The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1897-01-05
DACOITS OF BURMA.
THOUGH SOMEWHAT CHANGED THEY
STILL EXIST TO PLUMBER.

ficieney Of the Police Ofhccrs.
Burma is one Of the countries that
are changing very fast. and one of the
things that have changed in Burma is
the dacoit. The sportive gentlemen de-
scribed by Rudyard Kipling and others
who crucified villagers wholesale and
filed old ladies with kerosene were
fourishing in full vigor less than ten
years ago, bnt they already belong as
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 recrudescenoe 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 at night that
they meet together for the dispatch of
their more important and lucrative busi-
ness.
Dacoity as defined by law is simply
robbery committed by band of five
men or more, and it is 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. It
must always be remembered that, Bur-
ma being in q 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 it 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 dacoits were in the woods,
it 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 of natives
Now, the natives are for the most
part honest and tolerably law abiding,
and they have no sympathy whatever
with u man who goes dacoiting, but the
dacoit goes armed, and the supineness
~nd cowardice Of the Burman in the
presence OF arms, a4>.-- r--4.--s..Ily OF
firearms, are something almost incom-
prehensible to the western mind. 1t is
quite sufficient for party of half dozen
men to have gun among them-effect-
i've or useless, loaded or empty, matters
little, the mere show is enough-and
they may 60 fearlessly to work in the
midst of crowd. No one will interfere
with them. In more than one instance
bold robbers have made successful at
tacks when armed merely with their
| dabs-the dagger which every Burman
carries-and with a pretended rife made
of stick, with which they frightened
of all opposition.
But perhaps the strange workings oi
the native character are best exhibited
in the following case. which occurred
quite recently. The facts are voucheG
for by all English officer: There was {
band Of five men who were in the habit
of practicing dacoity occasionally. Thre,
of them came from the same village
not q common thing. as it makes detec
tion easier-the fourth from anothe
village, and, as for the fifth, no maj
knows whence he came, for reasons tha
will appear. One night these five men
armed with nothing but their knive
and spears, which are used for fishing
in lower Burma, entered house, tie'
up the owner and began plundering
Now, this house was in large village
containing not ouly population o
some /, 400, but police post with /
native policemen armed with sniders
The alarm was given and the hous
surrounded, and then there was pause
The robbers continued their work undii
turbed within. The villagers, some 20
or 800 ablebodied men, all more or les
armed. sat around on the dam whio
surrounds and protects every house o
the delta, looked down on the house an
discussed the question. The police stoo
rather nearer the house and fred shot
into it through the bamboo walls, hur
: ing no one.
One solitary policeman after a tim
volunteered to advance. He crept u
quite close to the house and fred
through an opening in the wall. The
be went farther and actually put h
head and part Of his body through tt
hole, apparently to see what execute
|, , he had done. One Of the robbers promp
!, ly pinned him to the ground with q fis
1 spear and killed him. By this time the
bad completed their preparations;
they sailed forth. each man with b
pack of plunder on his back. Thoua
the house was surrounded, they appe
TO have had no difficulty in makil
their way through, only the police firt
after them with buckshot and hit thr
of them in the back, not serious
wounding them. But one of the ba,
had the misfortune to stumble and fal
Instantly the crowd rushed upon hir
= and before he could rise literally hack
' him TO pieces. and so effectively th
Al IL l. =.