The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-23

saDidtn8s ana They have NO 6ynpafhy
whatever with q man WIND Roea dacoft~
ingi but the dacoit goes armed, and the
suptneness and 'c6wardfee eta Burrnan
In the presence: Of arms, more parttcu-
larry ire arms are something almost
incomprehensible to the Western mind.
1t Is quite sufficient for party Of half
Dozen men to have 8 gun among
tnem-enecttve or useless. loaded or
empty. matters little, the mere show fs
enough ana they may go fearlessly to
work in the midst of a crowd; no one
Will interfere with them. In mere than
one instance bold robbers have made
successful attacks when armed merely
with their dahs-the dagger which
every Burman carries-and with q
pretended rifle made Of g. stick. with
which they brighten Off all opposition.
But perhaps the strange working Of
the native character are best exhibited
In the Following case. which occurred
quite recently. The facts are vouched
TOR by an English officer:
There was band of five men who
were In the habit of practicing dacoity
occasionally. Three of them came
from the same village-not a common
thing, as 1t makes detection easier;
the fourth from another village: and.
as Tor the fifth, no man knows where
ne came from. for reasons that will
appear. One night these five men.
armed with nothing beyond their knives
ana spears, which are used for fishing
IN Lower Burmah, entered q house,
tied up the owner, and began plumber
ing. NOW, this house was in a large
viHage. containing not only popula-
tlon OF some 1,4o0. but a police post,
with fifteen native policemen armed
with Sniders.
The alarm was given and the house
surrounded and-then there was
pause. The robbers continued their
work undisturbed within. The villa
ssfs-some 200 or 300 able-bodied men.
All more or less armed-sat around on
the dam which surrounds and protects
every mousse on the delta, looked down
on the house, and discussed the ques-
gtdon, the police stood rather nearer the
mousse ana f1fedsshots into it through
ohe bamboo walls, hurting no one One
soiltary policeman, after a time, volun.
teefed to advance He crept up quite
close TO the house and fired in through
an opening In the wall; then he went
lurtner ana actually put his head and
part or his body through the hole, ap-
parently to see what execution he had
done.
One of the robbers promptly pinned
him to the ground with a fish spear and
Killed him. By this time they had com,
pleted their preparations, SO they
salned forth, each man with his pack
OF plunder on his back Though the
mouse was surrounded, they appear to.
have had no difficulty in making their
way through; only the police fired after
them with buckshot and hit three OF
them in the back, not seriously wound
Ing them. But one Of the band had
the misfortune to stumble and fall. In
stantly the crowd rushed upon him,
and before he could rise literally hack
ed him to pieces, and so effectively that
not the slightest clew to his identity
remained. He was absolutely Destroy
ed; no one knows even what was his
nationality. The other four got clear
away.
!, Now comes the sequel, which is, if
possible, still more extraordinary. Some
days after, a man in neighboring vii
lage Informed the Thugyi, or headman,
that two of the villagers, whom he
named, had been concerned in the late
decoity. The Thugyi had them arrested
promptly and they were taken to head,
quarters for Identification.