As is well known the method of the Thugs was to attach themselves to
travellers, either single men or small parties, and at a convenient
opportunity to strangle them, bury the bodies and make off with the
property found on them. The gangs of Thugs usually contained from ten
to fifty men and were sometimes much larger; on one occasion as many
as three hundred and sixty Thugs accomplished the murder of a party
of forty persons in Bilaspur. [682] They pretended to be traders,
soldiers or cultivators and usually went without weapons in order
to disarm suspicion; and this practice also furnished them with an
excuse for seeking for permission to accompany parties travelling
with arms. There was nothing to excite alarm or suspicion in the
appearance of these murderers; but on the contrary they are described
as being mild and benevolent of aspect, and peculiarly courteous,
gentle and obliging. In their palmy days the leader of the gang
often travelled on horseback with a tent and passed for a person of
consequence or a wealthy merchant. They were accustomed to get into
conversation with travellers by doing them some service or asking
permission to unite their parties as a measure of precaution. They
would then journey on together, and strive to win the confidence of
their victims by a demeanour of warm friendship and feigned interest
in their affairs. Sometimes days would elapse before a favourable
opportunity occurred for the murder; an instance is mentioned of
a gang having accompanied a family of eleven persons for twenty
days during which they had traversed upwards of 200 miles and then
murdered the whole of them; and another gang accomplished 160 miles in
twelve days in company with a party of sixty men, women and children,
before they found a propitious occasion. [683] Their favourite time
for the murder was in the evening when the whole party would be
seated in the open, the Thugs mingled with their victims, talking,
smoking and singing. If their numbers were sufficient three Thugs
would be allotted to every victim, so that on the signal being given
two of them could lay hold of his hands and feet, while the Bhurtot
or strangler passed the _rumal_ over his head and tightened it round
his neck, forcing the victim backwards and not relaxing his hold till
life was extinct. The _rumal_ or 'handkerchief,' always employed for
throttling victims, was really a loin-cloth or turban, in which a
loop was made with a slip-knot. The Thugs called it their _sikka_ or
'ensign,' but it was not held sacred like the pickaxe. When the leader
of the gang cleared his throat violently it was a sign to prepare
for action, and he afterwards gave the _jhirni_ or signal for the
murder, by saying either '_Tamakhu kha lo_,' 'Begin chewing tobacco';
'_Bhanja ko pan do_,' 'Give betel to my nephew'; or '_Ayi ho to ghiri
chalo_,' 'If you are come, pray descend.' Their adroitness was such
that their victims seldom or never escaped nor even had a chance of
making a fight for their lives. But if several persons were to be
killed some men were detached to surround the camp and cut down any
one who tried to escape. The Thugs do not therefore appear to have had
any religious objection to the shedding of blood, but they preferred
murder by strangling as being safer. After the murder the bodies were
at once buried, being first cut about to prevent them from swelling
on decomposition, as this might raise the surface of the earth over
the grave and so attract attention. If the ground was too hard they
were thrown into a ravine or down one of the shallow irrigation wells
which abound in north India; and it was stated that the discovery
of a body in one of these wells was so common an occurrence that
the cultivators took no notice of it. If there were people in the
vicinity so that it was dangerous to dig the graves in the open air,
the Thugs did not scruple to inter the bodies of victims inside their
own tents and to eat their food sitting on the soil above. For the
attack of a horseman three men were always detailed, if practicable,
so that one could seize the bridle and the other two pull him out
of the saddle and strangle him; but if, as happened occasionally,
a single Thug managed to kill a man on horseback, he obtained a great
reputation, which even descended to his children. On the other hand,
if a strangler was unlucky or clumsy, so that the cloth fell on
the victim's head or face, or he got blood on his clothes or other
suspicious signs, and these accidents recurred, he was known as Bisul,
and was excluded from the office of strangler on account of presumed
unfitness for the duty. When it was necessary for some reason to murder
a party on the march, some _belhas_ or scouts were sent on ahead to
choose a _beil_ or suitable place for the business, and see that no
one was coming in the opposite direction; and when the leader said,
'Wash the cup,' it was a signal for the scouts to go forward for this
purpose. If a traveller had a dog with him the dog was also killed,
lest he might stay beside his master's grave and call attention to
it. Another device in case of difficulty was for one of the Thugs to
feign sickness. The Garru or man who did this fell down on a sudden
and pretended to be taken violently ill. Some of his friends raised
and supported him, while others brought water and felt his pulse;
and at last one of them pretended that a charm would restore him. All
were then requested to sit down, the pot of water being in the centre;
all were desired to take off their belts, if they had any, and uncover
their necks, and lastly to look up and see if they could count a
certain number of stars. While they were thus occupied intently gazing
at the sky to carry out the charm for the recovery of the sick man,
the cloths were passed round their necks and they were strangled.