Page:The People of India — a series of photographic illustrations, with descriptive letterpress, of the races and tribes of Hindustan Vol 5.djvu/134

MULLIK ENSAL. this number is increasing. Of these, many have become British subjects; but the tribe is entirely independent, even of the ruler of Kabool.

In the valley of Bunnoo especially, the Wuzeerees have made several settlements, and the original occupiers of the soil have retired before them. About one-third of the culturable area of the valley is now owned by them. These forcible occupations of land had led to perpetual disputes between the Bunnoo people and the Wuzeerees, and the Sikh Government were unable to make any satisfactory settlement of them; they were, however, satisfactorily brought to a close by Major (Sir Herbert) Edwardes, in 1848. The Wuzeerees were then confirmed in their holdings, and they agreed to pay the rent at which they were assessed. This arrangement has attracted many others, and a very good spirit prevails among them.

Other portions of the Wuzeeree tribe have, however, proved less manageable. The Omerzye section in particular. It is not necessary in this notice to recapitulate their various acts of aggression, which, commencing in 1849, lasted for three years, in attacks upon escorts, upon police posts, and defenceless villages, and they resisted or evaded every attempt to deal amicably with them. In 1852, therefore, Major Nicholson, with a force of 1,500 men, was dispatched against them. Their positions were carried by assault, and the tribe, completely humbled, made over terms of submission. It was not, however, till 1853 that they were finally accepted; but since then they have been orderly and peaceful. Another portion of the tribe, the Kabool Kheyl, were, for a time, equally troublesome with the Omerzyes, and endeavoured to incite the Khuttuks to an attack on the salt mines. This, however, became impossible by the construction of the fort at Bahadoor Kheyl, and of late years there are no material complaints against them. Very lately, however, some portions of the Wuzeerees had rebelled, but speedily retreated, and laid down their arms, believing resistance futile; and it is evident that, in the inevitable result of every outrageous proceeding, the tribe only feels its real weakness the more, and is so gradually drawn within the operation of the civilized and powerful Government of India.

They are for the most part a pastoral people. In the hot summer months they retire with their cattle to the mountains, inhabiting tracts varying from 4,000 to 10,000 feet above the sea. In the winter they descend into the Derajat, and the plains become dotted with then herds and flocks, and with their black blanket tents pitched in groups like villages, and moved from place to place according to their necessities for forage and water. Into their mountain retreats, no European has probably ever penetrated; but there is no doubt that they lie among the wildest and grandest scenery in the world, on the northern slopes of the Tukht-i-Suleeman, or throne of Solomon. The Wuzeerees can muster 20,000 fighting men, and the clans they are composed of are much