The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-09-02
indian Gang Robbers.


who speak Of "rougliing IT. rs something
delightful; but, as for me, the comforts
Of civilized life are far more desirable than
all the prairies, jungles, night eucamp.
ments, and narrow escapes In the world.
It was all very well for Cowper to long
"for alodgein some vast wilderness, some
boundless contiguity Of shade;" but l am
certain that II he ever had succeeded in
finding such spot, he would have beaten
q rather hasty retreat out oft.
Perhaps, my reader, you may think 1t
rather strange that such q matter.of fact
sort Of person as ! am should have an ad.
venture TO tell you about. But truly,
"this life Is q difficult riddle;" for, with
out wishing TO be a hero, | became one.
You wish to hear how this happened 7
Well, then, wait till have lighted cigar,
and ensconced myself comfortably In the
easy chair, and ! will spin you such a
yarn as will quite astonish you, partiCu-
larly when you remember that 1t comes
from sober individual like me.
1t was in the days when railways had
not yet made their appearance in India,
that l thought of taking a trip frem
Madras to Hyderabad. ofcourse, when l
made known my intention to some friends
and relations Of mine, they were quite
shocked at the idea, and warned me very
seriously Of the peril attending such an
undertaking; but, strange to say, nothing
could dissuade me from my purpose; and
so, after making the necessary arrange
nents for n journey by land, | found my
self en- routs to Hyderabad.
The first few days of my journey were
spent very pleasantly. enjoyed the
scenery, stopped at every travellers
bungalow, helped the old butler-a pen.
stoned sepOy-to catch u chicken fer my
breakfast, smoked, drank sweet toddy,
shot at the monkeys that Scampered along
the sides Of the road and, in fact, did any.
thing and everything that would tend to
make the time pass agreeably.
l had already completed the greater
part Of my journey. and was quite elated
with myself at having Travelled so safely,
when one night" Sahibl Sahibl" cried
the Oriental driver, and he jabbered away
in Hindustani to the effect that gang Of
robbers were rushing down the road tC
attack US.
The first thing did on hearing this in
telligence was to grope in the darknes,
for my rifle; but lUl 1t was nowhere Il
be found, and then It struck inc that
must have left 1t at the last traveller
bungalow. Here was In a. very uu
enviable predicament-tlie driver had dis
appeared, and l was alone, unarmed
and In danger Of being murdered by rob
bersl On came the Indian brigands; and
without any hesitation, pOunced on what
little property | carried with me, bound
my hands together, and dragged me along
with them, till they arriyedat 0 miser.
able hut in the heart of the forest which
bOrdered the road. The first sight tina,
greeted me sent thrill of horror all over
my body The skulls and bones OF slaugh.
tered men were scattered all over the
place. 1t was then only that | perceived
the extent of my danger; and my sus
piclohb regarding the villains intentions
towards me were too well founded. ]
overheard q conversation, In which they
spoAe of making no a sacrifice 10 hsfr
idH a
By the time had reached the interior
Of the hut Sasin state of desperation.
What was to dot How was to escape
These were questions that greatly per.
picked me. But suddenly hope bealned
in my heart. Among the few things
brought with tae 10 tho transit was pref
ty large sized box of opium, which l had
anticipated selling to q Hyderabad mer
chant. Well, | guessed the robbers had
a peculiar liking for this commodity, from
the appearance of their bloodsL0t eyes
aud unnatural thickness OF speech. Here
was the very thing. If I could only dis
cover where the article in question was,
might yet DO all right. l scanned the
interior Of the hut, and inparticular the
heap Of things which the robbers had
taken from the transit, when, to my de.
light, | beheld the box of opium, 1 was
looking for. Without losing moment,
| addressed the robbers in their own lan.
guage, telling them that among my things
there was box OF opium, and that, as
did not feel very well, should feel obliged
It they would hand inc a small quantity
to swallow. AS soon as they received
this piece of Information, the whole gang
of them-there were ten altogether rush.
I'd to the box indicated, and attacked It's
contents In the greediest manner possible.
1t was quite evident that they had not
touched their favorite narcotic for long
time. One by one they gradually fell
back in state Of stupeiaction, at first
smiling quite benevolently en- each other,
aud finally sinking Into q deep slumber.
Now was the time to act. Cautiously
rising from my seat, contrived, by dint
of searching to find knife, with which l
riddled myself Of the ropes which bound
me. In one corner Of the hut found a
clumsy iron instrument, resembling ham
mer; this picked up, and whit aimed
a blow at the strongest Of the crew.
But had not been cautious enough
Another gang Of robbers -evidently com.
radcs Of those | had been captured by
happened to pass the hut when delivered
my blow; and seeing what was about
rushed in, brandishing their swords, all
bent on revenge.
Although ! was aware Of my peril, l
determined to make stand and defend
myself WELDING the iron instrument
about, l struck right and left, at every
blow knocking down one Of my assailants.
But they seemed to muster strong, and
felt that could not hold out much longer.