1849.] Kohistan of the Jullundhur. 397 



mummies and laid in such a position that a small rill of water falls on their 

 heads. These infants are usually watched by some elderly female apparent- 

 ly their great-grandmother, whilst their mothers are employed in the fields. 

 The natives believe that this ordeal strengthens the children and renders 

 them hardy, and that it cures dysentery and various other diseases. 

 But the common object is I believe to keep them asleep, and that this 

 is found to be the most effectual means of doing so. I could never as- 

 certain whether the inhabitants of the mountainous district on the right 

 bank of the Sutlej adopted this plan or not, but should think it most 

 likely that they did. The chief wealth of the people consists in cattle, 

 a small horned kind, sheep and goa f s, with occasionally a few buffaloes. 

 The rest of their subsistence depend upon their crops. The majority 

 are intelligent, often shrewd and very inquisitive, but with all this in 

 their favor they are frightfully superstitious. In fact it is almost im- 

 possible to believe that human beings could be such idiotic dupes as 

 those poor simpletons undoubtedly are. They have great dread of the 

 " evil eye," and are constantly having recourse to the magic art of witch 

 finders, who feign the power of discovering all evil spirits which wander 

 over the mountains in the tangible form of witches. If a cow or any 

 other living creature dies its death is immediately attributed to some 

 " evil eye," and a witch finder is employed to discover it. This im- 

 postor having selected some old woman who has no means of 

 propitiating him by gifts, places his victim in the centre of a 

 group, whilst all who are interested in the case sit around her in a 

 circle. He then commences dancing round the poor creature, and ulti- 

 mately nods his head towards her, whereupon all the lookers-on do the 

 same, which coincidence is deemed an all-sufficient proof of the poor 

 woman's guilt. She is subsequently condemned to be burnt to death ! 

 But since that district became a British Province these inhuman pro- 

 ceedings have not been allowed to take place, but another method almost 

 as cruel has been substituted in its stead. In this case they declare the 

 victim of their superstitious credulity an outcast, and refuse her the 

 commonest necessaries of life, thus she is abandoned to her fate, and 

 would probably starve to death but for the timely gift of a goat or a 

 sheep by some one of her relatives to the witch-finder, who forthwith 

 fastens the guilt on some other person in hope of extorting in a similar 

 manner from the relatives of the last accused. In this wav these im- 



