32 Avnval Rrporf. [Fkr. 



the Santal Parganas ' b}' Rev. P. 0. Boddint^. The fii-Bt was read at 

 the January meeting', and the two others at that in November. 



In the first paper Mi-. Holland gives details of measurements made 

 on the two largest tribes in the province of Coorg, and compares them 

 with previously publislied results for other tribes in South India. The 

 Yeruvas, like the Kurunibas, Irulas, Pani^-ans and otlier aboriginal 

 tribes, arc thick-lipped, wavj-liaired, black-skinnod, platyrhine and shoit 

 of stature. The Cooi'gs, on the contrary, stand out atnongst the people 

 of South India by i*eason of tlieir compai'atively fair skin, great .stature 

 (168'5 cm.), mesorhiiie (721. ) nose, siib-brachycepbalic cranium (79 9) 

 and in many physical charaetei's gcnorall}- presented Ijy races of the 

 so-called higher types. The much disputiMl question of Coorg caste is 

 discussed, and, assnining the Brahiuans of S'nith India to represent the 

 highest caste, tliat is, to lay claim to the purest Aiyaii I'elation.ship, 

 the Author recommends the Coorgs to follow Mr. Richter's advice and 

 despise all notions of caste. 



In the second paper Captain Haig describes a caste, which is 

 numerous in the nortli-ea.stern distinets of the Madras Presidency and 

 in the Nizam's Dominions, and has spread into Berar, and which, though 

 agricultural now, claims a war-like ancestry, 



Mr. Bodding narrates in his paper how he chanced to discover the 

 existence of ancient stone implements among the Santals under the 

 name of ' thunderbolls.' They liolieve that such .stones fall irom the 

 sky with liglitning and attribute great medicinal virtues to thom. He 

 descril)es with the aid of plates the stones which lie has succeeded in 

 collecting and explains their supposed virtues. His discovery is inter- 

 esting in that it furnishes a ready clue towards finding similar articles 

 elsewhere, by enquiring simply about ' thunder-bolts.' 



The publication in the Anthropological or Third part of tlie 

 Journal for the year 1900 will be that of one paper, Col. AVaddell's 

 ' Wild Tribes of the Biahma-putra Valley.' It was read at the 

 November meeting in 1899, but there has been a most regrettable delay 

 in issuing it, for, when the paper was being printed, the Author was 

 ordered away to join the expedition to China during the middle of the 

 year and has been absent ever since, and the publication has been greatly 

 impeded. It is hoped, howevei-, that he will be able to finish it soon. 

 The paper gives a description of the tribes, their divisions, manners, 

 (Histonis and leligious ideas, and also copious anthropometrical informa- 

 tion ; and it will be ('inl)ellislied with a lai'ge number of photographic 

 illustrations. 



The didicully which has attended this paper has delayed otlier 

 papers, but they will be issued eai-ly during the present year. 



