PUNJAB FRONTIER FORCE.
185
• Weakly men were recommended to be sent to their homes from Abbottabad for the winter months.
But this latter recommendation could not be acceded to, on account of the interests of the
service.
4 t h P u n j a b C a v a l r y . — R a j a n p u r
Surgeon A. Macgregor, who was in medical charge throughout the year, has Medical
charge.
YEAR.
STATION.
PER CENT OF STRENGTH.
Admissions. Deaths. Daily sick.
1869
. . . Kohat, March 1869,
from Edwardesabad...
195.1
5.4
7.6
1870 ... Ditto
ditto ...
175.5
1.
5.8
1871 ... Ditto
ditto ...
149.2
2.4
6 . 3
1872 ... Rajunpur, December
1871 ...
...
165.5
1.5
7.2
1873
Ditto
ditto ...
112.5
1.5
4.6
Average...
......
159.5
2.3
6.3
1874 ... Rajanpur ...
...
174.2
1.3
8.5
furnished a very interesting
report, from which the fol
lowing extracts have been
taken:—
II. Location and movements.—
The head-quarters have remained
at Rajanpur during the whole
year, the last three days being in
camp preparatory to the march to
Dera Ghazi Khan. Detachments at
the following Out-posts have been
maintained the whole year, namely,
Bhundowala, Drigri, and Mo-
hammedpore.
III. Topography,& c . — T h e
station itself of Rajanpur has been
described before, and I have no-
Location.
Detachments.
ropography.
thing to add to it. This year, however owing to the very large inundations of the Indus, cou
-pled with the backing up from the hill streams, the cantonments were for some days in con-
siderable danger. The hill streams meet the Indus floods at a point some miles north of Rajan--
pur, and as they run with enormous velocity, for a time the Indus waters are quite stayed; but
as they must find an outlet somewhere, the consequence is that taking a curve along some
low-lying grounds between Rajanpur and the river, they debouched on the flat land near the
cantonments, and the flood was rapidly rising and threatening them. What added to the fear was
that a very large main irrigation canal ran to the river side of cantonments, and if the waters
had breached this, there is no doubt but the whole of the lines and officers' bungalows must have
been swept away. But owing to the energetic measures pursued, a large bund, some two miles
long, was thrown up by the regiment and detachment 5th Punjab Infantry. And the natives of the
city working hard all night, the waters rose level with the bund, but by that time the hill streams
having subsided, the backing up ceased and all immediate danger was over. I travelled a good deal
in November and December over the district, and found almost the same features everywhere, on
the river side of the main road immense grass and jow jungles, while towards the hills, barren
sandy wastes, which, however, only require water to produce heavy crops. Near the hills, where the
hill streams settle, is most splendid grass, and the Belooch tribes drive all their cattle there to
feed in August and September. The artesian well at Sub-Zil-Kote is still being carried on (I
mean the borings), but with little success as yet; if it could be successful, it would bring into
cultivation a vast tract of ground now quite desert. As I proceeded southward towards Rohjan
the jungle gets thinner, chiefly jow and jhall jungle, the ground is broken up into enormous
fissures from the floods, and I was informed by the Marari Chief that the mortality there and
in outlying villages from fever after the water dried up was something very large indeed. As a
result in the cantonments, I had nearly three times as many admissions into hospital from ague
than last year, and half as many again as the year before, which was looked upon as an extreme-
ly unhealthy year. The fever caused no deaths, due, no doubt, to the favorable circumstances as
to treatment, &c., the men were placed under, but I saw enough to quite understand the mortal-
ity in outlying districts, where the people had no treatment at all, and what wretched hovels
they had were all washed down; the fever culminated in the latter end of October, and then
gradually subsided. I visited the Out-posts; they, while the rest of the district was suffering
had only two cases, namely, at Drigri. Hurrund Out-post, though in the Rajanpur district, supplied
from Dera Ghazi Khan, and is by far the most unhealthy of all, due to the fact of the large
rice fields all around, but in my opinion still more to the stagnant pools of filthy water which exist
at the very base of the fort. The fort is an old Sikh erection, and very strongly built, but the
interim is now partly filled up with rubbish and the ruins of old Sikh houses. The water was
perfectly green and gave forth a most unpleasant smell, and the native officer in charge of the
detachment complained very strongly of it as a great nuisance; in fact, to reach the fort gate a
causeway of stable manure and grass is built. The Kahar nullah from the hills this year
cut out a new channel and partly washed down the village of Drigri; about half a mile from the
Out-post a very large bund has been erected by the country people to turn the channel next year.
With the exception of intermittent fevers, from all I could learn the district is remarkably
healthy. Cholera is unknown, and both dysentery and diarrhœa are, comparatively speaking, rare.
Small-pox is not near so rife as formerly, though amongst grown men it is rare to find one not
pitted, and also loss of sight of one or both eyes as its result is far from uncommon. The
Beloochis are taking so kindly to vaccination that I hope in a short time the disease will be to
a great extent a name of the past.
Y 1
Floods.
Artesian well.