near each other at the various halting grounds, and were always in
frequent communication with one another. No sooner had one of them
fallen in with a party of travellers than the intelligence was conveyed
to all the others, and every one was on the alert. Their leaders,
travelling as merchants, gentlemen, soldiers, or peasants, usually
succeeded by their plausible manners in ingratiating themselves
with the strangers. And there was nothing formidable or repulsive
in their outward appearance. On the contrary, they are described as
being mild and benevolent of aspect, and peculiarly courteous, gentle,
and obliging. Unlike most of the natives of India, they travelled
unarmed, with the exception of two or three who carried daggers. It was
therefore an apparently reasonable request on their part to be allowed
to proceed under the protection of those who made a grand display of
their swords and spears and fire-arms.
This request being usually accorded, the united parties journeyed
on together, chatting and prattling with the volubility and easy
familiarity of orientals. Sometimes days would elapse before a
favourable opportunity occurred. There is an instance 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, though the head of the family had only one arm, and
ought therefore to have been spared. Another gang accomplished 160
miles in twelve days, in company with a party of sixty--men, women
and a child--before they found an eligible occasion. They preferred
committing murder in the evening, when the travellers would be seated
on the ground, mingled with themselves, talking, smoking, singing, and
playing the sitar. Where it could be done without suspicion, three
Thugs were allotted to every victim. So soon as the fatal signal was
given, one seized hold of his hands, the second grasped his legs and
held him down, while the strangler tightened the _roomal_ round his
neck, and only relaxed the strain when life was extinct. Then the
bearers of the daggers slashed the dead bodies, the grave-diggers
quickly excavated a deep trench, the corpses were stripped and thrown
in, the earth was hastily shovelled in and trampled down, and in an
incredibly short space of time all traces were completely effaced
of the terrible tragedy. When the ground was too hard to admit of a
grave being dug, or any other cause intervened to prevent the burial,
the bodies were flung into a ravine, or well, or water course,
or concealed in the jungle. Not unfrequently it happened that no
convenient opportunity was presented for murdering the travellers while
seated. In this case, an experienced Thug would be sent forward to
select a _beyl_, or suitable spot, on arriving at which, if the scouts
reported a clear coast, the gang would close upon their unsuspecting
companions and speedily put them to death. It was more difficult when
the travellers were mounted, though the fleetest charger could not
avail to save his rider. A horseman was always attacked by three men;
one walked at his horse's head, a second a little way in the rear, and
a third by his side, pleasantly conversing with him until the signal
was given, when he suddenly dragged him out of the saddle and, with the
assistance of his comrade, strangled him before he could recover his
self-possession. It was thought a subject for just pride when a Thug
pulled a traveller from his horse and murdered him without aid. Such an
exploit was a patent of nobility, and conferred credit upon the third
and fourth generation. The Thugs, even as approvers, used to glory in
the recollection of their past achievements, and spoke of them with
as much animation as a sportsman exhibits in describing a good day's
shooting or a capital run with the hounds. To avoid confusion, they
would distinguish the grand murders by the number of victims they had
killed. Thus, in the chaleesrooh, or forty-soul affair, thirty-one men,
seven women and two girls were murdered by a collective force of 360
Thugs, who divided among themselves £1,700 worth of plunder. A few
days previously 160 of this gang had disposed of a party consisting
of a widow, a slave-girl and twelve armed followers. The Sartrooh, or
sixty-soul affair, is an excellent illustration of their ordinary mode
of operations. The Thugs travelled with this numerous party, consisting
of fifty-two men, seven women, and a Brahman boy, about four years old,
for twenty days before they consummated their purpose. At Sehora they
persuaded their companions to quit the high road and take one that
led through the jungles. However, they patiently went on with them,
gaining more and more upon their confidence, till they had come to
Chittakote. "There," said one of them to Captain Sleeman, "we sent on
people as usual to select a place for the murder, and they found one
about five miles distant, in a very extensive jungle, without a human
habitation for many miles on either side. We persuaded the party to set
out soon after midnight; and as they went along, we managed to take our
appointed places, two Thugs by every traveller, and the rest in parties
of reserve at different intervals along the line, every two managing
to keep the person they were appointed to kill, in conversation. On
reaching the place chosen, the signal was given at several different
places, beginning with the rear party, and passing on to that in
front; and all were seized and strangled except the boy. It was now
near morning, and too late to admit of the bodies being securely
buried; we made a temporary grave for them in the bed of the river,
covered them over with sand, and went on with the boy and the booty
to Chittakote, intending to send back a large party the next night
and have the bodies securely buried. The rains had begun to set in,
and after the murders it rained very heavily all the day. The party,
however, went back, but found that the river had risen and washed away
all the bodies, except two or three, which they found exposed, and
pushed into the stream to follow the rest."
So recently as 1830 Bhowanee was believed to have saved her votaries
the trouble of burying their victims. A gang after wandering about
Loodhiana, Sirhind, and Umballah, came to Goolchutter, where they
performed their ablutions in the sacred tank and rested three days.
"Having then proceeded two miles towards Kurnal, they overtook two
travellers from Mooltan on their way to Muttra, mounted on ponies. They
were in appearance very poor." So poor, indeed, that it was judged they
would not pay for the trouble of killing them, and they had nearly
escaped until a speculative Thug offered to give £10 for whatever might
be found upon them. "Their death was accordingly determined on, and
they were conducted by the Thugs to Turowlee where they rested in the
Serai ('accommodation for man and beast'), and Cheyne Jemadar invited
the poor wretches to partake of a repast." The travellers, being
religious mendicants, had many anecdotes to tell of their adventures
and travels, and pleasantly beguiled the early hours of darkness. Next
morning they all set out together and had not gone very far before the
_jhirnee_ was given, and the mendicants ceased to beg and to breathe.
But while their grave was being dug, the neighing of horses was heard
coming along the road, which caused the Thugs to flee to a place of
concealment, leaving the corpses on the ground. The horsemen passed
on, and saw or suspected nothing. Then the Thugs came out from their
hiding places, but lo! the bodies had disappeared--but not so their
property which amounted to the value of several hundred pounds. It is
true religious mendicants were exempted from strangulation, but this
was clearly an exceptional case, for Bhowanee had positively commanded
their death by sending favourable omens; she had, besides, rewarded her
worshippers with a rich booty, and even disposed of the dead bodies,
whose souls had gone straight to Paradise.
They were not, however, always equally fortunate. A gang once learnt
from the spies that four travellers with property were trudging along
the road towards Baroda. Instantly, twenty fine stout fellows set
out after them, and after a long chase came up with the travellers
and murdered them. "To the great disappointment and chagrin of us
all," bewailed one of the gang, "no property was found upon them, for
they turned out to be common stone-cutters, and their tools tied in
bundles, which they carried over their shoulders, deceived the spies
into the supposition that they were carrying treasure." At another
time a gang fell in with two Ganges-water carriers, two tailors, and a
woman, and next day they were joined by two very poor travellers, of
whom they tried in vain to disembarrass themselves. They would start
at night without awakening them, but somehow the others _would_ hear
their preparations and insist upon accompanying them. The Thugs then
appointed four of their brethren to detach these unconscious suicides
from the rest of the party and keep them on the high road while the
others struck off down a byepath. This device also failed, for they
became frightened and could be satisfied with nothing less than a
junction with the main body. Their obstinacy sealed their fate. Half a
dozen of the Thugs went on with them in advance, and strangling them,
found upon them only one rupee--worth about two shillings. The others
soon shared the fate of the two poor travellers, but turned out a more
profitable prize, as they yielded among them twenty pounds. A smaller
sum, however, than one shilling will often times tempt a Hindoo to
commit murder, even though he have nothing to do with Thuggee. What
value the latter attached to life may be inferred from the testimony of
one of themselves. "I have never strangled any one," said he, "but have
aided in throwing bodies into wells. Eight annas (one shilling) is a
very good remuneration for murdering a man. We often strangle a victim
who is suspected of having two pice (one farthing)." But it seldom
happened that a murder produced less than two pounds; the average being
probably about fifteen pounds. It is almost comical to read that these
dread beings were sometimes robbed at night by vulgar pilferers, though
they usually set a watch. The same sort of retribution is observable
in the fate of twenty-seven Dacoits, or gang-robbers, who had in their
possession at the time above £1,300 worth of money, gold ornaments,
gems, and shawls. A gang of one hundred and twenty-five Thugs having
met with them, begged to be allowed to travel under their protection.
The Dacoits carelessly assented, and were shortly afterwards all put to
death.
Eager as they were for booty the Thugs appear to have been courteous
and forbearing towards one another, and equitable in the division
of their spoils. Feringeea and twenty-six of his gang were one day
cooking their dinners under some trees by the road-side when five
travellers came bye, but could not be persuaded to stop and partake of
their meal, saying they intended to sleep at Hirora that night, and
they had yet eight miles to go. The Thugs followed after them, and
also reached Hirora, but could discover no traces of the travellers.
Feringeea, therefore, inferred that they must have fallen into the
hands of another gang, and suddenly recollected having passed an
encampment of Brinjarees (bullock-drivers) not far from the town.
On the following morning he accordingly went back with a few of his
comrades, and at once recognised a horse and a pony which he had
observed in the possession of the travellers. "What have you done with
the five travellers, my good friends?" he said. "You have taken from
us our _merchandize_." They apologised for what they had done, pleading
ignorance, and offered to share the booty; but this Feringeea declined,
saying that he had no claim to a share, as none of his party was
present at the _loading_.
The division of the spoils was regulated with great nicety. The
leaders were usually entitled to every tenth article, and to one anna
in the rupee (one sixteenth) of actual money, besides their share as
individuals. If the gang consisted of twenty, including the Jemadar,
the booty was divided into twenty-one equal parts, of which the Jemadar
received two. Five per cent. was then set aside for the stranglers, and
the rest divided into three equal heaps, corresponding to as many equal
sections of the gang. Each section marked a cowree (a shell), and the
three were put into a man's hand without his knowing to which either
belonged, who then placed one on each pile. The sections afterwards
divided among themselves each its own lot.
A feast was sometimes held in honour of Davee, in the course of an
expedition. If the expenses were defrayed by subscription, as was most
customary, it was called a Punchaetee Kotee, and was usually celebrated
during the Hooley or Dusserah festivals. Occasionally a single member
provided the feast; but, to be entitled to do so, he must have been a
strangler, or at least a Thug in the third generation. The feast was in
this wise. Having procured some goats, of whom two must be perfectly
black, without speck or blemish, and a sufficient quantity of rice,
_ghee_, spices, and spirits, they assembled in a room the doors and
windows of which could be closed, so as to prevent any prying eyes from
seeing what was passing within. The floor being carefully swept and
plastered with cow-dung, a square space, measuring a cubit each way,
was drawn in the middle of the apartment, with a mixture of turmeric
and lime. On this square was spread a clean white sheet, whereon was
placed some boiled rice, and on the top of that the half of a cocoa-nut
shell filled with _ghee_, in which floated two cotton wicks lying
across each other, so as to give four lights. If a cocoa-nut was not
procurable, a vessel of the same form was shapened in dough. Upon the
sheet were then laid the sacred pickaxe, the dagger of the gang (the
_misericorde_), and the spirits. The two black goats were next washed
and thoroughly wetted, and placed with their faces to the westward.
If one, or both of them shook off the wet with lusty vigour, it was
a sign that the sacrifice was acceptable; otherwise, the rice and
spirits alone were consumed, and without any further ceremony. But in
the former case, if Mahommedans, they chaunted a sort of grace as they
cut the throats of the whole of the animals; if Hindoos, they struck
off their heads at a blow. The skins, bones, and offal were thrown into
a pit dug for the purpose. When every man's appetite was satiated,
they washed their face and hands over the pit, and filled it up and
levelled it with the ground. Should any profane eye witness any part of
the preparations, or a spark fall on the sheet and burn a hole, or any
animal touch the offal, the leader must expect to die within a year and
all his companions would come to grief.
Besides the land Thugs there was a bold and skilful clan calling
themselves Bungoos, or Pungoos, who practised the same vocation on the
Hooghly river, going up as far as Benares or even Cawnpore, but chiefly
infesting the Burdwan district. Their system and dialect differed
considerably from those of their land brethren. Their leaders assumed
the appearance of the proprietor or captain of a passenger boat, while
some of his gang bent to the oars or towed the vessel along the bank,
and the others, dressed as pilgrims or shopkeepers, took their seat
on deck; these were the stranglers and their assistants. A few of the
most plausible and insinuating members were employed as _Sothas_,
or inveiglers. These wandered on the roads leading to the various
Ghauts, or landing places, and contrived to get into conversation with
the travellers who seemed bound for the river. On arriving at the
Ghaut they would see a clean tidy boat, already partially filled with
passengers and ready to swing off. They naturally hastened on board,
rejoicing at not being detained. The river Thugs always faced their
victims, sitting in a row on one side of the deck opposite to them. So
soon as an opportunity presented itself, the look-out man smote the
deck three times with his hand. Then the helmsman gave the _jhirnee_,
by exclaiming _Bhugna ko paun do_, "give my sister's son some paun."
Up sprang the pretended voyagers, and throwing the _roomal_ round the
neck of their victims pressed it tightly in front, bending their head
backwards, while their assistants held their feet and hands. Though
sometimes one Thug would almost suffice for the purpose, nine of them
have been known to strangle seven men stronger than themselves, and
twelve have overpowered ten. When the convulsive writhings had ceased,
they made certainty doubly sure by breaking the backbone and violently
kicking or punching their victims with their elbows. The bodies were
then pushed into the river through a window made in either side of the
boat, immediately above the water-mark. The greatest care was taken
to avoid shedding any blood, which by discolouring the stream might
lead to suspicion and detection. If a drop were spilt, they returned
home and offered up expiatory sacrifices. Women were invariably
permitted to escape, and all property of a suspicious character was
at once destroyed. Their proceedings, however, were no secret to the
river police, whose silence was secured by rich presents. Their very
existence was thus kept from the knowledge of the European magistrates
until the year 1836, but in little more than twelve months afterwards
161 of the miscreants had been arrested, and the names obtained of
thirty-eight others. There were usually about fourteen to each boat,
and there were eighteen boats regularly occupied in this dreadful
business, besides several engaged for occasional service. The hot and
wet seasons were deemed equally unfavourable, as few travellers were
then abroad; the most productive months being November, December,
January, and February. A party of river Thugs, occupying two boats,
contrived to become acquainted with the _Manjee_, or commander of
a boat laden with tobacco and hemp, and persuaded him and his crew
to stop with them at a _chur_, or sand-bank, and cook their dinners
together. After the repast the Thug leader asked the others to join his
party in fulfilling a vow he had made to the god Hurry Sote. So they
all sang the song of Hurry Sote, when the leader suddenly exclaimed,
"Now, Hurry, give us our plunder!" Five Thugs instantly leaped on the
throats of the Manjee and his crew, threw them back upon the sand and
strangled them. Then their comrades fell upon the lifeless corpses,
broke their backbones, punched them on the ribs with their fists and
elbows, and dragging them into the deep running water let them float
down the stream.
Perhaps a better idea than has yet been given of the nature and extent
of Thuggee, may be derived from Captain Sleeman's Official Report of
an Expedition into Malwa, Guzerat, Kandeish, and Berar, by gangs from
Gwalior, Bundlecund, and the Saugor districts, in 1827-28. The leader
was our old friend Feringeea, who started from Gorha with twenty-five
Thugs and proceeded to Moghul ka Serai, where he fell in with two
Mahrattas. These were put to death about three miles further on.
Arriving at Tuppa, in Indore, the gang was then joined by eleven more
Thugs, who all went on together to Raghooghur, where they met two
Mahrattas and a Marwaree on their way from Saugor to Indore. Here Soper
Sing and fifteen Thugs came up with them, escorting a bird-catcher and
two shopkeepers journeying from Indore to Patna. All six were strangled
in the night and buried in one grave. Next morning Feringeea's party,
with five of Soper Sing's crossed the Nerbudda at the Puglana Ghaut,
and at Samneer murdered three Sipahees, in search of service, at
mid-day, and left their bodies by the road side. The next stage was
Kurajgow Kuringee, whence they accompanied a traveller, who was going
towards the south, for sixteen miles, where they killed him and buried
his corpse beneath the walls of a small Hindoo temple. Thence they
passed through Omrowtee to Larun Kurnajee, and in their camp in a grove
killed a traveller whom they had brought on with them from Bam; and
also a thief found skulking among some tombs, who had one hundred and
ten pounds worth of stolen goods in his possession. At Busum their
numbers were swelled by a reinforcement of fifty Thugs under four
leaders. Going on together in one body they encamped near Nandair,
and there murdered five travellers. Some of the new arrivals having
again left them, the others held on to Rovegow, where they overtook
nine persons, whom they accompanied about three miles and strangled
just before daybreak. At Hyderabad they lodged near the bridge over
the Hoosa Nuddee, where they killed and buried a Brahman and two
Rajpoots with whom they had scraped an acquaintance in the Bhegan
Bazar. Wandering on to Gungakhera they fell in with three Marwarees,
whom they escorted a stage on the Holwa road. One of the travellers
being accidentally thrown from his horse, was instantly strangled, and
his companions of course shared the same fate. As they had not reached
the appointed _Beyl_, they left the bodies upon the ground, a prey to
jackals and carnivorous birds. Their next encampment was at Purureea,
in Holwa, where they murdered a Soobahdar (native commissioned
officer), five sepoys, and a woman. At Doregow they met three Pundits
and with them a Byragee (Hindoo ascetic), mounted on a pony, plastered
over with sugar and covered with flies. Driving away the mendicant,
they killed and buried the Pundits. On leaving Doregow the Byragee
again joined them and went on in their company to Raojana, where they
overtook six cloth-merchants travelling from Bombay to Nagpore. As
the mendicant was much in their way, they pelted him with stones, and
having thus got rid of him they killed the merchants, burying their
bodies in the grove. The next day the Byragee again joined them and
proceeded with them to Mana, where they fell in with two bearers and
a sepoy. Shaking off their troublesome companion, they hastened on to
the spot selected for the contemplated murder, where the mendicant once
more came up with them. Their patience being exhausted, they offered
one of the gang ten shillings extra to kill him and take the sin upon
himself. All four were then strangled, and, to their astonishment,
the Byragee proved the most valuable prize of all; for upon him and
his pony they found many pounds weight of coral, 350 strings of small
pearls, fifteen strings of large pearls, and a gilded necklace. Soon
after they arrived at Omrowtee, between which and Nadgow they got hold
of two men, whom they murdered at their encampment. They were treasure
bearers and had with them £400 worth of silver. These are a peculiar
class of men, excessively poor, but famed for their honesty. They were
never known to betray their trust, and would rather yield their life
than surrender their charge. They bore no weapons, chiefly relying on
the poverty of their garb and external appearance. The Bombay and Surat
merchants used to employ them in conveying specie through Kandeish
and Surat to Indore and Rajpootana, and they generally succeeded in
escaping the notice of mere marauders; but it was a different thing
with the Thugs who took life officially and professionally, content
with a farthing but oftener reaping a fruitful harvest.
From Nadgow the band proceeded to Kuragow, and soon afterwards in
passing through a small dry ravine fell in with four men driving two
bullocks laden with copper pice. The men were instantly put to death,
and their bodies slightly covered with stones and rubbish. After this
affair two of their leaders with their respective followers returned
home, while the others strolled onwards through Burhanpore to Indore,
where they received an accession of strength by the junction of three
leaders with sixty Thugs.