PAGGI. HIND., from Fag, a foot. A village servant in Gujerat and the N.W. of India, who traces thieves by their footprints. Mr. Elphinstone (p. 192) relates that one was employed to pursue a man who had carried off the plate belonging to a regimental mess at Kaira. He tracked him to Ahmadabad, 12 or 14 miles, lost him among the well-trodden streets of that city, but recovered his traces on reaching the opposite gate, and, though long foiled by the fugitive's running up the water of a rivulet, he at last came up with him, and recovered the property, after a chase of from 20 to 30 miles. The skill of many of the paggi in Gujerat is remarkable. They meagure with a string every trace of the impression of the foot, and make observations with a sense which practice renders very acute. The moment the object of their pursuit is traced to a village, the string and all the remarks are delivered to its paggi, who pursues the chase till be finds the thief pr murderer, or till he lodges him in another village.
In the Jhalawar district, the property stolen or the thief must be produced, and the paggi who trace the pag or footprints are there the most famous. In Sind, also, the paggi was skilled. A chaprassi, who had gone off with a considerable sum of money, was traced by his pag from Kotree to Bahulpur, where he was arrested, brought back, and punished for the theft. Burckhardt relates some curious facts concerning the sagacity of the Arabs in tracing of footsteps or ath'r, a talent which they seem to possess in common with the free Indians of America, with this difference, that in the American woods the impression is made upon grass, in Arabia upon sand.—Rob. Tr.
p. 176 ; Elphin. p. 192 ; Malcolm, Cent. India.