The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-01-21
THE VENDETTA.

| AdI1p6ItS OF BOllI8clD. lilc DuiiI
on the jutting-out side of a mountain,
actually in places overhung the sea 1t
looked across a narrow sandbar upon the
lower coast of Sardinia At its feet, on
the other side, the sea had cut out 4
place in the cliff, which looked like a
gigantic corridor, and served as The port.
The water reached almost 10 the houses
OF the town, carrying upon it the little
italian and Sandman fishing boats, and
every fifteen days the old sidewheeIer
which went 10 and from Ajaccio.
Clusters OF little white houses showed
white even upon the white sides of the
chaIiy mountain They looked like birds
nests stuck into the crevices of the ma
| lIguant cliffs, which hung over the horri-
Die water way. where ships dared not 80.
The widow Savorinis house. placed up
on the extreme edge CT the passa geway.
opened its three windows upon this saw
age and desolate horizon.
She lived there alone with her son An
tome, and their dog Semiilant, big. ema-
ciated, ragged-haired shepherd dog.
One night after q quarrel. Antoine was
murdered by Nicolas Ravollati with a
poniard, who that same night escaped to
Sardinia
When the old mother saw her sons
! body brought into her by the neighbors,
! she did not cry, but remained a long time
mute, looking at him fxelly; then.
ncf Wri0klCQ mana over tne
corpse, she promised it vendetta. She
old not want the people to stay with her,
and she shut herself in alone with her
/ dead and the dog, which howled griev-
ously. Tie dog howled steadily, erect at
| the foot of the bed, her head stretched
towards her master and her tail wrapped
I tightly through her legs.
The young man on his back, dressed in
/ cheaply woven cloth, which was cut
1 hsa ST 70 Gle
/ But there was blood everywhere: on his
shirt, torn away in the first efforts to
! stop the bleeding; on his vest, on his
trousers, on his face, on his hands
| His old mother began to talk to him
Al the sound Of her voice the dog was
! stilled.
IVA, va, you shall be revenged. my
little one, my boy, my poor child. Sleep,
sleep, you shall be revenged, do you
hear? It is your mother who promises
you, and she always keeps her word
your mother"
Slowly she leaned toward him, pressing
her cold lips upon the dead lips.
Then Semillant began TO howl again.
she gave long, weary shrieks.
They staid there, those two, the woman
and the dog, until morning.
Antoine Savorini was buried in the
morning. and soon was no longer spoken
/ Of in Bonifacio.
He left 10 brothers and no near cousins.
There was no man there to carry on the
vendetta. The mother alone thought of
it.
On the other side of the strait she saw
from morning till night a white spot on
| the cliffs. l. was a little Sandman viii
lage, Longosardo, the refuge of Corsican
! banditti who were hunted too closely.
They made up nearly the entire popula-
ton Of this hamlet, which faces the
shores of their homeland, and they waited
there until they might return She knew
Nicolas Ravollati was IN this village.
All alone, all day long, sitting at herr
window, she looked across, thinking OF
the revenge. What could she do without
anyone, feeble and near to death? But
she had promised, she had sworn upon
the corpse. She could not forget, she
could not wait. What would she do?
She could not sleep at night; she had no
longer either peace or rest; she sought
obstinately. The dog at her feet slept,
and now and then, raising her head
howled into the distance.
One night when Semillant had recon-
menced her wailing. the mother, all OF a
sudden. had an idea-the idea of a fero-
ciOuS savage. She meditated lIpon it until
the morning; then rising with the coming
OF the dawn, went to the church She
prayed. Frustrated upon the pavement,
humbled before God, beseeching Him to
aid her, to uphold her. to give her poor.
wearied body strength to revenge her
son.
Then she went home. There was in
her little yard an old, battered barrel
which gathered the rainwater from the
caves
She emptied it and turned it upside
down, made IL fast in the ground with
heavy logs and stones; then she chained
Semillant to the barrel and went into the
house.
The dos howled all day and all night.
In the morning the old woman brought
her water in an earthen jar, but nothing
else; no soup, no bread.
The next day ended. Semillant slept,
stretched out. In the morning her eyes
were burning, her coat rough and awry
and she pulled desperately at her chain.
Again the old woman gave her nothing
to eat. The beast became wild, and
parked with a hoarsened voice. The next
night passed.
Then. the next day. Mother Savorini
begged two bundles Of straw from a
neighbor.
She took some old clothes which her
husband used TO wear and filed them
with the straw, so that a human body
was represented.
Having stuck long stick IN the ground
"a AAOAt VI lhe DdETel, she Jed TO II the
manikln, which seemed In this way to
be standing UP. Then she made a head
out of old cloth.
The dog. surprised. looked at the man
Of straw and became silent. though de-
voured with hunger. That night the wo-
Ina0 bought at the grocer's two pounds
OF meat pudding. returned home and lit
q wood fire near the barrel, and fried
the pudding Semiliant. crazed leaned
and foamed at the mouth, her ewes fixed
on the pan. from which the smoke en-
tered her very stomach.
Then the mother made Of the smoking
pudding a crayat for the man Of straw.
She took great pains in arranging ii
about his neck. as though she wished the |
grease to soak in. When she had done
this she unclaimed the dog. With one
bound the animal reached the throat Of
the manikin. and with her feet on his
shoulders began TO tear. She fell back
with d piece Of her prey in her nav.
Then she launched herself again, burning
her fangs in the strings around the /
throat. and, Selling some bits Of food. I
fell back again, and then, rnafdenea 4
with excitement, leaped again on the fig
IRE. She carried Of the entire face by (
great bites. tearing the throat into rags {
Z he old woman. motionless. watched with I
Illuminated eyes. Then she reclaimed her {
beast. and, having fastened i again for
two days. went over the strange proceed Z
ing For three months she accustomed B
me animal TO this exercise. 70 this meal i
gained by savage teeth attack- she 4
d.dn { chain the dog now, but urged her
or with gestures upon the manikln
Whenever Seliilanr would see the man
ikin. she would began TO tremble vio-