OF KAMAON. 215 



of the lungs, bowel complaints, stone and dropsy, all of whith are frequent. 

 A general disinclination prevails among the lower classes to the use of phy- 

 sick', on the avowed principle, that from the pureness of their general diet, 

 their stamina is not sufficiently strong to stand, the effects of powerful reme- 

 dies: cooling drafts and restoratives are, however,' taken without hesitation : 

 those in most general use, are infusions of fennel seed, black pepper, or cherayta, 

 in water. In most disorders, recourse is had to cauterizing, performed by the 

 application of lighted balls of tow, or of some other similar substance, either 

 to the back of the neck, the breast, or the pit of the stomach. Firing by 

 means of an iron, is also resorted to in cases of strains, swellings, or rheuma- 

 tism. In all disejises, the principal reliance for their cure is placed on charms 

 tied to the person of the patient, on magnetism, and on various superstitious 

 ceremonies and sacrifices. Inoculation is never thought of in the interior, 

 till the small-pox actually appears in the village itself, or in the immediate 

 neighbourho'od, and then, from the unskilful manner in which it is perform- 

 ed, or from the use of virulent matter, the precaution proves, in frequent ins- 

 tances, ineffectual. In the case of this, and of other contagious distempers, 

 non intercourse is found, by the inhabitants, to be the best preventative, and with 

 this view they sometimes abandon their villages, and retreat, temporarily, to 

 the summit of an adjoining mountain, and there continue for some days, 

 till they presume the contagion to have passed away. Considering the rude 

 state of medical science in these hills, it is somewhat remarkable, that litho- 

 tomy should be in common practice : this operation is performed on subjects 

 of all ages, and apparently with very general success. The operators are 

 from among the low caste Dom, and the only instruments used, are a razor 

 and a pair of common forceps. Some notice may here be taken of the Goitre, 

 which is common in these hills, although it is here a disease which in- 

 jures only the personal appearance, and not the bodily health or mental facul- 

 ties of the subject. This affection has been ascribed to various local peculi- 

 arities, or to a peculiar susceptibility in the constitution of mountaineers, but 



