The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-01

sides of the mountain, and said very

sides of the mountain, and said very
gravely:
They tell me. Effendi. that this dance
is from the tune CT Homer
So we smoked in silence, watching the
Romaik, and said no more about it.
Though a very young man, M~ayroyenis's
presence was very impressive, he had i'm
menSe natural dignity and the powerful
gaze of a man accustomed to
1 have seen griZzled old veterans look as
sheepish as children caught IN some petty
crime when their young Kapetanos de-
lvered his mind to them on some breach
OF discipline, or strategic in1iscretion
One day an Armenian of the Foreign
Legion, who had, by the chances of war,
lost his company and attached himself,
temporarily, to Mavroyenis's band, in
CURED the Kapetanos's wrath by firing a
in the neighborhood of a pass, down which
it was thought the Turks might try 10 en-
ter. Never had 1 dreamed that such a
fury was possible.
The k~apetanos, usually so grave n dig
nihed, became like a wild beast, roaring,
raging. his eyes like blazing Goals, his voice
terrible with passion. The Armenian, who
could not understand a word of the fiery
invective. was abject with terror. The
whole ompany stood round absolutely
cowed; we were like a lot of whipped ours.
1t was an uniorsetaole experience. L re-
member that, hours after the storm, the
boy that had charge of the K~apetanos's
only luxury, his evening nargileh, had to be
showed into his presence by five or six OF
III SO oCal III was AC ~ dPDAOaCl lis
terrible master.
AN ARBITRARY CHIEF.
The other chiefs, though duly appointed
by the government, were ciphers by the
side OF Mavroyenis. Calmly and without
dispute he settled everything. The Cretan
captains had only to say yes and trans
init his orders to their men. Mavroyenis
had a kind of contempt for them, as being
what he called slave Greeks, that is,
Greeks from a Turkish possession, while
he was a free Greek-leftheros-and kape-
tanos of a band Of Klephtoi, leftheroi, they
too.
During the week or ten lays L was with
the KIephtoi l never saw him spend five
minutes In talk with either KarakitrOn or
he among his. His followers, however,
were on the best Of good terms with the
Cretans. and when food or tobacco was
scarce, Thessalians always stood aside,
rough thieves though they were, TO allow
the Cretans to have the pick OF the stores.
Karakitron and Christopoulos had both
for years led their bands OF guerrilla fight
ers, the one near Suda, the other in the
interior from the Canea, and had veritably
kept alive the passion for freedom i'm A
whole country infamed by the constant
tale of their exploits against the Turks.
Their methods may often have been ques-
tionable, for they frankly called themselves
Klephtoi and practiced kleptomania quite
openly, but their courage was beyond ques-
ton and their course was not ignoble in
itself.
IL was not easy to talk freely with the
Cretans; their Greek il peculiar prOvin-
cial, even archaic. and they also seemed
suspicious of the stranger massacring
their noble tongue Of Plato. But they were
extraordinarily polite, in q curious cold
way, making pretty quasi-Oriental ges-
lures of Difference and salaaming with
their hand half way to the earth when one
offered them d cigarette or a glass OF
Ousi.
Take it for all in all. it was a wonderful
~ interesting week, thac week among the
brigandS in the mountain passes. watch
ing for the Turk that never came. scouting
i'm the van of the army that. had we but
known IL. was already smashed at Dho-
mokos and suing for the armistice that
~inaugurated that dismal peace. \ wild life,
and hard. but sweetened by picturesque
surroundings and gladdeEed By good com
radeship. In times or peace one regrets
| ones war La and there is at least one
more or less respectable citizen who pines
sometimes for the blanket on the ground
he shared with a horde Of lawless ~brigands.