by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER X.
WITH BIXIO.
Just as the ship carrying Garibaldi and his followers weighed anchor,Frank rode out from Palermo. The road was the best in the island, and hearrived late that evening at Polizzi, a distance of some forty milesfrom Palermo. On the following day he halted at Traina; here he found adetachment of Bixio's brigade, which was commanded by Rubini, whowelcomed him most cordially.
"Who would have thought of seeing you, Percival! Surely the general isnot coming this way?"
"He started yesterday to join Medici, and give battle to Bosco, who hassome seven thousand picked troops at Milazzo. He has sent me here withan order for Bixio."
"It is enough to make one tear one's hair," Rubini said, "to think thatwe are out of it."
"Well, we have done our share, Rubini, and although I was disappointedat first, I admit that it is only fair that the men who have done nofighting should have a turn. We have lost about a third of our number,and most of us have been wounded. Medici's corps have never fired a shotyet, nor have those of Cosenz; we shall have our share again when wecross to Calabria. Now, what are you doing here?"
"We are scattered about in small detachments, giving a sharp lesson,whenever we get the chance, to the revolutionists."
"But who are the revolutionists?"
"They are agents of the revolutionary committee--that is, of Mazzini andhis fanatics--and it seems that several parties of them were landed onthe east coast to get up a row on their own account; and just as Farinahas been trying to induce the country to throw over Garibaldi, anddeclare for Victor Emmanuel, of whom the people know nothing, and forwhom they care less, these agents have been trying to get them todeclare for a republic, and they have certainly had more success thanFarina had. There is nothing tangible in the idea of a king, while, whenthe poor fools are told that a republic means that the land and propertyof the rich are to be handed over to the poor, the programme has itsattractions. At any rate, it has its attractions for the brigands, ofwhom, at the best of times, there are always a number in the forests onthe slopes of Etna; and I have no doubt that money was freelydistributed among them to inflame their zeal. Several houses ofwell-to-do citizens and country proprietors had been looted, andsomething like a reign of terror had begun, before Bixio's brigademarched to restore order.
"You see there are a great many more of these bands in the forests thanusual. After the rising in the winter was suppressed, very many of thosewho took part in it dared not return to their homes, and so fled to thehills; the better class of these men came in as soon as our capture ofPalermo made it safe for them to do so. A company of them has beenformed, and is now with Bixio, and I believe that others have enlistedwith Medici; still there are a good many of the lower class who joinedin the rising, still among the hills. In a rebellion like this theinsurgents would be divided into two classes--the one true patriots, theother men who join in the hope of plunder, the discontented riffraff ofthe towns. A life in the mountains offers great attractions to these: inthe first place they don't have to work for a living, and in the nextthere is always the chance of carrying off some rich proprietor andgetting a large ransom for him. These therefore go to swell the ranks ofthe men who have for years set the authorities of the island atdefiance, and have terrorised all the people dwelling on the plains atthe foot of Etna.
"Just at present all these men call themselves republicans, and had itnot been for Bixio's arrival they would have established a perfect reignof terror. We here have shot a good many, and I believe Bixio has alsogiven them some sharp lessons; at any rate, our presence here haseffectually stopped the game of the revolutionists in the towns andvillages on the plain, but it will be a long time indeed beforebrigandage can be suppressed, and of course there is no intention ofattempting such a business now; that will be a work that must beundertaken by government, when Italy has achieved her freedom, and feelsin a position to turn her attention to putting down these bands whichhave for years past--I may almost say for centuries--been a disgrace toour land. We are here solely to put a stop to the revolutionarymovement, just as Garibaldi put a stop to the royal movement by sendingFarina out of the island."
"And where is Bixio?"
"He has been sweeping through the small towns and villages round thefoot of the mountains, and will this afternoon, I believe, arrive atBronte, which has been the headquarters of this revolutionary business.I expect he will put his foot heavily on the men who have been foremostin stirring the people up there. Bixio is just the man for this work. Heknows that one sharp lesson impresses the minds of people like theseSicilians, and has far more effect than lenient measures or verbalreproofs. They have to be taught that it is not for them to meddle inaffairs of state. All these matters must be left to theirrepresentatives in parliament and the government of the country. Thepetty authorities of these little towns come to regard themselves asimportant personages, and indulge themselves in prating on publicaffairs, instead of minding their own business, which, in this case, isto do their best to give protection to the people in their districtsagainst the incursions of bands of brigands. I suppose you go onto-morrow?"
"Yes; I shall start at daybreak; it is not many hours' ride."
"I have about a score of mounted men here, Percival. I will send four ofthem with you."
"Surely there is no occasion for that," Frank said.
"Well, I don't know: I think there is. There are no large bands, so faras I know, down in the plain at present; but some of these gangs havebroken up, especially those that came from the mainland, and have not asyet taken to the mountains. They go about perpetrating crimes atdetached houses or on any traveller they meet. I need not say that atpresent their animosity to the red shirts is bitter, and that in revengefor their comrades who have been shot or hanged, they would certainlykill any of us on whom they could lay hands; so it would be better foryou to have four men as an escort. They might as well be doing that asanything else, for just at present there is nothing going on abouthere, and it is as dull as it would be in a small garrison town inNorthern Italy. How long do you suppose it will be before we joinGaribaldi at Messina?"
"Not for some little time, I think. If he and Medici defeat Bosco atMilazzo, as I suppose they will, he will at once go on to Messina; buthis message to Bixio was that it must take some time to make thepreparations for crossing to the mainland, and that until he sends wordto the general to join him, he is to continue his work of stamping outthis movement in restoring order, in reorganising the municipalauthorities, and in placing the administration of the towns and villagesin the hands of well-affected men, so that there can be no chance ofMazzini's party causing any serious disturbances again, after he hasleft."
"I see you still wear your arm in a sling?"
"Yes; Mantoni told me that it would not be safe to take it out of thesplints for another month, but he had every hope that when I did so Ishould be able to use it, though I must not put too much strain on it.Of course it is a nuisance, but I have every reason to be thankful, forI was afraid for a time that I was going to lose it altogether."
"It was a grand thing, the defence of that house, Percival."
"It was a grand thing that that shell struck the stairs just when itdid, for another minute would have seen the end of the defence and ofour lives. As it was, that explosion saved four of us, for the woundedmen we carried off are all convalescent,--and also the lives of fivewomen and eight children, for, exasperated as the Neapolitans were, theywould assuredly have shown no more mercy there than they did in theother houses they entered. I have been well rewarded, for Garibaldi hasmade me captain."
Sarto and Maffio returned at this moment, and the three heartilycongratulated Frank on his promotion. They had been away with a smalldetachment to a village three miles distant, in search of a man who hadbeen one of the most prominent in stirring up the peasantry, but he hadleft before they got there. They spent a pleasant evening together, andin the morning Frank started with the four mounted men and rode toBronte. Just
as he approached the town he heard several volleys ofmusketry, and on inquiry found that thirty men who had been captured onthe march or caught in hiding in the town had been shot. All werestrangers--either revolutionary agents or brigands. On inquiring for thegeneral, he found that he had just gone to the town hall, where he hadordered the municipal authorities and the principal citizens to meethim. Putting up his horse, he went there first. Bixio had just begun tospeak.
"If I had done my duty," he said, "you as well as the men who have beenstirring up riot and revolution would be lying dead outside the town. Itis scandalous that you, men who have been elected by your fellows forthe maintenance of order and good government in this town and district,should allow yourselves to be terrified into obedience by a handful ofagitators, instead of calling out all the men capable of bearing armsand suppressing the sedition at once. You have failed miserably in yourduty. The man who came as your deliverer is now, in the hour of battle,weakened by being compelled to send part of his army to suppress thedisorder at which you have connived. You private citizens are scarcelyless to blame: when you saw that these men were allowing brigandage androbbery to go on unchecked and making speeches subversive of orderinstead of doing their duty, you should have taken the matter into yourown hands, expelled them from the offices they disgraced, and appointedworthier men as your representatives."
He spoke to an officer standing by him, who went out and returned withtwenty soldiers who had been drawn up outside the hall. Bixio remainedsilent during his absence, and now said: "Captain Silvio, you willarrest the syndic and these municipal councillors, and march them off toprison. They may think themselves fortunate that I do not order them tobe shot for conniving at sedition, and permitting these brigands tocarry on their work of crime with impunity."
The soldiers surrounded the men pointed out, and marched away with them.
"Now, sirs," Bixio then went on to the private citizens, "you will atonce placard the town with notices that the most worthy and loyal man inthe town, whoever he may be, is nominated by me as syndic, and thattwelve others, all of them loyal and true men, are appointed municipalcouncillors. I leave it to you to make the choice, but mind that it be agood one. Of course I wish men of standing and influence to beappointed, but the one absolute qualification is that they shall be menwho have shown themselves opposed to the conduct of those who will passthe next six months in prison; who can be trusted to maintain law andorder with a strong hand, to punish malefactors, and to carry out allorders they may receive from General Garibaldi, Dictator of the Islandof Sicily. Let me have the names of the men you have chosen in thecourse of an hour. I shall have inquiries made as to the character andreputation of each before confirming their appointment. I have nothingmore to say."
The men retired, looking greatly crestfallen; and Bixio, turning round,saw for the first time Frank, who had quietly taken up his place behindhim. The young fellow had been a great favourite of his ever since hesaw him on the occasion of his first visit to Garibaldi.
"Ah, Percival, I am glad to see you, and that you should be here is aproof that your arm is getting stronger. I suppose you are here onduty?"
"Yes, sir; knowing that rumours of various kinds might reach you, thegeneral has sent me to tell you that he has started with a portion ofCosenz's men to reinforce Medici, and to attack Bosco at Milazzo. Heconsiders that he will have sufficient force for the purpose, but ifnot, he will, in a couple of days after he arrives there, be joined bythe rest of Cosenz's command, who are proceeding by land. After beatingBosco, he will go on to Messina. It will take him a considerable time tomake all the preparations needful for the expedition to the mainland,and he wishes you to continue your work here, to put down all disorder,and to organise and establish strong and loyal municipal and districtcouncils in this part of the island, so that when he advances, he needhave no cause for any anxiety whatever for the state of affairs here. Hewill send you ample notice when all is in readiness for the invasion ofCalabria."
"I should like to be at Milazzo," Bixio said, "but as that is nowimpossible I should prefer remaining here until Garibaldi is ready tostart, to hanging about Messina for weeks: that sort of thing is verybad for young troops. Here they get plenty of marching, and a certainamount of drill every day, and in another month or six weeks even thelatest recruits, who arrived before we left Palermo, will be fit to takepart in a battle by the side of our veterans. Are you to stay with me,or to go on to Messina?"
"I had no explicit order, sir, but from what the general said, Igathered that he thought it better for me to stay, at any rate for thepresent, with you. The doctor said that I must keep my arm in a slingfor some time to come, and although I did not ride here at any greatspeed, I feel some sharp twinges in it, and think I should wait a fewdays before I mount again. After that I shall be happy to carry out anyorders, or perform any duty, with which you may think fit to intrustme."
"Quite right, Percival. You will, of course, be attached to my staffwhile you are with me, and I will set you to easy work when I consideryou fit to undertake it. Now that I have put things in train here, Ishall make it my headquarters for a time, but shall be sending partiesto the hills. I know that the villages there are all terrorised by thebrigands, and although it is hopeless to try to stamp these fellows out,I may strike a few blows at them. The worst of it is, that half thepeasantry are in alliance with them, and the other half know that it isas much as their lives are worth to give any information as to thebrigands' movements, so that to a large extent I shall have to trust toluck. When you are able to ride again, I will send you off with one ofthese parties, for I am sure that the air of the slopes of Etna will doan immense deal towards setting you up again, while the heat in theplains is very trying, especially to those who are not in robust health,and are unaccustomed to a climate like this."
"It is hot," Frank said. "I started my journeys very early in themorning, and stopped for five or six hours in the middle of the day; butI think that, even in that way, the heat has taken a good deal more outof me than the fatigue of riding."
"I have no doubt that is so; and I should recommend you, for the nextweek, to rise at daybreak, lie down, or at any rate keep within doors,between ten or eleven and five in the afternoon, and then take gentleexercise again, and enjoy yourself until eleven or twelve o'clock atnight. Even the natives of the island keep indoors as far as possibleduring the heat of the day, at this time of year, and if they find itnecessary, it is still more so for you. I suppose you came throughTraina last night?"
"Yes, sir; and was very glad to find Rubini and my other two friendsthere."
The next week passed pleasantly. Bixio himself was often away, makingflying visits to the towns and villages where he had left detachments;but as there were several of the officers of the force at Bronte, whohad crossed in the same ship with him from Genoa, and by whose side hehad fought at Calatafimi and Palermo, Frank had very pleasant society.Indeed, as the majority of the force were men of good family andeducation, there was, when off duty, little distinction of rank, andwith the tie of good comradeship, and of dangers and fatigues borne incommon, there was none of the stiffness and exclusiveness thatnecessarily prevail in regular armies. All of the original thousand knewFrank well, had heard how largely the expedition was indebted for itssuccess to the aid his mother had sent, and how he had distinguishedhimself in the fighting, and they welcomed him everywhere with theutmost cordiality.
Early in the morning he always went for a walk, and was usuallyaccompanied by one or two of his acquaintances who happened to be offduty. After taking a meal, he generally spent the evening sitting in theopen air in front of the principal _cafe_, eating ices, drinking coffee,and chatting with the officers who gathered there. At the end of a weekhe no longer felt even passing pains in his arm, and reported to Bixiothat he was ready for work again.
"Not hard work," the general said; "but I can give you employment thatwill suit you. I am calling in Rubini's detachment from Traina, wherethings are settling down, a
nd shall send fifty men under his command tothe village of Latinano. It is some three thousand feet above the sea,and you will find it much more cool and pleasant there than it is here.Other villages, on about the same line, will also be occupied. Thebrigands have found that it is no longer safe to come down into theplains, and I am going to push them as far up the slopes as I can:possibly we may then be able to obtain some information from thepeasants below that line as to the principal haunts of these fellows inthe mountains. At present these villages that I am going to occupy areall used by the brigands, whom the people regard as good customers; andthough they ill-treat and murder without mercy any they suspect of beinghostile to them, it is of course to their interest to keep well with themajority, and to pay for what they want. Terror will do a good dealtowards keeping men's mouths shut; but anything like the generalill-treatment of the population would soon drive somebody to betraythem.
"Of course, hitherto the brigands have had little fear of treachery. Thecommanders of the Bourbon troops had no disposition to enter upontoilsome expeditions, which offered small prospect of success, merelyto avenge the wrongs of the peasants; but now matters have changed. Weare not only willing, but eager, to suppress these bands; and, seeingthat we are in earnest, some of the peasantry may pluck up heart enoughto endeavour to get rid of those who at present hold them at theirmercy.
"However, I own I have no very great hopes that it will be so. Thereexists, and has existed for many years, an association called the Mafia,which extends over the whole island. It comprises men of all classes,from the highest to the lowest, and exercises a terrible power. No one,save the leaders, know who are its members, and therefore each distrustshis neighbour. A murder is committed. Every one may be perfectly wellaware who is its author, and yet no one dare say a word. If by somechance the carabinieri, knowing the assassin had a standing feud withthe victim, lay hands upon him, the organisation sets to work. The judgehimself may be a member; if not, he speedily receives an intimation thathis own life will be forfeited if the murderer is condemned. But it isseldom that this is necessary. The jailors are bribed or terrorised, andwhen the time comes for him to be brought to trial, it is found that hehas mysteriously escaped; and, in the few cases where a man is broughtinto court, no witnesses dare appear against him, and he is certain tobe acquitted. It is a scandalous state of things, and one which, we mayhope, will be changed when Italy is free, and able to attend to itsdomestic affairs. But at present the organisation is all-powerful, sothat you see it is not only the vengeance of the brigands, but the powerof the Mafia, which seals men's mouths, and enables criminals to carryon their proceedings with but little fear of the arm of the law."
"I am much obliged to you for sending me up with Rubini," Frank said;"and I shall greatly enjoy the mountain air, but I hardly see that I canbe of much service there."
"Not much, perhaps; but it will fit you to do duty when we land inCalabria. Rubini's corps is, like the rest, composed partly of men whohave seen service before, with a few of the thousand; but with them area large proportion of fresh arrivals, as brave, no doubt, as the others,but without their experience. He will at times make excursions if he canobtain news of a party of brigands being in the neighbourhood, in whichcase he will naturally take the men he can most rely upon; and I shallrequest him when he is away to intrust the command of those left in thevillage to you, who are one of the thousand. You are a captain, as Iheard with much pleasure in a letter from Garibaldi, and on thegeneral's staff; and as you showed how stoutly you could defend a houseagainst an overwhelming force, you could certainly hold a village withfifteen or twenty men against any number of brigands who might try totake advantage of the absence of a portion of the force to attack thosethat remained there. However, it is not likely that anything of the sortwill take place: the brigands are not fond of fighting unless there isample booty to be obtained, though they might endeavour to avenge thelosses they have sustained by a sudden attack, if they thought theycould take you wholly unawares. Rubini will arrive here with his corpsto-morrow afternoon, and will start the next day with half hisdetachment; the other half will go to Malfi, a village ten miles fromLatinano."
"You are looking better," Rubini said, as Frank met him, when thecompany piled arms in the principal square in the town. "You said youwere all right when I saw you the other day, but you were not lookingso."
"No; I was feeling the ride, and my arm was hurting me a bit. However,ten days' rest has set me all right again, and I am quite equal tomoderate work. Do you know what you are going to do?"
"No, I have only orders to march in here to-day."
"Well, I can tell you. Several detachments, of fifty men each, are goingup to the villages some three thousand feet up the slopes of Etna. Yourcompany is to be divided into two. You with half of them are to go toLatinano, and the other half to Malfi, a place ten miles from it. Yourlieutenant, Pasco, will take the other wing to Malfi. I am going withyou."
"Well, in that case I shall not mind it, though it will not be livelythere unless we have a brush with the brigands. It will at any rate be agreat deal cooler than Traina, which was an oven for six hours everyday. Are you going as second in command?"
"To a certain extent, yes. Bixio said that, as I should be no good forfighting at present, I was to take command of the village when you wereaway brigand-hunting. He said that naturally you would take your bestmen for that work, and leave some of those who have had as yet noexperience in fighting to take care of the village."
"Well, they could not be left in better hands than yours," Rubini saidheartily. "I shall be very glad to have you with me."
At daybreak the next morning Rubini's little column got into motion.Frank was the only mounted officer, and he took his place by the side ofBixio, who marched at the head of the column. The rise was steady, andthough occasionally they came to steeper places, there was no pause,with the exception of a couple of halts for a few minutes, and theyreached Latinano at eleven o'clock, having been nearly seven hours onthe way. There was no demonstration of welcome when they arrived, nordid they expect it. Doubtless such of the villagers as felt glad to seethem march in would be afraid to show it openly, as they would assuredlysuffer, were they to do so, when the troop marched away again. Rubini atonce quartered his men in twos and threes among the houses. He himself,with Frank as his lieutenant, accepted the invitation of the priest,whose house was the best in the village, to stay there.
"It is not like the Palazzo at Palermo, Percival," Rubini laughed; "butyou can scarcely expect that on Mount Etna; at any rate, it is a vastimprovement on our camping ground on the plains."
The priest set before them what provisions he had in the house, andassured them that he would provide better for them in the future.Rubini, however, knowing how poor were the priests of these mountainvillages, told him that, although they thankfully accepted hishospitality on that occasion, they would in the future cater forthemselves.
"We have," he said, "two waggons following us; they will be up by theevening. We have no idea of imposing ourselves, or our men, upon theinhabitants of this village, who assuredly could hardly fill fiftyadditional mouths. We have brought with us flour, wine, and othernecessaries, and no doubt we shall be able to purchase sheep and goatsfrom your people, who, by the way, did not appear to be very muchpleased at our arrival."
"You must not blame them, signor. In the first place, they are poor; andonce, when a detachment of Bourbon troops came up here, they devouredeverything, and paid for nothing: happily they only stayed for a week,or the village would have been ruined. After the tales that have beenspread of the lawlessness of Garibaldi's troops, they must have fearedthat even worse than what before happened was about to befall them."
"They do nothing but tell lies of us," Rubini said angrily. "Never sincewe landed at Marsala have we taken a mouthful of food without paying forit, unless it has been spontaneously offered to us, as it was when wewere fighting at Palermo."
"I have no doubt that what you say is true,
signor; but the poor peoplehave been taught to believe otherwise, so they are hardly to blame ifthey did not evince any lively joy at your arrival. Moreover, they donot know how long you are going to stay here, and are well aware thatany who show satisfaction at your coming, or who afford you any aid orhospitality beyond that which they dare not refuse, will be reported tothe brigands, who will take a terrible revenge after you have left thevillage."
"I can understand that their position is not a comfortable one," Rubinisaid; "but the people of these districts have largely brought it uponthemselves. I do not say that they are in a position to resist largeparties of brigands, but their sympathy seems to be everywhere withthese scoundrels; they afford them every information in their power,screen them in every way, give false information to the carabinieri, andhinder the course of justice. People who act thus must not be surprisedif they are regarded as allies of these bands, and they must put up withthe inconvenience of having troops quartered upon them, and may thinkthemselves fortunate that the consequences are no worse. At present weare not here to act against the brigands alone, as that work must bepostponed until other matters are settled, and the government has timeto turn its attention to rooting out a state of things that isdisgraceful to the country. We are here now as the agents of GeneralGaribaldi, Dictator of Sicily, to suppress--not crime--but thestirring-up of insurrection and revolt against the existing governmentof the island."
"I heartily wish that it could be rooted out," the priest said. "I canassure you that we, whose work lies in these mountain villages, feel theevil consequences to the full as much as those who work in the towns andvillages lying round the foot of the mountains. It is not that ourpeople suffer so greatly in pocket--for the most part they are too poorto be robbed; the few that are better off pay a yearly contribution, andas long as they do so are left in peace, while the better class down inthe plains are liable at any time to be seized and compelled to payperhaps their all to save their lives. The harm is rather to their soulsthan to their bodies; as you say, their sympathies are wholly with thebrigands, they come to regard them as heroes, and to think lightly ofthe terrible crimes they commit upon others; and not infrequently someyoung man more enterprising than the rest, or one who has perhapsstabbed a rival in love or has been drawn for service in the army, takesto the hills and joins them, and for so doing he incurs no reprobationwhatever. It is a sad state of things, and I trust that when yourgeneral has settled all other matters in the island he will employ hiswhole force in a campaign against the brigands. It is not a work to betaken up by small parties; the evil has grown to such dimensions thatnothing short of an army would root it out, and indeed it could onlythen be accomplished by months of patient work, so extensive are theforests, so great the facility for concealment."
"It will fall to other hands than Garibaldi's, father. His mission is todeliver Sicily and the mainland from the Bourbon rule, and then to handthem over to Victor Emmanuel, who, a free king over a free nation, willbe able to remove all these abuses that have flourished under theBourbons. As for us, we are soldiers without pay, fighting for love ofour country. When we have done our work and freed it from itsoppressors, we shall return to our homes, and leave it to the king, hisparliament, and the regular army to put down such abuses as thisbrigandage. I suppose, father, it would hardly be fair to ask you ifthere are many of these fellows in the neighbourhood?"
The priest smiled. "I do not mind telling you that there was a band ofsome fifty of them within five miles of this place yesterday. Thismorning it was known that several detachments of troops would march fromBronte at daybreak, and that their destination was the mountains. I haveno doubt whatever that the news was carried to the band half an hourlater; and by this time they are probably twenty miles away up in theforests, but in which direction I have no idea, nor do I know what theirplans are. It may be that so long as these villages are held they willmove round to the other side of Etna. It may be that several of thebands will unite and attack one or other of your parties, not for whatthey think they would get, but as a lesson that it would be better toleave them alone. I should say that, except by pure accident, you arenot likely to catch sight of a brigand--unless, indeed, one comes downhere as a shepherd from the hills, to make some small purchases, and togather news."
"I think that is likely to be the result of our journey," Rubinilaughed; "but, nevertheless, our being here will have served itspurpose. So long as we and the other detachments are up here, thebrigands will not care to venture into the plain; nor will the agents ofthe revolution who are with them. If they do, they are not likely to getsafely back again. I may tell you that signals have been arranged bywhich smoke from the hill-tops near Bronte will give us information thatsome of these bands have passed down the mountain, the direction inwhich they have gone, and that in which they are retiring; and I fancythey will hardly regain the mountains without being intercepted by oneor other of our parties. It is true that we shall not remain here verylong; but by the time we go, there will be a very different systemestablished throughout the island; and they will find in future thatthey can no longer get friends and abettors among the local authorities,but will have to meet an active resistance, that plunder cannot beobtained without fighting, and that even when obtained it will not becarried off to the hills without a hot pursuit being maintained."
"I shall be glad indeed if it is so," the priest said. "If the people ofthe towns and villages will but combine, and are actively supported bysmall bodies of troops in all the towns, it will deal a far heavier blowto brigandage than can be effected by sending flying expeditions intothe mountains."