Some curious and interesting information has been furnished by Captain C. Barr, of the Bombay Native Infantry, with regard to the Mangs, or Kholapore Dacoits. It is needless to observe, that Kholapore was one of the early divisions of the Mahratta empire, or that it separated from the main body in 1729, under the auspices of one of the younger branches of Sivajee's family. The Mangs occupied the very lowest grade in the ladder of society—or, rather, they were looked upon as outcasts, and quite beyond the pale of society. They harboured in wilds and forests, and lived upon carrion, roots, and wild fruits. Their real occupation, however, was that of border robbers; and yet it was a source of pride among them that their wives should remain ignorant of the nature of their pursuits. They never robbed or defrauded one another; they even believed that the spoliation of "the Gentiles" necessitated an expiation, which usually assumed the form of a gift of a pair of shoes to a Brahman, and alms to the poor. Experience had taught them the expediency of employing a peculiar dialect—perhaps it was the original language of their race. Their leader, or headman, was called the NaÏk, and was selected by the majority of votes for his skill in planning an expedition, his bravery in carrying it out, and his integrity in the division of the spoils. The office was, consequently, not hereditary; but they so far believed in the efficacy of blood, as to allow considerable weight for a father's merits. The NaÏk's person and property were alike inviolable. On all ceremonial occasions his precedence was allowed; in disputes, his decision was final; and on him devolved the duty of laying out plans for robberies. To every band was attached an informer, who was also the receiver of the stolen goods. These scoundrels generally pretended to be, and perhaps were, bangle-sellers, dealers in perfume, goldsmiths, jewellers, &c., &c. In this capacity they were admitted into women's apartments, and so enabled to form a correct notion of the topography of a house, and a shrewd guess as to the wealth of its inmates. Their mode of conducting a Dacoitee was in all respects similar to those already described. The only persons exempt from their depredations were bangle-sellers and agricultural labourers, who, in return, afforded them refuge and hospitality in the hour of need. After a successful foray, each of the gang contributed one-fourth of his share to the NaÏk, towards the common fund for defraying the expenses of preparation, absolution, and feasts of triumph. The informer was not entitled to any specific sum; but, as he enjoyed the privilege of pre-emption of the booty, his interests are not likely to have been overlooked.

Like all barbarous tribes, and all persons addicted to criminal practices, the Mangs were extremely superstitious. They never, for instance, set out upon an expedition on a Friday. The new-born child was bathed in a spot previously prepared for the purpose, and baptized by the Brahman, in the name of the deity presiding over that particular hour. In the family, however, and throughout life, the neophyte sinner was known by some household name. Danger was encountered at an early period of life. The mother and another woman stood on opposite sides of the cradle, and the former tossed her child to the other, commending it to the mercy of Jee Gopal, and waited to receive it back in like manner, in the name of Jee Govind.

The Mangs usually married young in life. If a girl happened to hang heavy on hand, she was married, at the age of puberty, to the deity. In other words, she was attached as a prostitute to the temple of the god Khundoba, or the goddess Yellania. Those belonging to the service of the latter were wont, in the month of February, to parade the streets in a state of utter nudity. It was customary, previous to a secular marriage, for the parents of the bridegroom to ask for the hand of the bride. A test of the aspirant's address was then demanded. In one instance, the father of the maiden filled a silver vessel with water up to the brim after carefully suspending it over his head in bed, so that the slightest touch would be certain to splash the water on to his face. The suitor, however, was not daunted by the difficulty of the enterprise. Procuring some dry porous earth, he employed it as a sponge, carefully applying it to the surface of the water. Having thus reduced the level of the surface, he cut the strings, carried off the vessel, and next morning claimed his bride. The marriage ceremonies were by no means interesting, except when a bachelor wooed a widow. In this case he was first united to the asclepias gigantea, which was immediately transplanted. Withering away and dying, it left him at liberty to marry the charming widow. If a lady survived the sorrow caused by the death of two or three husbands, she could not again enter the holy state unless she consented to be married with a fowl under her armpit—the unfortunate bird being afterwards killed to appease the manes of her former consorts.

Each family had its household god, but all agreed in the common worship of Davee, as the tutelar deity of the tribe. Their chief festival was the Dusserah, on which day they usually set out on their expeditions, armed with sword and shield, and iron crowbar. Unhappily, the Mangs must be spoken of in the past tense. The servants of the East India Company, actuated, no doubt, by mercenary motives, have put an end to their depredations and compelled them to resort to honest and common-place industry. Thus are sentimentality and romance crushed at the India House.