36 Captain Postans on the Bihichi Tribes inhabiting Sindh, 
subjects, and it may be doubted if, except amongst the deter- 
minedly lawless tribes, the Bilichis generally are obnoxious to 
this accusation. With hordes who exist by plunder, the 
result must be sanguinary and ferocious habits, but though 
the whole of the Bilichi tribes have been pronounced, and 
are more or less knavish and prone to thieving, there are 
only a few who follow robbery as a regular profession ; and 
these have acquired for the mass, at least those who have 
suffered more or less from their violence, a really worse char- 
acter, in this respect, than they deserve. A high authority 
(Captain M‘Murdo) has said, that this thieving propensity is 
so inherent in the Bilachis, that in Sindh, chiefs and men, 
otherwise in no way impelled to do so, will, for the mere love 
of the thing, take the road and turn highwaymen. Pride 
commensurate with a state of barbarous ignorance, is a lead- 
ing feature in the Biltchis, and they are mean and avaricious. 
Bigoted in proportion to their want of knowledge of all be- 
yond the mere forms of their religion, they treat with studied 
intolerance all Kafirs or unbelievers; and the miserable Hindt, 
who to suit his own purposes of traffic and gain, has located 
himself amongst them, is at all times prepared for violence 
prompted by fanaticism and degradation, the result of his 
creed; but this, and more, he is contented to bear to effect 
his object (not only with Bilichis, but even Turkomans), and, 
curiously enough, one vice counteracting another, in many 
parts of Sindh the Hindtis have become not only wealthy, but 
so influential, as to be able at times to resist oppression by a 
sort of tacit opposition, which is very effective. Thus,.in any 
extraordinary act of oppression, threatened or committed on 
any of their body individually, the Hindas of Shillinpur would 
shut up their shops and abandon the city. All trade was 
thus at a complete stand-still, and the revenue ceased alto- 
gether; they thus soon obtained their own terms with their 
avaricious rulers. The state of the Hindis in these countries, 
however, is by no means so bad as that of the Copts in Egypt, 
or the Jews occupying nearly the same relative position in 
Mahomedan countries generally. Captain M‘Murdo’s sum- 
mary of Sindhian character may be applied, to a certain ex- 
tent, to the Bilichis situated between Mickran and Hindus- 
