The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-01-02
THE BOMBAY FIEND."
Dlabolical Work of Native of
India IN 1858.
AN Assassin Who Manifested a Liking
Tor the Right Ears of Engllshmsn-
The Many Wild Theorie, Ad-
vanced-Caught ut Last.

~ lLtSC.
The series Of crimes committed bv
the so-called "Whitechapel Fiend' in
adistrict of London, is a plagiarism on
the work of the Bombay Fiend.n The
only difference is that one killed only
men, and Englishmen at that, and the
other kills only women, and women of
doubtful regulations. 1t was in 1858
that the Bombay tiend pursued his
bloody work, and during his career
was resident Of that city and saw
most of his victims after death. As
all were English, and all of them army
or civil officers, and AS the last mutter-
lngs OF the mutiny had not yet been
stamped out, the British Government
took care to suppress the particulars
of this fiend's work as much as posi-
BILE. While thousand men were
quietly searching for him the press
was forbidden to give him any notorie-
ty, as it was believed the criminal was
native, and to particularize would be
to make a hero of him and induce
others to follow in his bloody footsteps.
The first murder occurred in March,
1858, and the victim was an English
Captain of infantry. He was leaving
a club house at ten o'clock at night,
and to reach the street he had to pass
between two stores by an alleyway
seven or eight feet wide and twenty
feet long. This way was lighted by
single lamp.
People were coming and going every
two or three minutes, and it was a
public thoroughfare in which a woman
would have felt perfectly safe from vio-
lence. Five minutes after the Captain
left the club house an alarm was raised
that he had been murdered. A score
of us rushed out to find him dead in
the alleyway. He had been stabbed to
the heart, and his right ear had been
cut Off. The body had not been de-
spoiled, and the general verdict was
that it was case OF revenge. There
was q great stir over this, the first of
the series, and many natives were ar
rested on suspicion. The British were
carrying things with a high hand then,
and some of the parties arrested were
tortured to extort confession. 1t was
given out that one had confessed and |
been executed, but this statement was !
only to affect the native population
Not one of the suspects had a word to
say to help clear up the mystery.
On the eleventh night after the Cap
tain's murder a Lieutenant of dragons
was found dead at the front door of the
bungalow Of friend on whom he was
about to call 1t was only twenty feet
from the gate to the steps, and the
path leading up was Of sand 1t was
only just after dark, with many people
moving about, and yet no one had been ,
alarmed. The officer had not been
dead five minutes when found. As in =,
the other case, he had been stabbed to | !
the heart and the right ear cut off and ;
carried away. This satisfied every J.,
body that an assassin was abroad, and =.
The excitement was intense. 1t was g
the policy OF the Government to sup +
press the facts as far as possible, but =
they soon became known to every !,
European in the city, and every man :
was on his guard from that time on.
those who had been in India LONGEST :,
reasoned that these murders were the !,
work OF fanatic-a religious fanatic =
AT that date and even for ten wears h
later, religious fanatics were to be d
found IN every community. They made a
vows to do this or that for the elorr
OF their God, and it was a rare th;,o. L
Tor one OF them to abandon his is
work. l have met natives who had ~
vowed never to walk in a straight line. r.
others who had vowed to sleep stand. -
ing; others who kept one eve shut nns III
arm Ft'sed, or had vowed not to sneak ~ ~
If TT sssin Ea vowed : ! Oe
lives of a ,taiH amber ~. e
men ne was n.ors>to be Dire So
baud of robbers. NqShiasa =.
ure would prevent him from fu 40 ~
mat vow and the fact of his cosc,1it =,
tlng two murders in prominent MIC, "
and leaving no clew to lis jdanr; > =, ~
proved that he was a crafty fellow. ~
ihere was the usual cry against tt.sy,ss
once force, but one who stopped tete. s.
''S'der Ter moment realized how, .it
'p&'"7 the ofiit ers were. A dozef /.
= US were made and threats. prof yo,
$ anc lorttre used to secure a MOTT KIN,
II G-' -4lt Door fellows knew noting wa,
&C 'h1efo4e had nothing to gwen sas,
- q ocehlaH Of the fifteenth at, : >
,ssrssA ~ eSaeo' purder 2 thir o : -.
IN Ttlils s<aptai, . wp.hsd /
Sc SIS on, 4, > u. The no. ~ ans who -
s'ss y Ass dly boas "a. =. h,ceuld
himself g'lGer 4. atcum. d.
salled at the Ia " Of GOV co.
'aisssss, a N u ,i ss,s ; cs, h