Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-05-23
PICTURESQUE BANDITTI.


Thorough and Artistic way In Which
They Ply Their Trade An Mexico.
It is picturesque sight to see band
Of Mexican "banditti" galloping down q
mountain path on magnificent horses;
their large Mexican hats, trimmed with
gold and silver, shading their faces, their
pantaloons buttoned down the side with
large silver buttons; their pistols in their
belts behind, their swords at their side,
and their ''serapes'-a sort Of plaid Of
bright ard variegated colors-a rtistically
thrown over one shoulder and hiding
their entire face with the exception of
one eye, which glares ferociously on the
unfortunate passengers of the diligence
they are about to rob. Their captain
gallops at their head and shouts imper-
iously to the driver of the diligence to
.'stop." In one trip In which encoun-
tered them there was lady among the
mond ring rather tight for her finger. In
her fright she could not get it off, and
one of the brigands said to his leader:
Captain, the lady cannot get her ring
off. What are we to do ?" To which
the Mexican ezra Diavolo" answered
very coolly, "Cut her finger off,
You can easily imagine the cold shud-
der that ran through us all. Fortunately
she at last managed TO get the ring of,
and we were not forced to witness an
amputation. In another journey more
amusing incident occurred. There was a
Bishop in the diligence, and they robbed
him Of his ring. When they had got
through their operations, and taken
every thing of value we had, they knelt
down and asked the Bishop to give them
his blessing. He told them it was i'm
possible to bless them without his ring,
hoping in that way to get possession OF
it. They returned him the ring and he
solemnly blessed them, but when he had
done SO they again took his ring and gal
loped off with it, leaving his Grace in
the middle of the road exclsiming:
s." R0aadidos perUersos! they have
robbed me even of my blessing p
Robberies on the Vera Cruz road
that time were daily occurrences, and
the brigands possessed themselves of the
passengers clothes I have very often
seen, from my balcony in the Hotel
Iturbide, men and women arrive COM
pletely naked. An Englishman said to
me once: 81 generally travel with two
or three copies of the London Times.
You know it is very large newspaper,
and in case of those confounded black
guards taking all my clothes, by Jove !!
the Times might be useful.
The cause of Adelina PATHS breaking
her engagement to come to Mexico with
Manager Maretzek twenty years ago was
that she had heard of the robberies and
of assassination on the Vera Cruz road.
The diva might visit us in perfect safety
now, as the whistle of the locomotive has
driven away the bandit" they have re-
tired, saying with the gypsy mother of
the Trovatore," i" Al nostri mont
ritornerenao" The proof is that Paola
Marie, Marie Vallot, and others of Grau's
French company have arrived here from
Vera Cruz laden with diamonds. Maurice
Grau is making money with Halevy's
opera, "Charles vi. and his new ''star, +"
Mme Privat, who has a splendid con-
tralto voice. His chanteuse legere,
Helene Leroux, ran away from the com
pany, thereby proving that if she was
"hght of voice, she was also light of
foot.-1ferican Correspondence to the
NeW York World.