24 Dr Hamilton's Account of the Frontier 



haunches, where the upper edge was secured by a number of 

 strings of white beads, bound round her like a sash. The 

 two ends of this cloth, just meeting at one of her haunches, 

 showed at every step almost the whole outside of her left 

 thigh, and very little of the inside of either was concealed. 

 The other women were dressed in a similar manner, but not 

 quite so fine. In full dress the women also wear a chequered 

 cloth round their shoulders. 



These people seem to have abundance of provisions : hogs, 

 goats, dogs, cats, fowls, fish, snakes, and lizards, form their 

 animal food. Hogs and fowls they have in plenty ; but they 

 have much difficulty in preserving any goats from the tigers. 

 Kingdai denied their eating cats and dogs, and said, that the 

 Bengalese alleged their doing so, in order to render them ri- 

 diculous ; but I was assured by the Jootneas, as well as by 

 the Bengalese, that these animals are eaten ; and several of 

 the Moroosas, indeed, confirmed the report. Kingdai was 

 therefore, probably, actuated by a false modesty ; for that 

 young cats and dogs are excellent eating there can be no 

 doubt, as they are, I know, highly esteemed by the Chinese, 

 the nation next to the French which has proceeded farthest 

 in the refinement of eating. The Moroosas venture to attack 

 tigers with short spears ; but they do not eat such as they 

 kill. In their jooms they cultivate rice, cotton, a kind of 

 cucumber, an arum or kutchu, tobacco, and several other 

 vegetables. They sell the cotton, and buy all the cloth which 

 they use. They make a kind of fermented liquor, which 

 they call arak, as is also done by all the neighbouring rude 

 tribes in the following manner : — The root of a shrub, which 

 the Moroosos name toa, and the Bengalese call moolee, is 

 bruised, and from it is extracted a farinaceous substance, 

 which, with the addition of a little rice-flour, is made into 

 cakes like biscuits. These cakes are also called toa and 

 moolee, and may be kept for a long time. When arak is to 

 be prepared, some of the toa cake is mixed with entire rice, 

 and wet with water. This wet mixture, by standing one day, 

 ferments, and forms a mass, by the Moroosas called yoo. 

 More water is then added to the yoo, and the fermentation is 

 allowed to go on for three days. The liquor is then decant- 



