The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1893-11-03
INDIAN JUSTICE.
Trial by Ordeal Among the Brah-
minis Of Mahratta.
A Remarkable Story About q Native
Postal Thief and the Singular
Manner of His Con-
yictiOn.

Manner of His Con-
viction.
The Times. of India publishes good
story of trial by ordeal. The narrator
of it some years ago had charge of a
postal division on the western coast,
parts of which had seldom if ever been
visited by a European officer. The
people were for the most part simple
country folk and very superstitious.
One morning the narrator received in
formation that considerable sum of
money, forming part of the contents of
the mail from head to suboffice,
had been stolen on the road. The
whole affair was wrapped in mystery.
The only clew the police had been able
to obtain was that one runner, whom
we shall call Rama, had since the theft
paid off certain debts in the village
which had long pressed upon him, but
there were no other suspicious circum-
stances, and the man had ten years
good service. AS a last resource it was
determined to resort to trial by ordeal,
and for this purpose an aged Brahmin,
who was supposed to possess occult
powers and to be in daily communion
with the gods, was consulted, and
readily undertook to discover the thief.
All the runners-a goodly array of
sturdy Mahratta peasants-were sum-
moned to the office and, under the
guidance of cheyla or disciple of the
old Brahmin, we all proceeded to
small deserted temple of Mahadeo, sit
uated at some distance from the vii
lage. 1t was desolate spot and bore
an evil reputation. The temple, owing
to some act of desecration in the past,
had been abandoned and was almost
buried among weeds and tangled
brushwood.
The hour selected was about six p.
M, and the long twilight shadows gave
the place weird, uncanny look. The
old Brahmin was awaiting US, and as
we approached appeared to be busy
muttering incantations. The runners
all seemed to be more or less under the
spell of the hour, but the look of real
fright on Rama's face was quite dis
tinct. The Brahmin, having finished
his incantations, rose and, addressing
the men. said: "You are about to face
the gods; to the innocent the trial will
be nothing, but to the guilty much. In
the temple magic wand has been
placed on the altar. Each of you must
go in by turns, take up the wand and
turn round three times, repeating the
name of Mahadeo; the wand will stick
to the hand of the guilty one." By
this time it was nearly dark. glanced
in through the door of the temple. A
solitary oil buttee threw fitful
light on the altar, on which an ordi-
nary bamboo stick about two feet long
reposed among grains of uncooked
rice and cut lines, the whole sprinl1led
with red powder A curtain was drawn
across the door, and the men entered
one at time. AS each one appeared
the Brahmin seized his hands and
raised them to his forehead, and then
allowed him to pass on and join his
fellows Coming to Rama he went
through the same pantomime, but in
stead of allowing him to pass on babe
him stand aside. When the last man
had gone through the ordeal the
Brahmin turned to Rama and said,
quietly: Tell the sahib how you
stole the money"
To my utter amazement, continues
the writer, Rama fell on his knees,
confessed that he was the thief and
offered to show where he had hidden
the balance of the money. He had
succeeded in opening the mail bag
without seriously disturbing the seals.
The postmaster had not really exam
ined them and SO their having been
manipulated had escaped notice. Need
less to say, the Brahmin was rewarded
and poor Rama was sent to repent at
leisure in the district Jail. Now the
natural question is: ''How was it
done?" Very simply. The temple, the
lonely glen, the uncanny hour, the in
carnations, all were merely accessories
to appeal to the superstitions of the ig-
norant peasants. The "magic wand
was thickly smeared with strongly
scented sandalwood oil. Rama's guilty
conscience prevented him from touch
ing it, as he firmly believed the wand
would stick to his hands, and his, of
course, was the only hand that did not
smell of the oil