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All food is free except for those whose religious ideas prevent their accepting it, and
they are charged a nominal sum daily. The food is prepared by cooks provided for the
purpose, one cook and one cook-house for each denomination, the different castes being
strictly considered. The sheds themselves are situated in the hottest places that could be
found for them, far away from trees and only near enough to -water to prevent hardship.
The sheds are of matting and thatched, and there is a shed for each day's arrivals and the
arrivals are disposed of accordingly, and the occupants of the different sheds are not allowed
to communicate with each other.
Each person on arrival is given a printed ticket showing his name and date of arrival
and a similar placard is placed upon the door of his lodging. He cannot obtain a railway
ticket at the station without showing his quarantine discharge. Of course all men and
women have separate accommodation except in the caso of families if they are desirous of
being together, and their wishes are considered as much as possible. The drinking water
is all boiled before the people are allowed to drink it and the sanitation of each camp is
carefully attended to.
Each camp is in charge of a Hospital Assistant, who has under him a female nurse,
ward-boys, dressers, &c., in proportion to the size of the camp, while the police arrange-
ments are under a special police constable with a sufficient number of policemen to prevent
any one leaving the camp unauthorisedly.
14. I have personally inspected the camps periodically and attended to all complaints,
but the State authorities have been most careful to provide for the comfort and prejudices
of the persons detained and the system has been throughout wonderfully popular. His High-
ness the Raja has spared no expense and the Diwan and Doctor Sinclair have spared no
trouble in regard to the arrangements for the people detained in the observation camps,
while the Chief of Sángli has cheerfully agreed to every suggestion, and his officials, Dr.
Godambe and Mr. Bhide (then Acting State Karbhari), have personally laboured to make
the observation camps not only useful as protection against the disease, but also comfortable
for the inmates, and it is a noticeable fact that not a single case of plague has been import-
ed into Sángli.''
5. In British Gujarat, the disease in an epidemic form was virtually confined
to a portion of the Surat District. The district of Broach, which lies immediately
north of Surat, was protected, amongst other things, by camps of observa-
tion, while Párdi, the southern táluka of the Surat District, though imminently
exposed to the risk of infection from the Portuguese district of Damaun, where
plague was raging, was protected not only by camps of observation, but by
what is known as the Damaun cordon. The Salt Department at all times
guards the Damaur. frontier with a view specially to preventing the smuggling
of illicit salt, and maintains a large number of men. for the purpose. This
force was strengthened and used for the purpose of giving effect to a proclama-
tion, issued on March 26th, by which the District Magistrate of Surat prohi-
bited intercommunication between places on the Damaun side and those on
the British side of the cordon. The line as finally drawn, 38 miles in length,
was watched by a force of 324 men. Applicants for permission to enter British
territory were medically inspected and made to bathe in a solution of disin-
fectants ; their clothes were boiled and they were detained for three days in a
special camp before being permitted to enter the general camp which was capable
of holding about 100 persons. Every effort was made to discourage a general
movement of the population from Damaun, but nevertheless the camp had at
times as many people as it could accommodate. The rules as regards egress
from or ingress into Damaun and as regards the transport of goods were at first
very strict, but were subsequently modified. The efficiency of the arrangements,
which were controlled by Mr. Judge, Assistant Collector of Salt Revenue, was
extraordinary, as is indicated by the immunity of the Párdi Táluka from plague
when compared with the 3,000 cases which are believed to have occurred in
Damaun, which is geographically a portion of that táluka.
6. When the severe epidemic of plague occurred in the Cutch State, it
became necessary to take special measures to prevent a spread to Káthiáwár and
through that Agency to Northern Gujarat. The remarks of the Political Agent,
Káthiáwár, on the measures taken by him are quoted below :—
" The virulent outbreak of the disease at Mándvi in Cutch, which is only a few hours'
voyage from, and in daily communication with, the western ports of Káthiáwár, called for
increased watchfulness against the import of the disease through the Káthiáwár ports
opposite the Cutch coast. Strict injunctions were therefore issued to enforce medical