Page:The People of India — a series of photographic illustrations, with descriptive letterpress, of the races and tribes of Hindustan Vol 7.djvu/170

 BHEELS OF THE VINDHYAN RANGE. (377)

HE Bheels have been noticed as far as possible in an article preceding the present, and the fine group of the tribe presented here gives, perhaps, a better illustration of the men, their arms, appearance, and equipments, than any other. Three of the group have, it will be seen, matchlocks, but the rest have bows, the ancient tribal weapon. Some of the men belong to the Malwah Bheel corps, and seem smart, well set-up, young fellows; the rest are ordinary village Bheels.

The district of Nimaur was formerly noted for the turbulence of its Bheel population, and it was to them that Outram first devoted himself: It is satisfactory to learn from the Nimaur report in Grant's Gazetteer that many have been reclaimed and are now ordinary settled cultivators, while the whole as a class are much improved.