a few hours afterwards, the other became so during the night. The prisoner confessed, at the kotwalee and in the foujdaree, that he had put some dhatoora in the dhall, and made no defence on trial. Imprisoment for life in transportation.*

In the previous January, a man and his son, while journeying towards the Punjab, halted at a mosque in Paneeput. One Ullayar Khan fell into conversation with them: and at last, offered them something to eat. The father went into the city to purchase food. On his return, he found bread moistened with sherbut, which his son told him had been brought by the person who promised them food. They partook of this, and, shortly afterwards, began to feel stupefied, in which state the prisoner came to them, and removed them to another mosque, where they became totally insensible. On recovery of their senses, after three or four days, they found that they had been robbed of their money. The native doctor deposed that the men were under his treatment for three or four days, suffering from the effects of violent stupefaction, induced, as he supposed from the symptoms, by dhatoora. The prisoner was a known bad character. Sentence, fourteen years' imprisonment.†

In April 1853 the thannadar of Bohsha (Jounpoor) sent in two men, Sheogholam and Sheochurn, with a small quantity of dhatoora tied up in a piece of cloth, together with other articles belonging to them. He reported that, in the preceding months of October and December, two cases of administering poisonous drugs or dhatoora to three persons named had occurred at Mouzah Lukneepoor, and in another spot; both places being near the high road leading to Allahabad. A strict search had been instituted, but without success, until the two prisoners were seized. Their conversation and behaviour exciting the suspicion of a police jemadar; he searched a bundle, their joint property, and found in it a patlee of dhatoora. One of the prisoners escaped, but was re-captured. They both confessed that they had brought the dhatoora with them to mix either in the water or food prepared by travellers, whenever a fitting opportunity offered. This, they said, was their business.

* Nizamut Adawlut Reports, N. W. P., March 23rd 1854, p. 306.
+ Ibid, January 6th 1854, p. 592.

P

They denied being implicated in the former cases alluded to above, but their appearance corresponded with the description given by the sufferers of the persons who had given them intoxicating drugs in their food. The dhatoora was sent to the Civil Surgeon for examination. One Koosial stated that he was a grass-cut in the service of an officer, and was returning to his home in zillah Azimghur, having with him Rs. 29 in cash, &c. The prisoners and another man, who called himself a sepoy, joined him at Futtehpoor. After travelling together some days, one of the prisoners bought some ottah. They prepared bread, some of which was given to him: after eating it, he became insensible, when the three men plundered him and made off. A woman recollected to have seen the prisoners and the grass-cutter together. The judge of the Superior Court considered that there were the strongest grounds for believing that the prisoners were poisoners by profession, and belonged to a class who infest the high roads for the purpose of entrapping unwary travellers. He observed, from a proceeding from the Magistrate of Azimgurh appended to the record, and from police reports of the Jounpoor district, also filed in the case, that no less than four cases of poisoning with theft took place in the high roads, in the same vicinity, within the period of three months previous to the capture of the prisoners, in which eight persons were drugged and robbed; and which, in one of the instances, ended fatally. He, therefore, confirmed the sentence of imprisonment for life in transportation passed on the prisoners.

In January of the same year Kureemoollah, bhutteearah, was tried on the following charge. Three men, who were in the habit of coming to the cattle mart of Chundowsee with cattle for sale, deposed that they were there on a certain date. Early in the morning, they left their quarters in the Serai which belonged to the defendant and went to the market. On their return, the prisoner said to them, some calamity will occur to-night; give me what money you have about you, and I will lock it up. They replied, what! is not this place under the British rule? and refused to give up the money. They then called for dinner. At this time a violent storm arose, which uprooted large trees and did a great deal of damage throughout the country. During the storm, the

* Nizamut Adawlut Reports, N. W. P., July 25th 1853, p. 910.

prisoner called them to dinner. They commenced eating dhall and chuppattees which he had cooked. One of them observed that the dhall was very bitter. The prisoner insisted twice that he had merely put too much salt into it. Immediately after eating the dhall, the three men became insensible in the prisoner's house. The young son of one of them took a mouthful of the dhall which caused him to vomit-and he ate no more. Seeing his father and the others insensible, he ran out, although the prisoner tried to prevent him, and called a chowkeedar posted hard by. The police found the three men insensible, but the prisoner was well and in his senses: they went off to the thannah, and, on their return, found the prisoner feigning insensibility. He and the others were carried to the thannah on charpoys. Shoobratee Muqbool and Hussun Jurrahs were called to prescribe for all four. They did so, and made the three travellers swallow some peera and milk, forcing it down their throats, and tickled their throats with a feather, which caused them to vomit. The prisoner drank the peera and milk himself, whence it was evident that he was sensible, and the feather was not put down his throat. He was quite well the next morning, whereas the three men did not recover until the third day. The Civil Surgeon detected dhatoora in the dhall, and the prisoner admitted its presence in the food. The prisoner was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment."

It is worthy of remark that the prisoner stated in his defence that one Ilahya (Illaheea) came to his house several times during the storm; and that, perhaps, he threw something into it. At the trial he recalled his hints against Ilahya, and endeavoured to criminate others. This was probably the Ilahya who was convicted at that place two years later as a systematic poisoner-See page 98.

In the following case, it would appear that the robber administered the dhatoora so freely to his victim as to cause death. It is not certain, however, that other unfair means were not resorted to, while the unfortunate man lay insensible at the poisoner's mercy.

* Nizamut Adawlut Reports, N. W. P., January 12th 1853, p. 50.

When on trial at Bundelkund in 1853, one Kashee confessed that he gave a portion of chutnee in which dhatoora seeds had been inserted, to five persons, but pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bunsroop, one of the five. It appeared from the united testimony of the four survivors that they, with the deceased, formed a travelling party, and were joined by the prisoner. On cooking their dinner, the prisoner, to improve its flavour, offered them some chutnee, which they accepted and mixed with their dish—of this all the travellers partook, and became intoxicated and temporarily frantic. While in this state, two of them were robbed. After the effects of the intoxication had gone off, Bunsroop was missing, and his body was discovered on the third day in a neighbouring nullah. The prisoner was seen in company with the travellers. Evidence of their intoxicated condition was adduced-the stolen property was found in the possession of the prisoner, and with it a large quantity of chutnee, which was also produced in Court. The poisonous and deleterious nature of the chutnee was proved by the evidence of Dr. Ransford and two native druggists, who deposed that the seeds contained therein were those of the dhatoora. The druggists asserted that the administration of fifteen or twenty seeds would be fatal to life. Dr. Ransford alleged that the death of Bunsroop was to be ascribed to the administration of dhatoora, or stramonium, as the indications of congestion in the lungs, head, and brain were such as would be caused by that poison. The prisoner was sentenced to death.*

In the following cases, there appeared to be reason for believing that mixed poisons were administered by the robbers to their victims.

Thana and Kishnoo, of Moradabad (a district singularly rife in cases of this description), were tried in 1852, upon the accusation of one Dya, who deposed that he and his brother Munsookh went to Kant to sell

While disposing of the grain at a disadvantage, Thana came to them, telling them that, if they would accompany him to his village, he would take their wheat off their hands. They agreed; while on the way, they ate some parched wheat. Thana said that he would give them sugar to eat with it. He took some out of a bundle con

* Nizamut Adawlut Reports, N. W. P., February 22nd 1853, p. 262.

taining about one and a half seer, and gave them each about six chittacks of it. They ate the whole of the sugar with their wheat! and had not got 200 yards when they became insensible. Dya's belly began to burn, and his throat became dry; he did not completely recover his senses until the second morning, when he had vomited. Munsookh died the next day at twelve o'clock. Their property had disappeared. Some of the stolen articles were subsequently found in the house of Kishnoo, Thana's father; Thana had disappeared, but was afterwards seized. A bundle of sugar was found in the house. Thana, who was a notorious budmash, confessed before the thannadar that he gave the men sugar and then plundered them. Many witnesses deposed that both prisoners, father and son, were bad characters; "they administered poison to travellers and then plundered them;" but, the elder being a chowkeedar, no one interfered with them. Thana withdrew his confession in the Sessions Court, and said that the police had extorted it by beating him with a kora. Dr. Stiven deposed that the sugar sent to him for examination in this case, contained the powder of the seeds of dhatoora and nux vomica, and that the statement given by Dya was highly probable, viz., that he and his brother had been poisoned by eating each about twelve ounces of such sugar. The younger prisoner was sentenced to imprisonment in banishment for life. The elder was acquitted.*

One Khoman was tried, at Cawnpore in 1854, upon three charges of poisoning and robbery. In the first of these cases, it was shown that a conversation was overheard by one Nidha between the prisoner and his mother, in which the latter accused her son of spending the money which he obtained by robbery and violence in debauchery. Nidha, having heard of the death of three hackery men by poison, made inquiries as to the description of the person who had hired the hackeries, this agreeing with that of the prisoner, he gave information to the police. On being apprehended, the prisoner admitted his concernment in the crime, but implicated others as accomplices. A young intelligent boy, named Chowdhree, was with the murdered men. He stated that the deceased's hackeries were hired by the prisoner, who said that he wished

Nizamut Adawlut Reports, N. W. P., August 21st 1852, p. 853.