-
patun quarrying metal. They all arrived in the Gunneshgunj valley in excel-
lent health, and with Bindrabun's gang kept in health. They went nowhere but
to market in the Gunneshgunj village. There were no additions to their num-
ber subsequent to the 25th March."
25. "The 125 local labourers entered in the Statement with the above
gangs were not hutted with them ; they used to go home to their villages in the
evening and return to work in the morning. They were employed in digging kun-
kur, some near Gunneshgunj, and some near the village of Goon warra, a mile and a