80 THE HIGHLAl^DS OF CENTKAL INDIA 



of these petty chiefs, a confirmed opium-eater. By his 

 side, however, stood the Brahman " Dewan," or minister 

 of state (!), whose ghbness of tongue was fully sufficient 

 for both. Behind them came four or five tatterdemalion 

 retainers, in quilted garments of many hues, girded as to 

 their loins with broad embroidered belts of sambar leather, 

 in which were stuck, or suspended, swords, daggers, and 

 the cumbrous appointments of a matchlock-man, the 

 matchlock itself being borne, with smoking match, over 

 the shoulder of each. These were mostly of the same 

 breed as the Thakur, being his poor relations in fact. 

 This description would serve sufB.ciently well for the 

 great majority of these petty semi-aboriginal chiefs, who 

 are so numerous in the hills of Central India. Though 

 the breed between the Rajput and the aborigine produces 

 the best of all shikaris and foresters, in a somewhat higher 

 sphere they are chiefly remarkable for debauchery, and a 

 vain and silly pride which leads them into expenditure 

 beyond their means, and ruinous debt. They all call 

 themselves " Rajas," and keep up minute standing armies 

 of these ragamuffin retainers, as well as one or two Brah- 

 man bloodsuckers to manage their holy and clerkly affairs. 

 As they are always seeking for brides for their sons in 

 families with higher claims to Rajput descent than their 

 own, they have to pay enormous sums for marriage ex- 

 penses, and this is probably the chief cause of their generally 

 hopeless poverty. 



I found I was likely to have a good deal of trouble in 

 getting the wild hill people to help in building our lodge. 

 The Thakur made all sorts of excuses for withholding from 

 us his influence with his " subjects." There was great 

 scarcity among them, owing to a failure of their precarious 

 crops ; they had nearly all left the hills to seek service in 

 the plains; they were engaged in preparing the land for 

 their crops; they hated work they had not been accus- 

 tomed to ; they would be afraid to help in making a house 

 on Mahadeo's hill — and so on. Truth was, I saw the chief 

 himself and his advisers hated our intrusion. With some 

 truth they feared we were come to break up their much- 

 beloved seclusion, and untrammelled barbarism; their 



