264
[CHAP. VIII.
A remarkable feature of this epidemic was the health of the people in the Camps, which
was very good. The Collector writes (2nd January 1898) :—
"Pothepur Camp with 10,000 inhabitants, which is not 100 yards from the town walls,
has not had a single case for three days now, and is a most striking example of the efficiency
of the evacuation cure."
The District.
The District in the meantime had been, with one or two isolated exceptions, quite
free from indigenous plague, though much troubled by imported
cases from Sholápur, and it was not till about the middle of
December that indigenous plague can really be said to have begun : but, even then, owing
to strenuous efforts in carrying out evacuation, disinfection, segregation and cognate
measures, it never reached alarming figures. During the week ending 7th January 1898 the
cases in the district fell from 95 to 53, but they soon rose again ; and it was but one more
phenomenon in the course of a disease enveloped in obscure phenomena.
As the town grew more and more empty, and the fields and gardens round it
inhabited, the increased danger of spread to the villages in the district was foreseen, and
efforts were directed towards saving them. Orders were early issued that fugitives from
Sholápur Town were not to be permitted even for one night in any village, and on the 22nd
October Mr. G. K. Agarkar was called in from Famine Duty and appointed Travelling
Plague Authority. His duty was to tour round villages within a radius of 20 miles and
deal with such plague as might occur in any village ; and also to see that the village
authorities obeyed the plague orders already issued. Unhappily, amongst the first
victims was Mr. Agarkar himself, who contracted the disease in one of the villages in his
charge. No one could be spared to replace him in the face of the crescent epidemic in the
town, and the villages were consequently for some time left without regular supervision.
In order to further prevent spread, at the end of November a cordon of Police posts
was drawn round Sholápur Town itself, and carts were prohibited from leaving the Munici-
pality at night under any circumstances. Nevertheless, on the 17th December 1897 indige-
nous plague appeared in the villages of Shelgi and Nandur, about 1 and 8 miles from Sholápur
respectively. These villages were at once evacuated and every house in each disin-
fected with perchloride of mercury. On the 31st December four more villages reported
indigenous plague, amongst them Kurul. The infection of the latter, a large market village,
was a cause of anxiety : and indeed the infection of 4 villages subsequently attacked was
traceable to it.
On the 5th January 1898 Mr. W. T. Morison, the Collector, was transferred from the
District, Mr. J. W. A. Weir succeeding him. Lieutenant Bruce and Kidd were about the
same time relieved of their duties in the town and appointed Inspecting Plague Officers
in the District, touring round the villages, directing, and, where possible, superintend-
ing plague operations where the latter were necessary. It was soon evident that the
mischief in the villages was wider-spread than had been supposed ; and it was discovered
that indigenous plague had existed and had been successfully concealed from the middle
of November.
The Collector thus describes the efforts to cope with the spread and subdue the
disease where found :—
" But with increased supervision, concealment was no longer possible : and by the end
of the first fortnight in January, reliable information had been obtained as to the actual