34 WILD LIFE IN NORTH CANARA. 



suffer severely; so that although the 

 climate of Soopah was occasionally very 

 feverish for Hindoos, the Sidhis never 

 found it unhealthy. 



Katijah Beebee, a woman of this 

 race, who had the strength and courage 

 of a man, and for years wore male 

 attire and passed for a man, was the 

 heroine of various local tales. She 

 enlisted as a peon, and served for 

 some years at the talook cutcheri in 

 that capacity ; then she became a daring 

 and successful smuggler, and when she 

 was caught at last, she (like Dirk 

 Hatteraick) offered a resistance which 

 it took several strong men to over- 

 power. 



This forest land possessed a splendid 

 breed of buffaloes, vastly superior to the 



