The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1912-02-01

Camorrists of high and low degree.
good Italians and bad, sachems and
outlaws. They took Fucci. the chief,
and De Marinis, whose insolence had
drawn down the lightning; they took
Prof, Rapi treasurer of the Camorra
and district leader OF the old school,
gambler, bon vivant, a scholar or a
sort; the great Erricone Alfano was
arrested in New York. Others, too.
were taken In the net-more negli.
gible men, thieves, bad husbands, day
sleepers. pickpockets. kidnapers. and
rogues Of the Chiaia and the Vicaria
the larva of the jails and the
slums. That romance might not wholly
die. they netted a blithe girl OF Ma
pies. Maria Stendardo, and kept her
to decorate the iron cage OF Viterbo.
For five years these prisoners lay
in irons. Many of them died. Mean.
while the kings carebineers. urged by
the relentless duke OF Aosta. made
strong the case against them. Day by
day the astounding Abbatemoggio, the
traitor, revealed new secrets of the So
ciety.
Twenty of the prisoners were indict-
ed for these various crimes disclosed
by Abbatemaggio. One after the 9th
er they were bought up and tried in
various courts. One after the other
they were acquitted-and sent back to
Jail. In only one case did the cara
bineers secure conviction on the evil
dence furnished by the informer. and
that conviction has been quashed by
the court OF appeals.
Five are charged with the murder OF
Cuocolo and his wife. The others are
being tried for criminal association"
lin other words, for belonging to the
Camorra. The maximum penalty for
Imprisonment. The accused men have
already been in prison five years.
Origin Of the camorra.
Camorra comes from kamora--con-
testation The word that gave its name
to the formidable and long establish.
ed cryptogamous plant OF Neapolitan
life is Castilian neologism imported
into Naples through the Spanish dom.
ination.
|
sula. that country of .bristly sierras
and deep valleys arranged in the
shape of a saw, full of precipices and.
therefore. very rich In natural hiding
places-if we consider the peculiar
physical features OF these regions. we
can easily understand how they af-
forded the best opportunities for the
thriving Of the gamuri (Spanish brig
ands of the sierras). baneful forerun-
ners and ancestors OF the dreaded
Neapolitan Camorrists.
Not passerby nor vehicle escaped
their watchful eye and their fierce
claws. SO that travelling OF going from
one place 10 another on business was
impossible for any one without shar.
ing with the ferocious watchers of the
sierras either the money he had with
him or the profits of the business that
had taken him on his journey. II
was, therefore. necessary TO come TO
terms with the brigands; SO much SO
that in time a regular tariff of Camor.
ra dues was agreed upon with the
laborers. and shepherds. the miners
etc. and with the mail coaches for the
passage OF the travellers, according to
their social Importance and standing.
Whenever there was a difference OF
opinion upon the division of some.
thing, the Camorrist intervened and
pronounced his decision--so much TO
the one. so much to the other; the re
maiuder, the best share, OF course, be
/ longs IN the fudRe bV fright of ga
mora"
Very different from their AndalusiaD
ancestors are their present degenerate
descendants. The modern honorable
society draws its income chiefly from
theft. from the exploitation of women
from organized raids on gambling
houses. from usury extorted from rich
young men who have been purposely
led astray.