Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 July 1891 — ISLAND OF CORSICA. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ISLAND OF CORSICA.

(WANDERINGS IN THE HOME OF THE BONAPARTES. ’Character of the Corsicans The Ven- , Uetta —Corsican Equality—Failure of KsI forte to C rilize the Island- Mot a Faver--1 its Resort for Towrists.

Island of Corsica, Lg'dr being oil the usual @UJL| lines of summer travel, is seldom visited BSwpn by tourists, nor are they encouraged to undertake it in tho course of a tour, as its Say population have acP\/.«a quired a not altogether undeservfd

reputation for crime. For many roaJsons, however, says the Globe-Democrat, Corsica is interest ns to the enterpris ng traveler who sees lit "to und rtako an examination of its rural districts, and a tour through the heart of the island will well repay the curious student of human nature. The territory to bj traversed Is by no means considerable, as Corsica is about 116 miles long by fifty broad in .its widest part, and contains 3,000 square Indies, being therefore about as large as Delawa:e and Rhode Island together. Within this comparatively limited district it comprises, however, as large a variety of scenery as can ba found, in any other part of Europe. Although situated under a favorable climate, although blessed with a fertile soil capable of bringing to perfection the vegetable productions of any part of the globe, Corsica is little flavored in the

character of its inhabitants; they are not fomd of farm work, and, out of the more than 2,000,000 acres of arable land In the island, less than 600,000 are cultivated, .aDd this very badly A large portion of the island is covered by forests; a still larger portion by a species of brushwood. plants of a hundred kinds, mostly (fragrant bloomers, combine to produce the densest thicket or jungle to be found outside of India Here and there the [brush dS'cut down or cleared out in order that grass may grow for the benefit of the herds; but as the Corsican sheep and jgoatsibrowse upon the mountains, sonaeitfmes far above the timber line, where j the grass grows with great abundance, [even this precaution for providing them ,a pasture is generally neglected, and ■they pick up their living where they can. • The population of Corsica is a mixed trace, for the island has been ruled successively by,the Phoenicians, the Cartbajginians, the Greeks, J omans, Goths amd Vandals, to say nothing of the ©id Pisans, ttho Genoese, and the French, who have come in later times, and the unfortunate Corsicans seem to partake, in a manner at least, of the combined i bad qualities of ail their ancestors 'Their faults are innumerable, and have I too often been dwelt on to render a dis-

jeerfcatton either pleasant or But they have some good qualities: they •are liberty-loving, open-hearted, generous, and hospitable The Corsican peasant at whose house you stop for a meal will be insulted at the offer of pay. 'ihe Corsican shepherd will go miles out of Ms way to direct you in the right road, and will haugliti y refuse a gratuity for ifais services. Even the Corsican innkeeper will not make you out a bill, but will, as a late tour-st expresses it, “give a shot,” apparently off-hand, at what he thiuks you owe him, and his charges are always extremely moderate The manners of the middle ages prevail in the 'heart of the Island, a sort of feudal system,without the feudal ru e or restraint The humblest Corsican considers himself the equal of the richest land owner. The laborer will treat his employer on terms ot perfect equality; Thus, while the Corsicans make fine irregular troops, it is extremely difficult to discipline them on account of the license which prevails In social life; for, while the Corsican recognizes an officer .as bis equa 1 , he is loath in the extreme to admit that any one may be his superior. Nominally under the control of France, the people of the island have practically been left to their own devices, and govern themselves as JJjsy please. In the towns * 1 e

French authority is recognized, bnt in the country and in the visages the French Government is acknowledged only when the authority of a magistrate is supplemented by that of a regiment of soldiers. The nominal character of tho French authority is best seen in tho light of the fact that the vendetta is stiff reoognizc-d in Corsica as an acknowledged method of administering justice. The vendetta is an outgrowth of oentur'es of maladministration by the Genoese and Pisans. The Genoese conquered the island so far as the sea coast was con erned. and put down with remorseless hand all attempts at opon rcbe lion, but during their administration the execution of the laws was a merely nominal thing; the Genoese judges held up justice for sale, and that at a price which made it unattainable by the poor. Rich murder, rs oould escape; those who had no means were puuished; tho poor had no recourse against the rich, and these took the law into their own hands. With duo allowance for the difference in the national characteristics of the two people, the vendetta is to Corsi a what the administration of lynch law was some years ago in certain portions of the mining States —a protest against the law and inefficient administration of justice. At present the vendetta prevails in Corsica with as much virulence is ever. All classes of people go armed to the teeth; the shepherd, elsewhere peaceable, in Corsica carries a loaded musket, a pair of pistols in his belt, and usually has concea'ed somewhere on his person a murderous stiletto. The slightest insult is sufficient to provoke a deadly feud; a quare! which elsewhere would end in a few blows, in Corsica is the be-

grnning'of a long-series of murders. A man is killed: his relatives would consider themselves dishonored if they failed to kill his murderer; then the friends of the murderer retort by killing'the second slayer, and so goes the (blood rßtain, from family to family, for generation after generation. So prevalent'was the vendetta system during the early part of this century, that, in the (twenty years beginning with 1821, over 4,000 murders were committed in a poplation of less than 100,000 men. As a traveler of that time stated, it seemed as if half Corsica were avoiding or seeking tbe lives of the other ha f. The slayer of a man becomes by his own choice an outlaw, for he knows that the •relatives of his victim are constantly on his track, so bo leaves his home and (takes to the dense growth which covers .the Corsican hills, and there for the time being is safe. But only for the •time, for the Corsican’s vengeance never sleeps, never tires. Men have been known to live for years behind the battlements of their own houses, not daring to set foot without their own doors, and at last, when they thought the avenger was far away, went forth only to fall at their own doorsteps by a musket shot from the hidden foe. But the

aveng-r docs uot consider it necessary to expose his own life; a shot, from ambuscade is quite as efficacious; a stab in - the back will kid just as quickly as one in the breast: and thus the brutal system c f assassination goes on. The murderers of Corsica are the socalled brigands, but they differ materially from the brigands of Italy. The object of the latter is nl under, but the former disdain to rob: their friends and relatives are not slow to pnovide all their necessary wants, furnish them with the simple food that satisfies their hunger, and warn them of the approach of the gens d armes; so they want tor nothing: their sole object is to avenge death by committing another murder. The wild desire for vengeance seems to have extended even to the women of Corsica, and their fuheral songs, the dirges Sung over the dead body of a murde.red kinsman, comprise a whole literature, the literature of cursing, bitterness and revenge: not a mourning for the dead, but a curse directed toward the iiviug. Crimes against property are few, but life i» held in so slight esteem that some years ago when an English sheep farmer had a difference with a neighbor, the manager of his flocks came to him quietly and intimated that for 85 he could have the man shot But each is the

popular esteem for the honor of those who have avenged murder by themselves becoming murderers that the brigands are safe in their brushy fastnesses. The greatest Honor of Corsica is in having given birth to Napoleon, and its greatest show place is the house where he was born, it is in A. accio, one of

the best towns in the island, and the future Emperor was born in one of the best hopses of the town, for tho Bonaparte family were by no mean 9 so poor as they have been represented. The house is still a famous show place, for although the. French affect to despise Corsica, and the Corsicans have no love for the French, thousands of Frenchmen every year visit tho spot whore their greatest ruler first saw the light. Much of the furniture used by the Bonaparbes in Ajaccio still remains, though not in its for relic hunters have bought or stolen piece by piece, until, of tjome of tho chairs, only the frames, remain, and although tho greatest care is exercised in the preservation of the property, little by little detachable portions disappear. Although France was his adopted home, Napoleon had a great affection for Corsica He loved its mountains and valleys, and said he could detect tho smell of the Corsican flowers miles out at sea. Ho made many plans for the improvement of the Island and to better the condition of its population, but never carried them out, for ho could not spare the leisure from his vast conti nental schemes to perfect measures for the improvement of Corsica. Far more was done for it by Napoleon 111. Roads were built to every part of the Island; bridges were constructed over tho torrents, and on each side of tho French highways wide clearings were made, so that lyiug in wait with intent to murder was made more difficult than it had ever been before. Roads were constructed for the passage of French troops and in order that brigandage might be suppressed, Napoleon thus hoping to abolish tho vendetta In furtherance of this plan, an edict was passed forbidding any firearms or am-

munition whatever to be sold in Corsica. The soldiers went from house to houo collecting gams, pistols, and daggers. The whole isianJ was swept from end to end, and (murderers were captured. Sonne were put to death: more were sent to prison (for long terms; and some wore exiled and forbidden to return. Jhe measures-wore effective. Not being allowed the use of firearms cvenffor sporting purposes, .aud the posse-slon of a dagger being a penal offense, the vendetta declined, only to revive, however, after the (abrogation <of tho edict. Tho many virtues of the Corsicans, their noble traitsof character, all pale into insignificance .in the light of the fact that the most cowardly forms of assassination .are daily •employed to gratify private vengeance. ilt is theworst stain on tire history of the island and on ihe character of its people, and, although this laud so favored,lies at the very doors of France, it unust-stillibe considered as in u seoni-harbarous condition.

A VILLAGE IN THE WOUNTAINS.

A STREET IN AJACCIO.

THE HOUSE WHERE NAPOLEON WAS BORN.