known as Seear Marwars, and were originally husbandmen, but took to
Dacoitee in the Nawabship of Shoojah-ood-Doolah. They numbered in all
from four to six thousand males, but were divided into colonies of
three or four hundred each, clustered round a rude fort. They were in
the habit of giving 25 per cent. of their booty to the Zemindars whose
protection they enjoyed, and by whom they were generally subsidized to
fight their battles with their neighbours, or with the farmers of the
revenue. In 1826-27 Mr., now Sir, Frederick Currie, the magistrate of
Goruckpore, organised a system of repression by means of a corps of
Irregular Cavalry under Major Hawkes, and an augmentation of his own
police force. That gentleman flattered himself that he had completely
put down this tribe of Dacoits, but, in fact, he had only driven them
into another district. Their old haunts no longer sheltering them from
pursuit, they removed their household gods to Rohilcund, the Doab
("Mesopotamia"), Rajpootana, and Gwalior. The Budhuk colonies, however
distant from one another, kept up an interchange of civilities and
intermarried with one another. Members of the same _gote_, or family,
though belonging to different colonies, could not intermarry, but as
there were several _gotes_ in every colony, the different settlements
could interchange sons and daughters. For instance Solunkee ("Mr.
Brown") could not marry a person of the same name in his own, or in any
another colony, but there was no objection to his taking to wife the
daughter of Powar ("Mr. Jones,") or Dhundele ("Mr. Robinson") however
closely they might be connected with him.
Mr. Currie certainly did succeed in momentarily checking the
depredations of the plunderers in his own district, but within three
years the evil had returned to its former dimensions. And of these some
idea may be formed from the statement that between 1818 and 1834, the
Budhuks of the Oude Teraie were known to have committed 118 Dacoitees,
in which 172 men were killed, 682 wounded, and property carried off
to the value of nearly £115,000: although 457 of the miscreants were
arrested, only 186 could be legally convicted. But the actual number
of gang-robberies far exceeded that which was reported. Many of the
Dacoits boasted that they had been engaged in a dozen or fifteen
expeditions. One of them confessed to Mr. Hodgson, in 1824, that he
had participated in seven Dacoitees, yielding a total of £36,900. A
noted leader, named Lucka, was engaged in forty-nine, in the course
of twenty-five years, some of them taking place at a distance of
four or five hundred miles from his home. A Chumbul Dacoit confessed
to thirty-eight in twenty-seven years, and another to twenty-three
in twenty-two years; and another Oude Budhuk to thirty-nine in
thirty-three years. They generally commenced at an early age, from
eighteen to twenty, according to the vigour of their constitution.
Lucka, of whom mention is made above, was arrested under the disguise
of a Byragee, his body smeared with ashes and a house of peacock's
feathers on his back: but the restlessness of his eye, and the nervous
movements of his limbs betrayed him. Arrest and punishment, however,
were always endured with commendable resignation, being considered as
the accidents of their profession.
The achievements of Bukshee and other leaders soon proved the fallacy
of Mr. Currie's complacent belief in the efficacy of his repressive
measures. In November, 1830, Bukshee's gang slowly travelled through
Oude, in the disguise of Ganges water-carriers, moving in small
parties and encamping in groves to avoid unpleasant interrogatories.
Arriving at the frontiers, they gradually concentrated towards Sursole
in the Cawnpore district, where they were informed by their spies that
a private treasure was on its way from Mirzapore to Furruckabad. Having
cut handles for their axe and spear heads, they crossed the Ganges
in a boat previously purchased for the occasion, and worked by two
well-disposed ferrymen. After reaching the opposite bank they had still
ten miles to go, so that it was almost midnight before they attained
their destination. A sudden rush was all that was then necessary,
though to increase the panic caused by their irruption they deemed it
expedient to wound six or seven of the escort. Breaking open the boxes,
they abstracted twenty-five bags, each containing 1000 rupees (in all,
£2,500), and made off to the river. But by that time it was daylight,
and the ferrymen had run their boat under the shelter of a high bank,
and were fast asleep. Afraid to make a noise by hallooing to them, the
Dacoits buried their treasure in the sands and dispersed themselves
among the neighbouring villages until nightfall. In the meantime the
police had discovered their boat, but being assured by the men that
it had brought over only some fodder for cattle, they immediately gave
it up. Soon after sunset the robbers met at the appointed rendezvous,
where they found the boatmen anxiously expecting them. So, digging up
the treasure, they went on board and were safely ferried over to the
other side, presenting each of these men with fifty rupees.
About the same season of the following year Bukshee again took the
field in his old disguise, and moved down to Allahabad. This was the
place of rendezvous for the different detachments, and here they
made their offerings to the gods, and received the blessings of the
priests and prayers for success in all their undertakings. They then
returned to the left bank and dropped down the river till they came
opposite to Bindachul, where there stood a celebrated temple to Davee.
Again crossing to the right bank they worshipped at the shrine of the
goddess of destruction, and were rewarded for their devotion by the
intelligence that a merchant's shop in Mirzapore, only four miles
distant, promised a rich booty. Accordingly, so soon as it was dusk
they advanced two miles in that direction, and throwing off their
disguise concealed themselves in a hollow till past eight o'clock to
allow the streets to get empty. Then they hurried on to the town and
stopped before the house chosen for their operations, every avenue
to which was guarded by parties told off for that purpose. Suddenly
lighting their torches they rushed in at the still open door, stabbing
and slashing right and left, and carried off between four and five
thousand pounds sterling. A few minutes afterwards they were again
clear of the town. Returning to their place of concealment they resumed
their garments, hastened thence to the river, and presented each of
the boatmen with a hundred rupees for conveying them safely across. In
due time they reached their forest homes without hurt or molestation.
Connected with this expedition there occurred a characteristic
incident. To avoid disputes Bukshee had stipulated before hand that
he should receive one-fifth of the plunder in addition to his proper
portion and the repayment of the outlay he incurred in fitting out
and maintaining the gang, in order to ransom his parents who had been
detained in the gaol at Lucknow for the last twelve years. He was no
doubt sincere in his intention to apply these funds in the manner he
had stated, but unhappily he had several wives, who somehow absorbed
the whole amount, and his parents accordingly remained in confinement.
When reproached with having obtained the money under fraudulent
pretences, Bukshee excused himself by the patriotic remark that his
father was now too old to be of any service to the colony: he did not,
however, offer to refund the eight thousand rupees he had thus obtained.
The Dacoits do not appear to have possessed the honour that is supposed
to exist among thieves in so high a degree as the Thugs. A notable
instance of the laxity of their mutual engagements was furnished about
the same time that Bukshee successfully defrauded his followers. A
gang of forty Dacoits, under two brothers, named Hemraj and Mungul
Sing, and their cousin Dhurmoo, were lying at Sherghottee, in the hope
of intercepting a treasure then on the way from Calcutta to Benares.
Here they were joined, much against their inclination, by a party of
fourteen under Ghureeba, who threatened to inform against them unless
they agreed not only to admit him into partnership, but also to set
aside a proportionate share of the plunder for a gang of twenty-five
under Bureear, from whom he had recently parted. After considerable
altercation Ghureeba carried his point, and the convention was ratified
by oaths of mutual fidelity. Then they all went on together to the
village of Dungaen, at the foot of the hills, where they attacked
the treasure-party at night, and, after killing four and wounding
sixteen of the escort, carried off twenty-eight bags, each containing
2,500 rupees (in all, £6,000). Hemraj and Mungul Sing now adhered
so far to their previous engagements, that they allowed to Ghureeba
and the absent Bureear the shares to which they were entitled, but
refused to burden themselves in behalf of a party who had rendered
them no assistance. Ghureeba expostulated with them to no purpose, and
declared he would hold them answerable for the whole amount. After some
further jangling, it was finally arranged that 30,000 rupees should
be buried until Bureear could fetch them himself, and this labour was
voluntarily undertaken by Mungul Sing. On their return home, Bureear
displayed such indignation at their unfriendly conduct that they were
constrained to pacify him with a present of 2,000 rupees, and a month
afterwards Mungul Sing and some others set out with him to dig up the
treasure. But instead of 30,000, they found only 18,000 rupees. As
might be expected, this discovery of the treachery of his associates
did not tend to mollify the already exasperated Bureear. In his wrath
he applied for redress to Rajah Gung Sing, of Dhera Jugdeespore, in
the kingdom of Oude, and appointed him arbiter. The Rajah proposed to
decide the question by an appeal to heaven, and to this Mungul Sing
and his party were compelled to assent. A blacksmith was thereupon
ordered to make some cannon-balls red hot, and these were placed with
tongs on the palms of the suspected persons' hands, defended only by
a thin peepul leaf. The ordeal was to carry these balls a certain
distance without being burned, but after taking a few paces they all
gave in. They were consequently pronounced guilty, and were sentenced
to refund the money they had purloined, and to pay a fine of 500 rupees
to the Rajah. In default of restitution, they were delivered over in
irons to Bureear, who kept them in confinement for several months, and
threatened to cut off their ears unless they made good his loss. But,
finding that his own followers were opposed to any further severity,
he prudently connived at their escape. "The hands of Boohooa, who
afterwards rose to the distinction of a leader, still (1849) bear
the marks of the burning he got; and, in showing them to me (Captain
Sleeman) one day, he confessed that the 'decision of the Deity' in
that case was a just one; that he had really assisted Mungul Sing in
robbing Ghureeba on that occasion of 10,000 rupees, by burying them
in a pit at some distance from the rest; and that he, Nundran, and
another of the party, afterwards helped themselves to three out of the
ten thousand, unknown to Mungul Sing." What became of the two thousand
still unaccounted for--the total deficiency being 12,000--he was unable
to say.
The same Bukshee, of whom so much has already been said, was informed
by his spies, in January, 1833, that the ex-Peishwah Bajee Rao had
hoarded a large amount of gold coin at Bithore, on the right bank of
the Ganges, not far from Cawnpore. He accordingly assembled a numerous
band of Dacoits, who, after receiving their instructions, broke up into
small parties, which concentrated at a particular spot at the appointed
time. They then boldly stormed the ex-Peishwah's palace, wounded
eighteen of his servants, and carried off 50,000 rupees in silver and
15,000 gold mohurs, each worth fifteen rupees. As they approached
their homes they were met by their female relatives in triumphant
procession, to whom they made a largesse of fifteen mohurs and twenty
rupees to lay out in sweetmeats for themselves and their children. On
the following day every man in the village received five gold mohurs,
seven rupees, and two four-anna pieces (worth sixpence a piece). A
series of the most shocking debaucheries ensued, which resulted in the
death of Chunda, the second leader of the gang. Six months afterwards
the Oude authorities surprised the colony, when Bukshee and a hundred
of his followers were put to the sword, and nearly three hundred
taken prisoners; a considerable quantity of plunder was seized at the
same time. The Budhuks, however, were soon released, and the king
even entertained the idea of restoring the recovered property to its
rightful owner. But the queen is said to have suggested to his majesty
"that if he suffered the ex-Peishwah to recover his property in this
way, he would expose himself to a demand from the honourable company
for all that had been taken by gangs from the same colonies in their
attacks upon numerous public treasuries and private storehouses in all
parts of their dominions, and add to the grounds already urged for
depriving him of his country; but that if he allowed the property to be
quietly, the noise about it would soon cease, while he would escape all
further responsibility and odium." Her majesty's advice was both too
prudent and too palatable to be lightly rejected, and the property was,
accordingly, "quietly absorbed."
A yet more dashing, though not equally profitable enterprise was that
of the famous Budhuk chief, Gujraj, in 1839. In the absence of the
Rajah of Jhansi, who had gone with nearly all his armed retainers to
a marriage festival in the Duteea Rajah's family, Gujraj, with fifty
followers, scaled the wall of that town, attacked the bankers' shops,
killed one man and wounded another, and finally got off unmolested with
£4,000 worth of plunder. This leader was warmly patronised by the Rajah
of Nurwur, who had always half a dozen of his men to guard him while he
slept.
In Rajpootana, Gwalior, and Malwa the Dacoits called themselves
Bagrees, or Bagorras. This clan numbered about 1,200 families,
principally settled, or rather bivouacked, on the banks of the Chumbul.
Of their proceedings less is known than concerning those of their Oude
brethren. They were greatly favoured by the native princes and powerful
landholders, and even when they were seized their punishment seldom
went further than a compulsory restitution of the stolen property.
They rarely insulted women beyond demanding of them their gold and
silver ornaments, and their reckless liberality made them so popular
with the poorer classes that when some of the petty princes were urged
by the Indian Government to take steps to put down Dacoitee within
their respective territories, they excused themselves on the ground
that it would cause a revolution. They were, besides, much prized as
auxiliaries in the state of perpetual warfare that existed among these
independent princes. When the Alwar Chief, in 1783, renounced his
allegiance to the Rajah of Jyepore, his sword and shield was Kishna,
the great Bagree leader. At a later period, his grandson, Bijee Sing,
rendered an important service to the lord of Alwar, for which he
received an estate worth 4,000 rupees a year, rent free for ever. The
commander of the Jyepoor forces had reduced the Alwar Chief to great
straits, when the latter invoked the aid of Bhart Sing and Bijee Sing,
who came to his assistance with 500 Bagrees, resolute and well armed
men. The Manukpoor Gotra estate was offered as a reward to any one
who would assassinate the enemy's leader. The Dacoits accepted the
adventure. "Bhart Sing approached the tent at night with only four or
five followers, whom he left outside. He entered the tent, and found
the minister asleep and entirely defenceless. He could not kill a man
in that state, and taking up his sword, shield, and turban, which lay
by the bedside, he returned with them to Bijee Sing, saying that he
could never stab a brave man in that defenceless state. Bijee Sing then
went, entered the tent which was still without a sentry, and stabbed
the minister to the heart."
At another time the Rajah of Kerowlie engaged a small band of Bagrees
to assist him in besieging his cousin the Thakoor Luchmun Sing, in the
city of Ameergur. "The duty assigned to us"--said one of them--"was to
cut off all supplies, and at night to attack the advanced batteries
thrown out by the garrison upon elevated places. The commandant allowed
us to select as many as we wanted of his best soldiers on whose courage
we could most rely, and we generally took about the same number as we
ourselves. We then reconnoitred the strongest batteries, sometimes in
the daytime in all manner of disguises, sometimes at night creeping
along the ground like wild animals, till we got up close to them, and
saw all that we wanted to see. After we had become well acquainted
with the positions, in three or four days we entered upon the attack.
Well armed with swords, shields, and spears, and some with muskets, we
advanced close to the ground till we got so near that we could rush
in upon them before the enemy could deliver their fire. No man is
permitted to carry a matchlock on such occasions; nor do we, indeed,
ever carry them in our enterprises, because the light of the matches
might warn people of our approach and bring their fire upon us. When
within the proper distance the signal is given, and we start up, and
rush in, and kill every man we can. There are always supporting parties
of troops close behind us, to follow up our attack and keep possession
of the surprised batteries. In this way we in one night surprised and
took three of the batteries which Luchmun Sing had placed upon a hill
near his fort. The night was dark, and we attacked them all at the
same time. We were about forty Bagrees, and we had with us about sixty
select soldiers, and for each battery we had from thirty to thirty-five
men; but we knew every inch of the ground we were to act upon, and we
could rely upon each other. We on such occasions stop all supplies that
they try to get into the besieged fort. We watch for several nights and
permit the people to take in all they please unmolested; and when we
know all the roads by which the supplies go in, we attack them all in
one night, and are allowed to keep what we get for ourselves."
These Bagrees were as scrupulously devout in their way as the Italian
banditti are said to be, whom they resembled in more than one point.
Ajeet Sing, the leader of a Chumbul gang, in describing a Dacoitee
that had yielded 40,000 rupees, went on to say:--"Four thousand five
hundred rupees were taken to cover the expenses of the road, to offer
to the gods who had guided us, and to give in charity to the poor. For
offerings to the gods we purchase goats, sweet cakes, and spirits;
and having prepared the feast, we throw a handful of the savoury food
upon the fire in the name of the gods who have most assisted us; but
of the feast so consecrated, no female but a virgin can partake. The
offering is made through the man who has successfully invoked the god
on that particular occasion; and as my god had guided us on this, I was
employed to prepare the feast for him, and to throw the offering on
the fire. The offering must be taken up before the feast is touched,
and put upon the fire, and a little water must be sprinkled upon it.
The savoury smell of the food as it burns, reaches the nostrils of the
god and delights him. On this, as on most occasions, I invoked the
spirit of Gunga Sing, my grandfather, and to him I made the offering.
I considered him to be the greatest of all my ancestors as a robber,
and him I invoked on this trying occasion. He never failed me when I
invoked him, and I had the greatest confidence in his aid. The spirits
of our ancestors can easily see whether we shall succeed in what we are
about to undertake; and when we are to succeed, they order us on,--and
when we are not, they make signs to us to desist."
The same Ajeet Sing described a singular superstition that existed
among the Bagrees. One of his comrades happened to be severely wounded
on the wrist, and became so faint from loss of blood that he was
obliged to be carried. As he passed under a Banyan tree, "the spirit
of the place fell upon him, and the four men who carried him fell down
with the shock." The phenomenon was thus explained. "If any man who
has been wounded on the field of battle, or in a Dacoitee, be taken
bleeding to a place haunted by a spirit, the spirit gets very angry and
lays hold of him: he comes upon him in all manner of shapes, sometimes
in that of a buffalo, at others in that of a woman, sometimes in the
air above, and sometimes from the ground below; but no one can see him
except the wounded person he is angry with and wants to punish. Upon
such a wounded person we always place a naked sword, or some other
sharp steel instrument, as spirits are much afraid of weapons of this
kind. If there be any good conjuror at hand to charm the spirits away
from the person wounded, he recovers, but nothing else can save him.
When the spirit seized Gheesa under the tree, we had unfortunately no
conjuror of this kind, and he, poor fellow! died in consequence. It was
evident that a spirit had got hold of him, for he could not keep his
head upright; it always fell down upon his right or left shoulder as
often as we tried to put it right, and he complained much of a pain in
the region of the liver. We therefore concluded the spirit had broken
his neck, and was consuming his liver."
Dead bodies were usually burned, and the ashes thrown into the sacred
stream. Sometimes this could not be done, as, for instance, when one
died upon an expedition, and there was no time or means to make a
funeral pyre. In such cases the body would be hastily buried, or, as
once occurred, thrust into a porcupine's hole, and some of the fingers
cut off and carried home to the sorrowing relatives. The part was
then burned for the whole, and the gang presented a widow with money
to distribute in alms, and enabled her to make a handsome offering to
the family priest. Each colony had two or three especial deities, who
were the spirits of ancestors distinguished in the "imperial business,"
as they proudly designated their vocation. When they desired to know
who of their forefathers was the most sympathetic, the most interested
in their welfare, they carefully noted the incoherent ravings of a
delirious man, or one suffering from epilepsy. His rambling talk was
attributed to the temporary possession of his tongue by some departed
spirit. If there were any doubt as to whose it was, the family
priest, or a relative of the sick man, would throw on the ground a
few grains of wheat, or coloured glass beads, mentioning the name of
some ancestor, and at the same time crying odd or even. If they cried
correctly two or three times consecutively, they had discovered the
demigod. They then sacrificed a goat, or some other animal, that the
pleasant odour of the culinary operations might gratify the nostrils of
the "daimon," while the assembled friends loudly sang his praises. If
the patient began to amend during the sacrifice, it was deemed a full
confirmation of their belief, and a new "Lar familiaris," or household
god was added to the polytheism of the colony.