ASSASSINATED BY THUGS.

Lake County Press, Issue 2135, 13 September 1906, Page 7

ASSASSINATED BY THUGS.

Tlir ci inii's hi' India nil- marked by i cruelty, t renrh-ry, and ferocilv un-

known in Europe or even in the Bed Indians of America—undiscovered even by the torturers of tlic Middle Ages.

Only in Thugee can we find u counterpart of the insidioiisness ami treachery exhibited hy tile Se[>oys. A .Mogul ollicer, travelling from the I'unjaub to Oude by way of Moerut and Hareill.v, accoinpanied by his personal servant and groom, was accosted by six men, who saluted hi hi respeel lull;. , and wished to enter into

conversation with him. The officer, suspecting Thuggee, laid his hand on his sword, and warned the fellows off. The next day he met the same number of men, dressed as Mussulmans. Thev spoke of the dangers of the road, and claimed the officer's protection. But the wily old man, brandishing bis sabre, bade them he off. Tlv ,'eiiows disappeared like t hose of the prev ions <\i\\ . Towards evening of the same day, the wayfarer's two servants met a l bird group of travellers, six in iiuin-

with them. But the Mogul other ordered the I revellers to fall to his rear, and desired his servants to hold no intercourse with the strangers. On the third day the officer, continuing his journey, arrived at a desert plain. His servants were some way behind, when, all at once he found himself in the presence oi six poor Mussulmans, who were weeping over the body of one of their comrades, who had, they said. died on the roadside.

The men described themselves as soldiers of Lahore, returning, after a long absence, to Luekuow. to visit their wives and children. Their fel-low-soldier, they alleged, with seeming sorrow, had sunk under the fatigues of the journey, and they were about to deposit him in the nevv<ly-made grave, freshly dug with their hands. But , alas ! poor and unlettered as they were, there was not among them one capable of reading the |iravers of the Koran. Would the officer eternally oblige them by so doing, and perform an act for which he would he rewarded ill Ibis world and the world to come '.' He. disl rust fill hitherto, could not resist the appeal made to his religious feelings. and dismounted from his noble steed. The body, meanwhile, had been already [dace,l in the grave alter the manner prescribed ill ih- Koran, with the head turned towards Mecca. A carpel was immediately spread before the Mogul ollicer. He diseinbiirdened himself of all his arms—of his sword, and ol his pistols, which were placed aside. Having washed his face and hands to purify himself, the ollicer commenced on bended knees the prayers, which were for a moment, sobbingl.v followed by two of the friends of the supposed deceased. Meanwhile, the four others, on a signal. attacked the officer, cutting' him down at a stroke. The two servants were soon overpowered, tied lo their master's dead body, and were buried alive in the grave, which had b.-en leisurely prepared for I lu-pin-pose. |l is .'(lless to say that the six traveller-, of the three days were identical. They all belonged to a band of Thugs, of the kingdom of Oude. n,,,!, finding il impossible to gain the confidence of the wary traveller by, honeyed speeches, ihey appealed lo his religious feelings, having prepared i he corpse for ihe nonce. Their crime, however, was soon discovered, and the just, penalty of the I'ribuunl meted out to them.