96 An Account of the Tribe of Muadeo Kolies. [Jan. 



moves off to a distance to escape from his creditors, and to avoid pay- 

 ing bis arrears of revenue to the government agents. 



During the period that benefactor to hjs country, and most able and 

 intelligent, minister, Nana Phurnavees, was supreme in the manage- 

 ment of affairs in the Mahratta government at Poona, he issued orders 

 \o the revenue officers, to hold out every inducement to the Kolies, and 

 other inhabitants of the hilly country, to extend the cultivation, and to 

 grow the finer sorts of rice, on a more extended scale, as the soil and 

 climate of this tract appeared to bring these grains to such great per- 

 fection. And as the labour and expense of forming new bhautt churries, 

 or rice fields, in the most desirable situations, would be attended with 

 a considerable outlay of money, advances of cash were made to the 

 people to enable them to form new fields, and repair the old ones, 

 which were in such a very dilapidated state at the time, owing to the 

 anarchy and confusion that had extended to this part of the country, 

 when many of the Kolies had neglected their fields, and many families 

 had been destroyed. The money advanced was to be repaid to govern- 

 ment by instalments at a very easy rate. 



The Kolies are much in want of such encouragements at present ; 

 for some of their fields are neglected, and others out of repair. The 

 chief object ought to be to extend the number of their rice fields, which 

 would ensure a more extensive cultivation of this grain. The interests 

 of the government, as well as that of the people, would be much bene- 

 fited by such an arrangement. < c 



Notwithstanding there is a much greater fall of rain in chis tract than 

 in the open country, to the eastward, yet, owing to the rocky nature of 

 the hills, and the little depth of soil in the valleys, the supply of water 

 during the dry season is often very inadequate to the wants of the po- 

 pulation. I have known several instances of the inhabitants of some 

 villages, having to go to the distance of two and three miles for water 

 in the hot weather, and what they procured was stagnant and filthy, 

 from a pool in w r hich buffaloes soaked themselves ; so that it was with 

 the greatest difficulty a person could drink it. 



The following are the various sorts of grain cultivated by the Kolies. 

 Rice, bhautt, tandool — first, that known by the name of Amby Mohur, 

 is a small grain, but a superior description of rice ; it is high flavored, 

 rich and pleasant to the taste, consequently much esteemed by Brah- 

 mans, and wealthy natives. The Kolies in general sell it totheBunniahs, 

 at the rate of twenty seers (forty Bombay) the rupee. It is retailed in 

 the Poona market from 12 to 15 seers per rupee, and from eight to ten 

 seers the rupee at Ahmudnuggur. Cheemun sail — this is a much es- 

 teemed rice, being also a small and fine grain, but has no flavour — it 

 sells at the same rate as the Amby Mohur. Jeery sail — this is also a 

 fine grained rice, and highly prized ; it sells at the same rate as the 



