San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-06-25
BANDITS OF BURMAH.
ROGUES WHO ANOINT THEMSELVES
WITH cocoANUT OIL.

coits"-How the Bands Operate-Slip-
perry and Dangerous Customers-Inci-
dents of a Night-Reiigious .Saits-
Burmah resembles Italy and Greece in one
respect. 1t is land of brigands. These
robbers are called "Dacoits,n and, like their
European brethren. work in bands or COM
panies having chief with absolute authority,
lieutenants and other subordinate officers
They are daring, rapacious and cruel, setting
no value on human life and exposing their
own fearlessly. They resemble the European
banditti in their wise policy of keeping good
friends with the peasantry and toiling people
They thus insure supplies, for which they
pay literally, and gain the earliest intelli-
gence of any pursuit by the government
troops. The Dacoits do not take any prisoners
to their businesses to be ransomed; they
simply lay their hands upon all the valuables
they can carry away with them, and move
off with great rapidity. One band operating
in the country near Tounghoo numbered
about 500 men, under the leadership of Ming
loung, cool, cunning and brave chief. He
had some royal blood in his veins. being re-
lated to the king reigning at the time at
Mandalay.
They go upon these expeditions in per-
fectly nude state, having previously rubbed
themselves well over with cocoanut or Sc
same oil. They proceed with their wholesale
robbery in perfect silence, the only light they
carry being the inevitable cigar or large
cigarette, which each one smokes. AS they
enter house they puff away, and hold the
lighted end to ascertain the exact where
abouts of any article they desire to carry off.
Should any one awaken and attempt to re-
sist or raise an alarm, he or she is speedily
dispatched with the keen dha, or knife, they
all carry; but should any general alarm be
raised and decided resistance made, then a
retreat is ordered, and the party clear off in
as quick order as possible. There being few
roads, properly so called in Burmah, retreat
is in consequence easy for the thieves, who
know every intricate footpath in the jungle
A numerous band of Dacoits once, under
the leadership of Mingloung, had the au-
dacity to make a raid upon the European can
Torment in Pegu. The night Of the raid was
dark and stormy, it being the commencement
OF the rainy monsoon or season. Every
thing was thus favorable to their design; alb
sence Of proper guards, and pitchy dark
atmosphere, family and fitfully illuminated
here and there by the few oil lanterns sus-
pended occasionally at the entrances of the
bungalows. Every one had retired to rest
and all was quiet by midnight. At about l
a. m. the stiffness was broken by the dis
charge of firearms. Several pistol shots rang
out through the silence of the night, and in
short time shouts, excavations, ETC., were
heard, putting the whole cantonment in q
state of uproar. Some of the young fellows
started for the barracks and brought down a
detachment OF troops, furnished with Ian
terms, to make thorough investigation of
the cause of the disturbance. Nothing, how
ever, was discovered, nor any persons found
to be near the cantonment, although several
asserted that Dacoits had paid them visit
and that one or more of them was shot.
After posting proper guard, nothing fur.
Their was done until daylight came.
In the morning, by the side of the road,
a couple of hundred yards from the canton
ment, were found the nude, tattooed bodies
of two Burmans, headless, however, for, ac-
cording to the invariable habit Of the Dacoits,
they behead any Of the band who may be
killed during foray, or so seriously wounded
as to be incapable of escaping. By their
method of mutilation the Individuality of
the robbers was lost. As the Dacoits have
agents in the various cities for the disposal
of their stolen goods, who are sworn men,
bers OF the band, and who ostensibly pursue
honest vacations in life, such as shroffs
bankers, goldsmiths, merchants, etc., it
would inevitably tend to betray them and
injure their Cuisines" were any of their
killed and wounded left behind them to be
by their captors. When an ex-
tonsive raid is contemplated every member
of the band is liable to be called upon to
serve at the summons of the chief. These
cadavers therefore gave no clue to the iden-
tity of the perpetrators of the outrage, it
merely let us know that a party of Dacoits
had been let loose among US, and not any
ordinary Indian housebreakers.
The incidents of the night were as follows:
A young merchant and physician shared
bungalow between them. The former was
awakened by the doctor, who was shouting:
"Wake up Thieves" and who at the same
time made tremendous cut with a saber at
two dusky forms dimfy seen escaping by the
window. The doctor, who was an athletic
Scot of some six feet four inches in height,
declared that he split one fellows skull clean
open. On striking light they discovered
that their shotgrfns, rifles and ammunition
We're gone: their Colts army revolvers were
even taken from under their pillows. twas
the maladroitness Of one Of the robbers
which caused their detection. He let bit
of hot cigar ash fall upon the doctors face as
he was tickling that gentleman with feather
to make him shift his position in the bed, so
as to allow the rascal to take the revolver
from under the pillow. The doctor arose at
once, but was too late to save his Colt, for,
before be could extricate himself from the
musquito bars, the thief was off with it.
The young merchant had not been awak-