Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1907-09-11
THE THUGS OF INDIA.
Strangers Who Inherit Their
BloodthirSty Instinct.
THEY ARE BORN MURDERERS.
They Kill From a Sense of Religious
Duty, and Every Corpse to Their
Credit Is Stepping Stone to Heaven.
Methods of These Vicious Nomads.

N'SOiN - q StePPin9 0torc TO heaven.
Methods of These Vicious Nomads.
For centuries before the supremacy
of the British crown in India the en-
tire land. from Bengal TO Bombay and
from the Himalayas to Travancore, was
harassed 10y bands OF fiends known as
thugs (stranglers).
In 1857, when England deposed all
rulers and placed the purple upon the
shoulders of her representative, the
viceroy. conditions changed, and,
among other outrages, the thugs were
hunted down and forced TO cover IN
der the penalties OF the new laws. For
years they were unheard OF. and men
gradually forgot the terrors they had
learned from the lips of their forefa-
theirs, who considered IL prime duty
TO caution thelr children against the
dangers that would beset them from
cradledom till death by the prevalence
OF thuggee.
But occasionally even nowadays the
thug gets in his deadly work. The
motive OF the thug is threefold His
forefathers for generations were blood
ing through heredity. He must have
blood or he will die. He murders from
the instinct of pure passion. Akin 10
murder, rs ii necessarily is, the rob-
bing OF his victim is Il Joy, and he
chuckles 10 himself as he drops n drip
ping ear or a bloody finger into his
girdle for the sake OF the jewels
His last motive-and here he stands
In n class by himself-he is n murderer
from a sense Of religious duty. his
victims are sacrifice to the gods. The
more victims, the more propitious the
sacrifice. \ corpse is his stepping
stone TO heaven. He must kill or he is
eternally lost.
He loses no time; no idle words are
exchanged. He works like the clock.
His. system varies no more than the
pendulum. xii and gain heaven; fail
and be damned" is his slogan. But he
never fails. The nets he lays are in
tricate, his plans complex, interchange
able. Where one falls short another
succeeds.
| The thug is q nomad. Nowhere is
his permanent home, and any jungle
or mountain cave serves his purpose
| for n shelter or place to vaunt his
treasure. He is a perpetual traveller
His victims are likewise travellers, fol
lonely road and forest path alone
suit his purpose. The city and the
palace are not for him.
I The system, which is no misnomer
for the method that Is used in the
practice of thuggee, Is as unique as il
Is terrible. In the history of the ma
tons no other organization has evel
been known to proceed similarly. The
whole crime is committed as though
operated from an electric switchboard
"A mere passing of the current and
the deed is done. The method OF pro
! cedure is this:
After prayers have been offered K
the goddess of death, Kali, the entire
band, usually from ten TO forty men
prepares for the expedition. Every
man strips to the skin, wearing only
light leather girdle about the waist
The girdle is furnished with various
pockets to deposit plumber. Stripped
the thugs engage for n time In ath
letic games, such as wrestling and run
ming, In order TO be physically fit. A
bath is then taken, and the whole body
from topknot TO toe nail lis CREASED
with sweet oil. a small, keen blade II
slipped into the girdle, a cord wrapped
around the waist in loose coils. They
are ready TO start.
With the stealth of the tiger the band
proceeds through the jungle. Some
times they walk, at others crawl
Every tree, every shrub, Is vantage
point. and thither they seek shelter OF
the slightest suspicion. They scarcel!
cause a fallen twig to crackle as thel
tread, yet their movements are swift
as serpent's. They glide rather thar
move normally, and the snaky CLEAN o
their eyes completes the simlitude.
They reach the appointed spot