[Gutenberg 60503] • A Popular Account of Thugs and Dacoits, the Hereditary Garotters and Gang-Robbers of India

Excerpt from A Popular Account of the Thugs and Dacoits: The Hereditary Garotters and Gang-Robbers of India

There is some reason to believe, that in later times the descendants of these Sagartii accompa nied one of the Mahommedan invaders of India, and settled in the neighbourhood of Delhi. In the latter part of the seventeenth century, Theve not makes mention of a strange denomination of robbers, who infested the road between that city and Agra, and used a certain rope, with a running noose, which they can cast with so much sleight about a man's neck, when they are within reach of him, that they never fail, so that they strangle him in a trice. These vagrant plun derers were divided into seven clans or families, called Bahleem, Bhyns, Bhursote, Kachunee, Hut tar, Ganoo, and Tandil, the parent stock of all the subsequent ramifications. According to tra dition, they were expelled from Delhi by one of the emperors of the house of Gouree, on account of the murder of a favourite slave. Their victim had long been aware of their practices, and had connived at them, for the sake of the handsome gratuities presented as the price of his silence. But, abusing his power, and making exorbitant demands, he' quickly experienced the fate of those in whose plunder he had so freely participated.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at [www.forgottenbooks.com](http://www.forgottenbooks.com)

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.