Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-02-08
Tangled Stories of a Vendetta
to BE Settled at Council
Bluffs
THREE MEN WERE ARRESTED
Charged With Larceny Preferred by
Fellow countrym an, Emeio Mitchell,
q Gypsy kins-Their Troubles Are
Usually Settled by q Code of Their
own-Deadly Hatred Between Them
epecia, to r,mes-Repunlican.

Special to mes-Rcruhlican.
Council Bluffs, Feb. Sit was as
tho province from the Sicily Is
lands had been transplanted and set
down in the police court of Council
Bluffs today, when kings princesses
and mobiles and other persons Of less
er degree in Importance, all playing
4 part in one of the most tangled
stories CT a gypsy vendetta, were
called to unravel the mystery sur
rounding their troubles.
1t was the climax to series OF
alleged robberies, abductions and hair
breadth escapes from furious enemies
in which are linked the names of nu-
merous proud descendents of. an an
Gent and -blooded race. Joe Ma
rino. Melio Marine and Dimitri Owana,
three gypsies were under arrest
charged with larceny, preferred by
fellow countryman, Amelio Mitchell,
the latter gypsy king.
elimination of a Long Feud.
The arrest of these three men was
the elimination of long standing
fued between the Mitchells and the
Marines, in which the abduction of
the two girls has been the incentive
to the recent frequent reopenlng OF
hostilities, the girls uncommon beau
ties among their race. Joe Marine, the
eldest of the three men, is past "a
years old, and is the father of Melio
and Ducian Merino
The troubles of the two factions be-
came public matter when Mitchell
charged ,Ducian Marino with abduct-
Ing Mitchell's daughter, Marie, and
also with the theft of $500. which
1t was claimed the pair took away
with them, and which resulted in their
arrest at Alexandria, Va. but who
successfully evaded extradition after
Me papers had been issued
Joe Marine, the father Of the boy.
now claims that Mitchell, failing to
get Ducian for the theft, has caused
the arrest of himself and his other
son Melio.
Owana speaks English fairly well
and acted as interpreter. He told of
the bartering in girls, which is carried
on between the heads of the tribes.
Many Of the girls being sold by their
fathers, sometimes bringing big prices.
Sometimes the girls are merely hired
and this plan, it developed, was at
times even more remunerative, as
some OF the fathers are able to charge
large sums by the week if their
daughters can sing or dance we'll.
The Woman in This Case.
Amelio Mitchelrs daughter, Marie,
the woman in the case. daughter of
the chief parsonage OF the camp, whose
bright eyes and rich papa proved al
Turing to certain of the nomads, was
the alleged means by which the lucre-
loving culprits are charged with hav-
ing obtained their booty. When she
left the camp so did the $1,000 in gold,
so it is charged, and so did another
gypsy with Marino as cognomen.
They were pursued to Alexandria,
Va, and arrested tho when Deputy
Sheriff Mccartney got there, he found
that his requisition papers were defec-
tive and he could not secure the ex
tradition Of the man he was after, re-
turning empty-handed. The story is
that the man he was sent after had
won the affection of Marie Mitchell,
daughter Of the king. Conserving to
run away with him she left her faith
er's domains and when short dis
lance away from the tent, the prose-
cution expects to show, she confided
to her escort at his demand that her
fathers money was in his tent under
his pillow. The man Is accused of hav-
ing gone back, taken the money,
which was almost entirely in gold, and
Joining her. Three other men were in
the deal, it is charged, and these are
the men now in Jail.
Girl Makes Confession.
The girl. since returning to Council
Bluffs in the company of her uncle,
John Mitchell, is said to have told
her father all about the details of the
flight. She said, according to the
statement made by the attorney, who is
pushing the case for the gypsy king,
that the four men divided the money
on the bridge between here and Oma-
ha, the Omaha gypsies taking $500
each and members of the Council Bluffs
camp taking $3.50 each. The three in
Jail die not go east with their COM
rades and the girl. but are said to have
been in Omaha since. They were en-
ticed across the river and fell into
the trap to arrest them.
Settlement in Court Rare.
It is e, rare thing that differences be-
tween these tribes ever reach the
courts, as they are usually settled by
code of their own which means war
to the death. The attorney who has
taken the case for the gypsy king said
he declined to secure the arrests until
matters had reached a climax with
them, and that it was only to prevent
q killing that the step was taken. And
1t is by no means certain it will end
in court. Deadly hatreds have been
engendered that will not be extin-
guished by any court procedure, and
the authorities do not relish the pros
pect Of having to maintain an espion-
age over the warning factions after the
court episode is closed.
UTE FARMER INSANE.