The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-11-13
A FAMOUS BANDIT.
Corbeddu's Career In Sardinia Like
That of Dick Turpin.

IhaC OF LICK Iurp1n.
Not long ago i described the death
of the famous Sandman brigand, Cor
beddu, who was killed in a fight with
the carabineers. A complete history
of his career is now obtainable 1t is
interesting for it's Dick TurDin-like
episodes. Corbeddu was no ordinary
brigand. He did not go about shoot
ing poor fishermen or muleteers for
the sake of the few lire they might
have in their pockets, but he carried on
his profession in manner so dis
tinguiShed as to make him the king of
the Sandman outlaws. He was born
IN 1874 at Oliena, in Sardinia, of
well-to-do family, and until called to-
do military service he lived an agri-
cultural life. He took part in the cap
ture of Rome in 1870, but while sta
toned with the Bersa gliero regiment,
which then formed part of the Rome
garrison, his predatory instincts
awakened. Having heard that a GER
tain priest was wealthy, he, with an
accomplice, made a false key and
entered the priests house. To the
great surprise OF the robbers, the
priest was at supper. They seized,
bound and gagged him and stole 1,300
lire from his bureau. The authors of
the crime were never discovered until
Corbeddu in after years boosted of
his achievement.
After returning to Sardinia from
his military service Corbeddu was re-
peatedly tried for cattle stealing, I'M
til one day he failed to answer to a
summons and took tc the hills. AT
this point began his celebrated ex-
PLOTS. First. with an armed band,
he stole sum of money from a house
at Lula in 1882. The same year he and
other outlaws killed and robbed q man
q n a
and nearly killed a Gardiner at
Fonni. In 1885 he, with some comDan-
ions. killed a Gardiner and nearly
killed an inspector and another
Gardiner at Orani. and stole a sum
Of $4,000 lire. Next year he robbed the
post and deprived Count Spada, who
was in the diligence, of his watch.
rings, gun and big boots. The big
boots Corbeddu afterward wore in
honor of his exploit. In 1894 he robbed
and killed a wealthy man at Borore.
Many other crimes were put down to
him or were committed by minor brig
ands under his orders. Rewards
amounting in all to %, 900 lire were Of
fered for his capture, but in vain.
His most famous exploit was not
the capture, but the liberation of two
Frenchmen, MN. Pralle and Patty, who
had been seized and held to blackmaii
by other brigandS. Their capture gave
rise to a violent campaign in the whole
French and italian press against the
| condition of the Sandman police, and
Signor Crispi, who was then premier,
ordered the authorities in the island
to liberate the two Frenchmen at all
costs. All the carabineers were mobi-
lized, and the telegraph officers worked
night and day, though without dis
covering the prisoners. At last a sub
| project named Marongin appealed to
Corbeddu by means of one of his
friends. The sub-prefect and the brig
and had an interview, in which the
official promised Corbeddu anything he
might wish on condition that he would
get the Italian administration out of
! a bad ScraDe. Corbeddu at once ac-
cepted the task of liberating the
Frenchmen, and within "a hours they
were delivered safely into the hands
| of the authorities. CoTbeddu's pro-
| fessional pride was so great that he
would accept neither the 10000 lire
reward offered him nor a free pardon,
nor any other COMPENSATION, consider
! ing himself sufficiently paid by having
done in a hours what ministers. ore
| fects and an army of carabineers had
! been unable to accomplish.
| From that time he gave up his muir
derous expeditions and enjoyed in
peace the fruits of his robberies. He
!
! of sheep and goats. He lived in cave
on an almost inaccessible mountain
peak, to which the path was known
only TO himself and his brother. The
cave was separated from the path by
precipice, over which Corbeddu
passed, on the trunk of a small tree,
drawing the trunk after him into the
cave. On one occasion a daring thief
discovered Corbeddu's hiding place and
robbed him of quantity of the stores
he had accumulated. He would often
SURPRISE the mouflon hunters and
show them the best district in which
to look for game. Though a Sandman,
he almost always spoke Italian, and
manifested great disdain for the other
outlaws. whom he called guastames-
teri, or trade spoilers" Lately he
seems to have got into the bad books
of the carabineers, by whom he was
killed after a hard fight some three
weeks ago.