( 100 )
had been for some time in port.* * * Of the 34 cases, one was a Captain's wife,
7 were officers, 9 petty-officers, and only 17 were seamen. * * * Twelve of the
34 cases were living on board their ship in the Union Dock, 7 of the remain-
der had never landed. Three or 4 of the cases occurred shortly after the
men returned to their ship, but in each the man had been drinking. Of
the 12 cases which occurred on the ship in the Union Dock, a detailed account
is given. The main facts are as follows:—The ship Margeurite arrived in port
on the 16th September with a crew of 16 men, who had all been well on the
voyage. On the 1st October she went into the Union Dock for repair, and
shortly after increased her crew to 24 by taking eight men from the discharged
crew of a vessel lying near her in the dock. The Marguerite was stripped of
everything in her hold, and about 300 men were daily employed upon her.
The crew remained in the ship, had their meals on board, and used their sup-
ply of Bourbon water. Up to the 5th November no case of cholera had
occurred among any of the workmen or officials in the dock. From the 5th
to the 14th November inclusive, there were 12 cases among the crew of 24
men, and seven of them proved fatal. About 60 men of the yard slept on the
premises and on the ships, of which there were two others besides the Marguerite
in the dock, and about 700 men were employed in the workshops daily. The
crew of the Marguerite mixed freely with the workmen, but they slept apart;
had their food onboard ; and used their own water-supply. The condition of
the dock was clean, and the ship was empty and free from disagreeable odours.
The house for the crew was on deck, and in a fairly satisfactory state—such are
the facts recorded. Then comes a story of the Captain's: that the men slept in
the open air under a tree near the river bank; that they went freely into the
bazar and bought what they liked ; that they had got hold of a cask of
condemned salt-meat and had eaten freely of it, shortly after which sickness
"broke out among them. The men, it appears, were not stinted in fresh-meat
and vegetables, nor in their dram of brandy three times a day. Their water-
supply, however, was changed. On the 27th October the ship's water-supply
was purchased from boatmen, who pretended to supply the Calcutta filtered
water to all ships in the harbour not near enough to take a direct supply from
the hydrants on the banks, and was used by the crew of the Marguerite
from the 28th July. This water had a foul odour, as of sulphurreted hydro-
gen, and a very unpleasant taste, both of which were attributed to the wood
of the casks. An analysis of this water showed that it was most impure and
quite unfit for drinking ; and on the 14th the water was thrown away, and
the remainder of the crew, now reduced to 12, were removed to the Sailors
Home. No case of cholera occurred after this.
The incidence of the cholera of 1875 among the troops and jail popu-
lations in this province is shown in the subjoined abstract statement.
Among the European troops—total average strength 3,017—there was no
cholera recorded in 1875.
Among the families of the European soldiers. Women—total average
strength 620—there was 1 admission and 1 death from cholera, viz. at Dina-
pur—strength 191—in May.
Among the native troops—total average strength 5,419—there were
altogether 16 admissions and 7 deaths from cholera, giving a death-rate
of 1.29 per mille of strength. Of the 12 stations occupied by native troops,
the 7 following recorded cholera in 1875 :—
Fort William
Alipore
Barrackpore
Dacca
...
...
Baxa
...
Jalpaiguri ...
Dinapore ...
..,
Strength 698
„
955
„
922
„
235
,,661
"
338
587
Admissions 2
,,0
,,4
,,5
,,1
,,3
,,1
Deaths 1
,, 1
,, 2
,, 2
,, 0
,, 1
, 0
The strength of the affected troops is 4,396, the precentage of admissions
to strength 0.36, and of deaths to admissions 44. Of the 16 admissions, there
were 3 in January, 1 in March, 1 in April, 1 in May, 3 in June, 1 in August,
2 in September, 1 in October, 1 in November, and 2 in December.