Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-12
EAST INDIAN THIEVES
Are Born to Plumber and Are the Boldest on
Earth.
An Expert Who Succeeded in Cartins
Away Unaided a Safe Weigh
ing 1T5 Pounds.
From the Chicago Inter-ocean.

FOm tne lineage lhIer-ocean
| After living in India for fifteen years."
| said civil engineer Il am firm in my be-
| lief that in no other country on the face OF
| the globe has thieving been brought to such
| point Of perfection. No matter what
| province the native halls from, whether
| high caste or low, the faint is in his blood,
| and has descended to him through genera
lions. Now md then l have met a Hindoo
who would speak the truth by accident, but
| never in all those years did meet one in
| whose honor L could put implicit trust.
There was punishment for thieves before
the English came, and the punishment has
been increased from time to time, but were
it hanging offense to steal, the thief
would still continue 10 dc so. l have figured
| it out that he can't help it, and have had
a hundred experiences in proof.
As civil engineer / was brought into
direct contact with the masses, and passed
weeks and months in their villages. For
several years / was on the land survey and
| had my gang of assistants and servants.
The thieVlng began with my body servant.
He would steal my clothing, my money.
ana my toilet articles. No matter whether
we were in a village or away out in the
jungle, he would steal. AT first / used TO
reason with him, but found that he was a
liar and hypocrite. Then | resorted to
personal violence. / had one man with me
for five years, and never a week passed that
he did not steal something. After sizing
him up l used to have a regular program.
| W hen | found anything missing | called
him up and stated the fact and gave him
five minutes in which 10 return the article
lie would weep and protest, and L would
take him by the neck and slam him around
W hen he had been half killed he would
agree to restore the properly. To threaten
him with discharge or the law had not the
slightest effect. The cook and the boy came
next They would steal and sell the pro-
else they could pick UP. / had three or
four cooks sent TO Jail and l discharged
three or four others, but the last one was
as big a thief as the first. The only way TO
deal with them was TO use a whip. Then
came my gang. There was nothing for
them to steal except the field outfit, but they
stole that about twenty times d year. No
mater If We're out in the Jungle. and no
matter that no native fence IN India dared
TO buy the loot, they would steal Just the
same, and bury the instruments in the
ground.
IF the little thieves annoy YOU. the big
ones, who, perhaps, should be called rob-
bers, excite your admiration. For some
months L had a bungalow in Allabahad
while completing my field notes. Not far
away was storage yard, and among the
stuff was a steam boiler to go with five
horsepower engine. One night this boiler
WAS stolen. You may figure ii out that il
would take a big truck, two horses and five
or six men 10 load and move that boiler on
what may be called the European plan.
How many men the native gang numbered
L never knew, but what they did was to
work beams under that boiler and pick it
up and walk off with it, and it was found
in a yard mile away. 1t had not been
sold and could not be, but the idea was
to steal 1t, and a plan was made and
ried out. At foundry in the same city
some iron girders weighing Leo pounds
each had been constructed. Native thieves
stole one and carried it four miles into the
country and buried it, The gang numbered
and the D9ltcp arrested the SIfSnpetad
leader. He was firm in his innocence until
a. whip was applied to his native back
When asked why he stole a thing which he
could not possibly sell he replied that he
couldn't help it, On one of the branches of
the Ganges, in the province Of Dude a Eu-
ropean built sawmill to get out contract
lumber He tried to run things with ma
tive help and made funny mess of it.
The natives began by stealing his lumber
as they hoated it down the stream. They
could not sell it, but they hid it in the
jungle and left it to rot Then they stole
nuts, bolts, shafting, puIleys and saws, and
the day before l arrived at the mill they
actually stole the water wheel In about
six hours one night they lugged off the log
carriage, two circular saws and ton of
shafting. The stuff was loaded on a fiat
boat and the boat was hidden away in a
creek. Thirty or forty men worked like
TrojanS for five or six hours without the
slightest hope of reward, simply to steal
Their plumber could not have been sold for
a cent, and they knew il. While the owner
Oh the Hllll was away 10 invoke the AID OF
the law the same gang stole the water
wheel and carried ii two miles into the
jungle.
las for slick thieves, India has EN- by the
thousands. No white man can approach a
Hindoo in pocket picking, and all the bolts
and bars won't keep a burglar out For a
time haC quarters at Jypur with govern
ment agent. The bungalow had just been
erected, and special precautions had been
taken against thieves. There were times
when the agent had goodly sums III his pos
session, and on a dozen different occasions
attempts had been made to rob him. In the
new bungalow every door and window could
be locked The strong room was in the |
middle OF the house. The walls were brick /,
ed up on the inside and the door was of
iron. Chained to thes floor was an iron
chest, and, of course, the chest had lock. |
With this room between the sitting room |
and dining room it appeared to be perfect
ly safe, especially as our servants were Eu-
ropeans. The house was never alone by |
day. and at night there We're four of US in |
it, One morning it was discovered that an |
attempt had been made TO enter the strong |
room BY cutting hole through the floor
The bungalow was clear of the ground
and but for the brick and cement floor the |
fellow would have got at the box. What |
puzzled us was how he hit off the spot so |
exactly. He couldn't have done better with |
tapeline and full liberty to use il.
The hole he made was re saired and little
said about the matter. Just week later
he returned. BY climbing a tree he sot
upon the roof Of the house. and, working