103
It is interesting to note that out of 293 cases of plague among the
occupants of the Municipal camps under the control of the District
Officers, 190, or about 65 per cent., occurred within the first five days
after admission. The camps ID question are those detailed in Table I.
Dr. P. J. de Souza, who, as in the previous year, was placed in
medical charge of the Goculdas Tejpal and Charni Road Camps, and did
his work with the utmost zeal and thoroughness, writes :—
" I would not venture to say that in the cases of plague in which the interval
between admission to camp and attack is long, the victims did not get the infection
in camp, but I would point out that a very largo number of the camp people, and
almost all of the persons mentioned in my reports spend the greater portion of tho
day outside, going about the town, generally in much infected quarters ; and such
as are attacked mostly take ill before coming back into the camp. In view of these
facts the probabilities seem to be in favour of the view that these people catch the
infection outside the camp."
Gamps in the
North of the
Island.
The camps in the North of the Island, referred to in Table IV.,
were under the control of the District Officer, F and G Wards. They
constituted a heavy additional burden, but Captain Boileau managed
them most efficiently. In most cases private individuals joined to-
gether and made their own arrangements for securing sites and erect-
ing huts, but it will be seen that four of the camps were erected by the
Municipality for the benefit of people who were too poor to do this
themselves. The land along the Vincent Road belongs to the Improve-
ment Trust, and was temporarily made over by that body to the Muni-
cipality for the allocation of sites to individuals, &c., who could not
provide for themselves elsewhere. This duty was discharged by the
Executive Engineer, who allotted sites to the Parsee Panchayet, Tlie
Times of India, the Gas Company and Messrs. Thomas Cooke & Sons
for their employes, as well as to some 44 individual applicants. The
following remarks are extracted from Captain Boileau's report on these
camps. It should be mentioned that during the year large numbers of
rat burrows were noticed in the fields where these camps were situated.
And one collection of huts became thoroughly infected with plague
and had to be closed and demolished,
There were 47,939 people encamped in F and Gr Wards during the epidemic
1899-1900 and applications, consequent on an advertisement in the Times
of India, Samachar and Jan-e-Jamshed, to the effect that people were to ask
permission for the erection of camps in the fields and to apply for water, began
.to be received as early as 12th December 1899, and from thence on applications for
stand-pipes and latrines were numerous.
168 stand-pipes and 69 latrines were erected for the use of the people, and
these latter were a3 nearly as possible placed so that different camps had their own
latrines. Those huts built on Municipal ground were allowed their private
latrines and many people also applied for and received private taps. Stand-pipes
were erected wherever the District Officer thought necessary. A certain amount of
trouble was caused by the mains leading to the camps not being sufficiently large,
the consequence being that many camps received only a very small supply and
some a mere dribble. This could be easily rectified, should occasion occur, by