NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
2OO Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [CHAP. VIII.
Hospital and
Segregation
camps. Military
parties for search,
disinfection, etc.
Picquets and
patrols.
Five hospitals and four segregation camps were established for the
prosecution of the first two objects, and military parties were consti-
tuted for the search for plague cases, the removal of the sick and the
possibly infected, and the disinfection of houses. Municipal agency
was employed collaterally with the military agency. A warehouse
was opened at a central situation in the city for the storage of
the contents of houses from which the occupants had been removed
to hospital or to segregation camp. To minimise the chance of
disturbance the streets were patrolled by native cavalry, and during
a portion of the operations a picquet of native infantry was
stationed at a central point. Picquets and patrols of cavalry and
infantry were placed on some of the principal roads leading from the
town to prevent the removal of plague-stricken persons by night.
Assistance of the
military largely
utilised.
AID AFFORDED BY THE MILITARY.
In Poona the assistance of the military was utilised to a greater
extent than in Bombay, and their conduct was subject to hostile
attacks in some sections of the local vernacular press. The exact
nature of the duties performed by the military will be explained in
the detailed description of the operations, but it is necessary to
make a few general remarks on their employment.
It will have been gathered from the description of the affairs in
Poona at the time of the appointment of the Committee that the
two main features of the situation that necessitated the employment
of troops were the attitude of the populace and the difficulty in pro-
curing labour.
Volunteers from
the troops.
Plague duty
camp.
Total number of
troops employed.
It was decided by the Government, after consultation with the mili-
tary authorities, that volunteers for plague duty should be called for
from among the troops, British and Native, stationed in Poona and
Kirkee. The call was readily responded to, and it was found that
many more volunteers than were likely to be required were willing
to come forward. A plague duty camp was formed at Parvati,
and 893 officers and men, British and Native, under the command
of Major Paget, of the Durham Light Infantry, were placed on
plague duty on the 12th March 1897. Of these 122 officers and
men were posted as guards at the hospitals and segregation camps
and the remainder went into the plague duty camp at Parvati.
The greatest number of troops was employed from March 2oth
to May 5th when the total number on duty was 1,112. After May
5th, as the operations were contracted, the number of troops employed
was gradually reduced till on June 1st it stood at 124. The troops
were all kept in the camp at Parvati, except those who were stationed
as guards at the hospitals and segregation camps and those who did
CHAP. VIII.] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 2OI
duty as workmen at the burial and burning grounds. The men in the
plague duty camp were paraded daily before they left camp, and only
those found to be in thoroughly good health were allowed by the
Medical Officer to proceed. The health of the troops was excellent
and not a single case of plague occurred amongst them.
Unfounded
accusations made
against the
troops.
It has been stated above that accusations were made in the verna-
cular press and elsewhere against the conduct of the troops. These
accusations went to the extent of specifically alleging that in some
cases the modesty of native ladies had not been respected. The
accusations were without foundation and were the fabrications of mis-
chievous persons. The following are the words in which the late
Mr. Rand described the conduct of the troops :—
Good conduct of
the troops.
" The members of the Plague Committee concur with Major
Paget in the high opinion he has expressed on the conduct of the
troops, both Native and British. The discipline of the troops when
at work in the city was excellent, and the utmost consideration was
shown both by officers and men for the religious and social customs
of the inhabitants. I may mention the reports on the conduct of
the men who worked under them were called for from the officers
commanding the various working parties, and that the reports
received were without exception favourable as regards both British
and Native troops.
" That the conduct of the men engaged on plague work was so good
is doubtless chiefly due to the fact that they were under the imme-
diate command of British officers who were responsible for the dis-
cipline and good conduct just as they would have been if they had
been employed on military duty. In the case of search divisions the
supervision was particularly close, It was one of the principles of
the search that the parties of a division should be kept together as
much as possible, and the officer commanding the division was there-
fore seldom far away from any of the parties under him. In the
case of the fumigation and limewashing divisions, the supervision
was not so close, as the exigencies of their work often compelled
the parties of a division to work at a distance from each other."
The populace
excited to thwart
the authorities.
OPPOSITION ENCOUNTERED.
The false accusations made against the troops who were
employed on plague duty in Poona were part and parcel of the attempt
that was made to thwart the action of the authorities in enforcing the
measures necessary to combat the epidemic. In the City of Bombay
once the people were convinced of the necessity of the operations and
the consideration with which they were being carried out, the opposi-
tion vanished. But this was not the case in Poona, where disloyal
26
202 Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [ CHAP. VIII.
Malicious
rumours set
afoot.
persons endeavoured to work on the feelings of the people which were
naturally excited by the operations, carefully and considerately though
they were carried out, by the invention of malicious tales of
oppression and violation of religious and social custom. " A section
of the Brahman community," the late Mr. Rand stated, " including
some of the most influential men of the city, were disinclined to support
any measures that emanated from an official source, and were more
likely than not to work against any operations that might be set on
foot by the Government to deal with the emergency." The justice of
this remark was fully exemplified. Malicious rumours were set
afloat and disloyal and inflammatory articles appeared in the local
vernacular press. The excitement thus fomented, culminated in the
dual murder of Mr. Rand and Lieutenant Ayerst just at the time that
the former of these officers had succeeded in subduing the epidemic.
Murder of Mr.
Rand and
Lieutenant
Ayerst.
The murder took place on the night of the 22nd June whilst
Mr. Rand and Lieutenant Ayerst were driving away from an enter-
tainment given at Government House, Poona, in celebration of the
Jubilee of the Queen-Empress. The assassins at first escaped, but
strong suspicion existed from the first that the murders were directly
due to the fact that Mr. Rand was in charge of the plague operations.
Arrest of a
person on
suspicion.
A person has been arrested on suspicion of having committed the
murder and at the present time a judicial enquiry is in progress.
Prosecution for
sedition and
conviction of
the owner of the
Kesari
newspaper.
A newspaper which rendered itself particularly notorious by
reason of the inflammatory nature of the articles which it published
was the Kesari, owned and managed by a leading Brahmin of Poona,
named Bal Gangadhar Tilak. This person was arrested and tried
before the High Court of Bombay on a charge of sedition under
section 124 of the Indian Penal Code. He was found guilty and sen-
tenced to eighteen months' rigorous imprisonment.
Search parties.
Division of the
city.
Six searching
divisions.
DETECTION OF PLAGUE CASES.
As in Bombay, search parties formed the main agency for the
detection of cases of plague, The work of the parties lasted from
the 15th March to the 19th May. For the purpose of the searches
and other plague operations the city was divided into five sections
numbered I to V, and each section was subdivided into six divisions
distinguished by the letters A to F. Whilst the operations were in
full force there were six searching divisions also distinguished by
the letters A to F. One of the five sections into which the city was
divided was searched daily, the local area marked by a particular
letter being searched by the division distinguished by the same letter.
The divisions thus worked on familiar ground. At first the search of
CHAP. VIII.] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 203
a division occupied about four and-a-half hours, but later when the
number of cases were fewer and the men better acquainted with the
duty, the work proceeded more rapidly. One search was made
each day excepting Sundays. In order that plague patients might
not be removed before the arrival of the troops, no intimation as to
what area would be searched was given to the public. The streets in
which the search took place were patrolled by cavalry.
Method of
search.
Search parties
accompanied by
ladies.
Help given by
native
gentlemen.
Each search division comprised ten parties, which at first consisted
of three British soldiers, and afterwards of two British and one
native soldier. " It was thought necessary that the burden of the
search should be borne by British soldiers, as they were the most dis-
ciplined and trustworthy agency that could be obtained." Each search
division was under the charge of a commissioned officer. Three
commissioned medical officers were employed with the search divi-
sions, each officer taking charge of two divisions. The search parties
were accompanied by ladies who searched the rooms occupied by
females who were of the class that do not appear in public. The ladies
were, with the exception of three Mission ladies who volunteered
for the work, paid employes of the Committee. As in the case of
Bombay, an endeavour was made to conciliate the people, and at
the same time to ensure the search being carried out with as little
possible interference with their feelings and customs, by appointing
native gentlemen of influence to accompany the search parties. It is
stated in the late Mr. Rand's report that the functions of the native
gentlemen were to explain to the public the objects of the ' search, to
act as interpreters between the soldiers and the public, and to point
out to the soldiers the portions of houses which custom forbade
them to enter. The assistance of native gentlemen was not given so
freely in Poona as in Bombay. About twenty volunteers attended
every day, two or three of whom accompanied each search division.
The late Mr. Rand mentioned ten gentlemen as having rendered
useful service, of whom seven were retired native officers. He
specially mentioned Professor S. Moulvi, of the Deccan College.
Difficulties in the
way of the
search.
The late Mr. Rand has recorded the following remarks about the
difficulties in the way of the search operations :—
" The main difficulty apart from the question of agency in the
way of the organisation of a house-to-house inspection lay in the religi-
ous and social customs of the Hindus and Muhammadans, who between
them make up nearly the whole of the population of the City of Poona.
The religious customs of the Hindus forbade people of other races to
enter their god-rooms and cook-rooms. The females of the better class
of Muhammadan families were all purdah* women. Among all classes
* That is, do not appeal in public.
204 Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [CHAP. VIII.
of the population, except perhaps the very lowest, there existed an
aversion to the invasion of their privacy which is unknown in Western
Europe. Again, a systematic search of houses by military agency was
a novelty in Poona, and was on that account likely to be regarded
with distrust and alarm."
Attitude of the
people except
the Brahmins on
the whole
friendly.
Notwithstanding this " the attitude of the inhabitants of the city
towards the search parties was, on the whole, friendly, though people
who had sick in their houses usually tried to conceal them. The
Brahmin community was the only one whose behaviour towards the
troops employed was generally unfriendly. In the Brahmin quarters
the troops met with a good deal of obstruction, which, however,
always stopped short of forcible resistance."
Results,
From March I3th to May 19th, 218,214 houses were searched,
and 338 plague cases and 64 corpses were found. The houses in
the city were searched on an average eleven times each. The sufferers
from the plague were removed to hospital, and arrangements were
made for the prompt disposal of the corpses. " The full value of
the work done by the search parties," Mr. Rand stated, " cannot be
gauged by the number of cases they discovered. The institution of
the search by the military had the effect of causing the public to
give information to the municipal authorities of a large proportion
of the cases that occurred, and in many instances even to take
patients to hospital without official pressure having been exercised."
Search by
municipal
officers.
The municipal plague operations throughout the city were
under the charge of Surgeon-Captain Lloyd Jones. For the particular
purpose of detecting plague cases the city was divided between
three Assistant Health Officers, to each of whom a particular locality
was assigned. The municipal and military agency worked side by
side in the work of detecting cases : 608 cases of plague were removed
to hospital by the municipal agency.
Improvement of
death registra-
tion.
In addition to the scheme of search parties the Committee paid
careful attention to an improved system of death registration as a
means of obtaining early information of plague cases.
Officers posted
at burning and
burial grounds.
" From the time the military operations commenced, registration
clerks were kept on duty from 6 A M. to 10 P.M. daily within city,
suburban and cantonment limits to register deaths of which informa-
tion was given under rule 17 and to grant certificates of registry. At
the same time Mukadams* were posted at the principal burning and
burial grounds with orders to collect death registry certificates from
funeral parties, and to hand over a member of the funeral party to the
police if no certificate was forthcoming. Instructions were given
to all policemen on duty to examine the certificates of all funeral
* subordinate officials.
CHAP. VIII. ] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. 205
parties which passed them and to detain a member of the party when
no certificate was forthcoming, in order that inquiries might be made
as to where the death had taken place. The arrangements made were
duly notified to the public. The startling decrease which took place
in the mortality of Poona City during the month of April led the
Committee to entertain a doubt whether deaths were not escaping
registration. Accordingly, with a view of increasing the efficiency
of the death registration arrangements, a British officer was placed in
charge of them from April 26th. The actual work of death registra-
tion was entrusted to native officers, and the Mukadams stationed
at the burial and burning grounds were replaced by men from the
native infantry. Sowars were told off to inspect daily the smaller
burial-grounds where it was not worth while maintaining permanent
posts."
Five plague
hospitals.
TREATMENT OF THE SICK IN HOSPITAL.
The following is a list of the five hospitals at which plague patients
were treated : —
Name of Hospital.
Sassoon General Hospital
...
...
General Plague Hospital
Muhammadan Plague Hospital
,,,
Hindu
,,
„
Parsi
„
„
Date of first admission.
8th October 1896.
5th February 1897.
8th March 1897.
15th March 1897.
13th May 1897.
The first two were under official management and the remainder
were privately managed, subject to the supervision of the Plague
Committee.
Sassoon General
Hospital.
Sassoon General Hospital.—This is the General Hospital for the
whole of Poona and is under the charge of the Civil Surgeon. It was
at first the only hospital to which plague cases were sent.
The ordinary accommodation was found insufficient and extra
temporary accommodation was provided in the compound and on
railway land in its neighbourhood. When the San gam General Plague
Hospital was established (February 5th), all the patients then at the
Sassoon Hospital were removed to it. For a short time afterwards
Sassoon Hospital was used for suspected cases, but these also
were finally sent to the Sangam Hospital : 204 plague cases were
treated in the hospital, of which 117 terminated fatally.
General Plague
Hospital.
General Plague Hospital.—This, the principal plague hospital,
was situated near the Sangam and was built at the joint cost of the city
and suburban municipalities and of the cantonment. Surgeon. Major
Barry supervised the hospital, Dr. Darabshett was the Medical
2o6 Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind. [CHAP. VIII.
Officer in charge and Miss McIntosh superintended the nursing
arrangements. The hospital was a very large one, and with its
burial-grounds occupied at one time over fifteen acres of ground.
In May rain-proof accommodation for the wet season was provided
for 75 patients.
Private
Muhammadan
Hospital.
Muhammadan Plague Hospital.—This hospital was erected
by the Muhammadans of Poona, the funds for its construction and
maintenance being raised by voluntary subscription. It was assisted
by a grant from the Plague Committee. Surgeon-Captain Beveridge
was in supervisional charge and the management was in the hands of a
committee, the leading spirit of which was Mr. Jaffer Jussuff, "the well-
known Commission Agent.'" The late Mr. Rand stated that the
success of the hospital was mainly due to this gentleman ; no native
gentleman in Poona "rendered services of equal value to Government
and the public generally during the plague epidemic. "
Construction and
accommodation.
The hospital was constructed of temporary huts divided into two
compartments intended to hold one patient each. When the hospital
reached its greatest dimensions there was room for fifty patients, and
this accommodation was not quite sufficient during the height of the
epidemic, and during a short period some cases had to be sent to the
General Hospital,
Management.
Number of cases.
The committee of management admitted all Muhammadans to the
hospital free of charge and provided them with free board and lodging.
Plague patients were permitted to have one relative with them, but
there was no regular nursing. The hospital was under the executive
charge of a native practitioner and a pensioned Hospital Assistant,
The native practitioner took charge of the treatment and used native
remedies only. The patients preferred this. The Hospital Assistant
was responsible for the sanitary condition of the hospital. The hos-
pital returns show 309 cases treated, of which 179 died. In the case of
48 of the patients returned as cured it is considered doubtful whether
they were really suffering from plague.
Value.
" In the points of cleanliness and smartness," the late Mr. Rand
remarked, " the Muhammadan Hospital has compared unfavourably
both with the General Plague Hospital and the Hindu Hospital,"
" It has however," he continued, "been of immense value owing to
the confidence it has enjoyed with practically the whole of the Muham-
madan community. The majority of the patients admitted belonged
to the poorer classes of Muhammadans. No one would have been sur-
prised if this class of people had obstinately opposed the removal of
their sick to hospital. So far, however, was this from being the case
that a large proportion of the patients were brought in by their rela-
tions of their own accord."
CHAP, VIII.] Measures in the Bombay Presidency and Sind, 207
Hindu private
hospital.
Hindu Plague Hospital.—This hospital was erected by voluntary .
contributions. It consisted of temporary huts divided into compart-
ments, each intended for one patient. It was managed by a committee
•of Brahmins subject to the control of the Plague Committee, and was
open to all Hindus, except those of low caste. Persons admitted were
usually required to pay an entrance fee of Rs. 10 and Re, 1 a day
maintenance charges. Patients might be attended by one relative
who lived on the premises.
Out of 157 patients admitted, 98
were Brahmins. Surgeon-Major Barry was in supervisional charge
and Mr. V. V. Bhagwat, the visiting Medical Officer, supervised
the treatment of patients. The chief part of the medical work was,
however, done by the medical students who resided on the spot and
took the place of hospital assistants. " The sheds provided for the
patients were comfortable, and the hospital and its surroundings
were for the most part kept in a good sanitary condition. That the
hospital was appreciated by a considerable section of the Hindu
population appears from the numbers that attended it. Surgeon-
Major Barry's report of the management of the hospital is, however,
generally unfavourable. The proportion of deaths to recoveries
among true plague cases was higher, not only than at the Sassoon and
General Plague Hospitals, but also than at the Muhammadan Hospi-
tal, where treatment on European methods was not in vogue."
Parsi private
hospital.
Parsi Plague Hospital.—This hospital was erected by the Parsi
community at their own expense. It was a substantial structure,
roofed with corrugated iron and thatched, and containing six commo-
dious and well-ventilated wards. The wards were well equipped in
every respect and complete arrangements were made for treatment
and nursing. The late Mr. Rand described the hospital as a model
one, and stated that it reflected the highest credit on the Parsi
community. Only one patient was admitted up to the 20th May.
Systematic
segregation of
inmates of
infected houses.
REMOVAL OF THE HEALTHY INMATES OF INFECTED
HOUSES.
The systematic segregation of all the healthy inmates of houses in
which cases of plague occurred was the feature of the operations in
Poona which differed most from the arrangements in the City of
Bombay.
A system was elaborated under which (a) all the inmates of infected
houses were discovered and removed, and (b) they were detained
in segregation in large and carefully organised segregation camps.
Arrangements for
removal of
persons to be
segregated.
The following account of the arrangements for removing the
persons to be segregated is given in the late Mr. Rand's report :—
" The work of removing to the segregation camps the apparently
healthy inmates of infected houses was performed by Native Infantry