HISTORY AND PRACTICES OF TUB THr011t.

This volume consists of a selection from the confessions and evi- dence of approvers in particular cases of the crime of Thuggee, and from official reports. These are introduced by an account of the general practices of this people of murderers, and a minute description of their superstitions ; they are followed by a slight and insufficient narrative of the steps taken by the East India Company's Government in the discovery and punishment of the Thuggees or Phansigars. Compiled entirely from official documents, the volume makes no pretensions to peculiar novelty in its facts ; nor is there much which a person well read in Indian subjects will not substantially have met before. In those parts which are reproduced, the author may claim the merits of clearness and closeness ; but his selections are a mere affair of scissors and paste—too many not to weary the general reader, too few and too particular to ex- haust the entire subject in its details. Nor are his general views complete ; f• unless bid in some hole and corner, we find no trace of unity from murder granted by the Thugs to European of the prudent reasons which prompted it.

accompanied by a good omen to insure success. Upon the w r ole, however, the volume forms a curious account of one of the most systematic and diabolical confederations against life and property which the history of mankind can produce, and which if told by a remote historian, would have been rejected as a fable.

Most of our readers are aware that the Thugs are a class of systematized murderers, spread all over India—inhabiting villages —cultivating the ground like industrious occupiers, by means of their women, or of men like women, not admitted to the mysteries of the craft. They go in gangs varying from ten to fifty; and, assum- ing the appearance of peaceful and respectable travellers, insinuate themselves into the confidence of other wayfarers, propose to journey together, despatch th-,tin when unguarded or asleep, by strangulation, and bury the. bodies, after cutting them in pieces (if they have time) to hasten! decomposition. The roving habits of the Hindoos, and the wild and unsettled state of the country, render detection difficult ; but they are also in the habit of pur- chasing impunity from the petty native rulers by a share of the plunder. The date of Thuggee is not clearly established. Its ex- istence as a regular and hereditaty occupation—a corporation, or an estate of the realm—was first suspected by the English autho- rities within these thirty or forty years. The numbers of those engaged in its practice are, we fancy, y et unknown ; but etymo- logy will furnish an idea of the extent of its ramifications : in the Northern parts of India, these murderers are called Thugs, which signifies " deceiver ;" in the Southera-provinces, their designation is Phansigars or " stranglers ;" and in other countries they are known by other terms, all being derived from the verb or sub- stantive of " noose."

Notwithstanding they gain their livelihood by destroying life, they are in their intercourse with one another a mild people, susceptible of all the domestic affections, and very religious in their way. The essential article of their faith is that men are de- livered into their hands by Davy (their goddess) to be strangled ; sad that their death is their destiny, not the crime of the Thugs, who are merely ordained instruments in the hands of the divinity. The author whose book is before us, and most other writers on the subject, have attributed their crimes to their superstition. It appears Is us, however, that they have rather fashioned a religion to their practices than that their religion instigated them to their crimes. Unquestionably their faith is beneficial in practice, by the ob- stacleswhich its forms must interpose to what would otherwise be the uninterrupted career of murder. Thuggee, for instance, is hunted by certain classes being altogether exempted from its ope- ration: of old, and still by the orthodox, women, washermen, poets, professors of dancing, blacksmiths, carpenters, musicians, oil-vend- ers,and sweepers, were never murdered. Ganges-water-carriers, having the water actually with them, are safe with the pure practi- tioners ; but if their pots are empty, they die ; and there are some smaller district varieties of immunity. The implements of mur- der and of burial are sacred ; must be prepared with various ceremo. dial forms and offerings ; and if any mishap should occur, espe- cially to the sacred pick-axe, the expedition must be postponed or abandoned. A solemn sacrifice precedes an excursion, which

must be postponed if the augury is adverse ; and every step, from el

The greater part of this success, and all the information as to their secret procedings, is traceable to approvers. These worthies make no scruple of avowing their former murders, and discours- ing of their tenets and forms with perfect sang froid : and all the more intelligent attribute the apparent dissolution and downfal of their race to a relaxation of ancestral severity of discipline. . Omens are overlooked or disregarded in a lust of gain ; women, and men of the privileged classes, are murdered for a similar reason ; and the cause of both is the admission of any body and every body to the dignity of a Thug. Once there was something like respectability in the business, but those times have passed away : " there are not now," says one of the approvers, " fifty Assel Thugs (Thugs of good birth) left between the Gauges and the Jumna." Here is a fuller exposition of the backslidinge. SAHIB and NASIR have been answering questions as to the possi- bility of raising a gang of Thugs in any part of India, and de- scribing what such raw levies consist of— Q. " But these men have all been punished ; which does not indicate the protection of Davy?" Sahib and Nasir. " It indicates the danger of scraping together such a set of fellows for Thome. They killed all people iodise' iminately. women and men, of all castes and professions ; and knew so little about omens, that they entered upon their expeditious and killed !nil& in spite of such as the most ignorant ought to have known were prohibitive. They were punished in con- sequence, as we all knew that they would li, ; and we always used to thick it dangerous to be associated with then, for even a few days. Ask many of thews who are now here—Kureem Khan, Sheikh Kureem, ltutnzanee, and others, whether this is nut true; and whether they ever let go even a .weeper, if be appeared to have a rupee about him." Q. " And you think, that if they had been well instructed in the signs and rules, and attended to them, they would have thrived?" Sahib and Nash-. " Undoubtedly ; so should we all."

A few instances of the omens necessary to be attended to— It is good to see a fair in any village but their own on the road. !t corpse from any village but their own is a good omen ; so, also, is it good to see a party of friends weeping round a woman taking leave of her parental roof to go to that of her husband.

They must not open an expedition in Illy, September, nor December ; no on a Wednesday or Thursday.

But, however happily business may have been commenced, success is liable to be postponed by a multiplicity of ominous appearances ; some of which are fatal, while others may be got over by sacrifices. The turban, being a covering, of great honour, is invested in the catalogue of omens, with a due degree of im- portance. A Thug, except in Bengal, never moves nut without his turban.. If a turban is set out fire it threatens great evil ; and the gang must, if near home, return, and wait seven days ; if at a distance, an °fret ing of goor is made ; and the individual to whom the turban belonged alone returns home. If the turban fall off, it is an omen almost as bad, and requires the same sacrifices.

It is a bad omen to meet, on the first day of an expedition, any person who has lost a limb; and happily for the maimed, it is equally bad to murder them. To sneeze is a fearful thieg at setting out on an expedition; and the nasal enormity must he expiated by sacrifice. had as the omen is to the Thugs, it is unquestionably good for their intended virtims. Sneezing entitles all the tra- vellers within the gripe of the assassins to the privilege ut an escape, and no one dare to put them to death. If a party, on leaving home to enter on an expedition, meet a woman bearing a pitcher full of water on her head, it plinnisas a pt osperous journey and a safe ration : the omen is still better if the leer i a be in d state of pregnancy ; but if the pitcher which she cart ies be empty, the tide of fate is reveised, and the indi- cation is one of misfortune and calamity. An empty pitcher is, indeed, under any circumstances, regarded by Thugs with as much aversion as by tipplers.

Another mark of downfal, though not noted as such by the Thugs, is the prevalence of differences amongst the orthodox. When the unity of a faith is disturbed by the opposite opinions of learned doctors, evil days aro at hand. List to this discussion 4 a nice point.

Q. " When you have a poor traveller with you, or a party of travellers whir appear to have little property about them, and you hear or see a very good omen. do you not let them go in the hope that the return of the omen will guide you to better prey ?" Dorgha (Musaulman). " Let them go ! Never, never ! Kubhee masa* hubhee nuneen."

Nasir (Mussulman of Telingana). " How could we let them go? Is see the good omen the order from Heaven to kill them ? and would it not be dia. obedience to let them go? If we did not kill them, should we ever setoni more travellers?"

Perigees (Brahmin). " I have known the experiment tried with good effect. I have known travellers, who promised little, let go; and the virtue of the omen brought better." loaent (Mussultnan). " Yes; the virtue of the omen remains; and the tra- veller who has little should be let go; for you are sure to get a better." Sahib Khan (of Telingana). " Never, never I This is one of your His. dostanee heresies. You could never let him go, without losing all the fruits of your expedition: you might get property, but it could never do pia any good. No success could result from your disobedience." Morlee (Rsjpoot). " Certainly not : the travellers who are in our hands, when we have a good omen, must never be let go, whether they promise little or much: the omen is unquestionably the order, as Nasir says."

Nasir. " The idea of securing the good-will of Davy by disobeying her order is quite monstrous. We Deccan Thugs do not understand how yua got bold of it. Our ancestors never were guilty of such folly."

Perigees. " You do not mean to say that we of Moron and Simko.et were not as well instructed as you of Telingana?" Nasir and Sahib Khan. " We only mean to say, that you have clearly mis- taken the nature of a good omen in this case. It is the order of Davy to take what she has put in our way ; at least so we in the Deccan understand it."

e general expedition down to each particular murder, must be Considerable care is used in gradually initiating youth into But old institutions are falling everywhere, and Thuggery is their future trade, so as to suggest to them, first, the suspicion of

. robbery and murder ; next, to acquaint them with the facts- s

not exempt from the fate of mutability. Through the directions certainties, or rather to let them learn them for themselves; and

of Lord WILLIAM BENTINCK, carried into effect by the activity then, by a slow process of initiation, to raise them at last to the dig- and judgment of his subordinates, a full exposition of the prin- nity of practitioners. Sometimes, however, carelessness or acci- eiples and practices of these wholesale murderers has been oh- dent mars these precautions; and the first effect of a violent

tamed; many crimes have been detected, many criminals pu- death on young minds is occasionally attended with fearful cense- nulled ; their general perpetration in future has been checked, quences.

and probably a clue found to exterminate the horrible practice. The following affecting story, related by a Thug who had become approver against bis comrades, will illustrate this; and there is reason to believe that the case is not altogether without parallel. It is admitted, indeed, that others have occurred resembling it in kind, though falling short of it in degree. " About twelve years ago," said the narrator, "my cousin, Armin Subabdor, took out with us my cousin Kurhora, brother of Omrow approver, a lad of fourteen, for the first time. He was mounted upon a pretty pony ; and Hut- gooks, an adopted son of Amen's, was appointed to take charge of the boy. We fell in with five Sick.; and when we set out before daylight in the morn. ing, Hursooka, who bad been already on three expeditions, was ordered to take the bridle, and keep the boy in the rear, out of sight and hearing. The boy became alarmed and impatient, got away from Hursooka, and galloped up at the instant the "I hirnee," or signal for murder, was given. He heard the screams of the men, and saw them all strangled. He was seized with a trembling and fell from his pony; he became immediately delirious, was dread. fully alarmed at the turbans of the murdered men, and, when any one touched or spoke to him, talked wildly about the murders, screamed as if in sleep, and trembled violently. We could not get him forward; and, after burying the bodies, Aman, myself, and a few others, sat by him while the gang went on ; we were very fond of him, and tried all we could to tranquillize him, but he never recovered his senses, and before evening be died. 1 have seen many in- stances of feelings greatly shocked at the sight of the first murder, but never one so strong as this. Kurhora was a very fine boy ; and Huisooku took his death much to heart, and turned Byragee. He is now at some temple on the banks of the Nerbudda river."