XXX11. 



load, and this was the first intimation he had of the catastrophe ; his 

 store of ragee had been stowed away in chatties, and placed in one of 

 the huts ; he did not appear to care about the destruction of the huts, 

 as they could be easily re-built; his great anxiety was to ascertain the 

 damage done to his store of grain, and his consternation was great 

 when he found the larger portion of it baked into a cindery cake. 

 The Pooliars appear not to be at all particular as to what they eat ; 

 flesh of all kinds of animals is greedily devoured, and rats are a very 

 favourite dish amongst them ; they have a most ingenious rat-trap 

 made of a bamboo stuck upright and bent with a string like a bow 

 with a clever arrangement of noose and catch near the ground, and 

 placed in front of the rat hole. They also catch jungle fowl and other 

 birds with this spring. From their propensity to falsehood it was 

 difficult to obtain anything reliable regarding their customs. They 

 informed me that no man is allowed more than one wife, and can only 

 re-marry twice ; the marriage ceremony consists principally of feasting 

 and drinking, the bride's father having to bear the principal expenses ; 

 they declared that no cases of intoxication ever occurred during these 

 ceremonies ; that a drunken man on such an occasion would be most 

 severely beaten by the tribe ; the probability being that there is not a 

 single sober individual in the whole company as long as the drink 

 lasts ! They bury their dead, and on the third day the mourners 

 break chatties of milk and water over the grave, after which they 

 never revisit it. I could obtain very little information with regard to 

 their religion; they said they performed 'pooja' to a god called 

 Pooliar, bringing cocoanuts, honey, and flowers, and pouring milk on 

 the idol ; giving some of the honey to the Priest and keeping some 

 tliemselves ! 



" I did not meet with the Moodoowars during my sojourn on 

 the hills ; they appeared to avoid me; for on the first occasion of my 

 proceeding to Coomarikul Mullay, I found a freshly deserted en- 

 campment, which, from its appearance, they had only occupied for a 

 short time, though by the preparations they had made it was 

 evidently intended for a more permanent camp. According to the 

 Pooliars' information, there are not more than fifty Moodoowars on 



