2
and with them I went to the slaughter-house where we found the leaders of the
butchers and had a long discussion, when it was agreed that I should jointly
with the Bombay Municipality build hospital sheds in some rice fields near
Naopara for the exclusive use of the Mahommedans to be managed entirely by
themselves.
9. These sheds were built by the Bombay Municipality. When plague
broke out in the slaughter-house, the Mahommedans refused to go there, and
wanted me to build them a special hospital near the slaughter-house on some
land occupied by a Christian encampment.
10. I may say here that on 14th March I met the Plague Committee at
Bandra, and they took over the management of the slaughter-house, and put
Veterinary Major Mills in charge, so that I had nothing more to do with the
slaughter-house. The hospital sheds however remained at Naopara, but
strange to say no cases of plague occurred in Naopara, although it was raging
at the slaughter-house close by.
11. As there was no plague in the village, I did no house to-house visita-
tion there. I asked one of our members, Mr. N. Futtehally, who was afterwards
appointed a Plague authority, especially to look after Naopara. I occasionally
went amongst them, and all expressed their greatest readiness to send their sick
to this hospital. They were never however exposed to the trial.
12. The site selected for the Central Hospital was in the rice fields near
Khar village. The question arose how to get a hospital erected. I wanted it at
once. I could get no contractor in Bandra to erect it, so I went to Mr. Murzban,
Executive Engineer of the Bombay Municipality, who sent me one of his men
with materials. Afterwards however it was erected by our Municipal Surveyor
departmentally. At this time Surgeon-Captain S. E. Prall, I. M. S., volunteered
to do plague work. He was at once appointed a Plague authority, and he took
over the management and equipment of the hospital. No one could have done it
better or cheaper, and to Dr. Prall must be given all the praise of the starting and
equipment of the hospital. It was designed by him too.
13. The Rev. Mother Superior at the Bandra Convent sent us two of the
Sisters under her as Hospital Nurses. Messrs. Phipson & Co. sent us a present
of portwine and spirits, the P. and O. Company sent us fifty blankets, and
Mrs. Little, Mrs. Prall and Mrs. Gilbert made all the hospital clothing for the
patients. Several firms in Bombay sent old cloth and samples which were useful
in working up into clothes, &c.
14. Dr. Prall not only managed the hospital at first, but he also did a
great deal of house-to-house visitation work.
15. The hospital was not completed till the 1st March. We could get it
done no sooner, but if I had had it earlier, many more lives would have been
saved in Bándra.
16. When I took over charge the Christians had nearly all gone into huts
in the fields, most of them left their sick in the villages, and some few
stayed behind in the village. The Dáñela villagers had none of them gone into
huts : this village contains 4,000 or 5,000 people. Those who were doing plague
work in Bándra were only myself, Mr. Little, Dr. Prall, Dr. Gonsalves, Dr.
DeMonte and the Municipal Inspectors.
17. We directed our attention to segregating the sick from the healthy.
I assisted some of the poorer classes in building huts. All the villages round
Bándra have hamlets of huts inhabited by Mhars ; from none of these had the
Mhars moved out- Plague soon broke out amongst the Mhars of Sherli village,
and these went into huts erected near the seashore in a place selected by me.
18. It was quite a pleasure to deal with Mhars. They obeyed orders so
readily ; for instance, these Mhars moved out all their things to the new camp,
and had the roofs off their huts within two hours of my giving the order. By the
evening all were comfortable in temporary huts erected by themselves with
material supplied by me. With the exception of one other case which occurred
two days afserwards, these Mhars never had another case ; the roofs of their
houses remained off for over two months, leaving the inside fully exposed to the
sun. They went back in May and had no other case.