TJie Ethnology of Indue. 35 



the common practice of these tribes ; but I am told that so great is 

 their instability and want of attachment to any particular spot, that 

 not unfrequently, on some petty quarrel with their zemindar, a whole 

 Tillage will abandon their houses and seek other locations, or put 

 themselves under the guidance of a Coolee recruiting-agent. The Hos 

 and Bhoomiz* of the lower parts of Singbhoom and Maunbhoom, seem 

 to be tolerably civilised. The Santals, though geographically near 

 the plains, seem to be among the most shy and socially-isolated of 

 the race. They cultivate the lower lands of their country, but seem to 

 have kept very much to themselves, and to prefer locations surrounded 

 by jungle and segregated from the world. They too, however, have 

 now taken much to labour for hire, and they must have become 

 intimate with Europeans. In the case of these people is to be found 

 practical illustration of a truth of wider application in India, viz. that 

 in a mere pecuniary and commercial point of view, tact and scrupulous 

 fairness in dealing with the natives are more effectual than all other 

 means, and go farther than any laws and any administration. I believe 

 that certain of the Railway Engineers, who have gained the special 

 confidence of the Santals and allied tribes, construct the railway mile 

 for mile infinitely cheaper than any others. 



On the borders of the hills, a set of half-breeds seem to be not only by 

 piofession Ghatwals, but to constitute a sort of caste under that name. 



I have alluded to the language of these Kolarian tribes. One 

 would hope or expect here to find the origin of the non-Arian 

 elements of the Hindee and other northern languages. This, however, 

 has not yet been so. It is difficult to distinguish between words 

 borrowed by the Aborigines from the modern Hindustanee or Bengalee 

 and those of a common origin. A few of the words in Hodgson's lists are 

 like Hindee, but most of them seem to be Arian words. Some words 

 seem to be used throughout India as ' Donga,' a boat, and some are 

 words of much wider use as ' Ka' ' Kahee' or ' Kova,' a crow and ' Pussi,' 

 a cat. It is then no doubt the case that the very brief and imperfect 

 vocabularies of the Kolarian tongues yet published, have not shown 

 an immediate connection with any other known language. More 



* Bhoomiz, I believe merely means ' people of the soil' from Bhoomi, being 

 nearly the same word as the Persian ' Zemindar.' What the Hindoo tribes are 

 to the Mahomniedans, the aborigines are to the Hindoos. 



