The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-09-17
distant excursions, bit not , ~:
breathed about Tho ,,.- WV WOrdi

breathed about the human Hordi
This is continued for a year, ei Ia,s,a y
boy an inclination for wande rms u:
also an unsettled disposition ~ and
this time the youth has .heaT Da'lns
deal, seen q little, and is per.,:.. great
indulge himself in every l;eens ,.''''d to
Another quality the Tine o,,.
to perfection is tha. Of beinv , ,ias:
and entertaining. They are e s,sas.nss
sharper than other EIinto,s'7 ': s..:y
travelled and seen more than IT, a naS:as
~ run of the orthodox BvaSm:n Ina ~
tell capital stories, sing well, and l .asy
every League of country for mile; sron" x
their villages. Their general n I."saa
action is this: Hearing that q s s,ra Of
has to pass by certain ioneIv rosa
they determine to murder every , NAV
woman and child belonging tot. ,;,o as1'
it may number e couple Of br srS'sa
people. One Of their number is I sn,.o1i
as a decoy, who is to lead the psr,r r; ;u.a
ambush. The wcrk is done in tL;s WHY n.so
ner: Along the road in which tha . on1a
pany has to pass the Thug travels s sUal,
and unprotected, with his stock i, s ssoas
slung over his shoulder. He a.chas NV
with the party and begs permission :. y
travel with them, fearing murder and
robbery. Permission is accorded: w ,,a
could suspect the meek, mild.mannen,,a,SS
individual, with pleasing face and hmm.
ole demeanor, of being a Thug? E;s
dress is but scanty, and he looks n 1s
and ill-fed. No sooner has TIE Thua .
secured admission than he br;ars ;nte
play all his fascination. In the south NJ
India, the heat being less than III North
India, much of the travel is done bv
Gay, and when sqaatting round t6se
campfire, which is made to keep at bav
wild animals, the Thug proves an Il.
teresting companion. He tells ancient
stories, legends of the gods, SINGS a
song. plays upon the Indian violin. and
suggests the best routes to pursue n,
victims are gulled. They repose in him
the most perfect confidence, and ara
ready to follow him anywhere and ey.
erywhere. All this time the partv
doomed to destruction are being foi.
lowed by a crowd Of equally interesting
Thugs.
The dccoy gives each day explicit in.
structions to his unseen followers. by
either marking on trees, breaking off q
twig or throwing a piece of rag on the
trail, all Of which signs are as plain to
members Of the caste as would be a
well-written and minute code Of ;nstruc.
tons to more civilized people. His d.
rectious are implicitly obeyed, and the
caravan is surrounded by a crowd Of
Thugs ready at any moment to fail upon
and strangle every member composing
it, at the word of their villainous chief
As time for action draws near he directs
some few to 60 ahead, in fact, draws
around it q perfect cordon-some fol
action, others merely to act as scouts,
and give warning Of danger to those
composing the main body, who in like
manner communicate with their chief
When the party is too large he calls to
his aid another. They and the othe1
two travel for short distance together;
but this is very seldom, as two amusing
people generally clash, and discod
would be the consequence. If the car
ayans consisted Of 200 people the chic
would probably not be content with .
following of less than 500; for there j!
no danger of detection as long as no one
escapes, and every care is taken tha,
none escape. At a signal given gener
ally at night, when people are tired and
asleep, the crowd close in upon thei,
prey, two men to each victim. One
holding the mouth, the other prepare;
the Irvine, slips it around the neck, and
ere the lapse Of half an hour the foul
deed is accomplished. The company
which but few minutes ago we're men
in rude health now have passed swsy
to the great silent majority, and the
Thugs work is done. Such articles q
take most his fancy are seized, the bod.
les buried. Every trace Of the murder
is hidden and the Thug either assumes
the role of the caravan traveller or dis.
appears as suddenly as he appeared,
leaving nothing in the train Of that dis
aster but the wonderings and comments
on the part of the friends Of the mul-
dered. Unfortunately the law demands
evidence ere q conviction can be had,
and though there may be strong
grounds Of probability that certain mn
have been engaged in thuggery, itwoud
be dangerous precedent for the lsx p
proceed on such assumption. l have
been told Of many instances where men
suspected Of Thuggism hare been
brought to the katcterrb (courts) aad
after long trial have been condemned e
; suffer the extreme penalty Of the lsw
yet even then it was doubted whether
they were actually Thugs or simps
murderers.-C0r. San Francisco Carohs
|, Gle.
Y / ..