Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-01-27
THIEVES OF INDIA.


written about the jugglers of India, but
things still more wonderful could be
written about the thieves. have lived
in Bombay, Madras, Calcutta and Ran
COON. and have been knowing to some
operations of these gentry which seemed
almost incredible.
Every foreigner is considered fair game
by the natives. While there are plenty
who will not rob him by force, there is
none who will not swindle him if it can
be done. On three different occasions,
in different hotels l sent out by wait
er5 to make purchases or get money
changed. In each instance they ran
away, although in no case was the sum
over 81, and in every case the native left
lucrative employment in order to beat me.
1t couldn't have been the idea of gain so
much as the idea of getting ahead of a
foreigner. While there is no positive Sc
curity from thieves in India, there is
partial security in hiring a chowkadar.
This fellow is thief from away back.
He is known to be, and he is employed
on this account. If you pay him SO that
he can afford to be honest he will keep
other thieves away. 1t is a point of
honor with the fraternity not to steal
from any one employing a chowkadar.
His services are a species of blackmail,
but you must either pay him or be at the
mercy of the slickest slyest set of rascals
on earth.
AT Bombay had a bungalow with an
English artillery captain on leave of
absence. AS he had with him two
servants whom he felt he could trust, we
determined not to employ chowkadar.
Several called to offer their services, and
all seemed greatly surprised and annoyed
when sent Off One of the fellows was
an old man with foxy look, and he pro-
tested to the captain:
IL am a great thief, but too sharp for
the officers, who have never vet laid
hands on me. l know all thieves, and
if am with you no one will dare steal
from you"
And if we do not employ your"
you will surely be robbed"
'Well we shall try to get along with
out you, and if thieves come, some one
may get killed"
The old man went away with a look
of cunning on his face, and we had no
doubt that he would be among the first
to seek to lay hands on our goods. There
were but three rooms to our bungalow
parlor, kitchen and bedroom. The
captain and myself occupied the parlor
as sitting room, dining room and bed
room, while the cook and his fellow
servant occupied the other two. We
kept but little money by us and had but
few goods. The captain was experiment.
ing little with new explosive, and l
was making report to the home govern
ment on the various vegetable poisons
of that peninsula. We therefore had
plenty of leisure to plan for our pro-
lection and watch all suspects.
On the second day after the sly old
man was sent away lame native woman,
leading a boy about years of age, sent
in word by the servant that she wanted
to see the captain on important business
The pair were admitted, and she began
making inquiries about her husband, who
she said was a member of the captains
command. She gave the name of a
native known to the officer, and asked so
many questions that she took up fifteen
minutes time. | was not much inter-
e,ted in her story, but was in the actions
of the child. No sooner did she let go of
his hand than he began running about to
inspect things. We saw afterward how
hard she tried to draw all our attention
to herself. The captain paid no heed to
the child: but presently, as l watched, |
saw the little shaver grab something from
stand. He then returned to his mother
and took her hand. After a moment |
remembered that my field glasses rested
on the stand, and as l rose up to look for
them they were not to be seen. / went
over to the child, and notwithstanding
the fact that he shrank away and began
to cry, as if scared at me, picked him
up and gave him shake. The glasses
fell to the floor from the folds of q cloth
about his waist, and with them three
spoons which he had stolen in the kitchen.
He ran away as put him down, and the
woman hurried after him. 1t was put
up job to pilfer from us, and, while the
child did not look more than years of
age, we afterward learned that he was
over 10.
In India everybody sleeps during the
middle of the day. That is, everybody
should. About week after the occur
renee related above, the captain climbed
into hammock under the veranda about
IL O'Clock one forenoon for a nap.
should have climbed into another, but /
had some letters to get off that day, and
/ removed my coat and vest and sat
down to table in a corner of our room.
The window before me was up, but a
light bamboo shade was down to keep the
sun out. The captain had had plenty of
time to go to sleep when l happened to
look out through the Stats of the blind.
While | saw nothing, felt that some
thing was wrong, and / softly rose up and
went to the door opening out ON the ver-
anda. This door was, of course, wide
open. My feet were in slippers, and I
made not the least noise as / reached the
door, The verandawas about twenty feet
long. and the captains hammock was
slung at the center. peered cautiously
out, and | saw the figure of the sly old
man right under the hammock. His
back was to me, and l determined to see
what he would do, and then capture him