15
PRESIDENCY DISTRICT.
defective dietetic arrangements, as no European officer accompanied them in the march.
They picked up very well since arrival at head-quarters.
General appearance and physique of the men.— The men as a body are good. The Sikh
Company, as far as physique goes, is very good indeed. A & B Company (Hindus) and F
Company (Mosulmans) are also strong. Colonel Barlow thinks with me that there is an un-
doubted dimunition of red corpuscles in the blood since arrival of the regiment at this station,
but then the regiment was in good form after a long march. There are some weedy sepoys,
notably men who served with the regiment in Eastern Bengal, but on the whole the majority
of the men are fit for immediate service.
X. Clothing.—No change took place in the clothing of the regiment during the year.
The men have been supplied with the new valise equipment. They have hardly had an
opportunity as yet to test its comfort, as compared with the
* Each sepoy is estimated to carry old, in heavy marching order ;* but the freedom it allows to
a total weight of 351bs. in heavy
the ptay of the chest during respiration and manual acts
marching order.
must be attended with not only increased comfort, but also
less detriment to the organs therein contained. The boots are, as before, of the ordinary
ammunition pattern : 16 men, or a percentage of strength of 2.5, were admitted into hospital
from blistered feet. I am still of opinion that until stockings are worn, and the boot is built
with a nearer approach to fitness, it will remain a principal factor of inefficiency when active
service demands of the native soldier to put forth his best marching powers.
XI. Duty. —The duties at head-quarters are not severe, and consist of the ordinary guards,
parades, musketry, &c. The nights in bed for the different ranks have been as follow
Native officers, 4.25; havildars, 17.50 : naicks, 6.75 ; sepoys, 9.25; buglers, 7.33.
The Sikhs are said to amuse themselves by spearing pigs, which abound in
the neighbourhood. This is done on foot, and. the flesh of the animals is subse-
quently consumed with relish. Recruits are put through a course of gymnas-
tics.
The march of the regiment during the first seven days of January. and
the movements of the wings and detachments to and from Nya Damka, furnished
no incident worthy of detail.
The hospital affords good and sufficient accommodation. An application
has been made for proper quarters for the hospital assistant.
A cholera hut with mat walls and thatch roof has been erected. A
supply of blankets was obtained for hospital use.
General ap-
pearance and
physique of
lie men.
C l o t h i n g
Accoutre-
ments.
Boots.
Duty.
Recreations.
Movements.
Hospital.
Blankets.
Sickness,
mortality and i nval i di ng.
XV. Sickness, mortality and invaliding.— Strength of the regiment-
Present
626.89
Absent
76.65
Total
703.54
STATION.
PERIOD.
Strength.
TOTAL NUMBER
OF
Daily
average
number
of sick.
.
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH
PER ANNIIIS.
From
TO
Admis-sious Deaths.
Admis-
sious.
Deaths.
Daily
average
sick.
Head-Quarters of the 5th
Regiment, Native Infan-
try.
1st Jan. 1877
9th Jan.1877
6 7 8 . 3 7
1 6
. . .
1 5 . 0 0
1 0 7 . 6 7
. . .
2 . 2 1
Head-Quarters and Right
Wing, 5th Regiment. , Na-
tive Infantry.
9th
„
31st
„
4 4 7 . 9 4
3 4 2
2
1 2 . 9 0
7 7 . 8 2
0 . 4 5
2 . 9 0
Detachment at Nya Dumka
Ditto
...
Ditto
...
1 8 5 . 1 9
1 5 3
. . .
5 . 4 0
8 4 . 5 3
. . .
2 . 9 1
TOTAL
...
...
6 2 6 . 8 9
5 1 1
2
1 8 . 2 6
8 1 . 5 1
0 . 3 1
2 . 8 7
Number of deaths in hospital, 2; out of hospital, 4; total. 6; per cent. of total strength
0.85
,, invalided 9 ; ,, ,,
1.27
sent on sick leave 15 ; ,, ,,
2.13
,, at Bhagalpur 9 ; ,, ,,
,, at Dnmka 6 ; ,, ,,
,, of days spent in hospital 6,611 ; per admission 12.93 ; per man of total strength
9.40
,, ,, at Bhagalpur 4,699 ;
,, ,, at Dumku 1,912 ;
,, of days spent on sick leave 1,704 ; per man 113.60 ;,, ,,
2.42
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength
11.82
The higher sick-rate of 1877 and lower admission-rate, as compared with
1876, are explained by the fact that a few severe cases spent a long time in
hospital. The Sikhs are said to be the healthiest section of the regiment, and the
Dogras and Jats the least healthy.