Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1872-06-17
For the Monitor.
THE THUGS OF INDIA.

glance at India shows us into what
shocking depths false. religion may
lead men. Here exists what is found no
where else on earth-s class of men who
are professional murderers who consid-
er it religious duty to traffic in human
blood the more victims, the longer is
their duty appeased. ,
Such are the Thugs of India. How
this bloody practice could ever become a
part of their religion, we cannot tell.
But .'Brohminism was from the outset,
blood sacrifcial religion" Possibly
this fact, united with their love of plum
der, led them to make sacrifices of hu-
man blood; for this being the best
blood, of course their deity would be
better propitiated by it.
There is striking resemblance be-
tween the practices of the Thug and the
records of jeremiah. because they
have burned incense unto other lGeds
whom neither they nor their fathers have
known, nor the kings of Judah, and
have filled their place with the blood of
innocents they have built also the high
places of Baal, to burn their sons with
fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which
| commanded not ....... L will cause
them to fall by the sword before their
enemies, and by the hand of them that
seek their lives r- ., E.rf.a
The false religions or rather imper-
feet ones, aiming as they do, at a juno
ton with God by sacrifices or otherwise,
might naturally fall into, similar wrong
practices. Kalee is the Moloch of the
Hindoos-the goddess for whom these
murders are committed. She is repre-
Sented as feeding upon human blood,
and her thirst is never quenched. The
Ko1ikd P,u0aa thus describes her appe-,
tite for blood
"If the worshiper should present her
whole burnt Offering it would prove
acceptable to her, in proportion to the
supposed Importance of the animated
being thus inundated; that, for instance,
by the blood of fishes of tortoises, the
goddess is gratifed for whole month
after; crocodile's blood will please her
three months that of certain wild ami
mails nine months "a guanaco's year;
an antelope's, twelve years a rhinocer-
os' or tigers blood for hundred years !;
but the blood of lion or man will
delight her for thousand years while
by the blood of three men slain in sac
ri6ces, she is pleased hundred thou
sand years !''
We can more readily see by this, how
these things can fall into such shocking
atrocities, believing as they do, that they
thus render the highest service to the
deity of their choice. 1t may be that
their willingness to rob is the cause of
their choosing Kolee, their accession
always being from the worst classes.
While they offer the blood upon her al
tar, they keep the booty themselves.
Under the guise of merchants and
travellers, they infest the public roads.
They are said.never to travel alone, but
in companies, while each man performs
his part of the tradegy. 1t naturally
follows that the people should 60 armed
in the midst of such class, but not
withstanding all precautions, they have
often fallen victims to these willy men.
Thuggeeism is said to have been frs
brought to the knowledge of the English
Government in 1910, by their finding
dead bodies in wells, as they passeC
through the country. This led to inves
tigation which resulted in the discover.
of the Thugs, and their Imprisonment
for trial, whenever they could be found
DR.. Butler, to whom we are mostl.
indebted for these facts, visited witt
several others, large number of then
who had been captured for trial. H
says that number of ladies expresses
desire to visit the Tai = tina
wonderful mausoleum built by the Grea
Mogul over his beautiful Empress. Go
lionel Williams, an officer in the Thugge
department offered to escort them. O.
their return, while yet inspired with tn
marvellous beauty of the TAI, the Colont
casually remarked Come and 1 wi
show you something else So he turn
ed down an ominous looking portal, an
they followed him through the guarde
gate into square with high walls, an
thence by a gloomy passage into anothe
inclosed court. Instantly they were i
the presence of group of men, tn
most frightful they had ever seen. I'll
Colonel cody remarked, "These al
some of my pets. Here they wer
the gentlemen and party of ladies, I'll
guarded, in the presence of nearly tv
hundred Thugs. The sight made the
shudder. In returning through Il
long, dark, passage, they were great
terrified, for numbers of these wretch
came with their clanking chains clio
after them, pleading for some concessic
from the Colonel Dr. Butler tn
forcibly expresses his feelings at tn
time.
"After leaving the beautiful Tai, al