Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1897-02-23
DAcOIFS OF BURMA.
fnoucn SOMEWHAT CHANGED THEY
STILL EXIST TO PLUMBER.


THOUGH SOMEWHAT CHANGED THEY
STILL EXIST TO PLUMBER.
Authorities Arc Unable 10 stop the Thisv-
inr and Do Not Often Capture One d
the DacoIts--A sample Case Of the Insf-
sciency Of the Police OMcers.
Burma IL one Of the countries that
are changing very fast. and one OF the
things that have changed in Burma 10
the dacoit. The sportive gentlemen de-
scribed by Rudyard Kipling and others
who crucified villagers Wholesale and
filed old ladies with kerosene were
fiourishing i'm full vigor less than ten
years ago, but they already belong -
completely to the past as Dick Turpin
and his colleagues In England. No doubt
fresh war or any event seriously shak-
ing the British power or reputation
might produce recrudescence OF the old
disease, but in the meantime the dacoits
have entirely changed their habits. In
stead Of living together in bands in the
Jungle they are scattered through sepa-
rate villages in the guise Of peaceful
cultivators. During the day each man
attends to his paddy fields just like his
neighbors. and it is only ut night that
they meet together for the dispatch OF
their more important and lucrative bust.
ness
Dacoity "a defined by law In simply
robbery committed by band OF five
men or more. and IL il important only
because Of the Burman's strong natural
propensity toward it and the great diff.
culties which his national character
places in the way Of his detection. IL
must always be remembered that, Bur-
mn being in transition stage and
much less settled than India and the
government being extremely short hand
ed, an immense amount Of various kinds
Of work falls upon each single English
official. Hence il is wholly impossible
for him to exercise any close or detailed
supervision over any particular part OF
his district. This Of itself renders the
detection of criminals difficult mat
ter. When the ,lacoits were in the woods,
il was simply case Of turning out oc.
casionally to hunt them down. At pres
ent the matter must necessarily be left
chiefly in the hands CT natives.
Now, the natives IRE for the most
part honest and tolerably law abiding,
and they have 10 sympathy whatever
with man who goes dacoiting, but the
dacoit goes armed, and the supiDenecs
and cowardicc q the Bgrinan in the
presence of arms, more particularly Of
firearms, are something almost incom-
prehensible 20 the western mild. IL IL
quite sufficient for u par y Of half a dozen
men to have u gun among them-effect-
i've or useless. loaded or empty. matters
little, the mere show is enough-and
they may 60 fcarlossly 10 work In the
midst Of crowd. No one will interfere
with them. In more than one instance
bold robbers have made successful nj.
tacks when armed merely with their
dabs-the dagger which every Burman
carries-and with IA pretended rife made
OF u stick, with which they frightened
of all opposition.
But perhaps tho strange workings OF
the native character are best exhibited
in the following case, which occurred
quite recently. The facts are vouched
for by an English officer: There was .
band Of Ave men who were in the habit
Of practiciDg dacoity occasionally. Three
Of them cane from the same village
not common thing. as il makes detec-
ton easier-the fourth from another
village, and, IA for the fifth, no man
knows whence he came. for reasons that
will appear. One night these FIVE men,
armed with nothing but their knives
and spears, which are used for fishing
in lower Burma, entered house. tied
up the owner and began plundering.
Now. this house was in a large village.
containing not only population Of
some /, 400. but police post with 10
native policemen armed with miders
The alarm was given and the house
surrounded. and then there was pause.
The robbers continued their work undis-
tlrbed within. The villagers, some 200
or 800 ablebodied men, nil more or less
armed. sat around on the dam which
surrounds and pr. tects every house on
the delta, looked down Oh the house and
discussed the question. The police stood
rather nearer the hoase aud fired shots
into it through the bamboo walls, hurt
ing no one.
One SOLITARY rol.com man after time
volunteered To- advance He crept up
quite Gloss 10 the house and fired in
through an opening in the wall. Then
he went farther ard actually put his
head and par, 81 his body through the
hole. apparently to see what execution
he had done. Ole cf the robbers prompt
~ pinned him to the ground with fish
spear and killed him. BY this time they
had completed their preparations; so
they sailed forth, each man with his
pack Of plumber on his back. Though
the house was surrounded, they appear
to have had no difficulty in making
their way through, only the police fired
utter them with bnckshot and hit three
Of them ia the back, not seriously
wounding them. But one Of the band
had tho misfortune To stumble and fall.
Instantly the crowd rushed upon him.
and before he could rise literally hacked
him to pieces, and so effectively that
not tho slightest clew 10 his identity
remained ia was absolutely destroyed.
No one knows even wha, was his ma
tionaliiy. The other four got clear
away. Public Opinion.