This is always the case.

A half dozen burglars or other active criminals in a town will produce the impression that a large portion of the population are law breakers.

We never estimated that the raiding N'Yaarkers, with their spies and other accomplices, exceeded five hundred, but it would have been difficult to convince a new prisoner that there were not thousands of them.

Secondly, the prisoners were made up of small squads from every regiment at the front along the whole line from the Mississippi to the Atlantic.

These were strangers to and distrustful of all out side their own little circles.