The truth of this position, in itself so reasonable, is made more fully evident by the obvious difference subsisting between the Company’s and the Vizier’s dominions. In the former, the depredations committed are always nocturnal, and of that description to be expected under the foregoing circumstances; in the latter, the speculation is infinitely more open, more systematic, and more extensive.
That considerable amelioration must have taken place under our government, is to be proved, from the safety with which travellers may proceed by land throughout the country, when compared with the extreme danger attendant upon a journey through any part of the Vizier’s territory; wherein almost every well presents the horrid spectacle of the mangled bodies of those who become victims to the sanguinary hordes of robbers that infest every part of that prince’s dominions.
On this account, every gentleman proceeding by land, from one to another station, should make a point of obtaining a small guard of a naik and four, or even of two, sepoys, whose presence will generally prove a considerable check on the adventurous disposition of the villagers in that quarter. This precaution will not, however, alone be sufficient; application should be made to the jemmadar, or head-borough, of each village where the party may encamp, for a certain number of chokey-dars, (watchmen,) proportioned to the number of tents, horses, &c., and the whole of the property of every description should be nominally put under the charge of the men thus furnished, observing, that the regular pay, which may be from four to six pice, or halfpence, for each, should be punctually paid to the jemmadar when the camp breaks up the next morning, and that every item is found to be in a state of safety.
When coolies (i.e. porters) are wanted, to carry the beds, tables, &c, of a party, application should be made, in like manner, to the jemmadar; and when, after arrival at the next stage, they may be discharged, it will be proper to be attentive to the regular payment of every individual thus furnished; otherwise, the servants to whom it may be entrusted to discharge them, will generally withhold a large portion, or even the whole, of what may have been ordered.
By thus regularly attending to matters of this description, the villagers will come forward with more alacrity; though, it must be confessed, they are generally very unwilling to engage as coolies; which is not to be wondered at, since the jemmadars generally extort from them at least half their earnings on such occasions: the evil being incurable, as matters now stand, must be borne as gracefully as our feelings may allow; and we must remain content with the reflection of doing justice ourselves, though we know for certain that our liberality, in the end, flows into a wrong channel.
When practicable, it is highly expedient to obtain from the European collector’s office, or even from any of the natives under his immediate authority, who may be deputed to, or resident at, such places as lie near the road, a rhahwaunah, or pass-port, wherein it should be set forth, that, whatever necessaries, or coolies, or chokey-dars, or dowraws, (guides,) may be requisite, should be furnished by such jemmadars of villages as should be called upon for supplies of the above description. This always ensures respect and attention, and causes the whole of the persons, to whom it is addressed, to be vigilant in the discharge of their duties, lest complaints should be preferred to the collector, who would speedily summon them to his court, and punish them in a suitable manner.
However audacious the thieves, whether house-breakers, or collectors on the highways, may be, they very rarely make an immediate attack on Europeans. This, no doubt, proceeds from the sense they entertain of the importance we attach to the safety of our countrymen, the murderer of whom would be assuredly detected, and suffer the full sentence of the law. Besides, all the people of Hindostan know, that, with the exception of watches, which, for want of pawn-brokers, and accomplices skilled in the melting of metals, are of no use to the predatory tribe, Europeans never carry about with them any thing valuable. No gentleman ever has money about him; though his servants sometimes have, in their waists, a few rupees, intended for such disbursements as cannot be delayed without inconvenience.
Hence, the boxes, &c., of gentlemen, are generally aimed at, because the cash and valuables are contained in them; for the same reason, the most confidential servants are most commonly selected as objects of attack. Your true Hindostanee robber is, in general, very active, robust, and capable of great deception: he will patrole about a tent, during a dark night, in the manner of a dog, or of a jackal; the howl of which he can, perhaps, imitate so well as to deceive the sentries, and throw them completely off their guard.
If allowed to approach a tent, he will select that side where several servants are asleep under the fly, or awning, and gradually insinuate himself into the interior, either by passing under the walls, or between the overlaps; if such cannot be easily effected, he draws his choory, (knife,) which is sharpened for the occasion, and makes a slit in the cloth, or canvas, large enough to pass his body through, when, in the most cautious manner, and retaining his breath as much as possible, he gropes about for those articles which, during the day-time, he had seen deposited in some particular part of the tent, and, after making an opening large enough for his purpose, or by opening one of the doors, he watches the opportunity for escaping with his booty.
The attempt to seize a thief under such circumstances, is extremely hazardous, and ought to be strongly reprehended. Being perfectly naked, and having the body highly lubricated with oil, it is impossible to grasp him in any part; while, on the other hand, he must be expected to use his knife very freely, under the determination of escaping.