or cowherds, Multanis or Muhammadan Banjaras, as well as the
Sansias and Kanjars or criminal vagrants and gipsies. These seem
to have observed their caste rules and to have intermarried among
themselves; sometimes they obtained wives from other families who had
no connection with Thuggee and kept their wives in ignorance of their
nefarious trade; occasionally a girl would be spared from a murdered
party and married to a son of one of the Thugs; while boys were more
frequently saved and brought up to the business. The Thugs said [681]
that the fidelity of their wives was proverbial and they were not less
loving and dutiful than those of other men, while several instances are
recorded of the strong affection borne by fathers to their children.

4. Methods of assassination

As is well known the method of the Thugs was to attach themselves to
travellers, either single men or small parties, and at a convenient
opportunity to strangle them, bury the bodies and make off with the
property found on them. The gangs of Thugs usually contained from ten
to fifty men and were sometimes much larger; on one occasion as many
as three hundred and sixty Thugs accomplished the murder of a party
of forty persons in Bilaspur. [682] They pretended to be traders,
soldiers or cultivators and usually went without weapons in order
to disarm suspicion; and this practice also furnished them with an
excuse for seeking for permission to accompany parties travelling
with arms. There was nothing to excite alarm or suspicion in the
appearance of these murderers; but on the contrary they are described
as being mild and benevolent of aspect, and peculiarly courteous,
gentle and obliging. In their palmy days the leader of the gang
often travelled on horseback with a tent and passed for a person of
consequence or a wealthy merchant. They were accustomed to get into
conversation with travellers by doing them some service or asking
permission to unite their parties as a measure of precaution. They
would then journey on together, and strive to win the confidence of
their victims by a demeanour of warm friendship and feigned interest
in their affairs. Sometimes days would elapse before a favourable
opportunity occurred for the murder; an instance is mentioned of
a gang having accompanied a family of eleven persons for twenty
days during which they had traversed upwards of 200 miles and then
murdered the whole of them; and another gang accomplished 160 m