162
[CHAP. VII.
sufficiently close supervision ; there was reason to fear that some of them were in league with
badmashes in the town, who made attempts, in one instance successfully, to commit thefts in
Camp ; and coming as they did into daily contact with persons from infected localities, there
was danger of their carrying infection into the town. To obviate these objections the
contract was given to a contractor of Ahmedabad, who agreed to employ Ahmedabad
salesmen only, and to compel them to live in the Camp. The experiment was highly
successful. No more complaints were made about the quality of the provisions sold.
Mr. Bhikhaji carried out his contract in the most loyal and honest spirit, although towards
the end it must have been a losing concern.
Free rations at the rate of two annas per day were given to those who could not afford
to pay for their food ; and sick persons received diet at the rate of four annas per day. The
utmost caution had to be used in discriminating impostors from really needy persons.
Rs. 2,335 were thus disbursed.
Every passenger ou arrival was medically examined and had his name, caste, destination,
place of departure, &c., posted up in a register at the gate. He was then disinfected and
taken into Camp, where he was shown his hut. The huts were all serially numbered.
A list was kept showing the names of the inmates of each hut. During their residence
in Camp, the passengers were medically examined twice a day according to this list.
Λ special staff of trained vaccinators and medical pupils was entertained for this purpose.
Any one betraying symptoms of fever was promptly removed to hospital. If the fever
developed into plague, all the occupants of the hut were re-disinfected and removed to the
Segregation Camp, where they were subjected to a fresh period of ten days' detention, com-
mencing from the last day of contact. If all went well, the detenu received his certificate
of discharge on the tenth day. He was finally examined at departure, and the Medical
Officer countersigned his pass in token of his being found healthy.
Perhaps the most important arrangements in connection with such Camps arc those
intended to prevent their evasion. The commonest device is, for travellers to alight at, an
earlier station and continue the journey on foot or re-book further on. Against this, effect-
tive precautions were adopted. Booking to Navli was stopped ; a subsidiary Camp was
opened at Vásad. South of Vásad was the Mahi River, and if any one alight to the south
of Vásad, his progress northwards by foot or rail was barred by the Mahi Cordon. It was
thus impossible for travellers to give the slip to both Vásad and the Anand Camps.
Another common practice was for travellers from infected localities to alight at
uniufceted stations and re-book thence. This was prevented by insisting ou a ten days'
residence pass from all travellers from uniufccted localities.
A special party of labourers known as the disinfecting party was employed under a
mukaddam in cleaning the inside of the huts of all refuse, etc. Once a week the straw was
removed and sunned, and the floor was sprayed with a solution of perchloride of mercury.
It was the duty of the disinfecting party, on the occurrence of a case of plague in the Camp,
to dismantle the hut, to burn the walls and roof, and souse the floor and wooden frame-
work with a solution of porchloride. The hut was not allowed to be re-occupied for a week.
The efforts made from time to time by private charity, to provide a higher standard of
comfort for the inmates than would have been justifiable at public expense, deserve grate-
ful mention. The stream of charity first began to flow from the better class of inmates them-
selves. In the early days of the Camp they raised subscriptions among themselves to the
amount of Rs. 1,000, which were devoted to the purchase of bedding, blankets, cooking
pots, etc., for the use of the poorer people. With the rise in the number of detentions the