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immense fires on the inaccessible mountains, which 
are occasioned by the friction of the bambo trees 
against one another, which always happens in high 
winds ;—so dry is this country before the rain. 
The knowledge I have of the people makes one 
often smile at the ideas of Europeans concerning In- 
dians. I assure you that the “innocent Indians” are 
the most depraved people inthe world that I know of; 
and there are not more impudent, debauched, arch- 
villains than the “holy harmless sons of Brama :” 
they are insolent and tyrannical to a degree. I 
had a little adventure with them the other day. 
While we have the Nabob’s country, we pay all the 
church expenses, which the superstition of these 
people has made very great. A great feast is now 
coming on, for which they got leave to cut a certain 
kind of wood. A single tree of this was in the 
garden of a gentleman, which I would not suffer 
them to cut. They then all shut themselves up in 
the pagoda, and from the top of it held out a flag 
of defiance and mutiny. They charged the people 
to rebel, and all the shops to be shut up. They 
were obeyed in the last instance. Mr. Irwin was 
up the country about fifty miles distant. I rode 
over to a place called the Cutchery (the court of 
business and justice), of which I am, in Mr. Irwin’s 
absence, sole president and governor. In my way I 
was saluted with more exclamations of mutiny. I 
sent for the Bramins, who said they would come 
down and submit if I would give them this tree. I 
would make no composition; but told them to go 
back, and I would follow them in five minutes ; 
