436 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [No. 5. 



Government of N. W. P. Agra, for the months of May and June 

 last. 



7. From Col. Birch, Secretary to the Government of India in 

 the Military Department, forwarding three reports from the Messrs. 

 Schlagintweit on the progress of the Magnetic Survey. 



Mr. Samuells, at the request of the Chairman, after giving a 

 slight sketch of the Physical and Political Geography of the Tribu- 

 tary Mehals, proceeded to read the paper submitted at the last 

 meeting on a singular forest tribe inhabiting these districts,* and 

 read the following letter from Lieut. Macdonald, Madras Army, 

 Inspector of Schools in the Northern Circars, in reference to some 

 other little known tribes of central India. 



" The Coorumbas are a race of savages inhabiting the jungles of 

 AVynaad in the district of Malwar, and also certain parts of Coorg. 

 The men are black, of diminutive stature, and have woolly hair, but 

 do not resemble negroes in any other respect. They are often em- 

 ployed in felling trees in the coffee estates, on which occasion they 

 always have their women in the jungle. They act as shikaris and 

 guides to elephant hunters. They are extremely active and climb 

 trees like monkeys. In Wynaad they live in small huts mostly 

 constructed k of bamboos and grass. In Coorg they live in trees. 

 The men are great shikaris and are very fond of spirits and 

 tobacco. The women wear nothing round their waists but a few 

 leaves. These details I have from McNeill and Penny, both of 

 whom have often seen these people ; most probably some account 

 of them has been published, but I do not know where. Pharaoh 

 does not, as far as I can see, give any account of them in his 

 Gazetteer of Southern India. Perhaps an account may be found of 

 them in the Madras Library Journal, but I cannot refer to it. 



" There is also a race of savages who inhabit the jungles of Ma- 

 sulipatam and Guntoor, where they are known by the name of 

 Chinchoo. My informant, a native (formerly a tehsildar in that 

 part of the country) says that the women sometimes, but not 

 always, wear leaves round their waists and on the upper part of 

 their person. 



* This paper appeared in Journal No. 4. 





