Many niilch cows and buffaloes are reared in the villa• ges ; and ghee, or clarified butter, forms a principal arti cle in the markets of Guzcrat. Many horses also are bred in the province; and those of Cutch and Cottywar arc held in great estimation. The oxen of Guzcrat are accounted the finest in India. They are perfectly white, with black horns, a delicately soft skin, and eyes not inferior in lustre to those of the antelope. They will travel 10 or 12 miles a-clay successively for a considerable time, under a load of 200 or lbs. ; and are led upon straw, grass, cotton seed, or oil cake. Those which are reared in the northern dis tricts are of superior size, strength, and docility; and some of them are capable of travelling in a hackery (or light cart) 30 or 40 miles a day. A more ordinary breed is em ployed in agriculture, and in the conveyance of merchan dize ; and others, of all different colours, as in other parts of Hindostan, are to be found in the province. The uncul tivated and wood tracts abound in wild animals of various kinds: Lions, though not generally supposed to be found in the country, have been seen even in the vicinity of Cam bay ; and tigers are very common, sernetimes so large as to weigh 250 lbs. Leopards, hyaenas, wolves, foxes, jac kals, and wild hogs, are the ordinal y inhabitants of the swamps and jungles. Deer, elks, guanas, antelopes, hares, cameleons, porcupines, Sze. are the most common kinds of game. Monkeys and squirrels arc every where abundant, and remarkably tame. The former, particularly, often in habit the towns, where they are generally protected, and in•some places are revered as sacred animals. They are sometimes rendered instruments of a bloodless, but suffi ciently malicious revenge among neighbours. A handful of rice, or other grain of which the monkeys arc fond, is thrown upon the roof of the house of the obnoxious per son, about the commencement of the wet season; and, in order to get at the grain which has slipped under the tiles, these mischievous animals soon uncover the whole habita tion, at a time when generally occupied in repairing the houses, it may be impracticable for the hap less owner to have his home secured from the heavy tor rents which arc beginning to fall. Of the birds of prey, the most common are hawks and brabminee kites, which last are so remarkably voracious, as sometimes to dart up on a dressed fowl, or other food, while the servants are car rying it from the kitchens, (which are frequently at a little distance from the house,) to the dimming-table. There are bats of an extraordinary size, (nearly six feet between the tips of the extended wings,) called flying foxes, and ex tremely disagreeable in smell and aspect. Peacocks, doves, and green pigeons, assemble in flocks around the villages, and are almost as tame as poultry in a farm yard. Partridges, snipes, woodcocks, wheatears, bee. are very abundant ; and there is a great variety of water-fowl in the lakes and rivers, particularly storks, cranes, quails, flamin goes, pelicans, ducks. The sahras and cullum (ardea virgo of Linnmus) arc very stately birds, generally six feet high, of an azure hue, with crimson coloured heads. But the florican, or curmoor, (otis houbara of Linnxus,) is at once the most elegant of Indian birds, and exceeds all other wild fowl in delicacy of flavour. It is distinguished by its lof Ty carriage, variegated plumage, and especially by a tuft of black feathers falling gracefully from its head. Lizards are abundant in Guzerat, and many of them are extremely beautiful. Serpents arc found in great numbers and varie ties; and some of the largest kinds, which are accounted harmless, are held sacred by the natives as guardians of the spot which they frequent, are allowed to occupy the gar dens. One of the most venomous is the cobra de capello, or colubcr naja, which is very common in Guzerat. There are many varieties of water snakes, (some of them spotted with the most beautiful colours,) which seize upon the frogs, lizards, young ducks, and water rats, and are in their turn devoured 'by the larger water fowls. Locusts, though less destructive than those of Arabia and Africa, are fre quent visitors in the province ; and leave 'every vegetable substance over which they pass stripped and browned, as if scorched with fire. The large locust, called " the creeping leaf", and which has been described under the article GUIANA, is comm on in Guzerat.
The principal towns in the province are Ahmedabad, Surat, Cambay, Baroche, Baroda, Dhuboy, Gogo, and Chumpaneer. They are generally in a ruinous condition, presenting, in their decayed palaces, tottering minarets and mouldering aqueducts, many vestiges of their former splen dour. Their commerce has never been so flourishing as it was under the Mogul gcvernntent, even in the times of its most violent convulsions. The principal trade of the pro vince is carried on with Bombay. The chief exports al e cotton, piece-goods, and gram; and the imports consist mostly of sugar, raw-silk, pepper, cocoa nuts, cochineal, woollens, and bullion. Almost all castes in Guzerat, ex cepting the Brahmins and Banyans, occasicnally follow the occupation of weaving ; which. together with the labours of agriculture, employs the greatest number of the more in clustp;cus of the classes. Fortifications were former ly very numerous in the province, and are still preserved in the more remote quarters. The natives every where live in towns or villages, for security against banditti and wild beasts. A single farm house, or separate cottage, is rarely to be seen ; and, at night, the cattle are always brought within the hamlet, which is commonly surrounded 1,y a mud-wall or bamboo hedge. The larger towns are usually situated near an extensive lake, the banks of which are adorned with Hindu° temples and caravansaries, and its surface covered by the various kinds of lotus. The houses, especially in the villages, are rarely built of brick, and pro vided with tiled roofs, but chiefly constructed of mud, and thatched with straw or reeds.
As many parts of Guzerat have never been subdued by a:m invader, the natives there retain their oliginal character unchanged ; but in the maritime district, in consequence of the many sea ports and commercial advantages, which have attracted strangers of all descriptions, the province contains a greater variety of castes and religions, than any other in Ilindostan. It is commonly believed among the natives, that the province was originally peopled by the rude castes which still exist, and which ale known by the names of Cooles and Bheels; but neither record not tradi tion remains respecting their religion or government in their primeval state. In the town of Rajpeepla, however, the Rajpoot successor is still formally invested with the nominal sovereignty by a family of Blmcels descended from their original chieftains. When the Rajpoots acquired the ascendancy, the most powerful of their princes resided at Neherwallah, (or Patten,) on the northern frontiers ; and three dynasties are said to have successively occupied the throne, from which many of the modern Gracia families preteqd to trace their descent. The Gracias are a numer ous Class of landholders in some parts of the province ; and in others only possess a sort of feudal authority over certain villages and districts. They are described as con sisting of four castes or families,—the Coolees, the Rajpoots, the Seid 'Mahornmedans, and the Mole Islams or modern Mahommedans. The places principally occupied by the Gracias arc Rajpeepla and Mandwee, the former south, and the latter north of the Ferbudda river ; Meagam and Alt mode, between the Nerbubd• and the Myhi ; and Man dowee or the Taptee. Many tribes of them also reside io a kind of independent state on the rugged banks cf most of the rivers, and in different parts of the peninsula. Crimi nals, who fly to their haunts for refuge, are readibrfincor porated among them ; and all of them are habitual plun derers, forming one half of the population north of the Of all the banditti who infest the province, the most cruel and untameable are the Coolees, who maintain amidst their fastnesses an armed independence, and plunder without distinction all who travel without an escort,or whom they are able to master. They are taught to despise all approaches to civilization ; and are said to hold cleanliness in the ut most contempt, as a mark of cowardice. They are well mounted, and often roam in troops to a distance from their own settlements, to plunder villages or surprise travellers. Their own villages, at the same time, are large and po pulous, their fields inclosed, and their lands in general in a state of good cultivation. The Rajpoots are of a high caste, and are well bred to the use of arms. They are athletic in their persons, faithful to their engagements, magnanimous and brave above most other natives of India, and make the most excellent soldiers. They chiefly in habit the districts north of the Nerbudda ; and the great body of them occupy the province of Ajimeet, where they have never been subdued by the Mahommedans, and where they preserve in their strongholds and fastnesses the origi nal manners of the Ilindoo race. Their country is said to resemble greatly the more habitable mountainous tracts of Swisserland, and to afford some of the grandest and most picturesque scenery in India. The Bheels are like the Coolees, savage robbers, but generally poorer ; and inhabit chiefly the districts around Turcaseer. The high Moguls or Mahommeclans, especially those who inhabit the towns along the coast, are a polite and respectable people. In all the larger towns are found a singular race, who are Alahommedans in religion, but Jews in features, manners and disposition. They are called Ben ails, and form every
where a distinct community. They profess a total uncertain ty of their own origin ; but Boorhanpour, in Khandesh, is the rendezvous of the sect, and the residence of their moulah or high priest. They are noted for their address in bar gaining, their minute parsimony, and constant attention tc gain. They are the principal traders in the commercial cities, and are found straggling over the whole province, and the other western parts of Hindostan, as itinerant pedlars. In Guzerat is found, also, the greater part of the Gabres or Parsecs, or worshippers of fire, who inhabit the continent of India, and who preserve the slender remains of the reli gion of the Magi ; (See Gminzs.) Of the proper I lindoos there are many castes and sects in Guzerat. The different families of Brahmins, settled in the province, amounted to 84 in number, and are named after the places of their an cestors nativity or inheritance. Each of these has several subdivisions, and innumerable distinctions, which prevent the members of one from intermarrying with another. The Ban yans, or Vaneeya, are very numerous in Guzerat, and are also separated into many subdivisions. They are all mer chants, and frequently travel to very distant countries, where they remain for several years, in the prosecution of traffic, and then return to their families with the gains of their adven ture. Their language, the Guzeratee, which is nearly allied to the Hindee, is well known in all the great Indian markets, and forms the chief medium of mercantile inter course in that continent. A singular custom among the Guzerat merchants may here be noticed, namely, that when any of them finds himself failing in trade, lie sets up a blaz ing light in his house. or shop ; absconds, till his creditors have examined into the state of his property ; and wears the tail of his waist-cloth tucked up, till they have acquit ted him of all suspicion of dishonesty. Persons, who take this step in time, so as not to injure their creditors much, are held in great esteem, and are so frequently observed to be subsequently prosperous, that some have been known, in hopes of future good fortune, to set up the sign of bank ruptcy without any necessity. The class of Bhauts, or Bharots, abound more in this province than in any other part of India. They are a very honourable tribe, and arc principally occupied as historians, heralds, soothsayers, re corders of births and deaths, itinerant bards or minstrels, trading or begging on their way. In this last capacity, they repeat verses (which are either of their own composition, or selected from the Hindoo legends) with a pleasing mo dulation of voice, and gracefulness of action ; and one of them is generally connected with the household of every Hindoo rajah or Maliratta chief, attending them on clays of public ceremony, enumerating their titles, and proclaiming their praises They also become guarantees of treaties be tween princes, securities for bonds between private per sons, or cautioners for the payment of revenues from dis tricts, and farmers of the taxes. They receive an annual. stipend, or a per tentage from the districts, villages, or in dividuals, whom they thus guarantee ; and, upon signing the agreement, add the figure of a dagger as their seal, and as an emblem of the fatal consequences attending a breach of contract. Should any party fail in the obligation, the Bhaut, who had offered himself as guarantee, proceeds to the house of the defaulter, and there destroys himself or one of his family, imprecating the vengeance of the gods upon the heads of those, who had compelled him by their mis conduct to commit the deed of desperation. To be the ob ject of these imprecations, is accounted by the Hindoos the most direful of all catastrophes ; and hence the security of a Bhaut is the strongest and most sacred of all bonds. They are frequently also engaged in agriculture ; but, as a pri vileged class, are exempted from all payment of taxes ; and, when any attempts have been made to subject them to as sessments, they do not fail to murder some of their tribe, with the usual imprecations on those who have infringed their rights. The Charons are nearly allied to the Bhauts in manners and customs ; and, being generally possessed of large droves of carriage cattle, they carry on an inland traffic in grain to a considerable distance. They are fre quently hired for the protection of travellers; and, when attacked by banditti, they take a solemn oath to die by their own hands, if any injury be done to the persons under their care. So great is the veneration in which they are held by the superstitious natives, that this threat of suicide is ge nerally effectual in restraining the most ferocious plun derers. The Ungreas, whose profession is that of carriers, are of all castes, and generally athletic and well armed. Though extremely poor, they are remarkable for their honesty in conveying the largest sums. They con ceal the money in their quilted clothes ; and though re warded for their services only with a small pittance, they will fight with the utmost desperation in defence of the pro perty with which they are entrusted. In the northern and western parts of the province, is a class named Puggies, whose business it is to trace the steps of a thief, and they are so expert in the office, that, if set upon the pursuit early in the morning after the theft has been committed, before many people have been moving about the vicinity, they sel dom fail to point out the village where the thief has taken refuge. The Dheras of Guzerat are similar to the Pariars of Malabar, and are obliged to live apart from the other in habitants. They live on all kinds of carrion, and are much addicted to pilfering and intoxication. They are compelled by ancient custom to serve the state and travellers as car riers of baggage ; and also to act as scavengers for the re moving of filth from the roads and villages. The Koonbees, which is the name given in Guzcrat to the Hindoos of the pure Sudra, or fourth caste, form the great body of the agri cultural peasantry; and are supposed to have emigrated ori ginally from Ajimeer, or Hindostan Proper. They hold portions of government land ; and are called Patells, in dis tinction from the Gracias. They are peaceable, industri ous subjects under every change of rulers ; and, as they seldom repair to the cities, their manners are altogether simple and inoffensive. They rarely leave the village where their fathers lived and died, but continue in the same place, to plough the fields, and reap the harvest, and tend the cat tle, while their women are employed in spinning cotton, grinding corn, and preparing the usual repast of milk, pulse, and other vegetables. Too large a proportion of the pro duce of their lands is collected for the government and sub ordinate chiefs ; hut still a sufficiency generally remains for the supply of their wants, which are extremely few and simple. In the more remote districts, particularly, their mode of living is remarkably primitive. A hut built of mud, and thatched with straw, is the ordinary habitation of the villager. A few earthen pots for cooking, a large jar of unburnt clay for holding grain, another of burnt clay, for holding water, and a glazed jug for holding oil, form the chief part of his furniture. A couple of yards of cotton cloth tied round the middle, and sometimes a turban on the head, composes the whole clothing of the men ; and a long piece of similar cloth, put on in graceful folds, is the usual dress of the females.* They testify great hospitality to strangers, who are usually presented at the entrance of the villages with fruit, milk, butter, fi•e-wood, and earthen utensils ; and sometimes compelled, at their departure, to take with them one day's provisions. They are a content ed people, and their condition tolerably comfortable in sea sons of peace ; but they have no idea of liberty, and are sub jected to every species of suffering in time of war. But wherever British influence extends, their comforts arc in creased, and their security better provided In the north-western quarters, many barbarous practices prevail among them ; and among the Coolccs and Ilajpoots, parti cularly, besides what may be called the prescribed cruel ties of their religion, it is not uncommon for many persons of both sexes to cut off their noses, as a security against the malignant influence of witches. The unnatural prac tice of putting to death the female infants, which prevailed among the Jahrejahs, a race of Rajpoots in the peninsula of Guzerat, was abolished in 1808, by the humane exertions of Jonathan Duncan, Esq. late governor of Bombay, and of Colonel Walker, British resident in the province;" and within the districts acquired by the East India Company, many other degrading customs arc gradually disappearing. The province of G uzerat, in short, presents among its differ ent inhabitants instances of the extremes of civilization, ex hibiting all the rudeness of the pastoral and almost of the savage state, along with the wealth and luxury of commer cial cities. It affords equally striking specimens ()Nile ex tremes of population, which thinly scattered over the western districts, but unusually crowded in the vicinity of Surat, and some of the other cities. The whole number bf inhabitants in this extensive province is estimated at six millions, in the proportion of one Mahommedan to ten Hin os. Sec Rennel's Memoir of a Map of Hindostan il burn's Oriental Commerce ; Hamilton's East India Gazet teer; and Forbes's Oriental Memoirs. (q)