6 



History of the Rmnoossies. 



[Jan. 



read ; and the three, or four, known to be so qualified, were 

 instructed when mere boys, but here we find two grown up 

 men, (Oomiah was nearly thirty and Kristnajee about 

 twenty five years of age at the time,) who, under cir- 

 cumstances of a very unfavorable nature, availed them- 

 selves of their spare time to acquire some little instruction. 



About a year after Oomiah's return to his village from 

 Poona, his friend Suttoo Naik of Sassoor, went to a village 

 some miles distant to fetch some grain.* Suttoo having 

 given his load of grain to a Mharrcen proceeded on his re- 

 turn to Sassoor. Upon his approaching the very small vil- 

 lage of Pokur close to Poorunder, he called to a woman^ 

 (the wife of one Dhyah Mhar,) to send him a person to re- 

 lieve the Begary from the last village. f This woman re- 

 plied by saying that there was no person present in the vil- 

 lage, so that she could not send any body to him, and that 

 he had better go away. Some abusive language took place 

 between them, when at length, Suttoo became enraged, 

 and took olF one of his shoes and threw it with considerable 

 force at the woman ; it struck her in the abdomen, and as 

 she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy, upon receiving 

 the blow, she instantly fell down and fainted, and in about 

 half an hour afterwards expired. Suttoo became extreme- 

 ly alarmed at what had happened, and instead of returning 

 to his home, he directed his course to the neighbouring hills, 

 (pursued by the husband of the deceased woman,) and was 

 caught and brought to Sassoor. From the latter place he 

 was forwarded under a weak escort late in the afternoon to 

 Poona, but the guard having halted for the night at the 

 village of Devy, some of the Garroolly and Sakoordy Ra- 

 moossies (among the latter was Oomiah) came and rescu- 

 ed him. This took place on the 1st of December 1821, 

 the night of the day on which the woman was killed. The 

 people of the district consider this unfortunate occurrence 

 the cause of all the disturbances, that have occurred in the 

 Poona district within these last ten years. 



* The Ramoossises even employ Mhars of a village to convey their grain 

 from village to village. 



f This is called Pend, or Begary, by the natives, as no hire is paid. It 

 was the ancient established usage of the country, for persons in the employ of 

 Government and those connected with them to transport their baggage fre- 

 quently in this manner. It is a cruelly oppressive systein, great and most 

 praiseworthy exertions have been made by the British Governmeat to check 

 it, but much still remains to be done. 



