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cleaning, so that when the population returned not a nook or corner had escap-
ed the perchloride of mercury, and not a rag or rubbish heap remained, while
walls inside and out shone with limewash, with which disinfectant had been
mixed, and light and air penetrated to the darkest recesses through holes in
walls and roofs. Both in Karachi and Sukkur, Mr. Cadell's work was most
thorough and systematised, his subordinates being carefully trained by himself.
Amid the great heat, he spent the whole day in the solitude of the empty quarter
with his gangs of men, toiling to cast out the dirt of years. The result was
that there was no re-appearance of plague when the streets were again tenant-
ed by a living multitude. As at Hyderabad, the return was most carefully
watched, and the new-comers were all taken to the camps to be disinfected and
observed. This detention was necessary because so many deaths had occurred
in the villages.
Mr. Lucas' hands had been strengthened by a strong contingent of officers.
Plague had to be kept out of Shikarpur, and should it get a footing there it was
desired to have officers ready to put into the town, and plague had to be beaten
back, if that might be possible, from the Punjab frontier. The frontier station
is Reti. At Dharki, the next station south and only some 15 miles from the
boundary, a sudden and sharp outbreak occurred—34 cases and 24 deaths in
all. Surgeon-Major Baker and Mr. Mountford, 1. O. S., the Assistant Collect-
or in charge of the táluka, were 011 the spot immediately. Some good work
had already been done by the local authorities, and the people had segregated
themselves under trees. A disinfecting gang was organised, all the inhabitants
removed, the houses systematically cleaned, the people re-placed, and the
public health restored. Mr. Pringle had been moved up from Hyderabad, and
was again selected for the duty of clearing plague out of the villages in the
Sukkur Táluka. Mr. Lucas had done a great deal of preliminary enforcement
of orders by Special Plague Inspectors. Mr. Pringle, after visiting every
village, was able to comfirm the intelligence that plague was in May confined
to two villages in the Sukkur Táluka and had never been local in more than
three or four. These two villages gave some trouble, but yielded eventually
to the effective method of turning out the population, and disinfecting and
cleaning the houses, and after the re-occupation there were no more cases,
This reads easy, but May in Upper Sind represents the worth of the workers
who stayed not to rest till their task was done. The result of the Gharibabad
exodus was widely known, and the villagers quietly accepted the same remedy.
On the opposite bank, Mr. Mountford, I.C.S., was in charge of the Rohri
Sub-division, and defended the bridge and watched the river with determination ;
but the Sukkur fugitives in their sudden flight had slipped across and infected
several villages within 2 or 3 miles of Rohri. Cases were occurring towards
the end of March, and by the middle of April the left bank, including Rohri,
was badly infected. Mr. Mountford was reinforced by Lieutenants Leith,
Hislop and Bailey, who were unsparing in their movements, and with the aid
of Hospital Assistants the sick were treated in sheds under trees and made as
comfortable as possible.
Mr. Mountford's arrangements in Rohri were admirable. He held the
disease thoroughly well in check all the time, and the bulk of the population
remained, so that the town at no time looked empty. Mr. Mountford went on
the plan of emptying thoroughly particular streets. He always got good
information of sickness, and carried the sensible part of the townsfolk with
him, and his administration was thoroughly successful.
All these weeks, Surgeon-Captain Milne, now helped by Surgeon-Captain
Clark, was both defending Shikárpur and preparing for outbreak. The in-
habitants got two excellent Plague Hospitals fully equipped, one for Hindus and
one for Muhammadans, and spent a good deal of money in providing the neces-
sary quarters for nurses and attendants and renovating the buildings selected.
The Government Plague Hospital was also in readiness and received the few
imported cases. Large camps were standing to receive the population of the