The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-12-17
PEST OF SICILY'S ISLE.
THE BRIGANDS AGAIN AT THEIR
NEFARIOUs WORK.

Travellers Not Being Easily Deter
mined-Wealthy People Driven From
| Home.
The recent acts OF brigandage In Sicily
have served as a reminder to the Pail Mall
Budget that the picturesque bus brutal pro-
fession OF bandit is still prscticed in that
loveliest Of islands. Happily, foreigners
are not often troubled by them, and trav-
elers who keep 70 the beaten track are
| pretty safe. An interesting account Of the
doings Of the bandittI is furnished by Con-
sui Stigand, who writes from Palermo
I The reports Of foreigner, he says, on the
subject of SiciilAn brigandage, always ex-
cite indignation In the breasts OF the
islanders and provoke unpleasant and
sometimes insulting retorts IN the public
press, although the stories Of brigand-
age reported have generally been culIed
from its columns. They have gone 90 far as
TO deny that brigandAge exists at all in
Sicily, and in such denial have been sup
| ported by a correspondent in a leading
English journal. l do not know that there
Is to be found anywhere an accurate de1ui-
| tion Of the terms ''brigand," "bandit," and
''brigandage.n The malefsctors OF the
present day who infest the country are as
| often as not called brigands and bandits in
the local papers, although sometimes they
| use the term marauders tmalandrini) for
brigands, and the term malandrinaggio in
stead of brigantaggiO.
The marauders OF the present day may
not be, according to current ideas, 80 gen
| tlemanly in department or so dexterous as
in the days of the famous Sicilian bandits
who tourlshed sixteen years ago, but their
modes of operation and the results Of these
| are precisely the same; they capture big
proprietors and rich townspeople (sequester
they call itl and hold them in captivity In
caves in the mountains until the sum of
ransom which they demand is paid; besides
which, depredations In the way OF robbery
and cattle and horse stealing are frequent
in cases of the smaller owners and farmers
and these misdeeds are supplemented by
system OF persecution and premeditated
| murder, sometimes accompanied with tor
ture, among the lesser proprietors, small
farmers and peasants who are suspected of
having given, or even of being willing TO
give, information to the authorities respect
ing the perpetrators Of these outrages.
1t is true, believe, that foreigners travel
ing IN Sicily who keep TO the ordinary
tracks and well-known routes have little to
fear, but that is chiefly because their move
ments and the worth of their capture can
not be calculated on with such precision as
in the case of a native, and because the rob
bers are clever enough to know that the
sequestration of foreigner would be more
dangerous TO them than that OF native.
Nevertheless, If they thought the capture
of rich foreigner was worth their while
they would no doubt attempt it.
only know that / have never myself
been in the mountainous districts of the
Madonie without giving notice TO the
authorities, who have always, with great
courtesy, insisted on sending four guards,
generally mounted ones c'miliH q caballo'o
to protect me, and given orders that they
were never TO let me out of their sight, and
my protectors kept guard over me day and
night. These "militi a caballo" have, /
believe, In oonsequ enoe OF the late increase
of outrage, been dissolved, and their place
been supplied by carabineers; they were, IL
ia said, suspected Of not being active
enough In she pursuit of the "malandrini."
It seems almost incredible that within
four hours or FIVE hours from Palermo there
should be magnificent mountains, III part
| splendidly wooded with magnificent oaks
and beeches with spacious plains and pic
| turesQue valleys among them, whore sum-
| mer resorts, so much needed here in the
| fierce heat OF summer, might be established,
| and yet these districts are quite uninhabit-
able for want Of public security.
WHY BRIGANDAGE IS NOT DIFFERENTIATED.
After giving details of several brutal
murders as described In the Sicilian news
papers-men, women and children treach-
erously assassinated, or made prisoners and
| killed with slow death--Consul Stigand
| continues: In defense of the authorities TO
whom is committed the task of putting
| down such crimes IL must be allowed that
the suppression Of this marauding system is
! not easy, on many grounds. In the first
place it is very difficult for them to obtain
information Of the movements and hiding
| places of the marauders for TWO reasons
| first. the people who have no oon-
| nection with brigauds or briRaudage
| live in such a state OF terror Of the ma
RAIDERS that they will give no news Of their
movements or whereabouts; and secondly.
| there are large mass OF people called
''manutengoli," who support the brigands
by providing them with food and neoessaries
| at an enormous price, and so,virtually share
in the brigandage When returned from
CefRlu last year thirty OF these "manuten-
goli" were conveyed In the same train
with me. handcuffed four and four to-
gether, and villainous looking set of men
| they were. They had been arrested and
we're being conveyed TO prison at Termini
| OF course "manutengolo" is on the high
way to become a brigand IL he has not al
| ready become one. 1t is very difficult al
ways, however, to convict any OF the
| "manutengoli," as on the ''omerta" principle
nobody can be found TO give evidence
against them, and they are often arrested on
| suspicion more or less justified, The ira
ditions of brigandese, too, have a great In
| fuenoe in perverting the sense of justice Of
the people and in assisting to protect the
| brigands.
But the chief obstacle TO putting down
! brigandage consists In the difficult and
mountainous character Of the country.
| San Mauro, the headquarters OF the brig
ands, is a town on the top OF mountain :,
| 3,000feet, and in sight of Geraci Siculo,
another town or about the same hight,
| and Of Pollina, also on the summit of an
other mountain. The roads among these
mountains connecting the towns are mere
mule paths, and the mule paths traverse
the mountains all along the deep valleys
| and ravines. The mountains abound in
caves, known only to the brigands and
shepherds Of the mountains, and as the
armed force sent in pursuit Of the brigands
are chiefly young men from continental
! Italy, ignorant of the country and unable
| TO speak the language, their search after the
brigands in their hiding places by unknown
| paths is a hopeless one. and IL they do sur
| prise the brigands at any time, as they
| do sometimes at a meal, the brigands
are of at once among the rocks and
woods and treat their pursusrs with
scorn and defiance, generally sending be-
hind them a few shots from time to time,
| and their first shot is a signal for the
1 ara