THREE MONTHS WITH ITALIAN BRIGANDS.* MR. MOENS is an Englishman of fortune, of the people by whom the stupendous edifices and, as it appears, an amateur photo- were reared. The party consisted of Mr. grapher. Early in 1865 he set out, accompanied by his wife, upon an Italian tour, going first to Sicily, and making the gira or "round" of that island, which was a few years ago so pleasantly described by Ross Browne in his famous "Yusef." Mr. Moens had moreover the special design to photograph the eruption of Etna, which was then going on. His description of this is very interesting; but we must pass it over in order to give, as far as we may, some account of his subsequent experiences when a captive among the brigands on the mainland. Crossing over to Naples early in May he set out for a trip to the ruins of the famous temples of Pæstum, which stand in solitary grandeur, in a mountain wilderness, with no traces • English Travelers and Italian Brigands: A Narrative of Capture and Captivity. By W. J. C. MOENS. Har per and Brothers. Moens, Mr. Aynsley, an English clergyman, and their wives. From Naples a railway runs, past the considerable town of Salerno, somewhat more than twenty miles from Pæstum. It was indeed a little suspicious that the landlord of the "Hotel Vittoria" at Salerno thought it necessary to post up in various languages a notice to "travelers desirous of visiting the temples of Pæstum that the road is now perfectly safe between Salerno and Pæstum, owing to the vigilance of General Avenati, the Military Commander of the district, who has stationed patrols along the road at Battipaglia, Barizzo, and Pæstum." After a three hours' drive they reached the temples a little before noon, a squad of soldiers accompanying them. Mr. Moens set his camera in order and photographed the ruins. Toward evening they set out on their return; not a little surprised that their military protectors were nowhere visible. The truth was, as they afterward learned, the soldiers had been withdrawn so that negotiations could be carried on with a gang of bandits for the release of a couple of Italian gentlemen whom they had gobbled up only a few days before on this very safe road. For these the brigands demanded a ransom of 171,000 francs; but finally compromised for 51,000. the road. They started up from all sorts of hiding-places, and in a few minutes thirty or more were gathered around the carriage. The travelers were politely desired to "descend." "Don't be afraid, Madame, don't be afraid," they said to Mrs. Moens. The coachman was ordered to stay where he was for a quarter of an hour, and then to drive off with the ladies, the two gentlemen being hurried off over fields and through thickets. The bandits were wonderfully polite-the leader, whom Mr. Moens came to know quite well as Captain Manzo, always addressing them as Signorè "Gentlemen," with a strong accent on the last syllable. "What do you want with us?" inquired the captives. Denaronon temete ("The Shiners -don't be scared") was the reply. "How far are we to walk?" "A good way, a good way enough." When they came to a stream the brigands carried their captives across on their shoulders. On they went through swamps, over ditches, and across cultivated fields, marching in Indian file, until midnight. By the way they stopped at a house and bought a little bread, and a while after came upon a patch of cabbage and onions, of which they made short work, pocketing what they could not eat: wisely, as Mr. Moens found out before long. Toward daybreak they halted on the banks of a stream and hid among the osiers. The brigands now began to inquire into the value of their prize. It was quite impossible to convince them that the Englishmen were not great lords, notwithstanding the hands of Mr. Moens were stained by his photographic chemicals. "His hands are black," said one, "and his They had almost reached Battipaglia, and trowsers are like what prisoners wear, and are supposed that they had passed the dangerous all worn out, poor fellow!" "Wait, we'll see," places, when a little before dusk they perceived replied the Captain. At length a bit of the a number of fellows creeping out of the corn- hard sausage, called supersato, was offered to fields. Some of the brigands aimed their the prisoners, who declared that "it would not guns, others turned the horses' heads across agree with their stomachs." It seemed to CAPTAIN MANZO. strike the captors as a good joke that any man should object to supersato. "They'll like it better by-and-by," said he, which proved true enough; for Mr. Moens found before long that poor food and little of it was the normal condition of brigands and their prisoners. Besides the Englishmen the brigands had picked up a couple of Italian gentlemen; and as soon as they got to a tolerably safe spot the Captain began "business"-that is, fixing the ransom. That of one Italian was put down at 12,000 ducats, the others at 8000 (a ducat is about 85 cents). The two Englishmen were lumped together at 100,000 ducats. They declared that such a sum was out of the question; the brigands insisted that it was quite moderate for two such great lords, who were worth at least two millions apiece. Finally, they came down to 50,000, and no abatement. How to get at the cash was now the problem. The Englishmen declared that their wives had not the money, and, being strangers and ignorant of the language, could not get it in Naples. It was finally arranged that one of them -to be decided by lot-should go and the other should stay. Mr. Moens drew the short stick and had to remain, while Mr. Aynsley was hurried off by two men, who also bore letters from the Italian prisoners to their friends, asking for the money for their ransom. Hardly were they away when the brigands saw a company of 100 soldiers marching along the road below-a sharp skirmish took place; but the gang, all save two, managed to get off with their captives. During the night the band was again surprised by the soldiers, and there was more firing. In the excitement the Italian prisoners managed to escape. The brigands did not look out very sharply for these small Italian fry; but they took good care of their big fish, the great "English Lord." They were now far up the mountain side, and all next day Mr. Moens could see the soldiers passing and repassing in the valley below, At looking like mites in the distance. "The brigands," he says, "ran down the mountain like goats, while I had to be careful to pick my way at every step. Accustomed to the mountains from their earliest youth, they were as sure-footed as the goats, and had eyes like cats; darkness and light, daytime or night, made not the slightest difference to them. Their hearing, too, was most acute. This sense they had cultivated to such a pitch that, like the red Indians, the slightest rustle of the leaves, the faintest sound, never escaped their notice. Men miles distant working in the fields, or mowing the grass, they could distinguish with the greatest ease. They knew gener ally who they were, young and old, and to what village they belonged. When I, perhaps, could barely distinguish living beings, they could describe all their motions." From Mr. Moens's Diary (written, we infer, mainly from memory, aided by brief jottings in a little memorandum-book, which he managed to conceal) we excerpt some passages which portray the aspects of life among the brigands: "May 18.-I slept till eight or nine o'clock, and just above the dry bed of a stream that in winter on awaking and looking round, I found we were ran down the mountain-side. We were facing the west, and at about half a mile off ran a stream like a delicate little silver serpent, twisting in and out of the bushes and green banks; on the other side of it was a bridle path. We saw several bodies of troops pass during the day, who were always watched with the greatest interest; and the merits of the different sorts of soldiers were freely disians as I could, and then began to think of some plan cussed. I tried to get as far away from my guardof escaping. I propped up my straw-hat on a peg, so that the men, who were all below me, might think I was sleeping; and then tried to edge off, and to be ready for a run when more soldiers came; but one who was very wary, and who turned out to be one of the four brigandesses, changed her position so as to see the place where I was. "I was dreadfully hungry, and found in my pocket a piece of the Indian corn-bread as large as a walnut; this soon went, and I turned out all my pockets, and discovered to my joy the little cabbage I had put away on the 15th. I ate that raw, and thought it any thing but disgusting. I now found two roots of garlic: one satisfied me, the flavor being rather strong (how soon I was cured of all dantiness! Before I was with the brigands the smell of garlic alone was nauseous, let alone the taste); the other I put into my pocket. We had some water to drink during the night, and with that I was obliged to be satisfied till the evening. A village was near, for we heard the bells of the church chiming the hours. I fancied we were near Castellamara; but on asking one of the brigands if it were so, he replied 'Yes; and I knew at once that it could not be; for it is always the brigands' principle to deceive their captives as to where they are. "At dusk we started again; and, as yesterday, diverged over mountains and through woods for four THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE BRIGANDS AND SOLDIERS. or five hours, till having reached an open part at the summit of a mountain covered with grass, there was a halt, and we lay down to sleep. The night was very cold, wet, and foggy; in fact, we were actually in the clouds." "May 19.-We woke up an hour before daybreak, stiff from cold. I could not move till I had rubbed my knees for ten minutes. We started down hill, and then along a path up another mountain. As the sun got up we grew very thirsty, for we had dared to stop only half a minute for a drink the evening before, on account of the roads being dangerous; and we had passed no streams during the night. After some time a search was made for snow, and at last, in a most unlikely place, some was found. It was most delicious, and as we walked VOL. XXXIII.-No. 195.-U on I kept eating it. The brigands lay down on the ground, and lapped up the water that had thawed and was running among the decayed leaves. I thought of fever, and preferred the snow." They soon came upon the main body of the band, from whom they had been separated for a few days. They were in a lovely glade, surrounded by large beeches, with goats and sheep tethered near; the brigands, lying around clad in their picturesque costumes, making a picture worthy of Salvator Rosa. "But," comments Mr. Moens, "I do not believe that Salvator Rosa, or any other man, ever voluntarily paid a second visit to the brigands, however great his love of the picturesque might be; for no one would willingly endure brigand life after one experience of it." Here is a picture of brigands in gala attire: "The smaller band had four women with them, attired like the men, with their hair cut short; at first took them for boys; and all these displayed a greater love for jewelry than the members of Manzo's band. They were decked out to do me honor, and one of them wore no less than twentyfour gold rings, of various sizes and stones, on her hands, at the same moment; others twenty, sixteen, ten, according to their wealth. To have but one gold chain attached to a watch was considered paltry and mean. Cerino and Manzo had bunches as thick as an arm suspended across the breasts of their waistcoats, with gorgeous brooches at each fastening; little bunches of charms' were also attached in conspicuous positions. "Manzo's band had long jackets of stout brown cloth, the color of withered leaves, with large pockets of a circular shape on the two sides, and others on the breasts outside, and a slit on each side gave entrance to a large pocket that could hold any thing in the back of the garment. I have seen a pair of trowsers, two shirts, three or four pounds of bread, a bit of dirty bacon, cheese, etc., pulled out one after another when searching for some article that was missing. The waistcoats buttoned at the side, but had gilt buttons down the centre, for show or or nament; the larger ones were stamped with dogs' heads, birds, etc. There were two large circular pockets at the lower part of the waistcoats, in which were kept spare cartridges, balls, gunpowder, knives, etc.; and in the two smaller ones, higher up, the watch on the one side and percussion - caps in the other. This garment was of dark blue cloth, like the trowsers, which were cut in the ordinary way. "When the jackets were new they had all attached to the collars, by buttons, capuces, or hoods, which are drawn over the head at night, or when the weather is very cold, but most of them had been lost in the woods. A belt about three inches deep, divided by two partitions, to hold about fifty cartridges, completed the dress, which when new was very neat-looking and serviceable. Some of the cartridges were murderous missiles. Tin was soldered around the ball so as to hold the powder, which was kept in place by a plug of tow. When used the tow was taken out, and after the powder was poured down the barrel the case was reversed, and a lot of slugs being added, was rammed down, with the tow on top. These must be very destructive at close quarters; but they generally blaze at the soldiers, and vice versa, at such a distance that little harm is done, from the uncertain aim taken. Most of them had revolvers, kept either in belts or the left-hand pocket of their jackets. They were se cured by a silk cord around their necks, and fast- | ransom of 170,000 francs was fixed, and 109,250 ened to a ring in the butt of the pistol. Some few had stilettoes, only used for human victims. Many had ostrich-feathers, with turned up wide-awakes, which gave their wearers a theatrical and absurd appearance. Gay silk handkerchiefs round their necks and collars on their cotton shirts made them look quite dandies when these were clean, which was but seldom." The band were in unusual spirits, for besides Mr. Moens they had just captured Signor Francesco Visconti, son of a landed proprietor of Giffoni, a small village near by, and his cousin Tomasini, a lad of twelve, who turned out to be a regular imp of mischief. For these a actually paid by their friends soon after. So business was prospering; and moreover on this occasion they had enough to eat, for the about only time during the months in which Mr. Moens was with them. For in spite of an occasional rich prize the life of the bandits is one of constant privation, exposure, and terror. Mrs. Moens had an interview with Talarico, an ex-bandit chief who had left off business by arrangement with the Government, receiving pardon and a pension. "He was an extremely handsome man, with the smallest and most delicate hands," says Mrs. Moens. He interested himself considerably in endeav |