398 Journal of a trip through the [April, 



postors, aided by the credulity of the people, thrive, and though some 

 might wish to have them expelled from their villages, fear of the power 

 of these miscreants to call the wrath of their gods upon them, prevents 

 it. However, the apprehension and punishment of some of these ras- 

 cals have lately done much towards dispelling the implicit faith put in 

 their supernatural powers, and the people begin to think that the evil 

 spirits are afraid of the English, and consequently obey them ! Now it 

 appears to me that education, and that alone, would open the eyes of 

 the people to these monstrous absurdities. Moreover, that it would be 

 folly attempting to convert them to Christianity until their faith in such 

 things was first shaken by the mild influence of education. I will ven- 

 ture to make some additional remarks on this subject in an Appendix.* 

 47. The inhabitants of the Chumba range appear to be a different 

 race of men. They are shorter and appear much stronger, and are 

 certainly cleaner about their persons. They call themselves Rajpoots, 

 and say they belong to the Guddee jat, which is the coolie caste, I be- 

 lieve. They are a sharp set of fellows and are consequently able to 

 impose upon their less knowing neighbours. Most of the witch- finders 

 are Chumba guddees, which says a good deal for their craftiness. When 

 Europeans made their first appearance in the Kangra valley these men 

 had very slight notions of caste and would eat or drink any thing the 

 former gave them, whereas now since their contact with the natives of 

 the plains, they have become as bigotted as any Hindu, and moreover 

 have learnt the art of cheating Europeans in great perfection. The 

 Chumba guddees may always be known by their peculiar conical caps, 

 with lappets to turn down over the ears like an English travelling cap. 

 As we proceed from the plains into the interior it is very interesting to 

 remark the gradual change in the features, from the Hindoostanee to the 

 Tartar-like countenance of the Lahoulees. These last are a totally 

 distinct race from any of the former. The Lahoulees are a short sturdy 

 set of men, very ugly and filthily dirty. The women are decidedly plain. 

 The costume of both sexes consists of a pair of loose woollen drawers, 

 with a frock of the same material, whilst a wrapper is also often wound 

 around the body by being thrown over the shoulders and fastened by a 

 brass clasp in front. Their dress is generally of a black color or a kind 

 of plaid, and their caps are of the same. The women wear their hair 

 * Vide Appendix D. 



