The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-11-05
"MONEY, OR YOUR LIED
A Brigand's Autobiography Of Villain
Gus Deed.
FrOm Me sd Janes, GuEette.


Gus Deed.
From the st. JdB.es' Guzette.
1t was once my privilege TO become per-
sonally acquainted with a brigand in Tur.
key. almost missed knowing him by ree.
son Of an accident that had befallen him
while before. 1t happened in this wise
Mr.. ODonovan (aftsrward OF Merv) had
taken run up to Sofia to call on his friend
Mr.. Schuver lit was his birthday. and tie
two had ridden across the mountain.
toward Semmakoff.
Brigands have their runs of i'll luck, like
every body else, aud it was the climax OF
this particular bandits rnisfortunes that he
should nave selected the two war CORE
spondents as victims. He went blithely ia
bis fate. however. aud 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 ground with sew.
eral bullets in them. The other two thought
they would not play any more, and were
rolling down the mountain side IA ter than
was good for their clothes, while the leader
with cracked skull aud broken collar
bone. was staggering blindly by the road
side, 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 Sammakofi
to be hanged. But by the way he groaned
and bled SO freely that Schuver's compass
sion was aroused so that he bound up his
wounds and put him on his own horse and
walked beside him. And when they reached
Sammakof he forebore TO have him
hanged, but took him TO his own inn and
tended him carefully. AT Gil Of which the
origand 50 greatly marveled that when he
recovered he vowed he would never leave
nRW-fnglnH oz be
A VOLUNTARY SLAVE.
He kept his vow. Brigands have this
queer failing of truthfulness. He became
ali 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 Bagdad button at Basrah, startled
quiet Amsterdam at times-his mas .er's
native town-by bis quaint killed dress and
multifarious weapons, and finally persisted
at his side in that Dinka village on the
Bahr.el-Ghazal when Schuver was muir
dered.
1t was in the Ct rly days of his voluntary
servitude that | first knew Stephani.
Though not in the first fight. be had q WE'LL
meriJed reputation for steady. plodding
rufhauism.
A small man, with hook nose and q
bright, keen eye. He was a very quiet man
full of resources in difficulties, full Of
camping lodges, and of knowledge on many
points on which we were wholly Ignorant
Full of quaint supers itions, too. He wore
an eixon in his bosom, charms blessed by q
priest on his arms, blue beads on his horses
frontal, against the evil one, and a shred Of
rope by which an old friend was hanged in
his pistol belt, aud he would ever make a
motion of expectoration and murInur: II
th, T-th Scortho" (Romaic for garlic, to
avert ill-fortune when rash words had been
spoken.
At night, in our hut or around the camp
fire, he would talk He was full Of anecdote,
of scenes he had witnessed, of vicissitudes
he had undergone of horrors in which he
had taken part. He would give depreca-
tory 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 it might
In default Of ransom, be said, there was no
help for prisoner-nothinG could save
him. He had known fights, pitched battles.
among members Of the band, many Of them
rebeled against the murder Of some poor
wretch whose ransom had not GOMEZ but
always the decree had been carried out.
TALES OF vILLANY.
He pointed out to us one day, as we rode
together down a mountain path, deep
raviue, whose iron stone wall ran sheer
down $50 feet beside the roadway, horri-
BILE place. Here he said gloomily II
executed a sentence. He was Greek, but
Ryah Turkish subject; we would have let
him 90, but he had killed one of us. His
ransom was fixed at 200 Turkish pounds
Ic never came He was with us for a
month. We liked him. He nursed me
when had fever, and he was always pleas
ant, but always anxious about his ransom,
knowing it would not come. At last we
named day, and then the governor of
Filibe sent lroops after US. So we drew lots
and it fell on me- We rode along the path
ell Of us-ne and together, side by side,
behind the rest. When we got there ] shot
his horse in the head. 1t leaped into the
air. He gave one cry: 'Ah, Ste2hanii
Then he went over"
He told me another story one winters
night They captured two children, twins,
years Of age. A ransom Of 400 Turkish
pounds was asked for the children, who,
mean bile, were well cared for. At length
came heart-rendlng letter from the I'M
happy father, saying that he had sold all he
had In the world and borrowed all he could
obtain, and even then all he was able to
offer was 200 pounds.
Ultimately ne 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, clean, 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 ledge
of rock. She, too. was dressed in new
clothes. She had au ciken round her neck
and held bouquet in her lap. But her
throat was cut from ear to car, and she was
already dead.