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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ MAY, 1924
together with Bhoj Aji, one of his Naiks, sent peremptory orders to the village officers in Sagwad to pay him a portion of the village-revenues. He realized in this way about Rs. 14,000, and proceeded to levy similar contributions in the northern area of the Raja of Satara's territory, as well as in the district belonging to the Pant Sachiv. Further, he endeavoured to exact from the people of the countryside the respect and attentions which are customarily shown to Rajas and ruling princes, and ordered his own followers and persons of the lower classes and castes to address him by the title of Raja. Visions of independence and a principality floated before his eyes ; but he failed to realize that in the British Government he had a far tougher and more powerful opponent than Sivaji faced in Aurangzeb.
The remainder of the year 1827 was spent in casual skirmishing with the troops and police. In November, Um Aji attacked a party of troops at a village seven miles from Saswad, set fire to the Patel's house and burnt the Patel's daughter. A few days later he fell in with a party of infantry and ten horse, whom his followers attacked vigorously, shouting their war-cry "El-kot," and drove them back to Jejuri. He then made a forced march to the western Ghats, plundered some sepoys who were travelling on leave to Hindustan, and returned to Sonapur in the Saswad district, where he fought another engagement with a party of infantry and cavalry. Having escaped from this encounter with the loss of two of his inen, Umají moved into the M&wala, levying contributions as he went both from British villages and from those belonging to the Pant Sachiy. He was shortly afterwards joined by Bhojaji, who had been commissioned to raise fresh lovies of fighting jungle-folk, and found his forces augmented by about sixty men belonging to various tribes of the Deccan and Carnatic. In company with these, he moved to the hill-fort of Koari, one of the first strongholds seized by the great Sivaji at the outset of his career. A few days later, December 20th, 1827, he committed one of his worst crimes. Descending with 140 men into the Konkan, he seized a havildar and four sepoys, ordered them to be put to death, and then sent their heads in a basket to the authorities, with a letter threatening further reprisals, if his demands were not conceded. The Bombay Government replied by issuing & second proclamation, calling upon the-Ramosi gang to disperse, and offering the following enhanced rewards for the capture of their chief Naiks - Umaji, Rs. 5,000; Bhoj Aji, Rs. 5,000 ; Yesu Nikdi, Rs. 5,000; Pandu, Rs. 5,000.
As the attentions paid to his movements by the troops and police were now becoming rather irksome, Umáji decided to make overtures to Government, with a view to obtaining terms for himself and recovering the ancient rights and dues claimed by the Ramosis of Purandhar. He accordingly ascended the Ghats on December 28th and watched the movements of several detachments, which were scouring the jungles in search of his gang; then moved to Mhasvad, where his followers had a skirinish with the troops of the Raja of Satara ; and finally turned south-eastwards towards the Purandhar hills, meeting en route a military detachment under a havildar, whom he persuaded not to attack him. Having decided that, before opening negotiations with the Government, he must make a show of disbanding his followers, Umáji, on reaching the neighbourhood of Purandhar, sent his main body into the Mahadev hills, south-east of Phaltan, while the rest were bidden to hide in the country to the north and east of Jejuri. He remained where he was in company with Bhojaji, a Vaghe with whom he was very friendly, and two other Ramosis, while his brother Kistnaji opened communications with a Risaldar of the Poona Horse. Various adventures befell him, while he was awaiting the result of his overtures. On one occasion he watched from a convenient cache a pig-sticking contest carried out by the officers of the troops which were hunting him ; on another he narrowly escaped capture by the Raja of Satara's troopa near Sonegaum.
(To be continued.)
