Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1882-10-21

Quented spot, gang OF robbers, looking
Like travellers, suddenly set on him and
his servants, overpowered them, gagged
and bound them, and then, taking them
off the road. left them in piece of scrub,
where it was not likely they would be
discovered until next morning.
One of the robbers then dressed him.
self in the traders clothes-almost every
occupation in India has special dress
and assumed his part. The two others
acted as his servants. They got into
another and dmore-frequented road, along
which police stations were established
at short intervals. Going up to the
first, the sham trader represented that
he was most anxious to push on that
night that he had good deal of valua-
BILE property with him that he thought
some robbers had got wind of this, and
asked that he might have policeman to
escort him from one station to another.
And SO the police actually escorted
the robbers with their booty to large
town OF some distance off, reaching
which they soon disposed of the carts
and all their contents.
CATTLE lifting is form of robbery
very prevalent in some parts Of India,
more especially in the neighborhood Of
woods and forests, into which the
stolen cattle can be driven. 1t prevails
in the country lying between the
Ganges and the Jumna, as the forest
tract at the foot of the Himalaya af-
lords the needful hiding ground. A
pair of stolen bullocks will be driven
TO this forest from the village where
they were lifted, twenty-five or thirty
miles off, in the course of the night.
The ordinary forms of robbery, sim
pie theft from the house or person, done
secretly and not openly, and where craft
takes the place Of force, are of course
the most common. Here everything de-
pends on quietness of movement and
sleight-of- hand, in both of which the
Indian thief has attained great perfec-
ton. Then he is accustomed to go
barefoot His tread is habitually light.
Ills limbs are naturally supple, and are
made more so by the use Of unguents,
which enable him to roll himself up into
g marvelously small space.
The delicious GOODNESS of the night
has succeeded the fierce heat of dayin
May. The moonlight makes mimic
day but how soft is its light, however
bright, compared W tn the sunlight of
Jew hours before A party Of travellers,
having cooked and eaten their frugal
meal, have now spread their carpets and
quilts on the ground in the mango
grove, and laid themselves down to
sleep. All is now silent, save when the
jackals rend the air with their horrid
cries. A jackal gives yelp on one side
of the grove another answers with q
howl from the other side. These are
not jackals, but confederate thieves, one
of whom enters the grove at the end
farthest from where the sleeping travel
ers lie. On his stomach he steals quiet
ly along from one tree to another. Some
leaves rustic; a traveller calls out
whereupon the stealthy one coils him
self into heap and lies dead still, and
will 80 lie for half an hour or more, il
necessary.
A "jackal" howls quite near the
grove, as if it had just crossed it and
rustled the leaves. The thief drags him.
self along the ground again. At length
he reaches the head Of the sleeping row
of travellers. He passes his hand quiet
ly under the pillows. This fat man is
the rich man Of the party that bundle
which he uses for pillow probably con-
tains something valuable. The dusky
thief removes it gently without waking
the snoring sleeper. He next makes
this other man turn over on his pillow
by gentle touches on the face and, hav-
ing got what he wanted, creeps gently
away. One Of the extemporized jackals
gives bark here, the other q short howl
there and the two thieves meet and
decamp together.
When out for the night, the thieves
strip themselves of all their clothing
except q short, tight loin-cloth, and
smear themselves with oil, so as to be
able to slip out Of the grasp Of any one
seizing them. They seldom carry arms,
In the ordinary sense, but strap couple
Of light spear-heads to each forearm,
with the points projecting beyond the
elbows. with backward stroke of which
they can give q severe if not deadly
wound to any one trying to seize them.
Generally, however, they carry small,
sharp knife.
The houses Of many of even the we'll
to-do natives have mud walls only,
through which the thieves dig hole to
effect an entry. This requires long, quiet,
and patient work. A great number OF
the Indian stories about robbers turn on
this mode of proceeding; how one
woman alone in the house with her chill
dren waited quietly until the thief put
his head through the hole, and killed
him with a blow of an AK how another
waited with rope in her hand, and, the
thief this time putting his heels in first,
she tied his ankles quickly together and
took him prisoner but when the neigh