St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-27
YOUR MONEY OR YoRR LIFE.
A Turkish Brigand's Autobiogra-
ply of Viilainous Deeds.
James Gazette.


A Turkish Brigand's Autobiogra-
ply of Viilainous Deeds.
st. James Gazette.
1t was once my privilege to become
personally acquainted with brigand
inTurkey. l almost missed knowing
him by reason of an accident that had
befallen, him awhile before 1t hap
pened in this wise: Mr.. O'Donovan
(afterward of Mery) mad taken run up
to Sofia to call on his friend, Mr.. Schu-
yer Qt was his birthday, and the two
mad ridden across the mountains toward
Sammakoff
Brigands have their runs of i'll luck,
like everybody else, and it was the eli
max of this particular bandits misfort-
uneS that he should have selected the
two war correspondents as victims. He
went blithely to his fate, however, and
attacked them with four of his young
men, with the result that in about half
minute two of the young men were
stretched on the grouIA with several
bullets in them. The other two thought
trey would not play any more, and
were rolling down the mountain side
faster than was good for their clothes,
While the leader, with cracked skull
and broken collar bone, was Stagger-
Ing blindly by the roadside, looking for
some hole into which he could creep.
They caught him and tied him on to
the pack-horse and took him on to Sam
makoff to be hanged. But by the way
he groaned and bled SO freely that
Schuver's compassion was aroused so
that he bound up his wounds and put
him on his own horse and walked beside
him. And when they reached Sammak-
OFT he fOrebore to have him hanged. but
took him to his own inn and tended him
carefully. At all of which the brigand
so greatly marveled that when he re-
covered he vowed he would never leave
his new-found friend as long as heiived.
He kept his VOW; brigands have this
queer falling of truthfulness. He be-
came Schuver's henchman, accompanied
him on all his travels, saw spirits with
him on Mount Ararat. was lost with
him in the SHOWS of Birmingham, had
fever with him at Gondar and the Bag
dad button at Basrab, startled quiet
Amsterdam at timeS-hiS masters
native town--by bis quaint killed dress
and multifarious weapons, and finally
persisted by his side in that Dinka vii
lage OH the Bahr-el-GhaZal when Schu-
iyer was murdered.
1t was in the early DAYS of his volun-
ttti oCtfibuuC tidt HIot hiiCW OlCDu-
ami. Though not in the first flight he
had well-meritedreputa for steady,
plOdding rudianism.
A small man with a hook-nose and
bright, keen eye. He was very quiet
man-full of resources in difficulties.
full of camping dogges, and of knowl-
edge on many points on which we were
wholly ignorant. Full of quaint super
stitions, too. He wore an eikon in his
bosom, charms blessed by a priest on
his arm, blue beads on hisi horses 'front.'
al, against the evil eye, and shred of
the rope by which an old friend was
hanged, in his pistol belt, and he would
ever make motion of expectoration
and murmur: "T-th, It'll Scortho''
(Romaic for garlic to avert ill-fortune
when rash words had been spoken.
At night, IN our hut or round the
camp fire. he would talk. He was full
of anecdotes, of scenes he had witnessed,
of vicissitudes he had undergone, of
horrors in which he had taken part. He
would give deprecatory hints as to the
fearful oaths-he never divulged them
that linked the members of a Klepht
fraternity and bound them to fulfill their
compact, be it what 1t might. In de-
fault of ransom, he said, there was no
help for & priSOner-nothing could save
him. He had known fights, pitched
battle, among members of the band,
many Of whom rebeiled against the
murder OF some poor wretch whose ran
som had not come: but always the de-
cree had been carried out.
| He pointed out to us one day, as we
rode together down a mountain path
deep raVine, whose iron stone wall ran
sheer down $50 feet beside the roadway,
a horrible place. Here" he said gloom
I iIv, : In 10
Greek, but Ryah turkish subject); we
would have let him go, but he had killed
one of US. His ransom was fixed at 200
Turkish pounds. 1t never came. He
was with US for a month. We liked
him. He nurSed me when | had fever
and he was always pleasant, but always
ANXIOUS about his ransom. knowing it
would not come. At last we named
day, and then the governor of FiliDe
sent troops after US. So we drew lots
and it fell OH me. We rode along this
path, all of us-he and [ together, side
by side, behind the rest. When we got
here j shot his horse in the head. 1t
leaped into the air. He gave one cry:
.Ah, Stephanin Then he went over"
He told me another story one winters
night, They captured two children,
twins, seven years of age. A ransom of
400 Turkish pounds was asked for the
children, who meanwhile were well
cared for. At length came heartrend-
ing letter from the unhappy father say
ing that he had sold all he had in the
world and borrowed all he could obtain,
and that even then all he was able to
offer was 200 pounds.
Ultimately he received word to pay
what he could, and his children, he was
told, would be found at the head of the
valley, two miles from his house.
/ When he got there. one child, in new
clothes, healthy and happy, ran to meet
him. Her sister, she said, was close by,
with the man."
She led him to the place-she had but
then left it.
There sat the little girl alone on a
ledge of rock. She, too, was dressed in
new clothes: she had an eikon round
her neck and held bouquet in her lap.
| But her throat was cut from ear to ear,
and she was air eady dead.