THE REAL "STRICKLAND"

Evening Star, Issue 17328, 16 April 1920, Page 5

THE REAL "STRICKLAND"

/DEATH OF BUTTON SAHIB. TERROR OF THE DACOITS. There died at Kasauli, on October 21, pot the original of Kipling's Strickland, a-3 , is commonly reported in the Punjab, but „? .magician whom Strickland was foolish enough to take for a model." " Now, in the whole of Upper India there is only one man who can pass for Hindu or Mohammedan, hide-dresser or priest, as he pleases. /He is feared and respected by the natives from Ghor Kathri to the Jamma Musjid, and he is supposed to have the gift of invisibility and executive control over many devils. But this haa done him no goo'd in the eyes of tho Indian Government." In 'Plain Tales from * the Hills' one reads how Strickland Sahib, the disciple of thi3 controller of evil spirits, became Younghal's fa is. Warburton 'Sahib, whom Strickland emulated, and who died at Kasauli in October, was born with 'certain advaatages with which his legendary disciple in the role of super-detective could not hope to compete. To begin with, ho was an Afghan, and his youth was cradled in romance. His mother, a lady famous for her wealth and beauty, was'a relative of. Shah bhujah. King of Kabul, and married ■to Sirdar Faiz Talab Khan, official in the Ameer's service. It was during the occupation of Kabul by tho British in the first Afghan Wrv that this lady and her eon, Sirdah_ Jahan Dad Khan," then quite a email infant, were abducted bv a young ensign of Artillery. ' «' The Lochinvar in the case was. Robert Warburton. How he alid his stolen bride escaped the vengeance of the Sirdar passes comprehension. All who know the Afghan will surmise a combination or daring astuteness backed by a degree of good fortune such a.s the professional novelist would hardly dare to invoke for his chosen lovers in his wildest romance. The lady remained in hiding with her until the Sirdar, realising that she w-as irretrievably lost to him. procured a formal divorce. Then she married Robert Warburton. The ceremonv.took place in the presence of Vincent Eyre and other officers of the garrison, who affixed their signatures to the marriage certificate. Alter the spice of little more than a year she was able to escape from Kabul disguised in the uniform of a British officer. This was in 1845, or perhaps in the following year—the date is uncertain—and she smuggled through with her to Peshawar, in her escort or among her camp followers, two small children. For to Jahan Dad Khan, who, by his stepfather's Wish now bore the name of John Paul Warburton, there was born a step-brother. Robert Warburton, afterwards known as Sir Robert Warburton, the Warburton of frontier fame, aiid the author of ' Eighteen Years in the Khybeiv The adventures and achievements nf Robert Warburton have been published to the world; those of' John Paul Warburton live, like rumor, from mouth to month, but they carry a greater tradition. The creator of Strickland has told us that the gift of invisibility and the control exercised over evil spirits of Strickland's model (the subject of this memoir) were not appreciated by the Indian Government. John Paul Warburton was both appreciated and honored, but quite inadequately, and the recognition came after Kipling had ceased to write tales about the East. On his retirement in 1902, after 40 years' service, Warburton was given a Grant of land, and a few years later, for his work in Patiala, a C.I.E. But the extraor-

dinary services of the man will not be recognised until his biography is written. And even then the narrative, of a great deal of his best work, if it is to be prepared for the present generation, will have to be very discreetly censored. On. more than one occasion he was selected by Government for special duty in other provinces, in the unravelling of some particularly important or delicate case. His reputation as the scourge of evil-doers is known throughout the length and breadth of India. Time after time he broke up and brought to justice large bands oj dacoits and murderers. The cases of ,the poisoner Sharuf-ud-Din and his gang, of the Ambala Treasury theft,. and of the dacoit outrages committed by the Sansiyas,. members of a criminal tribe in the.United Provinces, are among his best known triumphs: but to anyone interested in the psychology of crime I can recommend the files of the Rupalon murder case. ,In detecting a "budmash" Warburton showed an insight and acumen which to the European appeared quite uncanny and to the Indian offered further proof of his supernatural powers. ,In the towns one often saw a villager take up a attitude before him and make him an offering of flowers just as he would to one of his own gods. THE TERROR OF EVIL-DOERS. He had a terrifying habit of calling people before him. It might be in a crowd at a fair, or in some packed city bazaar. Once it was among a grSup of beggars who gathered to receive their weekly dole at his gate. The man would be quite unknown to him, to the casual observer perhaps a very ordinary looking individual, but there would be something in his gait or in his expression or in his eyes—an almost imperceptible movement cf the pupil, Warburton explained in one case, which betrayed him. I have heard more than one such arrest vividly de- , scribed. "I was riding with him one clay," a friend told me, "at a big Hindu fair, when I heard him call a policeman near and, pointing to an ordinary-looking individual, some little distance away, „, order him to bring the man before him. I asked him what he wanted* with the fellow, and he told me that he was sure the man was a criminal. He was brought up, and on,being searched, much to the mystification of the crowd and my own amazement, a set of burglar's tools were found on him slung by fine cords over his ■hare shoulders under his clothes. The little incident created a profound sensation, especially as Warburton had never seen the man before, and there was nothing in his appearance or countenance that was in any way peculiar." One'can understand how the "Button" tradition and influence grew. He was impersonated more than once by clever rogues. There is a story in the Liidhiana district that on his fir£t visit to a village he was told confidentially that "Button" was there, disguised as a fakir, a guest honored and garlanded in the chief zemindar's house. Half an- hour afterwards the real Button saved the false Button from the biggest hammering he ever had in his life. QUELLING RIOT. The influence of "Button's" personality in a crowd was remarkable. There was something of the " Darest thou slay Caius Mariua" vaunt in his eye and his voice. At Amritsar once, when the Hindu and Mahommedan festival processions clashed, and red riot was imminent and passions Tan high, he leapt from his carriage with tho coachman's long whip in his hand, roaring like a lion : " Scoundrels! what would ye do V\ and the entire mob fled .as one man, falling jind tumbling over one another in their frantic struggle to escape. In a few minutes, with the exception of one or two policemen, there was not a soul to be seen anywhere. There were no more riotous gatherings that year. At Patiala during-the plague riots in 1902, Button Sahib walked unarmed and alone into a fanatical and frenzied mob, and turned the tide of feeling by his mere presence and name. At the risk of his life he rescued the medical officer and the hospital staff from a burning house in which they had taken refuge from the attacks of the rioters, who were crying out for their blood, and who had set the honse on fire and were waiting for them to burn or to spring. Warburton died -of shock after a riding accident at Kasauli on October 21, in his 80th year. He was a great gentleman in the old sense of the word. The thing that most struck those who came into contact with him was that though his whole life had been spent in the detection of crime', he preserver! a remarkable simplicity'of character and a very great faith in human nature to the end. He was loved by_ all savfe malefactors, and generally admired by them. He went, through life with a brave heart and liands.— JLondon 'Times.'