The Bedalis or Vaddahs^. 
and a Bedah is as unwilling to part with his dog as an Ara- 
bian with his horse. Some time before the last war broke 
out between us and Holland, a Dutch officer procured a cou- 
ple of these dogs, which he carried to Surat, and sold for four 
hundred rix-dollars. 
Those Bedalis who venture to converse with the other natives, 
are represented to be courteous, and in address far beyond their 
state of civilization. Their religion is little known. They have 
their inferior deities corresponding to the demons of the Cinglese, 
and observe certain festivals. On these occasions victuals of 
various sorts are placed at the root of a tree, and the cere- 
monies of the festival consist in dancing around them. 
These few particulars are all that are at present known of 
this remarkable people ; and in their savage and unconnected 
state, without arts or policy, there are probably few more cir- 
cumstances worthy of notice that remain to be known. They 
are rather an object of curiosity, than either of utility or ap- 
prehension to Europeans ; for many ages must perhaps pass 
before they can be either brought to assist in cultivating the 
island, or united into such a society as might disturb the tran- 
quillity of their neighbours. 
