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Chapter 6 – Creating a Form on a Web Page

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. A(n) ____ control is any type of input mechanism on a form.

a. variable c. parameter
b. input d. form
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

2. Which of the following controls sends a form to a server for processing?

a. enter c. send
b. reset d. submit
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

3. Which of the following controls returns all input controls to the default status?
a. clear c. reset
b. empty d. new
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

4. Which of the following controls is identical to text fields used for single-line data entry?
a. submit c. password
b. textarea d. radio
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

5. Which of the following controls creates a drop-down menu of choices from which a visitor chooses?
a. select c. menu
b. option d. choice
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

6. Which of the following attributes, when used with the text tag, determines the number of characters
that display on a form?
a. character c. width
b. size d. dimension
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

7. The ____ attribute of the text tag specifies the maximum length of the input field.
a. size c. maxlength
b. limit d. control
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

8. A ____ input control is either a radio button, a check box, a Submit button, a Reset button, or a
selection menu.
a. select c. capture
b. data d. list
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

9. In a ____ box, a visitor may enter small amounts of text.

 a. capture c. text
b. link d. textarea
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

10. The text control has two attributes: ____.

a. cols and rows c. size and maxlength
b. post and get d. width and height
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

11. In a radio control each choice is preceded by a radio ____.

a. menu c. button
b. bar d. either b or c
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

12. A radio button typically displays as which of the following?

a. bullet c. small rectangle
b. open circle d. none of the above
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

13. A ____ control creates a list item in a list from which only one item can be chosen.
a. select c. list
b. solo d. radio
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

14. The type="____" attribute specifies that the type of control is the radio button.
a. radio c. option
b. check d. circle
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

15. With a checkbox control, the default can be changed so a particular check box is preselected as the
default, by using the ____ attribute and value within the <input> tag.
a. chosen c. checked
b. default d. preselect
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

16. The use of which of the following controls prevents the visitor’s having to type information into a text
field?
a. text c. password
b. textarea d. select
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289

17. A(n) ____ control creates a selection menu of choices from which a visitor selects one or more
choices.
a. select c. radio
b. option d. checkbox
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289

18. ____ controls are similar to text controls, except that they allow multiple lines of text input.
 a. Password c. Capture
b. Textarea d. Either a or b
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289

19. The textarea control has two primary attributes: ____.

a. rows and cols c. size and width
b. size and maxlength d. select and option
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289

20. It is a good rule of thumb to keep the number of columns in a textarea to ____ or fewer.
a. 10 c. 25
b. 15 d. 50
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289

21. The ____ attribute identifies the specific information that is being sent when the form is submitted for
processing.
a. spec c. target
b. name d. this
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 290

22. All controls except one have a ____ attribute.

a. name c. value
b. link d. select
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 290

23. The <____> tag defines the text that displays in the grouping borders.
a. key c. cluster
b. legend d. aggregate
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291

24. The ____ attribute of the <form> tag indicates the URL for the action to be completed by the server.
a. method c. action
b. process d. http
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291

25. There are two primary methods to send the form to the server to be processed: ____
a. send and put c. get and put
b. get and post d. CGI and HTML
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

26. Which of the following is a program written in a programming language (such as Perl) that
communicates with the Web server?
a. HTML function c. URL imagemap
b. CGI script d. post method
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

27. The ____ attribute of the <form> tag specifies the manner in which the data entered in the form is sent
to the server to be processed.
 a. process c. http
b. server d. method
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

28. The two values of the ____ attribute in HTML are get and post.
a. process c. http
b. server d. method
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

29. The ____ method sends the name-value pairs to the end of the URL indicated in the action attribute.
a. get c. post
b. base d. serv
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

30. The size=“2” attribute means which of the following?

a. two characters will appear, but more may be entered, depending on the maxlength attribute
b. one character will appear, and the second will be truncated
c. two characters will appear, and no more may be entered
d. at most, two characters can be entered
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: HTML 296

31. The default type for the <input /> tag is a ____.
a. radio button c. text box
b. checkbox d. textarea
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 297

32. If no ____ attribute value is specified, a selection menu initially displays only one option, along with a
list arrow to view other choices in the list.
a. default c. size
b. choice d. checked
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 300

33. If a selection menu includes the size attribute with a value of 3, ____ choice(s) will appear in the
menu.
a. one c. three
b. two d. four
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 301

34. If the ____ attribute was not used to create a selection menu, the Web page visitor will be allowed to
select only one choice in the menu.
a. several c. choices
b. many d. multiple
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 302

35. Form controls are useless unless the information entered in the form can be submitted for ____.
a. concatenation c. aggregation
b. processing d. all of the above
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 304
 36. Which of the following tags gives you the option of using an image for a Submit button, rather than
using the default button style?
a. <option> c. <modify>
b. <image button> d. <button>
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 304

37. The <form method=post action=mailto:ahs@isp.com> tag designates that the ____ method will be
used to send data to the appropriate location for processing.
a. mailto c. post
b. form d. action
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 304

38. Which of the following characters strings together all of the form responses?
a. & c. @
b. ! d. %
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: HTML 305

39. Which of the following buttons deletes any data previously typed into text or textarea fields?
a. New c. Clear
b. Restore d. Reset
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 305

40. Which of the following attributes specifies a reset button?

a. type=“option” c. reset=“type”
b. master=“reset” d. type=“reset”
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 305

MULTIPLE RESPONSE

Modified Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following is a main component of a Web page form?

a. input controls c. link to a major search engine
b. <form> tag d. Submit button
ANS: A, B, D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

2. A text input control is a ____ box.

a. link c. password text
b. textarea d. text
ANS: B, C, D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

3. Which of the following controls creates a list item?

a. checkbox c. list
b. radio d. dropdown
ANS: A, B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

4. A password always appears as a series of which of the following?

 a. characters c. bullets
b. asterisks d. ampersands
ANS: A, B, C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

5. When a Web page visitor clicks the Submit button on the form, which of the following is sent to be
processed?
a. parameters of the control
b. value of the data contained with the control
c. dimensions of the field
d. name of the control
ANS: B, D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 290

MODIFIED TRUE/FALSE

1. A text control creates a text box that is used for a single line of input. _________________________

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

2. By default, all check boxes are pre-selected. _________________________

ANS: F, deselected

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

3. The reset input control sends the information from a form to the appropriate location for processing.
_________________________

ANS: F, submit

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 290

4. A Web page form must include a Reset button. _________________________

ANS: F, Submit

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 290

5. The paragraph input control creates a multiple-line field for a relatively large amount of text.
_________________________

ANS: F, textarea

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291

TRUE/FALSE

1. Using a Web page form for user input reduces the potential for errors because customers enter data or
select options from the form included directly on the Web page.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 284

 2. A select input control creates a series of check boxes for Web visitors to use.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

3. The maximum length of a text field may exceed the size of the field that displays on the form.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

4. Each choice in a check box list can be either on or off.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

5. A checkbox control allows a Web page visitor to select only one choice from a list of choices.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

6. Multiple radio buttons in the same group can be set to a checked state at the same time.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

7. With check boxes, only one option can be selected at a time.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

8. It is a good rule of thumb to use between 50 and 100 columns of text in a textarea field.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289

9. The resume and send controls create the Reset and Submit buttons.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 290

10. A Web page form must include a Reset button.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 290

11. For a textarea field, no value attribute is possible because of the variability of the input.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 290

12. All options in a selection menu are contained within the <select> and </select> tags.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 292

13. HTML5 includes new attributes for the <input /> tag.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291

14. The value attribute of the <input /> tag is optional for radio and checkbox controls.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291

15. Few Web sites use CGI scripts to process forms because this is an inefficient way to handle the data
that is sent to a form.
 ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 293

16. The get method sends the name-value pairs to the end of the URL indicated in the action attribute.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

17. The post method is a program written in a programming language that communicates with the Web
server.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

18. Information on forms can be sent by e-mail to an e-mail address or can be used to update a database.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

19. A FORM script sends the information input on a Web page form to the Web server for processing.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

20. If you specify a maximum number of characters that is greater than the number of characters specified
in the size attribute, the additional characters will be cut off.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 296

21. If you do not specify a size attribute in the <select> tag, only one option is displayed, along with a list
arrow.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 300

22. The <legend> tag within the fieldset tag is required.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 306

23. An embedded style sheet changes the style for a single Web page.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 308

24. You should validate the code after the form is completed and view and test it using your browser.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 311

25. When you are collecting information from an online form, it is very important to test that the
information is accurate.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: HTML 311

COMPLETION

1. A(n) ____________________ input control is either a text box, a textarea box, or a password text box.

ANS: text
 PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

2. In a(n) ____________________ text box, a visitor may enter a password.

ANS: password

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

3. In a(n) ____________________ box, a visitor may enter larger amounts of text.

ANS: textarea

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

4. The ____________________ attribute of the text control determines the number of characters that
display on the form.

ANS: size

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

5. A(n) ____________________ control tells the browser to send the data on the form to the server.

ANS: submit

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

6. A(n) ____________________ control returns all input controls to the default status.

ANS: reset

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287

7. A(n) ____________________ control creates a list item in a list from which more than one item can
be chosen.

ANS: checkbox

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

8. To set a particular radio button as the default, you use the ____________________ value within the
<input /> tag.

ANS: checked

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

9. A(n) ____________________ button typically appears as an open circle.

ANS:

radio
option
 PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

10. The textarea control uses the ____________________ attribute to specify the number of columns in
the textarea field.

ANS: cols

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289

11. The ____________________ button sends the information to the appropriate location for processing.

ANS: Submit

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 290

12. The <____________________/ > tag defines the controls used in the form, using a variety of type
attribute values.

ANS: input

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291

13. The <____________________> tag creates a form that allows user input.

ANS: form

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291

14. The ____________________ method sends a separate data file with the name-value pairs to the URL
(or e-mail address) indicated in the action attribute.

ANS: post

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 294

15. When the ____________________ attribute specifies the same number of characters as the size
attribute, all characters entered by a user will appear in the text box.

ANS: maxlength

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 296

16. To select multiple choices in a selection menu, a user must first select one choice and then press and
hold the ____________________ key while clicking other choices in the list.

ANS: CTRL

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 301

17. To select several consecutive choices in a selection menu, a user must first select one choice and then
press and hold the ____________________ key while selecting the last choice.

ANS: SHIFT
 PTS: 1 REF: HTML 301

18. The ____________________ button clears any input that was entered in the form, restoring the input
controls back to the initial values.

ANS: Reset

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 304

19. The ____________________ control helps to group related form elements together.

ANS: fieldset

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 306

20. Using ____________________ is especially helpful in cases where some information is required and
some is optional.

ANS: grouping

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 306

MATCHING

Identify the letter of the choice that best matches the phrase or definition.
a. data input f. select
b. checkbox g. textarea
c. attributes h. password
d. radio button i. select control
e. input j. target
1. The use of asterisks, for example, to mark the entered text in this kind of field is designed to help
protect text from being observed as it is being entered
2. When one of these is selected, all of the other ones in the list are deselected automatically
3. This category of control eliminates a visitor's having to type information into a text or textarea field
4. This kind of field is useful when an extensive amount of input from the Web page visitors is required
or desired
5. This kind of input control creates a list item
6. If a choice in a selection menu is highlighted, it means that this attribute has been used for that choice
7. This kind of control either can be a radio button, a check box, a Submit button, or a Reset button
8. These kinds of controls either are HTML tags or attributes of HTML tags
9. Nearly all of the HTML tags used to create forms have at most one of these each
10. This attribute of the <form> tag indicates the location at which a resource will display

1. ANS: H PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288

2. ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288
3. ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289
4. ANS: G PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289
5. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288
6. ANS: I PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289
7. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: HTML 287
8. ANS: E PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291
 9. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291
10. ANS: J PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291

ESSAY

1. Briefly list the HTML tags used to create forms, including their functions and any relevant remarks
about their use.

ANS:
<fieldset></fieldset> -- groups related controls on a form; it is optionally used for readability
<form></form> -- creates a form that allows user input; it is required when creating forms
<input /> -- defines the controls used in the form, using a variety of type attribute values; it is required
for input controls
<legend></legend> -- defines the caption that is displayed in the grouping borders; it is optionally
used when using <fieldset> tags
<option></option> -- specifies a choice in a <select> tag; it is required, one per choice
<select></select> -- creates a menu of choices from which a visitor selects; it is required for selection
choices
<textarea></textarea> -- creates a multiple-line text input area; it is required for longer text inputs that
appear on several lines

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291 TOP: Critical Thinking

2. Explain in detail the difference between the action and method attributes of the <form> tag. Be sure to
include a definition of CGI script, and the get and post method in your explanation.

ANS:
The action attribute of the <form> tag specifies the action that is taken when the form is submitted.
Information entered in forms can be sent by e-mail to an e-mail address or can be used to update a
database. Although the e-mail option is functional, many Web sites process information from forms
using Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripting. A CGI script is a program written in a
programming language (such as PHP or Perl) that communicates with the Web server. The CGI script
sends the information input on the Web page form to the server for processing.

The method attribute of the <form> tag specifies the manner in which the data entered in the form is
sent to the server to be processed. Two primary ways are used in HTML: the get method and the post
method. The get method sends the name-value pairs to the end of the URL indicated in the action
attribute. The post method sends a separate data file with the name-value pairs to the URL (or e-mail
address) indicated in the action attribute. Most Web developers prefer the post method because it is
much more flexible. You need to be cautious when using the get method. Some Web servers limit a
URL’s size, so you run the risk of truncating relevant information when using the get method.

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 293-HTML 294 TOP: Critical Thinking

3. Describe in detail the four steps involved in creating an effective form.

ANS:
Before creating a Web page form, you should plan how you want to format it. By effectively utilizing
input controls, you can call attention to important data-collection areas on the Web page without
overpowering it. Creating an effective form includes:
 1. Determine what data to collect. In the case of a form designed to collect information, you need the
visitor’s name and e-mail address. Make sure to provide enough space for each field so that you do not
cut out important information. For instance, a last name field only 5 characters long may cut out much
of the person’s last name.
2. Determine what types of control to use. For data such as name and e-mail address, you need text
input areas. For data such as favorite Internet radio station, there is generally a limited subset (e.g.,
Google, Live 365, Pandora, and Slacker), so a selection control is appropriate. When you ask what
kind of music the visitor is interested in listening to or buying, you can use check boxes, which allow
multiple selection. In the case of a question with only one appropriate answer (e.g., select your
favorite), a radio button is more appropriate.
3. Lay out the input areas effectively. One of the first input items you may want is the visitor’s name
and e-mail address information. That should go to the top of the page. Also, you can group information
together on the same line if it makes sense to make the Web page form short enough that visitors do
not have to scroll much. Collecting e-mail addresses is a great way to continue communication with
visitors or customers. A company can e-mail newsletters, coupons, and general information to
customers once they have their e-mail addresses.
4. Use grouping techniques for clarity. The last thing that you may want to do on a Web page form is
group like input items together. Use the fieldset tag to segregate personal information from preference
information and from other comments that the visitor might make.

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 295-HTML 296 TOP: Critical Thinking

CASE

Critical Thinking Questions

Case 6-1

Brendan is trying to familiarize himself in a hurry with the various form input controls. He has a sense
of the general function of each but not of the nuances among them.

1. What does Brendan learn is the key difference between the checkbox and radio controls?
a. The checkbox control indicates both the size of the field and the total maximum length,
and radio control indicates neither.
b. The checkbox control allows more than one item in a list to be chosen, and the radio
control indicates only one item in a list that can be chosen.
c. The radio control allows more than one item in a list to be chosen, and the checkbox
control indicates only one item in a list that can be chosen.
d. The radio control returns all input controls to the default status, and the radio button tells
the browser to send the data on the form to the server.

ANS:
B

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 288 TOP: Critical Thinking

2. Brendan has a list of 30 different options for a user to select from a given list. Which of the following
controls is the best match for his need?
a. select
b. checkbox
c. radio
d. any of the above

ANS:
 A

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 289 TOP: Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking Questions

Case 6-2

Jacqueline is inheriting a segment of code from a developer who has left the firm. The problem is that
the code became corrupted on a portion of the server during a recent crash and she has to reconstruct a
lot of it.

3. One portion of the code Jacqueline is reconstructing includes a reference to the name attribute, but the
HTML tag is missing. Which of the following tags CANNOT be the tag in question?
a. <input />
b. <select></select>
c. <option></option>
d. <textarea></textarea>

ANS:
C

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 291-HTML 292 TOP: Critical Thinking

4. Another portion of the code Jacqueline is reconstructing includes a reference to the readonly attribute.
Which HTML tag must be in use?
a. <textarea></textarea>
b. <option></option>
c. <select></select>
d. <legend></legend>

ANS:
A

PTS: 1 REF: HTML 292 TOP: Critical Thinking

Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Confessions
of a Thug
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
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under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Confessions of a Thug

Author: Meadows Taylor

Release date: February 12, 2014 [eBook #44881]

Most recently updated: October 24, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Moti Ben-Ari and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
produced from a file downloaded from the British Library)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONFESSIONS OF

A THUG ***
 Table of Contents
PREFACE.
INTRODUCTION.
CONFESSIONS OF A THUG.
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXVI.
CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXX.
CHAPTER XXXI.
CHAPTER XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHAPTER XXXV.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
CHAPTER XL.
CHAPTER XLI.
CHAPTER XLII.
CHAPTER XLIII.
CHAPTER XLIV.
CHAPTER XLV.
CHAPTER XLVI.
CHAPTER XLVII.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
CONCLUSION.
Transcriber's Notes

CONFESSIONS OF A THUG.

BY
CAPTAIN MEADOWS TAYLOR,
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF NORTH BERAR.
 I have heard, have read bold fables of enormity,
Devised to make men wonder, but this hardness
Transcends all fiction.
Law of Lombardy.

LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
1858.
 PREFACE.
As nearly twenty years have elapsed since the original publication of
this Work, a revised edition might, but for the present absorbing
interest of Indian affairs, be considered unnecessary.
On its first appearance—received as an exciting romance—the
generality of readers little knew how much of melancholy and
revolting truth lay beneath the surface. At the present time it may
deserve a more attentive study; recent events will have too well
prepared the Reader's mind for implicit belief in all the systematic
atrocities narrated: they are true, and most of them found their first
record in legal and official documents brought under the notice of
Captain Taylor, who from an early age possessed the rare advantage
of long study and intimate knowledge of the languages, manners,
and customs of the natives, Mahomedans as well as Hindoo. In fact,
it may safely be affirmed, that the Reader will find no characters
introduced, no scenes delineated, nor customs and manners of the
East described, which have not been faithfully drawn from objects
with which the writer was perfectly familiar.
It will scarcely fail to be remarked, with what consummate art such
numerous bodies of men were organized, and for a long time kept
absolutely unknown, while committing acts of cruelty and rapine
hardly conceivable; countenanced too, and secretly supported, by
men in authority, and even by Priests, Brahmins, and Fakeers, eager
to share in their unhallowed gains.
The Reader is particularly requested to peruse Captain Taylor's
Introduction, as affording a valuable key to the subsequent
narrative. It may also furnish some clue to the successful
concealment of a rebellion, in the existence of which many of our
oldest and most experienced officers, and men high in authority,
absolutely withheld belief, till too late and too cruelly convinced of
their fatal error. Whatever can help us to arrive at a full and precise
knowledge of the causes and the extent of this singular conspiracy,
which must have resulted in the destruction of our Eastern Empire,
had it not been upheld by constancy and heroism yet more
extraordinary, is of the utmost value, and merits a deeper interest
and more serious attention than any romance can claim.
P. M. T.
 INTRODUCTION.
The tale of crime which forms the subject of the following pages is,
alas! almost all true; what there is of fiction has been supplied only
to connect the events, and make the adventures of Ameer Ali as
interesting as the nature of his horrible profession would permit me.
I became acquainted with this person in 1832. He was one of the
approvers or informers who were sent to the Nizam's territories from
Saugor, and whose appalling disclosures caused an excitement in the
country which can never be forgotten. I have listened to them with
fearful interest, such as I can scarcely hope to excite in the minds of
my readers; and I can only add, in corroboration of the ensuing
story, that, by his own confessions, which were in every particular
confirmed by those of his brother informers, and are upon official
record, he had been directly concerned in the murder of seven
hundred and nineteen persons. He once said to me, "Ah! Sir, if I had
not been in prison twelve years, the number would have been a
thousand!"
How the system of Thuggee could have become so prevalent,
unknown to and unsuspected by the people of India, among whom
the professors of it were living in constant association, must, to the
majority of the English public not conversant with the peculiar
construction of Oriental society, be a subject of extreme wonder. It
will be difficult to make this understood within my present limits, and
yet it is so necessary that I cannot pass it by.
In a vast continent like India, which from the earliest periods has
been portioned out into territories, the possessions of many princes
and chieftains, each with supreme and irresponsible power in his
own dominions, having most lax and inefficient governments, and at
enmity with or jealous of all his neighbours, it may be conceived that
no security could exist for the traveller upon the principal roads
throughout the continent; no general league was ever entered into
for his security; nor could any government, however vigorous, or
system of police, however vigilant it might be in one state, possibly
extend to all.
When it is also considered that no public conveyances have ever
existed in India (the want of roads, and the habits and customs of
the natives being alike opposed to their use)—that journeys,
however long, have to be undertaken on foot or on horseback—that
parties, previously unknown to each other, associate together for
mutual security and companionship—that even the principal roads
(except those constructed for military purposes by the Company's
government) are only tracks made by the constant passage of
people over them, often intersecting forests, jungles, and
mountainous and uncultivated tracts, where there are but few
villages and a scanty population—and that there are never any
habitations between the different villages, which are often some
miles apart,—it will readily be allowed, that every temptation and
opportunity exists for plunderers of all descriptions to make
travellers their prey. Accordingly freebooters have always existed,
under many denominations, employing various modes of operation
to attain their ends; some effecting them by open and violent
attacks with weapons, others by petty thefts and by means of
disguises. Beyond all, however, the Thugs have of late years been
discovered to be the most numerous, the most united, the most
secret in their horrible work, and consequently the most dangerous
and destructive.
Travellers seldom hold any communication with the towns through
which they pass, more than for the purchase of the day's provisions:
they sometimes enter them, but pitch their tents or lie under the
trees which surround them; to gain any intelligence of a person's
progress from village to village is therefore almost impossible. The
greatest facilities of disguise among thieves and Thugs exist in the
endless divisions of the people into tribes, castes, and professions;
and remittances to an immense amount are known to be constantly
made from one part of the country to another in gold and silver, to
save the rate of exchange; jewels also and precious stones are often
sent to distant parts, under the charge of persons who purposely
assume a mean and wretched appearance, and every one is obliged
to carry money upon his person for the daily expenses of travelling.
It is also next to impossible to conceal anything carried, from the
unlimited power of search possessed by the officers of customs in
the territories of native princes, or to guard against the information
their subordinates may supply to Thugs, or robbers of any
description.
It has been ascertained, by recent investigation, that in every part of
India many of the hereditary landholders and the chief officers of
villages have had private connexion with Thugs for generations,
affording them facilities for murder by allowing their atrocious acts
to pass with impunity, and sheltering the offenders when in danger;
whilst in return for these services they received portions of their
gains, or laid a tax upon their houses, which the Thugs cheerfully
paid. To almost every village (and at towns they are in a greater
proportion) several hermits, Fakeers, and religious mendicants have
attached themselves. The huts and houses of these people, which
are outside the walls, and always surrounded by a grove or a
garden, have afforded the Thugs places of rendezvous or
concealment; while the Fakeers, under their sanctimonious garb,
have enticed travellers to their gardens by the apparently
disinterested offers of shade and good water. The facilities I have
enumerated, and hundreds of others which would be almost
unintelligible by description, but which are intimately connected
with, and grow out of, the habits of the people, have caused
Thuggee to be everywhere spread and practised throughout India.
The origin of Thuggee is entirely lost in fable and obscurity. Colonel
Sleeman conjectures that it owed its existence to the vagrant tribes
of Mahomedans which continued to plunder the country long after
the invasion of India by the Moghuls and Tartars. The Hindoos claim
for it a divine origin in their goddess Bhowanee; and certainly the
fact that both Mahomedans and Hindoos believe in her power, and
observe Hindee ceremonies, would go far to prove that the practice
of Thuggee was of Hindoo origin. Though very remote traditions of it
exist, there are no records of its having been discovered in any of
the histories of India until the reign of Akbur, when many of its
votaries were seized and put to death. From that time till 1810,
although native princes now and then discovered and executed the
perpetrators,—I believe it was unknown to the British government or
authorities. In that year the disappearance of many men of the
army, proceeding to and from their homes, induced the Commander-
in-Chief to issue an order warning the soldiers against Thugs. In
1812, after the murder by Thugs of Lieut. Monsell, Mr. Halhed,
accompanied by a strong detachment, proceeded to the village
where the murderers were known to reside, and was resisted. The
Thugs were discovered to be occupying many villages in the
pergunnahs of Sindousé, and to have paid, for generations, large
sums annually to Sindia's Government for protection. At this time it
was computed that upwards of nine hundred were in those villages
alone. The resistance offered by the Thugs to Mr. Halhed's
detachment caused their ultimate dispersion, and no doubt they
carried the practice of their profession into distant parts of the
country, where perhaps it had been unknown before.
It appears strange, that as early as 1816 no measures for the
suppression of Thuggee were adopted; for that the practices of the
Thugs were well known, we have the strongest evidence in a paper
written by Doctor Sherwood, which appeared in the "Literary
Journal" of Madras, and which is admirably correct in the description
of the ceremonies and practice of the Thugs of Southern India. One
would suppose that they were then considered too monstrous for
belief, and were discredited or unnoticed; but it is certain that from
that time up to 1830, in almost every part of India, but particularly
in Bundelkund and Western Malwa, large gangs of Thugs were
apprehended by Major Borthwick, and Captains Wardlow and Henley.
Many were tried and executed for the murder of travellers, but
without exciting more than a passing share of public attention. No
blow was ever aimed at the system, if indeed its complete and
extensive organization was ever suspected, or, if suspected,
believed.
In that year however, and for some years previously, Thuggee
seemed to have reached a fearful height of audacity, and the
government could no longer remain indifferent to an evil of such
enormous and increasing magnitude. The attention of several
distinguished civil officers—Messrs. Stockwell, Smith, Wilkinson,
Borthwick, and others,—had become attracted with great interest to
the subject. Some of the Thugs who had been seized were allowed
life on the condition of denouncing their associates, and among
others Feringhea, a leader of great notoriety.
The appalling disclosures of this man, so utterly unexpected by
Captain (now Colonel) Sleeman, the political agent in the provinces
bordering upon the Nerbudda river, were almost discredited by that
able officer; but by the exhumation in the very grove where he
happened to be encamped of no less than thirteen bodies in various
states of decay,—and the offer being made to him of opening other
graves in and near the same spot,—the approver's tale was too
surely confirmed; his information was acted upon, and large gangs,
which had assembled in Rajpootana for the purpose of going out on
Thuggee, were apprehended and brought to trial.
From this period, the system for the suppression of Thuggee may be
said to have commenced in earnest; from almost every gang one or
more informers were admitted; and when they found that their only
chance of life lay in giving correct information, they unequivocally
denounced their associates, and their statements were confirmed by
the disinterment of their victims in the spots pointed out.
In this manner Thuggee was found to be in active practice all over
India. The knowledge of its existence was at first confined to the
central provinces, but as men were apprehended from a distance,
they gave information of others beyond them in the almost daily
commission of murder: the circle gradually widened till it spread over
the whole continent—and from the foot of the Himalayas to Cape
Comorin, from Cutch to Assam, there was hardly a province in the
whole of India where Thuggee had not been practised—where the
statements of the informers were not confirmed by the disinterment
of the dead!
Few who were in India at that period (1831-32) will ever forget the
excitement which the discovery occasioned in every part of the
country: it was utterly discredited by the magistrates of many
districts, who could not be brought to believe that this silently
destructive system could have worked without their knowledge. I
quote the following passage from Colonel Sleeman's introduction to
his own most curious and able work:—
"While I was in civil charge of the district of Nursingpoor, in the
valley of the Nerbudda, in the years 1822, 1823, and 1824, no
ordinary robbery or theft could be committed without my becoming
acquainted with it, nor was there a robber or thief of the ordinary
kind in the district, with whose character I had not become
acquainted in the discharge of my duty as a magistrate; and if any
man had then told me that a gang of assassins by profession resided
in the village of Kundélee, not four hundred yards from my court,
and that the extensive groves of the village of Mundésur, only one
stage from me on the road to Saugor and Bhopal, was one of the
greatest bhils, or places of murder, in all India; that large gangs from
Hindostan and the Dukhun used to rendezvous in these groves,
remain in them for days together every year, and carry on their
dreadful trade all along the lines of road that pass by and branch off
from them, with the knowledge and connivance of the two
landholders by whose ancestors these groves had been planted, I
should have thought him a fool or a madman; and yet nothing could
have been more true; the bodies of a hundred travellers lie buried in
and among the groves of Mundésur, and a gang of assassins lived in
and about the village of Kundélee, while I was magistrate of the
district, and extended their depredations to the cities of Poona and
Hyderabad."
Similar to the preceding, as showing the daring character of the
Thuggee operations, was the fact, that at the cantonment of
Hingolee, the leader of the Thugs of that district, Hurree Singh, was
a respectable merchant of the place, one with whom I myself, in
common with many others, have had dealings. On one occasion he
applied to the officer in civil charge of the district, Captain Reynolds,
for a pass to bring some cloths from Bombay, which he knew were
on their way accompanied by their owner, a merchant of a town not
far from Hingolee: he murdered this person, his attendants, and
cattle-drivers, brought the merchandise up to Hingolee under the
pass he had obtained, and sold it openly in the cantonment; nor
would this have ever been discovered, had he not confessed it after
his apprehension, and gloried in it as a good joke. By this man too
and his gang many persons were murdered in the very bazar of the
cantonment, within one hundred yards of the main guard, and were
buried hardly five hundred yards from the line of sentries! I was
myself present at the opening of several of these unblessed graves,
(each containing several bodies,) which were pointed out by the
approvers, one by one, in the coolest manner, to those who were
assembled, till we were sickened and gave up further search in
disgust. The place was the dry channel of a small watercourse,
communicating with the river, not broader or deeper than a ditch; it
was close to the road to a neighbouring village, one of the main
outlets from the cantonment to the country.
Once awakened to the necessity of suppressing, by the most
vigorous measures, the dreadful system only just detected in its
operation, the officers who were first appointed to investigate the
reports and accusations of the informers, used their utmost efforts
to arouse in the Supreme Government a corresponding interest, and
happily succeeded. The matter was taken up most warmly by the
Governor-General, Lord William Bentinck, and the Supreme Council;
and highly intelligent officers were appointed to superintend the
execution of measures in those districts where Thuggee was
discovered to be in practice. Most of the native princes gave up
claims upon such of their subjects as should be apprehended upon
charges of Thuggee, or who should be denounced by the informers;
and although in many parts the landholders and Potails of villages
protected the Thugs, and resisted their apprehension, yet the plans
for the suppression of the system were eminently successful. As
suspicion was aroused, no body of men could traverse the country in
any direction without being subject to the strictest scrutiny by the
police, and by informers who were stationed with them upon all the
great thoroughfares and in the principal towns.
The success of these measures will be more evident from the
following table, which was kindly supplied to me by Captain
Reynolds, the general superintendent of the department.
From 1831 to 1837, inclusive, there were:—
Transported to Penang, &c. 1,059
Hanged 412
Imprisoned for life with hard labour 87
Imprisoned in default of security 21
Imprisoned for various periods 69
Released after trial 32
Escaped from jail 11
Died in jail 36
——
1,727
Made approvers 483
Convicted but not sentenced 120
In jail in various parts not yet tried 936
——
3,266
Added to the above, Captain Reynolds mentioned that, at the time
he wrote, upwards of 1,800 notorious Thugs were at large in various
parts of India, whose names were known; how many besides
existed, it is impossible to conjecture.
How enormous therefore must have been the destruction of human
life and property in India before Thuggee was known to exist or was
only partially checked! How many thousands must annually have
perished by the hands of these remorseless assassins! Awful indeed
is the contemplation; for, during the whole of the troublous times of
the Mahratta and Pindharee wars, their trade flourished; nor was it
till 1831 that their wholesale system of murder received any serious
check: and after its general discovery, the countless and affecting
applications from families to the officers of the department to
endeavour to procure them some knowledge of the places where
their missing relatives had been destroyed, that they might have the
miserable satisfaction of performing the ceremonies for the dead—
showed how deeply the evil had affected society.
And not only as described in the following pages has Thuggee
existed: since they were written, it has been discovered under
several other forms and been found to be extensively practised on
the Ganges by men who live in boats, and murder those passengers
whom they are able to entice into their company in their voyages up
and down the river. But the most refined in guilt are those who
murder parents for the sake of their children, to sell them as
household slaves, or to dancing women, to be brought up to
prostitution.
Throughout the whole of India, including all territories of native
princes, only eighteen officers are employed as superintendents and
agents for the suppression of Thuggee; many of whom, besides the
labour of this office, which is excessive, have other civil and political
duties to fulfil. By a reference to any map, it will at once be seen
what enormous provinces or divisions of India fall to the
superintendence of each person. Whether it is possible for each to
extend to every part of that under his charge the extreme attention
and scrutiny which are so imperatively necessary to put an end to
this destructive system (for there is no doubt that wherever one
well-initiated Thug exists, he will among the idle and dissolute
characters which everywhere abound in the Indian population, find
numbers to join him), must be best known to the Government of
India. It is only sincerely to be hoped that economical considerations
do not prevent the appointment of others, if necessary.
The confessions I have recorded are not published to gratify a
morbid taste in any one for tales of horror and of crime; they were
written to expose, as fully as I was able, the practices of the Thugs,
and to make the public of England more conversant with the subject
than they can be at present, notwithstanding that some notice has
been attracted to the subject by an able article in the "Edinburgh
Review" upon Colonel Sleeman's valuable and interesting work.
I hope, however, that the form of the present work may be found
more attractive and more generally interesting than an account of
the superstitions and customs only of the Thugs; while for the
accuracy of the pictures of the manners and habits of the natives,
and the descriptions of places and scenes, I can only pledge the
experience of fifteen years' residence in India, and a constant and
intimate association with its inhabitants.
If this volume in any way contribute to awaken public vigilance in
the suppression of Thuggee, or if from the perusal of it, any one in
authority rises with a determination to lend his exertions in this good
cause of humanity, my time will not have been occupied in vain.
London, July, 1839.
M. T.

CONFESSIONS OF A THUG.
 CHAPTER I.
You ask me, Sahib, for an account of my life: my relation of it will be
understood by you, as you are acquainted with the peculiar habits of
my countrymen; and if, as you say, you intend it for the information
of your own, I have no hesitation in relating the whole; for though I
have accepted the service of Europeans, in my case one of bondage,
I cannot help looking back with pride and exultation on the many
daring feats I have performed. Often indeed does my spirit rise at
the recollection of them, and often do I again wish myself the leader
of a band of gallant spirits, such as once obeyed me, to roam with
them wherever my inclination or the hope of booty prompted.
But the time is past. Life, Sahib, is dear to every one; to preserve
mine, which was forfeited to your laws, I have bound myself to your
service, by the fearful tenure of denouncing all my old confederates,
and you well know how that service is performed by me. Of all the
members of my band, and of those with whom chance has even
casually connected me, but few now remain at large; many have
been sacrificed at the shrine of justice, and of those who now
wander, broken, and pursued from haunt to haunt, you have such
intelligence as will lead to their speedy apprehension.
Yet Thuggee, capable of exciting the mind so strongly, will not,
cannot be annihilated! Look at the hundreds, I might say thousands,
who have suffered for its profession; does the number of your
prisoners decrease? No! on the contrary, they increase, and from
every Thug who accepts the alternative of perpetual imprisonment
to dying on a gallows, you learn of others whom even I knew not of,
and of Thuggee being carried on in parts of the country where it is
least suspected, and has never been discovered till lately.
It is indeed too true, Ameer Ali, said I; your old vocation seems to
be as flourishing as ever, but it cannot last. Men will get tired of
exposing themselves to the chance of being hunted down like wild
beasts, and hanged when they are caught; or what is perhaps worse
to many, of being sent over the Kala-Panee (transported); and so
heartily does the Government pursue Thugs wherever they are
known to exist, that there will no longer be a spot of ground in India
where your profession can be practised.
You err, Sahib; you know not the high and stirring excitement of a
Thug's occupation. To my perception it appears, that so long as one
exists, he will gather others around him; and from the relation of
what I will tell you of my own life, you will estimate how true is my
assertion. How many of you English are passionately devoted to
sporting! Your days and months are passed in its excitement. A tiger,
a panther, a buffalo, or a hog, rouses your utmost energies for its
destruction—you even risk your lives in its pursuit. How much higher
game is a Thug's! His is man: against his fellow-creatures in every
degree, from infancy to old age, he has sworn relentless, unerring
destruction!
Ah! you are a horrible set of miscreants, said I; I have indeed the
experience, from the records of murders which are daily being
unfolded to me, of knowing this at least of you. But you must begin
your story; I am prepared to listen to details worse than I can
imagine human beings to have ever perpetrated.
It will even be as you think, said Ameer Ali, and I will conceal
nothing; of course you wish me to begin my tale from as early a
period as I can recollect.
Certainly; I am writing your life for the information of those in
England, who would no doubt like to have every particular of so
renowned a person as yourself.
Well, then, Sahib, to begin; the earliest remembrance I have of
anything, and until a few years ago it was very indistinct, is of a
village in the territories of Holkar, where I was born. Who my
parents were I know not; I suppose them to have been respectable,
from the circumstances of my always wearing gold and silver
ornaments, and having servants about me. I have an indistinct
recollection of a tall fair lady whom I used to call mother, and of an
old woman who always attended me, and who I suppose was my
nurse; also of a sister who was younger than myself, but of whom I
was passionately fond. I can remember no other particulars, until
the event occurred which made me what I am, and which is vividly
impressed on my mind.
From an unusual bustle in the house, and the packing up of articles
of clothing and other necessaries, I supposed we were on the eve of
departure from our home. I was right in my conjecture, for we left it
the next morning. My mother and myself travelled in a dooly, old
Chumpa was mounted on my pony, and my father rode his large
horse. Several of the sons of our neighbours accompanied us; they
were all armed, and I suppose were our escort. On the third or
fourth day after we left our village, after our march of the day, we as
usual put up in an empty shop in the bazaar of the town we rested
at. My father left us to go about on his own business, and my
mother, who could not show herself outside, after repeated
injunctions that I was not to stray away, lay down in an inner room
and went to sleep. Finding myself at liberty, as Chumpa was busy
cooking and the Juwans were all out of the way, I speedily forgot all
my mother's orders, and betook myself to play with some other
children in the street. We were all at high romps, when a good-
looking man of middle age addressed me, and asked me who I was
—I must have been remarkable from the rest of the ragged urchins
about me, as I was well dressed, and had some silver and gold
ornaments on my person. I told him that my father's name was
Yoosuf Khan, and that he and my mother and myself were going to
Indoor.
"Ah, then," said he, "you are the party I met yesterday on the road:
your mother rides on a bullock, does she not?"
"No, indeed!" retorted I, angrily, "she rides in a palankeen, and I go
with her, and father rides a large horse, and we have Chumpa and
several Juwans with us. Do you think a Pathan like my father would
let my mother ride on a bullock, like the wife of a ploughman?"
"Well, my fine little fellow, it shall be as you say, and you shall ride a
large horse too, one of these days, and wear a sword and shield like
me. But would you not like some sweetmeat? See how tempting
those julabees look at the Hulwaee's; come with me, and we will buy
some."
The temptation was too strong to be withstood by a child, and after
a fearful look towards the shop where we stayed, I accompanied the
man to the Hulwaee's. He bought me a load of sweetmeats, and told
me to go home and eat them; I tied them up in a handkerchief I
wore round my waist, and proceeded homewards. This transaction
had attracted the notice of some of the ragged urchins I had been
playing with, and who had longingly eyed the julabees I had been
treated to; and as soon as the man who had given them to me had
gone a short distance, they attacked me with stones and dirt, till one
more bold than the rest seized me, and endeavoured to get my prize
from me. I struggled and fought as well as I could; but the others
having fairly surrounded me, I was mobbed, and obliged to deliver
up my treasure. Not content with this, one big boy made a snatch at
the necklace I wore, on which I began to bellow with all my might.
The noise I made attracted the notice of my acquaintance, who,
running up, soon put the troop of boys to flight, and taking me
under his charge, led me to our abode, where he delivered me up to
Chumpa; at the same time telling her of the scuffle, and cautioning
her not to let me out of her sight again.
I was crying bitterly, and my mother hearing a strange voice, called
me to her. Asking me what had happened, I told my story, and said
that the person who had saved me was speaking to Chumpa. She
addressed him from behind the cloth, which had been put up as a
screen, and thanked him; and added, that my father was absent, but
that if he would call again in an hour or two, he would find him at
home, and she was sure he would also be glad to thank the person
who had protected his child. The man said he would come in the
evening, and went away. My father returned soon afterwards, and I
received an admonition in the shape of a sound beating, for which I
was consoled by my mother by a quantity of the sweetmeats from
the Hulwaee's, which had been the cause of my trouble, and I may
add also of my present condition. You see, Sahib, how fate works its
ends out of trifling circumstances.
Towards evening my acquaintance, accompanied by another man,
came. I was a good deal the subject of their conversation; but it
passed on to other matters, among which I remember the word
Thug to have been first used. I understood too from their discourse
that there were many on the road between where we were and
Indoor, and that they were cautioning my father against them. The
men said that they were soldiers, who had been sent out on some
business from Indoor; and as there were a good many of their men
with them, they offered to make part of our escort. My friend was
very kind to me, allowed me to play with his weapons, and promised
me a ride before him on his horse the next day. I was delighted at
the prospect, and with him for his kind and winning manner; but I
did not like the appearance of the other, who was an ill-looking
fellow—I shall have to tell you much more of him hereafter.
We started the next morning: our two acquaintances and their men
joined us at a mango-grove outside the village, where they had been
encamped, and we proceeded on our journey. In this manner we
travelled for two days, and my friend performed his promise of
taking me up before him on his horse; he would even dismount, and
lead him, allowing me to remain on the saddle; and as the animal
was a quiet one, I used to enjoy my ride till the sun became hot,
when I was put into the dooly with my mother. On the third day I
remember my friend saying to my father, as they rode side by side.
"Yoosuf Khan, why should you take those poor lads of yours on to
Indoor with you? why not send them back from the stage we are
now approaching? I and my men are ample protection to you; and
as you will belong to the same service as myself, there can be no
harm in your trusting yourself and family to my protection for the
rest of the journey; besides, the dangerous part of the road, the
jungle in which we have been for the last two days, is passed, and
the country before us is open. The only fear of Thugs and thieves
existed in them, and they are now far behind."
"It is well said," replied my father; "I dare say the lads will be
thankful to me for sparing them a part of the long march back, and
they have already accompanied us some fifty or sixty coss."
On our arrival at the stage, my father told the lads they must return,
at which they were highly pleased; and on their departure about
noon, I gave many kind messages to my old companions and
playfellows. I remember too giving an old battered rupee to be
delivered to my little sister, and saying she was to hang it with the
other charms and coins about her neck, to remind her of me. I
found it again, Sahib; but, ah! under what circumstances!
At this period of his narrative, Ameer Ali seemed to shudder; a
strong spasm shot through his frame, and it was some time before
he spoke: at last he resumed:
Tell a servant to bring me some water, Sahib—I am thirsty with
having spoken too much.
No, said I, you are not thirsty, but you shall have the water.
It was brought, but he scarcely tasted it—the shudder again passed
through him. He got up and walked across the room, his irons
clanking as he moved. It was horrible to see the workings of his
face. At last he said, Sahib, this is weakness. I could not conceal it; I
little thought I should have been thus moved at so early a period of
my story; but recollections crowded on me so fast that I felt
confused, and very sick. It is over now—I will proceed.
Do so, said I.
The Juwans had been gone some hours, and it was now evening. My
friend came to our abode, and told my father that the next were two
short stages, and if he liked they might be made in one, as it would
shorten the distance to Indoor; but that we should be obliged to
start very early, long before daylight, and that the bearers who
carried the dooly could easily be persuaded to make the march by
promise of a sheep, which the potail of the village he proposed
going to would supply free of cost, as he was a friend of his. My
father seemed to be rather indignant at the idea of his taking a
sheep for nothing, and said that he had plenty of money, not only to
pay for a sheep, but to give them a present if they carried us quickly.
"Well," said my friend, "so much the better, for we sipahees have
rarely much about us but our arms."
"True," returned my father; "but you know that I have sold all my
property at my village, and have brought the money to aid me in our
service. Indeed, it is a good round sum." And my father chuckled at
the idea.
"What! have you a thousand rupees?" I asked, my ideas of wealth
going no further.
"And what if it should be more?" said he, and the matter dropped;
but even now I think I can remember that my friend exchanged
significant glances with his companion.
It was then arranged that we should start with the rising of the
moon, about the middle of the night. We were roused from our sleep
at the hour proposed; and after the men had had a pipe all round,
we set off. I was in the dooly with my mother. The moon had risen;
but, as well as I can remember, there was but little light, and a slight
rain falling, which obliged us to travel very slowly. After we had
proceeded a few coss, the bearers of the dooly put it down, saying
that they could not get on in the dark and the mud, and proposed to
wait till daylight. My father had a violent altercation with them; and
as I was now wide awake, and it had ceased to rain, I begged to be
taken out of the dooly, and allowed to ride with my friend. He did
not assent as readily as usual; yet he took me up when the bearers
had been scolded into going on. I remarked to him that some of the
soldiers, as I thought them, were absent. My remark attracted my
father's notice to the circumstance, and he asked our companion
where they were. He replied carelessly, that they were gone on in
advance, as we had travelled as yet so slowly, and that we should
soon overtake them.
We proceeded. We came at last to the deep bed of a river, on the
sides of which there was some thick jungle, when my friend
dismounted, as he said, to drink water, and told me the horse would
carry me over safely. I guided him on as well as I could; but before I
had got well across the stream, I heard a cry, and the noise as if of a
sudden scuffle. It alarmed me; and in looking back to see from
whence it proceeded, I lost my balance on the horse, and fell heavily
on the stones in the bed of the river, which cut my forehead
severely. I bear the mark now.
I lay for a short time, and raising myself up, saw all the men, who I
thought were far on before us, engaged in plundering the dooly. I
now began to scream with all my might. One of them ran up to me,
and I saw it was the ill-looking one I have before mentioned. "Ah!
we have forgotten you, you little devil," cried he; and throwing a
handkerchief round my neck, he nearly choked me. Another man
came up hastily,—it was my friend. "He must not be touched," he
cried angrily to the other, and seized his hands; they had a violent
quarrel, and drew their swords. I can remember no more; for I was
so much frightened that I lost all consciousness, and, as I suppose,
fainted.
I was recovered by some water being forced into my mouth; and the
first objects which met my eyes were the bodies of my father and
mother, with those of Chumpa and the palankeen-bearers all lying
confusedly on the ground. I cannot remember what my feelings
were, but they must have been horrible. I only recollect throwing
myself on my dead mother, whose face appeared dreadfully
distorted, and again relapsing into insensibility. Even after the lapse
of thirty-five years, the hideous appearance of my mother's face,
and particularly of her eyes, comes to my recollection; but I need
not describe it, Sahib; she had been strangled! She, my father, and
the whole party had come to a miserable and untimely end! I heard
a narrative of the particulars of the event, many years afterwards,
from an old Thug; and I will relate them in their proper place.
When I recovered my consciousness, I found myself once more
before my friend who had saved my life. He supported and almost
carried me in his arms, and I perceived that we were no longer on
the road. We were rapidly traversing the jungle, which extended as
far as I could see in every direction; but the pain of my neck was so
great, that I could scarcely hold up my head. My eyes seemed to be
distended and bursting, and were also very painful. With my
consciousness, the remembrance of the whole scene came to my
recollection, and again I fell into insensibility. I recovered and
relapsed in this manner several times during this journey; but it was
only momentary, only sufficient to allow me to observe that we still
held on at a rapid pace, as the men on foot were between running
and walking. At last we stopped, and it was now broad daylight;
indeed, the sun had risen. I was taken off the horse by one of the
men, and laid under a tree on a cloth spread on the ground, and
after some time my friend came to me. Desolate as I was, I could
not help feeling that he must have had some concern in the death of
my parents; and in my childish anger I bitterly reproached him, and
bade him kill me. He tried to console me: but the more he
endeavoured, the more I persisted that he should put me to death. I
was in dreadful pain; my neck and eyes ached insufferably. I heaped
all the abuse I could think of upon him, and the noise I made
attracted the notice of the ill-looking man, whose name was
Gunesha.
"What is that brat saying? Are you too turned woman," cried he
fiercely, addressing the other, whose name was Ismail, "that you do
not put the cloth about his neck and quiet him at once? Let me do it,
if you are afraid."
And he approached me. I was reckless, and poured forth a torrent of
vile abuse, and spat at him. He untied his waistband, and was about
to put an end to me, when Ismail again interfered, and saved me:
they had again a violent quarrel, but he succeeded in carrying me
off to some little distance to another tree, where some of the band
were preparing to cook their victuals; and setting me down among
them, bidding them take care of me, he went away. The men tried
to make me speak, but I was sullen and would not; the pain of my
neck and eyes seemed to increase, and I began to cry bitterly. I lay
in this manner for some hours, I suppose; and at last, completely
tired out, fell asleep. I woke towards evening; and when Ismail saw
me sit up, he came to me, soothed and caressed me, saying that I
should henceforth be his child; and that it was not he, but others,
who had murdered my parents. I remember begging him to do
something for my neck, which was swelled and still very painful. He
examined it, and seemed to be struck with the narrow escape I had
had of my life.
He rubbed my neck with oil, and afterwards put upon it a warm
plaster of leaves, which relieved it greatly, and I felt easier for its
application. He remained with me; and some of the other men,
sitting down by us, began to sing and play to amuse me. I was given
some milk and rice to eat in the evening; but before it was time to
sleep, Ismail brought me some sherbet of sugar and water, which he
said would make me sleep. I suppose there was opium in it, for I
remember nothing till the next morning, when I found myself in his
arms on horseback, and knew that we were again travelling.
I pass over the journey, as I remember nothing of it, except that
Gunesha was no longer with us, which I was very glad of, for I hated
him, and could not bear his presence. Even in after-years, Sahib,
though we have been engaged together in Thuggee, I always bore a
deep-rooted aversion to him, which never changed to the last. Ismail
and seven men were all that remained of the band; and we
proceeded, by long and fatiguing marches, to a village in which he
said he resided, and where I was to be given up to the care of his
wife. We arrived at last, and I was introduced to a good-looking
young woman as a child of a relation, whom he had long ago
adopted as a son, and had now brought home to her: in fine, I was
formally adopted by them as their own, and my sufferings were
speedily forgotten.
 CHAPTER II.
I must have been at this time about five years old. It will strike you
perhaps as strange, Sahib, that I should remember so many
particulars of the event I have described; but when I was imprisoned
some years ago at Dehlie, I used to endeavour, in my solitude, to
recollect and arrange the past adventures of my life; one
circumstance led me to the remembrance of another—for in solitude,
if the mind seeks the occupation, it readily takes up the clue to past
events, however distant, and thought brings them one by one before
the imagination as vividly fresh as the occurrences of yesterday; and
from an old Thug's adventures, which I heard during that
imprisonment, I found my memory to serve me well. I was in
possession of the whole of the facts, as I have related them to you,
and I have only perhaps supplied the minor points from my own
mind. I particularly recollect the scene with Gunesha, which he has
since related to me, and told me, that such was his rage at the
abuse I poured on him, that had it not been for the dread of Ismail's
vengeance, and of his power, he would have sacrificed me in his
fury. But to return to my story, if you are not tired of it.
No, indeed, said I; I am becoming more and more interested in it.
Well, resumed Ameer Ali, I was kindly nursed and tended by Ismail
and his wife. The curiosity of the villagers was a good deal excited
by my appearance, and I have since suspected Ismail thought I
might one day reveal what I knew of my origin; and for this reason I
was never allowed out of his or his wife's sight. I must then,
however, have speedily forgotten all about it, or at least have
retained so confused and indistinct a recollection of the
circumstances, that had I endeavoured to relate them to any one, I
could not have made them intelligible, and should have been
disregarded.
Ismail, in his village, carried on the trade of a cloth-merchant—at
least, when he was at home. He daily sat in his shop, with different
kinds of cloths before him for sale; but it was plain, even to me, to
see that he was restless and uneasy. He would very often be absent
for days together, without his family knowing where he had gone;
and he would suddenly return with large quantities of cloth and
other goods, which were always exposed for sale. I continued to be
the object of his greatest care, and I reciprocated his affection; for,
indeed, I was more kindly treated by him than I ever had been by
my father, who was a proud and ill-tempered man. My new mother,
too, never gave me reason to be displeased with her; for, having no
child of her own, I was her pet, and she lavished on me all the
means in her power. I was always well dressed, and had every
indulgence that a child could wish for.
I was about nine years old, I think, when my kind protectress died of
a fever, while Ismail was on one of his excursions, and I was taken
by a neighbour to his house, until he returned. I shall never forget
his despair when he found his home desolate. Young as I was, I
could do but little to console him; but he used to go and deck her
tomb with flowers every Friday, and bitter were his lamentations
over her grave.
Poor Miriam! for that was her name—it was well for you that you
died; had you lived, what would now have been your condition! As
the wife of a noted Thug, your reputation would have been blasted,
and you would have become an outcast! Sahib! she never knew
what Ismail was. He was to her a man in prosperous circumstances.
She had everything she could desire, and not a want remained
unsatisfied; and so deeply and well-laid were his plans, that she
would never have known, till the day of his capture, that she was
the wife of a professed murderer!
I pass over the next four or five years of my life, as I can remember
no incident in them worth relating. Ismail, soon after the death of
his wife, removed from the village where he had hitherto resided,
and took up his abode in the town of Murnae, which was then in
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