Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-06-11
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TWO PICTURESQUE OUTLAWS.
SiciIian Brisands of Fast Pass
ing Type.

ing typo
Every criminal, says a letter from
Palermo, Italy, to the New York Sun,
In Sicily VINO evades capture by the
police, is called brigand, but as bri-
gandage is supposed to have been
stamped out by the Italian government
the term brigand has been supplanted
by a new word, "latitante," or hider.
As a matter of fact, however, brigand-
age still exists in Sicily, weakened and
diminished but not overcome, and so
long as the Malta rules in the cities
and towns brigandage will continue to
flourish over the country. 1t could not
be otherwise, as the Malta and bri-
gandage are closely connected by
bond of common interests. In years
gone by the Sicilian brigands held up
the carriage Of the rich, took prisoners
and held them for ransom, protected
the weak and oppressed the rich and
powerful mobiles. Today the classical
type of brisand has disappeared and
the present outlaws are no longer high
waymen but common criminals, VINO
live in hiding and successfully eVade
capture by making themselves usefui
to certain great land owners, who In
return protect them from the police.
Now and again there is an isolated at
tempt at a return to the old traditions
of brigandage and a man of an adven-
turous life, disappointed in love and
unjustly prosecuted by the police, Will
retire to the hills, waylay his enemies
one by one and shoot them in cold
blood and battle the attempts Of the po-
lice, aided by troops, to capture him.
Such cases are rare. Still within the
last five years there were two famous
Sicilian brigands whose names became
household words throughout the island.
Their careers in outlawry were short.
One of them, Turiddu Failla Mulone,
has disappeared and is supposed to be
safe in America; the other, Giuseppe
Salamone, has fallen into the hands OF
the police and is awaiting trial.
The brigands captured by the police
are comparatively few, and in the rare
cases when a capture is effected 1t Is
generally the result Of chance. That
was the case with Salamone. One day
the brigand happened to be wandering
alone about the country when ne
CHANGED to meet two carbineers who he
thought had recognized him. AS a
matter of fact they had not, and If in
stead Of running away from them ne
had Just gone on his way they would
never have captured him. Besides, luck
was against him, as he had almost sue
ceeded in outdistancing his pursuers,
when he stumbled and fell. When the
two carbineers caught him he said: Il
am Salamone, and won't offer any re-
sistance, because realize that I am no
longer a brigand. A brigand never
falls when running from the police un-
less he is shot dead" So ended Sala-
mone's career.
Giuseppe Salamone is native OF
Barrafranca, the son of a small farmer
who died when the brigand was a boy.
He left school and learned the trade OF
shoemaker and with his small earnings
supported his widowed mother. When
Salamone was 16 years old he fell In
love with q village girl named Stella
Bonincontrp, an orphan who lived with
her old grandmother. One day he was
Obliged to leave his native village for a
month to seek work elsewhere and on
his return he discovered that the girl
he loved had been seduced by the may
or, Signor Giordano, weather and
powerful land owner.
Salamone's first thought was to Kill
the mayor, but Giordano was power
full rival, and without giving Salamone
time to mature his plans Of vengeance
he had him arrested on suspicion OF
having waylaid and assaulted three
fishermen and stealing all the money
they possessed, suborned witnesses and
had him tried and convicted. Salamone
was sentenced to hard labor. He serv-
ed his term-ten years-during which
the boy became q man, and every day
he spent in prison he renewed the oath
to kill Giordano. One day when he had
all but served his term a letter was
sent from his family at Barrafranca to
the governor Of the prison petitioning
to anticipate Salamone's release, as his
old mother was dying and she wished
to see her son and bless him before she
died. This letter was not authenticated
by the mayor, so the governor returned
it to Barrafranca for the necessary sig
nature. Giordano was still mayor there
and he purposely delayed sending back
the letter to the prison, hence Sala-
none, who should have been released
on September 8, 1904, left prison only
on the 18th. He hastened home and
found his mother dead. A few days la
ter while Giordano was returning home
Salamone shot him dead, and he be-
came a brigand.
The police arrested two priests named
Vasapolli and a lawyer of Barrafranca
named Bonfirraro, all political enemies
Of the mayor, on suspicion of compli-
city. Salamone meanwhile successfully
evaded all attempts to capture him,
killed several of his enemies, levied
blackmail on all the friends Of Giordano
and gradually acquired the reputation
of first class brigand. He even wrote
his memoirs and had them published
in the Giornale of Stella.
His chief boast was that he never
oppressed the weak and that he never
killed a policeman, although very often
parties of soldiers who were pursuing
him passed within range Of his rifle
That Salamone was popular is proved
by the fact that when he was arrested
he had over $19S in his possession
which the police ascertained he had not
stolen but which had been given to
him by land owners of the neighbor
hood.
Salamone and his supposed accom-
plices, the two priests and the lawyer,
were tried at Perugia for the murder
of Giordano. They were all acquitted
and in the course of the trial Salamone
L