INDIA. 



INDIANA. 



405 



inhabited by a semi-nomadic race of men, who 

 pass their time alternately in rude^ cultivation, 

 hunting, and internal warfare, varied by occa- 

 sional predatory incursions on territory occu- 

 pied either by the British or the semi-indepen- 

 dent states protected by Great Britain. There 

 are no roads, the district never having been 

 surveyed, and being as little explored as the 

 interior of Africa. The best paths are the 

 dry beds of streams, by traversing which the 

 traveller not only obtains means of passage 

 through the hills and jungle, but also shelter 

 from the rays of the sun afforded by over- 

 hanging trees. 



Respecting the inhabitants of this country, 

 they are as little known as the country itself, 

 but are believed by some to be of Malay 

 origin. They are divided into numerous clans, 

 of most of which the very names are unknown. 

 The three principal tribes with which travel- 

 lers have come in contact are the Howlong, the 

 Syloo, and the Kuttun Poia, which number in 

 all about twenty-six thousand individuals. 

 These tribes are all situated in the southeast- 

 ern corner of the district. It has been asserted 

 that some of the chiefs could bring eight 

 thousand fighting-men into the field, but this 

 statement is regarded by good authorities as 

 exaggerated. The Looshais are exceedingly 

 brave and warlike, but extremely cruel, setting 

 but very little value on human life. The cause 

 of these constant raids is twofold greed and 

 a desire to obtain skulls, without a certain 

 number of which the obsequies of a chief can- 

 not be properly performed. For more than 

 ten years these marauders have been making 

 murderous raids on British subjects in Tip- 

 erah, or the tea-planters of Cachar. In 1869 

 the Looshais made a daring inroad into the 

 territory of the protected chief of Munnipoor, 

 and the British Government resolved on chas- 

 tising the perpetrators. For this purpose a 

 force, consisting of two columns of regular 

 troops and a body of police, General Nuthall 

 being placed in command of the whole, was 

 detailed. Owing to delays due to mismanage- 

 ment or the inherent difficulties of the expe- 

 dition, the principal force started at too late a 

 period of the year, and, after marching one 

 hundred and seventy-four miles without firing 

 a shot, was driven back by the rains. Not an 

 enemy had been seen, and the affair proved a 

 failure. The second column, under Major Ste- 

 phenson, was somewhat more successful. Still 

 the actual results obtained were altogether 

 incommensurate with the expense incurred 

 and the labor undergone. Emboldened by the 

 failure of the attempts to punish them, and re- 

 lying probably on the apparently inaccessible 

 nature of the country, the Looshais, during 

 the early part of 1871, made an incursion in 

 the tea-districts of Cachar, murdered a Mr. 

 Winchester and several others, and carried off 

 the little daughter of the former into captivity. 

 This act put an end to all political theories, 

 and the British authorities determined to carry 



their orders into the district of the offending 

 tribes at the point of the sword. The Indian 

 Government, acting under the advice of Lord 

 Napier of Magdala, caused a force to assemble 

 for the expedition. This force was divided 

 into two columns, each numbering sixteen 

 hundred and seventy-four men, and to each 

 column two thousand coolies for carrying the 

 baggage were attached. The artillery of the 

 forces was to be transported on elephants, 

 one hundred of those animals being also em- 

 ployed in carrying the baggage of each column. 

 In addition to the two columns there was to 

 be a subsidiary column, composed of the con- 

 tingent of the Rajah of Munnipoor. This force 

 included four hundred cavalry, five thousand 

 infantry, five hundred artillery, and four hun- 

 dred elephants. It was intended that the expe- 

 dition should return to British territory before 

 the first week in March. The chief command 

 of the entire expedition was given to General 

 Bourchier, who was at the same time com- 

 mander of the column which was advan- 

 cing through the districts of Cachar. The sec- 

 ond column, which took the road to Chitta- 

 gong, was commanded by General Brownlow. 

 At the close of November, General Bourchier 

 had arrived at the frontier of the Looshai 

 country. He then marched direct to the head- 

 quarters of the Looshai, whom he met in large 

 force. He completely defeated them, killing 

 a considerable number and taking several 

 hundred prisoners. At the close of the year 

 1871 the expedition was successfully progress- 

 ing. 



In September, J. P. Norman, Chief Justice 

 of the High Court of Judicature, was seriously 

 wounded by a native Mohammedan, who in- 

 flicted upon him two stabs with a dagger. The 

 Chief Justice died on September 20th, from 

 his wounds. The murderer was arrested and 

 sentenced to death. The murder produced an 

 extraordinary sensation, because it was looked 

 upon as another of the many proofs that the 

 Mohammedan population is at present ani- 

 mated with a more rebellious spirit than at 

 any previous time. 



INDIANA. The public institutions and 

 material interests of the State of Indiana are 

 represented to be in a generally satisfactory 

 condition, but no official reports have been 

 made embracing the year 1871. The State Uni- 

 versity at Blooinington is quite prosperous 

 and was attended by over 300 students, and 

 the general interests of education are liberally 

 promoted. 



The finances of the State appear to be in a 

 sound condition. At the beginning of the 

 fiscal year, which closed on the 31st of Octo- 

 ber, there was a surplus of $373,249.95 in the 

 Treasury. The receipts of the year amounted 

 to $3,605,639.23, and the disbursements to 

 $2,943,600.55, which left a balance at the 

 end of the year of $1,035,288.63. The State 

 debt on the 15th of November stood as fol- 

 lows : 



