An Indian Hackeree, drawn by Guzerat Oxen, with the Costume of different Casts in Hindostan from a drawing by Baron de Montalembert, 1807

Plate seventeen from the first volume of James Forbes' "Oriental Memoirs", a work based on copious notes and drawings made during his travels in India between the 1760s-70s. Forbes(1749-1819)spent most of his working life in Western India, particularly in Gujarat where he was employed as Collector in Bharuch and later in Dhaboi. The "Memoirs",in the form of a series of letters describing many aspects of life in India included ethnological observations such as this. Forbes described the 'Indian Hackeree' as 'a sort of chariot drawn by white oxen; it is seldom hung on springs, and consists of a conical dome, supported by four pillars covered with a broad cloth, and contains in front and on each side, to open at pleasure...'