1834] 



History of the Ramoossies. 



208 



though he had seen four at different times passing through the 

 country. 



This Koley * was a man of a bold, active, and restless charac- 

 ter. After he had been seized and placed in confinement, I asked 

 him some questions with the view of gainhig information that might 

 guide our operations more successfully against the insurgents. He 

 had a wife who, 1 had been told, was young and rather good looking, 

 with a couple of children ; to visit whom, after a considerable ab- 

 sence, he had repaired to his village, which circumstance led to his 

 apprehension. He seemed a rather wild and uncouth sort of be- 

 ing, — and as I was desirous of learning from him, what his ideas 

 were with respect to his then situation — and what anticipation he 

 had of the nature and extent of the punishment he was likely 

 have to undergo ; he was requested to give some account of himself ; 

 he said, he had been induced to join the insurgents in the hope of 

 realizing some money, for he was in debt. His creditors had so 

 teazed him, that he was at a loss how to satisfy them. He had 

 tried farming on a small scale, but was obliged to give it up — for 

 his debt increased — and latterly he had bound himself for a specified 

 time to serve one of his creditors to clear off his score with him. I 

 now told him in a serious manner, that 1 regretted he had acted so 

 thoughtlessly, as to join the rebels, who had not only been plunder- 

 ing, but had killed and wounded some of our troops;— and added, 

 that 1 supposed he was indifferent about what would be done to him 

 in consequence — for, that he must care little whether he was hang- 



* There are several classes of Kolies, (or Coolies as the name is written by 

 us in general. The Kolies inhabiting the hills of the Syadi y range, from the 

 vicinity of the fort of Trimbuk to Bheema Shunkur, both above and below 

 the Ghauts are cultivators, but at the same time most enterprising and deter- 

 mined robbers. They are of a more pure race than the Kolies in the Atta- 

 veessy, and more to the northward. Those settled around the Poorundur 

 hills, are of the same class as those found scattered over the Dekhan and em- 

 ployed as the village Koley, (one of the Ballottah institution,) who supplies 

 the inhabitants and travellers with water, &c. The boatmen and fishermen 

 on the coast around Bombay are Kolies, (Solesey,) and many of them are 

 common labourers. I am inclined to think, the common term Cooly applied 

 by the English to a porter and frequently to any peison that works for hire, — 

 must have originated amongst the first English settlers at Bombay. A pass- 

 enger coming ashoie when a ship arrived from Europe, may have ui^lied to 

 give a box or package in charge to some native (probal)ly a person of caste) 

 near him; this man would naturally call out to a Koley to come and take 

 charge of the g-entlemen's box, — or a servant might have said, he would go and 

 fetch a sufficient number wf Kolies to transport the baggage to his Master's 

 quarters. Thus the terms would have become familiar and indiscriminately 

 applied to all labourers and porters,— and soon spread among our few cniin- 

 trymen in India at the time. The name of this tribe is wiitten Koley by the 

 Natives and by a few EngUsh,— although more generally Cooley. 



