New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-08-10
BEWARE OF PRISONERS.
AN EPIDEMIC OF CRIME IN INDIA-SNAkE
FARMING FOR PROFIT
PROM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE

FARMING FOR PROFIT.
PROM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE.l
Calcutta, June 10
The epidemic of poisoning which broke ouo
early in the year has extended over large
proportion of India and throughout many dlstricte
a virtual reign of terror exists At more than hall
the railroad stations huge placards are displayed,
saying not us in America, Beware OF plcKpocK-
cts, but Beware Of prisoners. Detalen "arh-
ing is also given to travellers against accepting
the hospitality of the natives, or purchasing urnAs
or eatables Of any kind. These precautions are
rendered necessary by the fact that organized
bands of prisoners have infested the railways p"-
ding fruit, cakes, drinks, etc, to passengers
chiefly AT the stations. Their wares are polsohed'
and scores Of persons have met death at their
hands. Moreover, the inhabitants OF the villages
themselves have taken up the trade, and poison
those whom they receive as guests. In THESE
latter cases the object appears TO be plumber, but
in the former IT, can only be a simple desire 10
murder, since prisoners have no opportunity 10
rob the bodies Of their victims perfect mania
for such crimes has for some time prevailed OH
nearly all routes Of travel throughout lndla' ana
in spite Of the police the horrible trade is stlll
pursued.
There is also mania for poisoning for all sorts
OF purposes for vengeance, for plunder, for tor
ture. for the fulfment OF religious vows. In many
cases the food NpOsed for sale in markets has been
poisoned wholesale. The reports of the Govern
Incnt chemist who analyses all articles seized on
suspicion Of poison, are most startling In char-
acter and give such picture Of human depravlty
as can scarcely be found elsewhere. Among the
cases was a curious one reported from Satara.
An army blacksmith complained that some poison,
possibly corrosive subIimate. was mixed with his
in, FL, rl-Shn
object of getting promotion after his death. lie
did not eat any of the food, but only suspected IL
Of containing poison. On inquiry the police
found that he had poisoned the food himself, and
then falsely accused his fcow-wOrkman. and a
packet of arscnous oxide found in his pos
session Arsenic from its easy accessibility. mas
always held the FIRST place in Indian criminal
records, opium coming, of course next. Last
year the proportion was 30 per cent arsenic ana
- per cent opium, and, broadly speaking, the
proportion Is much the same for the past ten Yeas
Another substance used with deadly intent IS
pounded glass, which is put in bread, cakes ana
rice one case is reported from Nazlk, IN when
a woman confessed to having pulyerized a lot OF
class Jewels which she had been wearing, ana
to having mixed the glass with bread, which she
gave her husband to eat In the majority ol
Instances during the last ten years OF TINS class
OF poisoning, however, the attempt has genetalIy
proved futile the coarSenesS and grlttness OF the
glass at once exciting suspicion. Evidently the
skill of the old VenctianS IN this direction has 10
parallel m India, where, indeed, glass would Only
seem 20 be used as the handiest article within
reach. when arsenic opium and dhatura are not
readily procurablc DR.. Lyon. in his exhaustive
/ Manual OF Medical jurisprudence for India, re-
cords only one fatal ease of poisoning from pounded
! sa,, All India. his was III 1876, ana death en-
| sucG Ia forts eight hours. The oldest OF 1he2c
records OF Dr. L. one II That OF woman VINO h"dt-
! lowed a quantity Of cOarsclY pounded glass III
| Order 10 scuur out her stomach. she came
I very near securing oat her SOU a. we'll but with
! prompt cmcucs and sklllul treatment she recoV-
fayortc medium in which 10 administer
I poisols Is swectmcat In one case man APP
/ preached IN am entirely friendly way ponce
Nrpuy who had run away with his VIE lie
+ -a yc the NcpOy some sWeetmeat>, ana the latter
. beam eating them, put, hhdlh3 "ie m"'Fild'
/ -utty splt 1t out. Out Of 500 grains Of TINS
} ,wccinicIt there were subsequently extracted OlO
7 grains of arscuOus oxide. In another instance
TWO children died after eating >Wretinedts, caHnN
/ given them hy "a woman who had Iu3rnl.'d WIN
/ their parents \ post-uortcm revealed the pres
/ cucc oi 100 grains at arscnIous oxide IN me
stomach II one OF the chIdrrn. Perhaps tie most
F remarkable Of recorded cI~cs OF this sort how
b ever. Wa> that in which h'e ol TIE inmates ol d
/ lrpcr hospital in Bombay WcT" FOUND suueIH-
7 nom lruttut poisoning. An eNamInatIon showed
/ that some sWectlnrats they hhd eaten coh'dI"u
.r>..ulolS oxide - the extent of twelve grains per
/ ounce and some tamarInd about nifty grains per
/ pouud some of the fragments Of orN'hl"us OXIDE
I'M TINS ease being as large small beans. inquiry
/ revealed the fact that these messengers of death
/ had been administered IN the most mattcr-oi-iirt
| way bv "a lcucr who wanted 10 get another "pcr
/ out ui the way. So that he m4ht marry his Wliri
/ and - no plan occurred To- him of lSDlatlnG nus
| victim he had cOoIlN 10 poison the whole group.
less horrible practice has Just been discovered
I'm connection With the bounty br the destruction
, Of vcuomous scIpcuts. For years many natives
r have made a snug living ont OF the hunting ana
killing of cobraS and other reptiles for which head
/ morey was offered Ii was a perllous Occupatlon.
/ and MANY men lost their lives at n. But now an
easier and simpler plan has been adopted, which
is also more profitable This IS nothing less than
cobra farming. The cunning llndoos caught
| number OF the snakes alive and imprisoned them
+ I'm a carefully constructed pen, from which escape
was inpoSs bic. hut m which the cobraS would Zee!
F entirely at home There the SNAKES Increased aud
multiplied M an amazing rate. From time 10 time
/ the snake farmers would thin out their stock and
+ yet the bouutics on a few dozen heads. The bust
ness was conducted just a. Systematically aS poul-
. trV raising. About TWO hundred cOUIdN were
hcpt rs breeders and the yield OF marketable
+ sna kc- heads was large. Bat thc GoNrrnmcnt OIL
I cials became suspicious because of the business
/ like way i'm which the heads were brought IN, ana
/ their investigations soon exposed the WhOlc
/ scheme and broke mp ;hc enterprise.