Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-01-03

tajo. when they come To io>l ior
wine and oil they are 80 black anu
dreadful, our children run and
hide. But they do no harm" 50
with a vagsrious impulse OF adven-
ture, turned away from the paved
mountain way, and, with the cart
mans son for n guide, skirted the
mountain, coming In two hours
tramp through dense forests oil
beech, chestnut and pine, with here
and there n blackencd opening
where trees had already been burn-
ed. or sunny space, where sports
men and shepherds snare ths
mountain birds, | came 10 a chat-
coal burners camp, and was hosp1t-
ably received for the night
The car5onari form n distinct
class among the mountains OF Italy. |
They generally live in the villages,
the wives AMI daughters engaging
In the vineyards, gathering olives
or chestnuts, and often as shepherd
esses with small fiocks. The fathers
and sons go from one forest TO an.
other rs the owners desire charcoal
made. The Landlord secures the fell
ing aud cutting Of the trees, and the
carbonaro simply attends to build
ing and firing the pyres and wateh-
ing day and night their smouidering
progress. In this labor the sons share,
and regular watches are taken. The
logs are stood on end in round piles
Of perhaps is feet in diameter, covered
and chinked with NOISY earth anu
then fired in central hollow which
has been filed with chips OF dry
timber, fir cones, chips from the logs
and dead leaves and grass. Once
well ablaze, this flaming funnel Is
covered with moss AMI earth, anu
the pile Is then left to smou.der for
| five or six days. when reduced 10
carbone or charcoal, the carbonaro
| delivers ii to the owner, packed III
sacks, two sacks comprising a DON
key load, for which he receives
about 10 cents, or about 8 for each
burning, yielding forty sacks. Al
| this camp, an unusually large one,
| a score or more carbonari were mt
| work; and, rs the burning was to be
| for an extended period, some six or
| eight of the carbonari had built
temporary huts and had removed
their entire families to the forest.
This gave life and picturesque.
ness to the scene, especially nj
night. A few iron cressets bad
been fastened to the tree trunks, and
the crackle and Earrings OF cones AVID
knots lent weiri coloriDgs to the
motley groups Of women with daz-
cling teeth aud eyes, and men
grimy aud .warthy beyond all de-
scription. | could not repress the
feeling that | was at my old wander
ings with my gypsy friends again;
and as the night gathered close its
sable wing over the majestic forest
trees above, and, one i'y one some
strange instrument of music was
produced from the shadowy huts,
while melody AMI dancing added
their fascination to the wild, strange
scene, n thousand recoiiections OF
days with the Rommany swept
back on Pratomagno's darkened
heights. Deeper still grew this
feeling as | was shown to n couch Of
fir branches for sleep. 1t came not
for hours; for in the gentle soughing
Of the frs, the calls Of the watchers
to each other, and here and there
through the camp, suppressed tones
Of melody, as those who watched
grouped together and reassuringly
sang low and soft the sforaeEf Of
Italy, / was with my loved vaga-
bond friends by their witching
camp-fires in my own loved land.
When the morning came, after a
breakfast of pan unto, bread fried
in olive oil, and many kindly
"addi, ~ and "vale," from my
grimy hosts, found my own way
back to Tosi. On such June
morning as that in which / jour-
neyed, the songs of birds, the Eolian
music Of forest breezes, 80 bewits.sl
one all the way from Tosi, thatare
denly and without warAi1an eerie
at the enchanting me spot itself
oil NaiiomS mn, a few acrs oil level
] eemnr,..-shr.ug WIN runs
| Iong avenue OF statef trees. AT
fine end of this avepe stand the
iichened and gray Id buildings.
IN one side OF the amy opening
n,;Jes ON miles offs rise in serried
ranls no the yeryq, OF Pratomagno;
|, -, ,h. other. IN sands OF chestnut |
!, go ,,Iosv in cir golden foliage.
. 1sh;n5 and ave. hosts Of sturdy |
i.i.a. .Iin,,le mountain. There |
E are still stanng 1o,ooo; piahIeu oy
/ the busy priI hands. The monas-
: t.rv itself huge quadrangle
|, Ia stn,rtr, with spacious in
a. aanrt The ancient church,
,nIa,.. robbed Of its former
, ,.ealn,sf paintings-save an AS
s,an,;Soy Franceschini, and the
.iIa $coes. by Fabrini-stands
n ~ H. inter- Of the courts. Its mas
it, rare tower rises grim and
80, I'VE the half-Geserted build
:, Perhaps n score Of folk, pro-
!, ., students, signal bureau
. acs ami government forresters
5act "a sor; Of mountain police
= ut the sequestered property,
: te here, suriy, inhospitable. and
\ IL dosgedly conscious of the
! erilcge in their pretence Of .chol-
= sic life. The old monastery bell
n.ill srunds the hours, but 1t speaks
only to silence and decay. The
great water basins which held the
monks trout preserves are filed
with dead leaves. The wondrous
old kitchen, mighty truncated
cone, where swinging from a huge
turnpit the oxen once were roasted,
is cobwebbei, cold and fireless.
The Metsta, where a hundred
cows were kept, is untenanted.
the ancient hermitage
on the cliff above the monastery,
with its cello, tower and church are
stripped, and transformed into a
hayloft. The half ruined mill, un-
ierneath which PUSHES the Vicano,
is deserted and still. Marvellous
indeed Is IL that the Italy of
today has left one hint Of the Old life {
here. But there IL just one. In the +;
church there is an deliberately carved !
silver reliquary. Ii contains the '
relics of San Giovanni. How the ,
,ne brown bone which has miracu-
ousiy escaped decay must haunt l
he grave professors OF the Geologic I
as Valllmbrosa now is {
,alled.
One Thousand feet higher than
where ancient NailombrOsa stands
m its nest-like valley 500 fee. above {
he sea, rises the fir-crown- sum-
nit Of Pratomagno. From this G
he most rlvishingly beautiful view $
n all Italy is presented. What
ysndrous associations are conjured !
m contemplation Of the fair, far Ca I
'entino valley with its boundary 8
,eyond formed ty the lofty Appen- '
mes, where are born historic Tiber
md enhancing Arm, Tuscany, I
home of the dream-sreeding vine
md fairest women, stretches sunnily
% the westward. The mljestic !
DuOm0 giittcrs down there ~ tio
centre OF the purple, vineyard {
,heckered valley where Florence ;
,tanls. Aud far. faint and magic
~, -. a, ...,,..i, tb.. ,,,Ss.-. nj fh, ]