RATNAGiRI DISTRICT.]
311
The Collector makes the following comments on the concealment of cases at the begin-
ning of the Jaigad epidemic:—
" Jaigad is unfortunately one of those filthy villages which it is hopeless to save when
any epidemic breaks out. The population consists chiefly of Dáldis (Mahomedan fishermen),
who are extremely dirty in their habits. At the best of times there is a smell of rotten fish
about their houses. The people of this village have paid very dearly for their reluctance to
disclose the true state of affairs in time. There can be no doubt now that the place was
infected after the 15th February 1898. The Mámlatdár also erred in leaving the village
on the 18th February 1898 instead of making a prompt enquiry personally. The disease
was however checked in Jaigad proper by the 20th April, the people of Sakri Moholla, which
caught the infection last, being the only persons with whom it lingered till the 8th May
1898. The sites of the sheds in which the people lived were constantly being changed as
fresh cases occurred, and their clothes and belongings were disinfected frequently. This
1 think had a good effect.
" Ráo Bahádur K. P. Joshi and Medical Pupil Mr. Torpy deserve great credit for the
way in which they discharged their arduous and onerous duties under very trying circum-
stances. At the best of times Jaigad is a poor place to have to live in, and supplies of any
kind were not to be had for love or money, as all communication was cut off. Under such
conditions they worked hard and willingly, and their services deserve the appreciation of
Government."
Padwa.
Population—1,800.
Padwa lies about 4 miles to the north of Jaigad. Its
inhabitants are mostly Bhandáris and Dáldis (Mahomedans).
The origin of the pest here is unknown.
" As at Bánkote," writes the Collector, " as at Jaigad,—so at Padwa the plague began
with the Dáldis. The origin was not very clearly traced." The Collector thinks it pro-
bably due to Shriwardhan in the Jaujira State, a port at which boats touch on route to
Padwa : but the Commissioner, S. D., points out the improbability of such a thing, because no
• indigenous plague has been known at Shriwardhan, and thinks that the '' infection came either
from Jaigad or from some unknown source."
Whatever may be the true solution of the difficulty, it is certain that on the 3rd April
1898, three days after the arrival of the boat in question, dead rats were found in two
houses in Padwa, and on the evening of the same day 9 persons were attacked with plague,
all either relatives or friends of the tindal of this very boat. On the 4th April the Collec-
tor was at Jaigad. The news of this outbreak reached him the same night, and the follow-
ing morning he visited Padwa. He found the tindal's relatives had already been moved
into sheds by the Máhalkari, and that same day (5th April 1898) the entire Guhagarkar
Mohalla was vacated. Nineteen families occupied this Mohalla. Nine of these families were
attacked and were removed to sheds, the remaining 10 families living on board their boats.
On the 7th and 8th of April the whole of the town was emptied, the people living in
sheds made of jhamps and in their boats. The effect of this wholesale evacuation was
magical : in the five days which had elapsed between the first case and complete evacuation,
no less than 29 deaths had occurred. During the five weeks which followed it, only 35
deaths occurred, and four weeks after it the disease had practically died out.
Dr. C. T. Parsons, English Doctor, who was stationed at Jaigad, frequently visited
Padwa. The following remarks of the Collector are of interest:—
"The Dáldis, I am afraid, are a heartless lot. The healthy members simply refuse to
attend to their sick relatives and considerable difficulty was felt on this account. The services
of wardboys were necessary, and Surgeon-General sent 7 of them on 25th April 1898. Out
of them 3 were sent to Padwa and 4 were kept at Jaigad. All but one man, who is kept at
Jaigad, were sent back to Bombay at the end of May last. Most of the segregated persons