Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-08-04
Miseellaneu,ts Reaains.
sRIGANDs PUT ON PENSION.
Turkish Way With Robbers Who
Wouldn't Be CAUGHT.

Turkish Way With Robbers Who
Wouldn't Be Caught.
| The European newspapers recently
chronicled the fact that the Turkish
government had retired on a pension
Of 1000 piastres a mouth a famous
brigand, by name Tchakirdsky. His
field Of operations has been the Smyr-
ma vilayet. For the future he will
live in undisturbed peace on a farm
which has also been granted to him
on his promise to lay down arms.
Neither police nor Albanians are to be
allowed to violate this sanctuary.
His band consisted Of only seven
men besides himself, but they were
all equally daring, and in numerous
conflicts with the military rendered
only too good account Of themselves.
Each of these minor heroes now re-
ceives a monthly pension Of 500 pias-
| tres as compensation for loss of bus
mess"
I The life of Tchakirdsky is a ro-
In these days. When a lad of IL he
was arrested with his father) for
non-payment Of taxes and while being
conveyed under guard to the prison
diers at the amount of the tax levied
and the means of collecting it, where
upon one Of the guards shot him dead.
The boy was put In prison, where he
remained some years. time enough
for him to reflect upon the injustice
done and to conceive a plan for re-
venge. Upon his release he took up
his abode among the mountains back
Of Smyrna. and collected a band Of
fearless followers. They soon became
the terror Of the surrounding region
His object in this sort of life was
not to amass wealth, for he took only
sufficient toll from his victims to
meet the actual needs of himself and
his men and allowed himself to be
extravagant only in the number Of his
horses and the beauty Of their trap
pings and in finely inlaid firearms
But he vowed vengeance upon every
wrong-doer, who was a Turk, confin-
ing himself to this race exclusively,
and set up a sort Of Robin Hood die
tatorship from which no evil-doer es-
capped.
The following incidents occurred
while the writer was his neighbor for
two years, and will serve to illustrate
his methods an0 the object for which
he worked. In certain district
money was raised by taxation to
build a bridge to replace a tumble
down structure on a much travelled
route. The money and the charge Of
the construction had been given into
the care Of the head man or mayor Of
the town near by.
He called to his assistance an archi-
tect to draw up the plans for the
bridge There his activities stopped
as Is quite customary In Turkey. FL"
na4iy an accident to a camel train
crossing the old bridge caused the
matter to be noised abroad and 1t
came to Tchakirdskys notice.
Immediately he started out to ad-
minister justice. and disgusting him
self as a begging dervish gained ad-
Once in the mayors presence he
threw off his disguise and said he had
come for the money that had been
collected for the building Of the new
bridge and would himself see that the
work was done.
The mayor handed over the money,
only too thankful that his head had
not been included In the demand.
Tchakirdsky called the man who had
drawn up the plans, looked them
over. made some necessary changes
and paid him for his work. Then he
sent for builder to whom he gave
the plans and a sum Of money to pur-
chase material, with the instruction
to build the bridge as quickly as pos
sible and to come to him for money as
1t was needed to complete the struc-
ture.
When the bridge was finished Tcha-
| kirdsky and his men came down to
! the celebration, which in the east is
always given on such occasions. He
brought the sheep with him to be kill
ed and distributed to the poor and
made a speech congratulating the
community on the new bridge and
said that he had been able to have 1t
built for a much smaller sum than
was raised by the tax collected, and
reserving for himself a modest
amount to reimburse him for his
time and trouble handed back the
surplus money to be distributed In his
presence to the poor of the town.
Then putting spurs to their horses he
and his men vanished into the noun
tainS.
He was next heard Of many miles
away near a mountain village, where
widow was being harassed by two
men, her neighbors. on either side OF
her farm. From time to time at
nlSnt tney WOulu Hlo'e thc p"uiuoi ,
marks on the widows farm, appropri-
ating a slice of it to themselves.
| The authorities were appealed to In
vain, as they had been bribed by the
men who were stealing the land. But
Tchakirdsky heard of the affair, and
one night with his band appeared
upon the scene. dragged the men from
their houses, made them restore the
original boundary marks, gave them
sound beating and threatened their
lives should they repeat the offence
The men on being released fled TO the
village, a few miles distant.
In the morning their wives, alarm
ed at their continued absence, set out
on foot to learn what had happened
to them. One of the women had a
little baby and the other one baby
and a child two years old. Tchakird-
sky saw them from his place of con-
cealment starting off for the lone
walk to the village, and turning tc
one of his men said:
1T is too far for these women tc