We are little acquainted with the manners and customs of the inhabitants of this country, otherwise than by their correspondence with those of tho salmi tribes disseminated elsewhere in India. The natives are divided into two principal classes, Rajpoots and Jauts ; the former the rulers, the latter the mass of the people. The Jaw* are of small stature, black, _ ill-looking, and bear strong indications of poverty and wretchedness ; the Rajpoots are stout and hand some, with Jewish features, of haughty manners, an indolent disposition, and greatly addicted to intoxi cation with opium. It is doubtful whether the Raj poots of Beykaneer entertain those elevated and magnanimous sentiments so peculiar to their tribe, whether they are animated by that high sense of ho nour and impatience of indignity, which, united to the violence of their passions, lead to the most ter rible catastrophes. When a man of rank finds him self beset by an enemy, from whom he has no chance of escape, he inquires Whether, by surrender, he can preserve the honour of his family ; should the an swer be equivocal or unfavourable, he clothes him self in yellow, the symbol of despair, and repairing alon* with his nearest relatives to -the apartments of the females, the whole are involved in promiscuous destruction ; nor is it uncommon, on such occasions, for the women themselves to commit suicide. The Rajpoot then rushes furiously against his enemies, and though he should be successful and prevail over them, rather than survive his dire calamity, he plunges his sword in his own breast. The same sense of dishonour induces females of rank to deem themselves contami nated by the gaze of any man but their most intimate relatives; and it also leads them to ascend the funeral pile of their husbands, lest, by survivance, they should lose the consideration of the world. The people of the East, while more placid and resigned to fate, are, at the same time, agitated by more acute and ungovern able passions than the inhabitants of the Western World: A MahOmetan officer of high rank, who was hard pressed by a victorious enemy, approach ing the place where his wife and daughter had sought refuge on the banks of a river, gave the following account of his conduct : • " I leapt from my horse, and seizing each by a hand, rushed with them into the water up to their waists, and co vered the rest of their persons with a cloth: I drew my sword to defend them with my life from further insult, and, happily for my honour, their faces were not seen by the eyes of a stranger." Of late the Rajpoots of Beykaneer have been accused of being cruel and treacherous.
The population of this territory is altogether un certain; but, from the scarcity of water, it is pro bably very much restricted. The inhabitants are dispersed in towns and villages, of which Bey kaneer, near the southern frontier, in about 27° 5' north latitude, the capital, and Churoo, on the eastern frontier, are the chief. Beykaneer, sur rounded by lofty white walls, strengthened with nu merous round towers crowned by battlements, pre sents the imposing picture of a great and magnificent city in the midst of a wilderness. But, on entering the gates, the illusion vanishes ; it proves to consist, for the most part, of huts built of mud, and painted red. Nevertheless, there are some high houses, se veral temples, and at one corner a lofty and fine leaking fbrtress, a quarter of a envi.1 toned by a wall SO feet high, and a dry ditch. The interior is a confused assemblage of towers and battlements, overtopped by houses, and it contains the royal palace, a curious old edifice. Churoo, in dependent of the suburbs, is above a mile and a half in circuit, and, although situate among sand-hills, has a hancfiome appearance. All the houses have terraces, and are built of a pure white limestone like those of Beykaneer. Villages are occasion ally seen in the most dismal situations, to which their miserable aspect. corresponds. They con. sist of few round- huts of straw. with low walla and conical roofs like little stacks of corn, and surrounded by hedges of thorny branches stuck in the sand. A modern traveller speaks thus, in de
scribing the town of Pooggul : " If I could present to my reader the foreground of high sand-hills,—the village of straw huts,—the clay walls of the little fort going to ruins, as the soil which supported them was blown away by the winds, and the sea of sand which formed the rest of the prospect, he would probably feel, as I did, a sort of wonder at the people who could reside in so dismal a wilderness; and of hor ror at the life to which they seemed to be condemn. ed." The city of Beykaneer is said to stand 219 miles north-west of Delhi, but its real position is south-west, and we conceive the distance to be not less than 260 or 280 miles. Fortresses are not so common in this territory as in a large portion of_ Hindostan, owing to the equality of the surface.
Scarcely anything definite can be said regarding the occupation and pursuits of the people in their trade and manufactures. Cattle of an inferior breed, and horses, are the only exports ; rice, sugar, opium, and indigo, are obtained from the Punjaub ; salt from Samber ; wheat from Jeypour; and spices, copper, and coarse cloth, are imported from Jesselmere.
Beykaneer is governed by a Rajah, who is a sove reign and independent prince, though he seems for merly to have been tributary to the monarch of Del hi ; and even acknowledged the supremacy of Bri tain, when Delhi had fallen under a foreign power. He enjoys an absolute sway over the lives and pro perty of his subjects, and maintains considerable state in his reception of'strangers. His revenues do not exceed L.50,000 per annum, though occasional ly augmented to double that sum by vexatious imposts on merchandise in transits. Therefore, those caravans which were accustomed to take the route of this province from Surat to Tette, a town on the In. dus, follow another course, in order to avoid such exactions. The resources of Beykaneer are thus very small, which is not surprising, considering they are derived from a country that becomes an absolute desert even within a few yards of the capital. The Rajah's forces amount to 10,000 men, of whom 2000 are cavalry, and he has 35 pieces of artillery; all which troops are paid by assignments of land. Soorut Sing, the reigning Rajah, having profusely dissipated the treasure accumulated by his pre.deccssors, became cruel and tyrannical. Oppressive exactions to relieve pressing necessities alienated the regard of his sub jects, and an army of mercenaries became necessary to preserve his authority. He was suspected of poi Boning an elder brother, and undoubtedly murdered the envoy of another prince passing through his do minions. Yet, being strict in his external devotions, and religiously abstaining from prohibited food, his people have admitted him to the character of sancti ty. The sovereign of Beykaneer has to contend with many enemies, who, in their turn, are opposed by the most powerful obstacles. Water must be car ried by an invading army ; for the natives either poi son the wells, fill them up, or cover them over in such a manner that they cannot possibly be found; aud, besides, they mix arsenic with bread, which is insi diously disposed of in the hostile camp. Some years ago, George Thomas, a celebrated adventurer, who raised himself to the government of a neighbouring territory, invaded Beykaneer, and compelled the Ra jah to purchase peace with L.25,000. He also aid ed the Batties in expelling him, on occasion of an incursion he had made into their country. More re cently, a war having commenced between the Rajahs, of Joudpour and Jeypour contending for the hand of an eastern Princess, the interference of Soorut Sing excited the wrath of some of the competitors against himself. Five different armies invaded Beykaneer in 1808, when the Rajah filled up all the sells within ten miles of the walls of his capital. The contest was _ protracted for a considerable time, but we are unac quainted with its issue.