[Social customs of Hindu Banjâras.] 19. In Kheri they eat the flesh of wild pigs and goats, but not fowls. They drink spirits and use opium, and the hemp intoxicants bhang and gânja, freely. In Cawnpur they will eat kachchi and pakki with Brâhmans, and will smoke only with their brethren. Some of them are traders, and a few are now taking to agriculture, as the profits of the carrying trade are gradually becoming reduced. [Other Muhammadan Banjâras.] 20. Those in Bareilly and Pilibhît say that they were driven there by Ahmad Shâh Durrâni’s invasion. They are divided into two endogamous sub-castes—Gaurithân and Baidguâr. [241] They follow the orthodox rules of the Muhammadan faith, and work as cultivators, carriers of, and dealers in, grain. [Banjâras and crime.] 21. In former times the Banjâras especially in Gorakhpur and the neighbouring districts, had an evil reputation for dakaiti and similar offences. [242] This is in a great measure a thing of the past. In recent years they have come under the notice of the police in connection with the kidnapping of girls. There can be little doubt that most, if not all of them, occasionally introduce girls of other castes into the tribe. Quite recently the police in the Agra District have found reason to suspect that some of them in the guise of Commissariat contractors carry on an extensive trade in stolen cattle, and are in the habit of appropriating and changing the brands on the so-called Brâhmani bulls which are released by Hindus on the occasion of a death. [Cattle trade.] 22. One of the most important trades carried on in the present day by the Banjâras is that of the purchase and sale of cattle used for agricultural purposes. Cattle are largely bred along the Jumna in the direction of Agra and Mathura. These are bought up by Banjâras, who drive them in large herds to great distances about the time when the agricultural seasons are commencing. They sell them on credit with a promise of payment when the crop is ripe. At such times they come round to realise their debts. They seldom or never take bonds or resort to the law courts; but they appear at the houses of their creditors, and if not promptly paid, practise a form of coercion known as dharna, by encamping close to the house of the defaulter and using vile language to his womenkind wherever they venture to show themselves. This form of pressure appears to be effective with even the most callous debtor, and it is understood that they generally succeed in realising their money. This result is brought about by the popular fear felt for the Banjâra, who is a wild-looking semi-savage who can make his presence most disagreeably felt.