?CHAPTER I.
GENERAL REVIEW.
Part I.-Plague in the Presidency.
September 1896 to June 1899.
(?OTE.-The populations assigned to Districts, Towns and Villages as far as page 150 of
this volume, are those of the Census of 1891 taken from the Sanitary Commissioner's Annual
Report for 1898 ; after page 150 or in cases where they cannot be found in the Sanitary
Commissioner's Report, they are taken from the Administration and Collectors' Annual Reports.)
The present series of Plague epidemics in India began in Bombay in August 1896. But
the disease was not recognised till September 23rd, when Dr. Viegas, a Private Practitioner in
Bombay, stated publicly that there was plague in the City, and made an official report to the
Municipal Commissioner accordingly. The previous prevalence of the disease in Bombay
City, however, is clearly demonstrated by the total weekly mortality for August and
September.
Week ending
Actual mortality in 1896.
Average mortality for same period during previous five years.
Remarks.
18th August
650
559

25th “
660
555

1st September
629
508

8th “
563
494

15th “
580
459

22nd “
613
478

29th “
671
492

Total for 7 weeks
4,375
3,545
Excess 830 : or about 120 per week.
Of its actual inception, as of its origin, little or nothing is known. It is not even
known in what part of the City plague first appeared. On the 29th of September the Govern-
ment of India were officially informed ; and, on the same date, Mr. Haffkine was sent from
Calcutta to Bombay to convert medical opinion into Bacteriological certainty. On the 13th
of October 1896 Bacteriological investigation confirmed the existence of Plague in Bombay
City.
FIRST PERIOD.
23rd September 1896 to 4th June 1897.
The spread of the pestilence from Bombay was at first very gradual. Thefirst District
to return indigenous plague was Satara, in the South : but, on the whole, during the first
year, the tendency of the spread was northwards. Up to the end of December 1896, Thana
and Karáchi in the North, and Satara, in the South, were the only Districts to report
indigenous plague, while imported cases were returned from Ahmedabad, Broach, Cutch,
Kaira, Kathiawar, Khandesh, Mahikantha, Nasik and Surat, on the North ; and from Kanara,
Kolaba, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Savantwadi, and Sholapur, on the South.
The first three months of 1897 saw the infection of District after District : the tendency
of the spread being markedly northward, as Maps Nos. I and I (a) show. As regards indigenous
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