_Bassia latifolia_, _Butea frondosa_, _Nauclea parviflora_, and several
acacias, with which, in the eastern part of the district, teak and
sandalwood occur. Among the fauna may be mentioned the elephant, tiger,
tiger-cat, cheetah or hunting leopard, wild dog, elk, bison, wild boar,
several species of deer, hares, monkeys, the buceros and various other
birds, the cobra di capello, and a few alligators. The most interesting
antiquities of Coorg are the earth redoubts or war-trenches
(_kadangas_), which are from 15 to 25 ft. high, and provided with a
ditch 10 ft. deep by 8 or 10 ft. wide. Their linear extent is reckoned
at between 500 and 600 m. They are mentioned in inscriptions of the 9th
and 10th centuries. The exports of Coorg are mainly rice, coffee and
cardamoms; and the only important manufacture is a kind of coarse
blanket. Fruits of many descriptions, especially oranges, are produced
in abundance, and are of excellent quality.

In 1901 the population was 180,607, showing an increase of 4.4% in the
decade. Of the various tribes inhabiting Coorg, the Coorgs proper, or
Kodagas, and the Yeravas, or Eravas, both special to the country, are
the most numerous. The Kodagas (36,091) are a light-coloured race of
unknown origin. They constitute a highland clan, free from the trammels
of caste, and they have the manly bearing and independent spirit natural
in men who have been from time immemorial the lords of the soil. Their
religion consists of ancestor- and demon-worship, with a certain
admixture of Brahman cults. The men are by tradition warriors and
hunters, and while they will plough the fields and reap the rice, they
leave all menial work to the women and servants. They speak Kodagu, a
dialect of Hala Kannada or old Kanarese, midway between that and
Malay[=a]lam. It has been asserted that the institution of polyandry was
prevalent among them, according to which the brothers of a family had
their wives in common. But if this institution ever existed it no longer
does so. The Yeravas (14,586) are a race of an altogether inferior type,
dark-skinned and thick-lipped, resembling the Australian aborigines who
possibly, according to one theory, may have sprung from the same
Dravidian stock (see AUSTRALIA: ABORIGINES). Though now nominally free,
they were, before the establishment of British rule, the hereditary
praedial slaves of the Kodagas. Some of them live a primitive life in
the jungle, but the majority earn a livelihood