The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-06
SIMPLY HAVE TO\STEAL.
A CIVIL ENGINEER'S EXPERIENCES
WITH THIEVES IN INDIA.

After living In India for fifteen years" said
the civil engineer. " am firm In my belief that
In no other country on tho face OF the globe
has thieving been thought to such point Of
perfection. No matter what province the M
tive halls from. whether high caste or low. the
faint ia in his blood and has descended to him
through generations. Now and then l have
met a Hindoo who would speak the truth by
accident, but never in all those years did I
meet one in whose honor could put implicit
trust. There was punishment for thieves be-
forc the English came, and the punishment
has been increased from time to time but
were it n hanging offence to steal. the thief
would still continue to do 80 / have figured
1t out that he can't help 1t. and have had hun
dred experiences in proof.
As civil engineer / was brought into d.
rect 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 thieving
began with my body servant. He would steal
my clothing my money and my toilet articles.
No matter whether we were In q village or
away out in the jungle. he would steal. At
first | used to reason with him, but found
that he was liar and a hypocrite. Then I
resorted to personal violence. | had one
man with me for five years. and never q
week passed that he did not steal something.
After sizing him up used to have q regular
programme. When found anything missing
l called him up and stated the fact and gave
him five minutes in which to return the article.
He would weep and protest and would take
him by the neck and slam him around. When
he had been half killed he would agree to re-
store the property To threaten him with dis
charge or the law had not the slightest effect.
The cook and the boy came next They would
steal and sell the provisions the cock ing uten-
sils or whatever else they could pick mp. I had
three or four cooks sent TO Jail and discharged
three or four others. but the last one was as
big thief as the first. The only way to deal
with them was to use n whip. Then came
my gang There was nothing for thcm
to steal except the field outfit. but
they stole that about twenty times year No
matter II we were 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 under the ground
A hundred different mornings got up to find
III" gang sitting around and everything gone.
Tho foreman always explained that thieves
had entered the campas he slept. and ne would
weep and lament and excuse himself in way
to convince you that he was telling the solemn
truth. He wasn't, though. He was lying
straight from the shoulder. My plan was to
catch him by the neck and boot him. After
about twenty kicks he would agree to turn up
the stuff. Perhaps IT would he dug up within
fifty feet Of my tent, and it was laugha-
hle to witness the pretended astonish-
mont Of every man in tho gang It was the
same with the villagers as with my servants
and employees. Men. women and children
would steal from me. Every village has head
man. and held him responsible. In many In
stances he was the thief himself When some
had hapn st I would ba
head man and tell him Of it and give him ten
minutes to make restoration. HewOuld swear
BY the beard of his father the bones OF his
mother and the souls Of his children that such
thing as theft was unknown in his village.
Then he would hustle around and command
and appeal and use up the ten minutes There
was only the one method to put in practice. I
would catch hold Of him and give him the boot,
and after n few kicks the property would turn
up No native. high or low. feels the slightest
disgrace in being found out. nor is he elated
when his thiovcry is a success.
What we call petty arccnyis practiced from
ono end Of India to the other. and excites no
surprise and but little comment. Your valet.
your cook, your nurse, your native soldier or
Government employed will steal anything
from bungalow to a hairpn. and most Of the
Europeans take tho situation philOsophically.
II the little thieves annoy you the big ones
who perhaps should be called robbers. excite
your admiration. For some months I had n
bungalow in Allahabad while completing my
field notes. Not far away was a storage yard
and among the stun was a steam boiler
to go with t1ve-horse-power engine.
ono night this boiler was stolen You
may figure it out that 1t would take a big
truck. two horses and Ave or six men to load
and move that boiler on what may he called
tn" Eurorenn p an. How many men the native
l. but hat
did wae to work beams under that boiler and
pick 4 ny and walk off with i. and il was
sold and Gould not be- but the idea was ste to steal
II, and plan was made and earned out. At a
Hy in thS city iron grders
structed Native thieves stole one and carried
i four miles into the country and buried it.
rested the suspected leader. He was firm in
his Impotence Until whip was apnied to his
which he could not possibly sell he replied that
he couldn't help it, On one of the branches OF
The ,.ianges. in The province Of Dude, European
built Snwmill to get out contract um Der He
funny mess Of it. The natives began by
stream. They cou I'D not sell it. but they hid 1t
in the R" and left it to rat phGn they
they actually stole his .watcrwheel. In about
ak hours on" night they logged of the log
the boat was hidden away in q creek. Thirty
or forty men worked like TroIans for iive or
six hours without the slightest hope Of reward
simply to steal Their plumber could not have
been sold for cent, and they knew it. While
the owner Of the mill was away to invoke the
aid Of the, law the same gang stole the water
wheel and carried it two miles into the Jungle
One OF the qucerest Jobs put up by tho
thieves was the stealing Of a bridge over the
klSta River. 1t was a wooden bridge 21U feet
long for a quarry railroad. Iron bolts were
used III the framework and the structure was
solid one. The rainy season came on Just as
the bridge was finished and befule me ap-
rroaches were completed. and all work was
stopped. The thieves had week to work in,
and there were a hundred of them. They
brought hatboats down to the bridge, and the
first thing taken was the iron rails. Then
loaded up. When they got through rothing
was left but skeleton on supports. The man
who Dossed that job had not asked himself
where he could self the stuff. As n matter OF
fact, il couldn't be sold. II was taken Just tho
same, and II tho boats hadn't been wrecked on
sandbar the plumber won ID have been dumped
into Jungle OF course. the railroad comp any
got after the fellows, and in a few days about
eighty Of them were arrested. When the boss
was asked what put the idea OF stealing a
bridge into his head he replied that he had
poticed il was, unguarded He would have
been satisfied. he said. could he have cotton
hHIf-prica for ten of the iron bolts All the