2
and they were allowed to go. At the camp there was always a supply of medi-
cines, appliances, foods, disinfectants, &c. The sheds themselves were spacious
and as comfortable as we could make them. But owing to their being cold
during the nights of February and March and hot during the days of April, they
were not really pleasant to the patients.
I now turn to the other arrangements in the town. All houses were ordered
to be whitewashed by you. Extra vigilance was insisted on in the Sanitary De-
partment of the Municipal staff which was also strengthened. Personally I do not
believe in these measures, because I do not think there is any good in trying to
rapidly clean up with the ordinary agencies, an old town sodden with the filth of
centuries. Nor was it possible to insure a satisfactory and thorough limewashing.
It was a different thing when I later on took in hand the town myself.
Rewards were offered for information leading to the detection of plague cases.
No such reward was ever claimed. The most vigilant inquiries were set on foot,
through the Patil (who after his reprimand worked hard and behaved well), the
Inspectors and friendly gentlemen. I may here mention that the European In-
spector found the work more than he had bargained for, and I was forced to ask.
him to resign. A Pársi from Ahmedabad was appointed in his place. The Mám-
latdár of Chorási, Mr. Bulakhidas Bapuji, and the Chief Constable were ordered
to live at Rander, and they did so until lately.
Special vigilance was taken in the matter of disposing of plague corpses.
In this matter as in others the Mahomedans were more difficult to deal with than
the Hindus. Sheds were erected on the river bank to the north of the town for
persons rendered temporarily homeless owing to ejection from plague-stricken
houses.
But there were two fatal defects in the arrangements made. It is easy
of course to be wise after the event. But I am now writing a history of the
disease.
The plague gradually spread from the three streets to which it had been at
first confined. The cases were few—two or three a day—and sometimes a couple
of days would pass without a case being reported. But it was clear that the area
affected was gradually extending. The Máchhis and Kharwas of the Tewlawad
were attacked. Isolated cases began to occur in Nishal Falia and near the
Municipal Office. 1 turned the people of Bhandári, Pakháli and Párekh Falias
out of the town. I subsequently turned out the inhabitants of Tewlawad.
Several curious cases of death by miscarriage occurred. Several other sudden
deaths were reported from certain usually harmless or prolonged diseases. I
suspected the Hospital Assistant of helping to conceal cases. My suspicion
deepened into conviction. I applied to you and yon got him transferred. One
of the fatal defects was removed.
But though the defect was thus easily removed we had still to deal with its
result—the habit of concealing cases. It was a critical time and stringent
measures were necessary. Half a dozen persons suspected of concealing cases
were prosecuted. They were convicted and heavily fined. There was practi-
cally no further attempt at concealment. Up till now the plague had on
the whole steadily increased. It never got really bad, but it constantly seemed
to be on the point of doing so. I asked for the help, of the sepoys of the
8th Bombay Infanfry, who were at Ránder. I turned out, the whole of an area
somewhat larger than that which had been hitherto touched by the plague—about
one quarter of the town —and proceeded.to systematically clean it up with the help
of the sepoys. The people had to live in mándvas outside the town. "We
built extra municipal slides. All houses were emptied, their tiles were partly
taken off and they were thoroughly whitewashed or treated with lotion. This
work was to a large extent done by the people themselves. Where it was not
done by them, the sepoys did it. The cleaning up and the airing were really
thorough, and there were very few cases of plague after this in the town and none
at all in the area that has been thus cleaned, though they continued to occur for
some little time in the mandvas outside.
Having cleaned the houses I decided to clean the people and their clothes.
This was done by bathing and washing in solution of perohloride of mercury.