410 NOIVGONG DISTRICT. the former priesthood of the country, who now rank as pure Súdras, and are engaged in agriculture or Government service. Other Hindu castes include the following :--Keut, or Kewat, 17,896 ; Kátání, 16,609; Boria, 9674; Chandál, 7243 ; Jugi, 7012; Patiyá, 3758; and Harí, 2772. The Musalmáns, 12,074 in number, are supposed to be the descendants partly of artisans introduced by the Aham kings, and partly of soldiers left by the Mughal armies. There are a few recent Muhammadan immigrants from Dacca among the class of shopkeepers The great majority belong to the Faráizí or reforming sect, but they are not actively fanatical. The native Christians, 204 in number, are attached to the American Baptist Mission, which has had a branch stationed in Nowgong since 1840, and supports several schools. The Brahma Samáj, or theistic sect of Hindus, has a few followers among the Bengális in Government service. As throughout the rest of Assam, the population is entirely rural. There is no town with as many as 5000 inhabitants. The largest place is NowGONG Town, with only 4248 persons in 1881. Out of a total of 1494 villages returned in the Census Report, as many as 926 contain fewer than two hundred inhabitants ; 502 from two to five hundred ; 61 from five hundred to a thousand ; 4 from one to two thousand ; and i from three to five thousand. Material Condition of the People.—As a rule, the people are remarkably well off, and their condition is steadily improving. They are able easily to raise sufficient for their own requirements from their plots of land ; and hired labour is difficult to procure even on the tea plantations, where the work is very light. As far back as 1872–73, the Deputy Comınissioner of the District reported—“Wherever I go, even in the heart of the mufassal, and away from the public thoroughfares, I am struck with the look of real comfort about the homesteads of the ráyats. The appearance of their villages and barís, with the herds of cattle, and with the pigs and poultry roaming about, confirins me in the belief that the peasantry are well-to-do and rich in the possession of a goodly stock of this world's goods as far as their own wants and requirements are concerned.' The dress of a well-to-do shopkeeper or trader usually consists of a waistcloth (thuti), a turban, a close-fitting long coat (chapkan), a cotton shawl, and a pair of shoes. The clothing of an ordinary husbandman is composed simply of a waistcloth and a cotton shawl over the shoulders. There are a few brick-built shops in the District, but thcy are quite exceptional. The dwelling of an ordinary cultivator consists of from two to four rooms, constructed of bamboo, canes, recds, and grass, with sometimes a few timber posts. The food of a prosperous trader consists of rice, splitpeas, clarified butter (ghi), oil, vegetables, fish, milk, and salt; while that of a peasant ordinarily consists of ricc, split-peas, occasionally fish,
