Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-12-03
THE CRIMINALS OF PERSIA.
COURT PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE
PRIN
Unearthing the Murderers of an
English Telegraph Inspector
The Rinse of the Shah's Son.

bhSliSh Telegraph AuSpCShor
The Ruse of the Shah's Son.
On the side Of the high road to Shiraz,
thirty miles before the city is reached,
going north, stands bare pole. This
marks the place where the body of Ser
geant Collins was found after his muir
der.
Sergeant Collins was an inspector OF
the telegraph line, man OF great per-
sonal bravery. He had been sapper
had been through the China war and had
nearly completed his service for pension
an old soldier of the best type rough,
honest and thorough. Accompanied by
his wife, two servants "a man aud
woman) and two muleteers, he started
on his inspection duty. Collins was
hardly convalescent from fever attack
when he started, and he had no choice
in travelling but to lie on mattress
flung on loaded mule. At early dawn
one day a muleteer suddenly cried
"Sahib, they have blocked the road"
and. looking ahead, the sergeant saw
some men in front who were covering
him with their guns. At the same mo-
ment these men ordered him TO dlsmount.
Now, the sergeant was the best shot in
Persia. ''Be OFF, he shouted, firing his
revolver twice. The robbers rushed in,
firing as they came; and Collins was hit
in two places, death being instantane-
Gus. After beating the lifeless body
with their iron-headed sticks, the rob-
bers blindfolded and carried off the wife
and the two servants, OBTAINING them In
dell till after midnight.
At the persistent instigation of the
English minister at Teheran, the Persian
authorities arrested the three principal
robbers. Another of them committed
suicide to avoid capture; another had
died from gunshot wound, apparently
inflicted by Collins. But the Persian
authorities, though they had got the
criminals in Jail, seemed very loath to
bring them to justice. But at length
Mira Hassan Ali Khan, C. S. l., our
agent at Shiraz, succeeded in goading
the Prince Governor, H. r. II. I'll, es-
Sultan, into trying the prisoners.
The proceedings were very curious.
There was no doubt of the guilt of the
men, but there were no witnesses of the
murder. The sergeant was dead;
his wife and his two servant9'
had been frightened out of their wits,
and the muleteer declared that he could
remember nothing. The English in
Persia Justly felt that it would be seri,
GUS thing to allow the assassins to escape,
and yet the difficulty of bringing thel
guilt home to them in the regular legal
way seemed all but impossible. What was
to be done? Well, in Persia just CO.
though at times very blind, is swift, as a
rule, and often arrives at correct tonclu-
sions by tortuous paths. The I'll es-Sul-
tan, finding that the English minister
would not remain satisfied, ordered the
robbers to be brought before him. There
was no court, in our sense of the term;
no robed judges, no array Of counsel, no
jury. The Prince Governor himself en-
bodied the law. Half dozen courtiers
lolled against the wall, their arms re-
spectfully crossed upon their breasts.
Seated on a silk mattress in a corner of
the room, his back supported by gold
embroidered cushions, the young Prince
twiddled his moustache, or played with
the jeweled hilt of his sabre, or toyed
with the buckle of priceless brilliants
which formed the central ornament of
his plain leather waist belt.
The three men were dressed as viii
layers usually are, in tall felt caps and
long felt coats. When they were hustled
into the hall of audience they were still
heavily ironed for these m, n are often
desperate criminals, and would not hest
tate for a moment to m3rder their iailers
if they thought they would thereby Sc
cure chance of excape. On entering
the royal presence they bow almost to
the ground. "Salaam" they would
shout in a kind of chorus; your villager
or tradesman never speaks, he always
shouts. GLOW do you like prison." says
the Prince, nodding to them, with a
smile. In reply, the bandits assert their
innocence, calling at every sentence upon
heaven and the prophet. care we not
harmless tribesmen, we who live in your
royal highnes5's shadow? May we be
your sacrificed" The Prince still smiles
dandy. "Ah, my friends, - says he, ~,
too, am mussulman. We arc all mus
selmans here; and-and in fact-an I'M
believer more or less doesn't much mat
ter. You have truly done good deed.
shall not really punish but reward you.
That you killed the Feringhi there is, of
course, no doubt; and so | must punish
you nominally. What propose to dois
to cut off Joint of one finger of each of
you. But what is that? Nothing. Your
dresses of honor are ready. You will put
them on and will be instant liberated.
And now, my children" says the smiling
Prince, "tell me all about it. How did
you manage it, cha" The astonished
and delighted prisoners received this
speech with burst of JOY. Ali shout
ing at once, they fastened to give the
prince full particulars. "The European
fired twice from one pistol-may we be
your sacrifce-and then VIC all fired to-
gether, rushing in on him. He was but
a European-may your shadow never be
less. We trust in the clemency of youv
royal highness. May we be your sac,
rifcel'
The smile faded from the face of the
young Prince Governor; his likeness to
the Shah, his father becoming very APP
parent as his countenance darkened into
fe ocity. lie had got at the truth, and,
without m re ado, nodded with appro-
pirate significance to his chief of police
the farrishbashi, bdriy, black bearded
man who stood behind the criminals.
The prisoners were removed, they were
hurried into the public square, in which
the palace stands, and their throats were
cut The bodies lay exposed till sunset
terror to evil-doers.
A red granite tablet in one of the
Christian churches in Julia, subscribed
foc by the engineer officers and non-com
missioned officers in Persia, commence
rates the death of Sergeant Collins. St
.LnneS'S Gu etta