The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-06-07
KINGS OF THE JUNGLE.
A Strange and Little Known People Who
Live in India.

VIM hHOWn feODle VINO
Live in India.
Only about twenty miles north of Cape
Comorin, the most southern point of
India, live very curious people known
as the kanikaras, or 'Kings of the
Jungle" Hidden as they are among tho
businesses of the southern Ghauts, very
little is known of them, for they seldom
venture down to the coast towns, and
explorers have neglected them. They
are one of the tribe of savages who live
In few parts of India, and who are
nearly as wild as though they wandered
In the jungles of Africa instead of dwell
Ing in one of the most populous parts
of the world
Mr.. George Cadell, while engaged in
surveys for the Forest Department o:
India, recently had occasion to visit the
Kings of the Jungle. They are hum
Bile sort Of Kings and are compelled to
De very careful not to offend against the
laws of caste, for they are regarded as
the lowest of the low, and it is part of
thelr duty to keep at very respectful
distance from all the other people who
inhabit the little native province where
they live.
They are not allowed, for instance, to
approach within twenty PAGES of any of
the shop-keeping or trading classes.
| When they wish to make a purchase
they must deposit their money on a
stump or a stone, and then retire until
the money has been replaced by tho
.karticle they have bargained for. Their
,lxsect position makes them very timid.
TAey ran away into the Jungle when
eyer they saw Mr.. Cadeil coming, though
he did not put on any airs like tho
Brahmins, VINO despise them. He found,
however, an easy way to win their
friendship. All he had to do was to
hang a small tin of gunpowder at their
door post, and as soon as tho natives saw
it they were always certain that any one
who made them 50 fine present was
their good friend. They would then in
vite him to the best entertainment they
could provide and would build him a
hut among branches of the trees; for
these curious natives sleep on platforms
built in the fork OF trees, and over the
platforms they rear grass roofs. They
are thus out of reach of wild elephants,
vino are apt to be uncomfortably inquisi-
tive in the night time
The Kanikaras are great hunters, and
their weapons are commonly bows and
arrows, though some of them have very
poor matchlocks. All elephants are the
property of the Maharaiah of the Ira
vancore province, where they live, and
the Kings of the Jungle are required to
help hunt the elephant when his High
ness wants little ivory. They are
also required to furnish wax for
some of the temples, but render no
other service to the State. They wear
nothing but narrow loin cloth and
few ornaments, and bead necklaces
and leaden errings are the most con-
spicuous articles of women's dress. A
very curious fact about them is that they
have the decimal system of enumera-
ton, though they can count only to ten.
They have pebbles each of which repre-
sents ten units, and if the articles
they wish to count are represented, for
instance, by three pebbles, it means
that the articles number three tens, or
thirty units.
| Living within few miles of civiliza-
i ~ru-~d big towns, these primitive saw
ages oil make fire by revolving a
stick of hard wood in the hollow of a
dry bamboo. The bamboo, by the way,
serves to indicate the age of kanikara.
Any man who has seen bamboo bios.
som three times is regarded as a very
venerable person.-N. Y. Sun.