40
SKETCH OF THE MEDICAL HISTORY OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BOMBAY.
roads, the old one viâ the Ram Ghaut, and the other (recently completed) viâ the Parpoolee
Ghaut; it also communicates by made roads with the stations of Kolapore to the north,
Kulladghee to the east, and Dharwar to the south.
The cantonment of Belgaum is built upon a slope extending more or less irregularly in a
direction from N. W. to S. E., and adjoins the native town which bounds it to the eastward,
by which the camp is divided from the fort, the latter being situated at a distance of rather
more than a mile due east. The most elevated portion of the cantonment which on the N. W.
aspect of camp is occupied by the barracks of the artillery and European infantry, the ex
-treme southern and eastern aspect adjoining the limits of camp in that direction is occupied
by the native infantry lines; and the large space comprised between these two is covered by
the bungalows and compounds designed for the accommodation of the European Officers be
-longing to the different corps and departments, together with a large Protestant church
recently completed.
The sudder bazaar is situated east of the cantonment, and to the north of the former are
the pensioners' lines, comprising a number of small houses with their respective enclosures
extending on each side of the main thoroughfare leading from the camp to the town of Belgaum.
These houses (as their designation indicates) are occupied by pensioned soldiers and Non
-Commissioned Officers with their families, and by Government employés attached to the various
offices and departments; the building made use of as a lock hospital is located in this part of
the cantonment. The population of the sudder bazaar and the pensioners' lines amounts to
between 5,000 and 6,000 persons.
The fort of Belgaum is situated about a mile due east of the cantonment, from which it is
divided by the native town; it is of an irregular figure approaching a circle, enclosed by walls
varying in height from 35 to 60 feet, having two entrances, one on the north, the other on the
west side, the whole being surrounded by a ditch of variable depth containing more or less
water at all seasons of the year.
The fort contains the arsenal, barracks, and hospital of the European garrison, battery,
commissariat stores, Protestant church, library, quarters for the European subordinates at
- t a c h e d t o t h e O r d n a n c e D e p a r t m e n t a n d E n g i n e e r i n g s t a f f ; a l s o a n u m b e r o f b u n g a l o w s w i t h
their compounds occupied by European Officers.
The interior of the fort is well wooded and the soil favourable for garden cultivation; it
drains into the surrounding ditch, but the drainage is defective towards the S. E. where water
accumulates largely during the monsoon, and must be productive of malaria in the process
of drying.
The soil of the cantonment is entirely composed of the debris of laterite, which forms a
covering to the underlying trap rock, and varies much in thickness, being many feet in depth
in some localities, whilst in others it admits of the rock itself cropping out from the surface.
Laterite forms a valuable material for building purposes, and most of the houses are constructed
of it. This formation is observable throughout the cantonment, the roads presenting its
characteristic red colour, while from its friable nature, dust prevails to a very considerable and
unpleasant extent during the dry months. From the porous nature of the soil and the sub
- s t r a t u m o f l a t e r i t e , w a t e r i s r a p i d l y a b s o r b e d a n d d r a i n e d o f f , a n d i n t h e c o u r s e o f a v e r y s h o r t
time after a heavy fall of rain, the surface of the ground becomes perfectly dry, and thus all
accumulation of stagnant water is prevented. The cantonment is well wooded, with the ex
- c e p t i o n o f t h e n e w a r t i l l e r y l i n e s i n c o u r s e o f e r e c t i o n , m o s t o f t h e c o m p o u n d s b e i n g w e l l
stocked with trees of umbrageous growth; there are also three topes of considerable size, one on
the north side, and the others on the S. E., which add much to the beauty of camp and afford
an agreeable shade, they also serve, in some measure, to intercept the dry east winds which
prevail during the cold season.