St. Landry democrat., 1894-02-10
LIVED BIT 10 MURDER.
The Thugs in EiinGustan Methods OF
killing and Robbery.

ThuGgce, summarily defined, is, OF
rather was, Il profession by which, cen
fury after century. thousands of Indian
males, Brahmns as we'll as Moham-
ne iaus, bound themselves by the most
solemn oaths. and under religious ccre-
monies carried out with the subIimity
attaching OF old to the Eicu~nian mys-
teIlcs, to unite in secret societies whose
purpose it WAS to punish the human
race, and thus to merit the appreciation
of Bhowance, by whom men and women
were auhoried. This punishment, says
Balley's Magazine, took the form Of en-
ilcing rich travellers to become the COM
panlons Of armed bands of thugs, who,
pretending to be merchants, Or soldiers
seeking service with the uizam, or with
EIoIkar, Scindjah or others among the
! powerful t"udai princes, oicre prntcc,
t'"n and comp2n;nnship to defcncclcss
bHnncas, or traders, to sah"ucars $50
wears or bankers, to Zcnindars On the
road to big cites laden with rupees, bars
Of silver or bills Of exchange, which
they had received in payment for thci1
! crops. Even profess: onal robbers, or
'inco!ts, were followed fer days and
nights by wary bod os of thugs, who at
! tackled and murdered them when a con-
Tenlent spot in the road Or Jungle was
/ reached and robbed them of their plum
! der
All this homicide was wrought by the
simple agency Of silk handkerchief,
flung froms behind over the head and
throat of tie victim, VIII, was iostanta-
neously strangIcd, and in most cases his
or her neck dislocatcd by the deXterous
application Of the bhuttote, or stran-
glcrs kuuckles, under the victims ears.
One essential preliminary to The Success
tnl and uEdetcctel preparation Of all
tn So countless crimes was that the lug
ghass, or grave digycrs, attached to each
band OF thugs were sent in ad:auce by
the commanding otiiccr-the organiza-
ton of these bands was strictly military
to an Indicated spot some miles ahead,
III order to prepare the grave for the
victims about to be murdered. Great
skill was shown in selecting fitting
spot for the execution of the murders
aud the preparation of the grave 50 tEat
no evidence of the crime should meet
the eye. The spot selected was often
on the edge of bushy stream, where
the unconscious victim was asked to
descend from the vehicle in which he
was travelling, 50 as to tighten the load
OF the bullOcks or horses which had to
climb the high bank on the other side.
Scarcely had the poor wretch's foot
touched the ground before the deadly
handkerchief was round his neck and
the foul deed was accomplished.
The burying party then ran forward,
caught up the body and carried it to the
grave prepared for it, either among the
bushes or rocks or in the bed Of the
stream. Every member OF the murdered
mans party or escort, including women
and children, was killed simultaneously
by other bhuttOtcs or strangers and
within a few minutes the bodies of all
were buried together in one long ard
deep grave, into which huge rocks were
flung to prevent the keen scented jackals
from burrowing down and devouring
the prey.
Tho murdcrous band of robbers then
bctO0k themselves once more to the road
after delay of a few minutes, and such
was their knowledge Of the country in
which they were operating that, under
the dexterous guidance of their leaders, j
pursuit was virtually impossible Scouts
were continually thrown out in advance,
on the flank, or in the rear of "Bhowa- !
nee's faithful childrcn,' and such was !
the skill and vigilance under which the
lives of thousands of rich victims were /
sacrificed year after year that for con-
turtles total immunity not only from pun
Ishment, but even from suspicion, was !
the reward accorded y Bhowanee and |
her bloodthirsty husband, silva, to these .
3courges OF the human race.
The largest lawyers fee OF record is
the 20 hundred thousand dol !
ars paid William Cromwell. Nelson, Of
New York city, for cxtricating Wall
street firm from an eighteen million
collar embarrassment, which he did in
months tine He is at present COUNSEL
or the receivers Of the Northern Pacific
Railroad, and will make almost as big
ee from them. His law practice is enor-
nous and his income is princely i Ar
yonaut.