provinces are divided, are, according to- this writer, Brahmans,
Rajpoots, Kunavits, and Cooleys or Chumars.
The following description of their physical characters
relates to the inhabitants of the lower parts of the Mil-
country :—-
“ The general caste of their countenance is Hindti, hut
they seldom display that softness and even intelligence that
may be considered a marked characteristic of the Hindu
physiognomy. Their eyes are sunk deep into their heads,
commonly of a black, but often of a grey or other colours^
Their nose is prominent and inclined to an aquiline shape ;
their forehead high and round ; the cheek-bones high, the
chin long, and the whole visage long and spare, much drawn
into wrinkles at the corners of the eyes and brows from
great exposure to the sun; in short their whole countenance
exhibits a perpetual grin.
“ The colour of these people, like that of their neighbours
in the plains, is found of every shade, from dark brown or
black to a tawny yellow, and in a few instances they approach
white.”
"The women are more prepossessing than the men: their
stature is better in proportion, and their features far more
delicate and regular, with much of the pleasing Hindi
softness in youth. They are commonly fair, varying in
colour from a mild yellow to a light shade of brown; but
labour and exposure to the sun and storms soon destroy all
delicacy of features, colour, and all vestiges of beauty; and
they get, even while young in years, a wrinkled yellow
visage.*
The Paharias of Theog and Comharseen, above the hill-
range of Choor, are still, according to the same traveller,
H in d o o s . “ Their language, their religion and the general
tone of their customs and prejudices prove this. They worship
the chief Hindi divinities, adore and protect the cow,
and blindly follow most of the Hindi rites.”
“ Their features for the most part though altered gradually
by the climate, as we leave the low country, still retain
traces that point to the original stock in the plains.”
* Fraser, page 60.
People of the Higher Region.
Mr. Fraser visited the high tract in the rajahship of Gara-
whal, where the great rivers, the Jumna and the Ganges
take their rise. The fountains of these rivers at Jumnotri
and Gangotri are celebrated places of resort for Hindi
pilgrims who make journeys from various parts of the
Dekhan to visit the holy fountains. The country about
Jumnotri and Gangotri i#- very elevated. “ The cold” says
Mr. Fraser, “ is here very considerable the whole year
round!;-' even ;iri the summer,’’---he was there in JulyfN®-“ it
is extremely sharp, morning and evening, and in the winter
it must be excessively severe. Worsted stockings and double
blankets were necessary for our feet during the night.”
It seems that the inhabitants of this" cold country are
Hindoos by descent. Mr. Frasérsays, that their language
is Hindustani, and though still corrupt it is more intelligible
than that which be had heard at Bisahfir. The Hindoos of
this high "country have probably had their abode in it for
some Centuries. They are not, in general, intermixed in race
with the aborigines. Mr. Fraser says, “ occasionally traces
may be observed of the Tartar features : the small eyes, high
cheek-bones, and meagre mustachos; but they were not
sufficiently prevalent to authorise the supposition of any
considerable intercourse or intermixture.”
He observes, that “ the personal appearance of the people
is much the same as that of the Bisahuris about Rampoor
and Seran. They have stout, well-built figures; their complexions
frequently are very fair, though much sun-burnt;
their eyes often blue; their hair and beards curled and of a
light and even red colour. They are admirably fitted to form
a body of soldiers fit to act in this hilly region.”* Here
then are Hindoos of the xanthous complexion in a cold
climate. Some writers have asserted, that such phenomena
are very rare in the East, but I have already collected a
* Page 424. The altitude of the summit of Jumnotri is estimated by Mr.
Colebrooke at 25,500 feet above the level of the sea.
V O L . IV. 2 B