that formerly the pickaxe was thrown into a
well and would come up of itself when summoned with due ceremonies;
but since they disregarded the ordinances of Kali it had lost that
virtue. Many Thugs told Colonel Sleeman [701] that they had seen the
pickaxe rise out of the well in the morning of its own accord and
come to the hands of the man who carried it; and even the several
pickaxes of different gangs had been known to come up of themselves
from the same well and go to their respective bearers. The pickaxe
was also worshipped on every seventh day during an expedition,
and it was believed that the sound made by it in digging a grave
was never heard by any one but a Thug. The oath by the pickaxe was
in their esteem far more sacred than that by the Ganges water or the
Koran, and they believed that a man who perjured himself by this oath
would die or suffer some great calamity within six days. In prison,
when administering an oath to each other in cases of dispute, they
sometimes made an image of the pickaxe out of a piece of cloth and
consecrated it for the purpose. If the pickaxe at any time fell from
the hands of the carrier it was a dreadful omen and portended either
that he would be killed that year or that the gang would suffer some
grievous misfortune. He was deprived of his office and the gang either
returned home or chose a fresh route and consecrated the pickaxe anew.

16. The sacred _gur_ (sugar)

After each murder they had a sacrificial feast of _gur_ or unrefined
sugar. This was purchased to the value of Rs. 1-4, and the leader of
the gang and the other Bhurtotes (stranglers) sat on a blanket with
the rest of the gang round them. A little sugar was dropped into a
hole and the leader prayed to Devi to send them some rich victims. The
remainder of the sugar was divided among all present. One of them gave
the _jhirni_ or signal for strangling and they consumed the sugar in
solemn silence, no fragment of it being lost They believed that it was
this consecrated _gur_ which gave the desire for the trade of a Thug
and made them callous to the sufferings of their victims, and they
thought that if any outsider tasted it he would at once become a Thug
and continue so all his life. When Colonel Sleeman asked [702] a young
man who had strangled a beautiful young woman in opposition to their
rules, whether he felt no pity for her, the leader Feringia exclaimed:
"We all feel pity sometimes, but the _gur_ of the Tup