1867.] On the Antiquities of Bdfjerlidt. 129 



at the beck of a puny miserable-looking Fakir who could not resist a 

 rap from the tail of the smallest of them. They are fed with live 

 fowls and kids, and they unhesitatingly come close by dry land to 

 receive them. Meat is offered to them on the palm of the hand, 

 which they quietly take away, without ever snapping at the hands 

 themselves. Little children play about on the bank without any 

 risk ; and men, women and children bathe in the tank without ever 

 having to repent of their temerity. 



Some time ago a rumour was brought to the notice of Govern- 

 ment that infanticide was committed in this part of the Sunderbunds, 

 and I was directed to make an inquiry. But I found it was unfound- 

 ed ; the fact appeared to be that the simple people of the district 

 believe that these crocodiles can bless young ladies to come into an 

 interesting condition, and their blessings are sure to bear fruit. Ac- 

 cordingly many young women repair to this place to bathe in the 

 sacred water of the tank, and implore the blessing of the saurian 

 monsters. They offer them fowls and kids ; then paint a human 



j figure with red lead on a stone pillar in the neighbourhood, and, em- 

 bracing it, vow to give away to the crocodiles the first fruit of their 

 blessings. This vow is never broken, the firstborn is invariably 

 brought to the tank, and when, at the call of the Fakirs, the crocodiles 



i rise to the surface, the child is thrown on the water's edge with words 

 implying a presentation. But it is taken up immediately after, and 

 borne home amid the rejoicings of the family. I could find no proof 

 to shew that any child had ever suffered from this exposure. 



Parents whose children die early also often seek the blessings of 

 these crocodiles, by exposing their infants on the bank of the lake. 



There is another source whence has arisen the notoriety of Bager- 

 hat as a place for infanticide. The Fakirs and Sanyasis who live 

 in the adjacent part of the Sunderbunds, have a high reputation for 

 supernatural powers in healing the sick ; hence, whenever a child is 

 afflicted with any uncommon or mortal malady, or born with any 

 permanent infirmity,, such as dumbness, deafness, or blindness, and 

 frequently when medicines have failed (and the pharmacopoeia of 

 an ordinary native village, which embraces only a few simples, is 



; soon exhausted) the superhuman aid of those worthies is sought with 

 all the blind faith of veneration which characterises an ignorant and 



