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Chumars. Several of the children seen by me were suffering from the disease in its
worst form; but what the result was in these cases I did not afterwards learn. There
appeared to be no attempt at separation of the affected from the unaffected: the former
were everywhere met with being carried about the village. Except that the first per-
son attacked was a Chumar, and this was some weeks ago, nothing as to the origin of
the disease could be ascertained; but as in no instance had the small-pox scabs entirely
fallen off at the time of my visit, I conclude that not more than a month had elapsed
since the commencement of the outbreak. During the course of my enquiry, which
proved very laborious and tedious, I prevailed upon the great majority, if not all, of
the people with unprotected children to have those vaccinated. Before night, 138 had
been operated upon, and as the population numbered only 2,195, it is probable that
very few more remained. When the Native Superintendent revisited the village a
fortnight after this, he reported that there had been no fresh cases of small-pox for ten
days.
I heard that the disease shortly after this appeared in a very virulent form in the
neighbouring village of Burwallah; but although the vaccinator several times offered
his services they were declined.
In fact, although during the year I visited many
towns and villages in which small-pox was fatally prevalent, it was not often that I could
prevail upon the people to accept of vaccination for their children. It was painful to see
numbers of helpless infants, almost beyond recognition as human creatures dying in
mortal suffering of a disease the antidote of which I possessed, but in deference to the
ignorant prejudices of the parents dared not apply.
11. Elaborate rules are given regarding the mode in which sporadic outbreaks of
small-pox should be dealt with; but the wisdom of stopping such outbreak may well be
questioned. If those measures were successful, whilst vaccination still fails to reach
the bulk of the people, the result would be, that the unprotected would go on accumu-
lating until, on the arrival of a year pregnant with the epidemic influence, the scenes
described in countries visited for the first time by small-pox would be repeated. The
slow annual mortality which now goes on is better than its concentration into a single
year: the numbers attacked are not sufficiently great to prevent proper attention being
paid to them, whilst perhaps the small-pox poison, being more lightly diffused, may be
less fatal. In the last supposition, I have myself little belief. There is, however,
little probability of any isolated attempts at stopping the spread of small-pox being
anywhere long, or generally successful; and in those parts of the country where ino-
culation is permitted, contagion will constantly be available for the attack and conse-
quent protection against future attacks of small-pox, or death of the people, by this
disease.
12. According to Mr. Marson, one of the greatest living authorities on small-
pox, a damp and moist state of the air is favourable to the spread of the disease, and
this he believes is the reason why, in England, the months of November and Decem-
ber show the largest number of cases. As regards India, such a theory would be
directly opposed to the facts. An examination of small-pox statistics will show that,
commencing with October or November, when the disease is at its minimum, the mor-
tality steadily increases with the heat and dryness of the weather, until it reaches its
maximum in the month of May. On the setting in of the rainy season, a sudden dimi-
nution is apparent, and this continues steadily until the minimum is again reached in
October or November. Although from its being practised in the hot weather, inocu-
lation may have some influence upon the spread of small-pox at this season, the same
rule holds good where, as in this circle, inoculation is all but unknown.
13. In his report for last year, my predecessor was somewhat severe upon the
people of the districts in which infanticide is more or less practised, with regard to
their motives in declining to have their female children vaccinated. But it is a curious
fact that in all the districts most notorious for the practice of infanticide, such as