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Assam as soon as I can to investigate a disease there, I have handed the animal over to Dr. Lewis,
who takes a deep interest in this investigation, and he will watch whether the parasites reappear;
and if they do, he will study them.
November 3rd—Dr. Lewis reports:—" Many of the organisms present in the pup's blood
to-day; I showed them fresh to Dr. Cunningham. The dog appears to be getting on famously."*
This agrees with my observations in the horse that the parasites come and go in successive broods.
APPENDIX K.
SURRA.
Notes upon the Sanitary Condition of the Horse Lines at Dera Ismail Khan and Outposts.
Dera Ismail Khan, 29th September 1880.—Head-quarters, 4th Punjab Cavalry, 242 sabres.
The station is situated upon the west bank of the Indus. The soil is alluvial mud and sand,
fertile where it can be irrigated. The horses stand on open lines, raised about a foot, which
are kept in fair condition. The climate is exceedingly dry; it is beyond the reach of the
monsoon, and the annual rain-fall of the district is exceedingly small: cultivation is carried
on entirely by irrigation. The best grasses growing in the district are sain (or sen), dhub,
dhab and keo Sain is said to be preferred by the horses, and it contains better feeding; it
appears to suit the soil and climate better than dhab : dhab and keo are inferior grasses, and are
not used except when the others are scarce. But, owing to the extreme dryness of the climate
and soil, no grass of any kind fit for use can be obtained for a great part of the year, and then
horses are fed on bhusa or chopped straw. Gram good, barley bad. The water for drinking
at Dera Ismail Khan is obtained from wells. There are two wells at the horse lines, one in
front, and one in the rear. The immediate surrounding of both wells were in a filthy state,
black mud and green slime all round within a few feet of the mouth of the wells on the brick
platform, &c. The bhistis bullocks stood upon the edge of the well dropping dung within 3 feet
of it. The platform at the top of the well was originally flat; it is now worn unevenly, so that
there are many depressions to retain water and dirt stagnant exposed to the hot sun, breeding-
places for many kinds of infusorial life. The men, according to custom, stand on this unevenly
flat top of the well to bathe their bodies every morning, and of necessity some of the dirty water
runs into the well. The bhistis I saw walk through the black mud and green slime, and stand
with their slimy feet on the very edge while they drew the water, and the slime trickled down
from their feet into the well. After seeing all this I was not surprised to find many infusoria
visible to the naked eye by the ray of the sun passing through a clear glass bottle with the water
fresh drawn. These remarks apply to both the wells. They ought to be periodically cleaned
out, and a wall built round the edge 2 feet high, the top of this wall to be made slanting in, so
that no one could stand on it, and the platform made to slant out, so that no water could remain
upon it; the platform should be surrounded by a pucka drain, and a similar drain should lead
from that to a distant channel. The wells should also be covered.
2. The natives appear to have no notion of cleanliness apart from what is ceremonial, and
they will drink any filthy water so long as they get it within their ceremonial rules of religion,
which accounts for many of their diseases. There is an idea too common among British officers
that any water which is used by the sowar is good enough for his horse, and that it is useless
to interfere between the native and his drink. Now, I beg most respectfully to state that so
long as that goes on the horses will be subject to fatal diseases, and mucli loss of money will be
occasioned thereby. Clean and pure water ought to be obtained for the horses irrespective of
any religious prejudices in favor of dirt. If it is thought impolitic to dictate to the native
what he should drink, surely we need not fear if we insist that the sowar's horse shall live in
accordance with the laws of health. It may not be impolitic to bear in mind that it costs more
to get a good horse than a man to serve in the army.
3. There were seven cases of surra first reported sick at Dera Ismail Khan in 1878, two in
1879, and one in 1880—all fatal. Before I proceed to comment upon the particular outpost,
I shall offer a few remarks upon the geological features of the district generally and upon the
water system, which will help to make clear what I may say in respect to each post.
4. The district of Dera Ismail Khan extends from the Indus to our frontier at the foot of
the Suliman range of mountains, and from Bain in the north to Draband in the south. Roughly
speaking, judging from the map, it includes an area of about 2,400 square miles. The hills, so
far as I could see, are composed of grey sandstone conglomerate and limestone. Near the foot
of the hills the ground is very stony with some rather large boulders mixed with clean sand, like
* The pup was taken by Dr. Lewis to Calcutta. He grew in size but became miserably thin and was destroyed early
in the following March (1881). Dr. Lewis thought he suffered from " distemper," and not from anything caused by the
parasites, which, however, kept coming and going in successive broods to the end, but no record was kept of the intervals
or of the symptoms and progress of the disease. Dr. Lewis arrived at the conclusion that the parasite is " more nearly
related to that which he found in the blood of rats than to any other."