HOW MUSOLINO WAS CAUGHT.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 6 December 1901, Page 4

HOW MUSOLINO WAS CAUGHT.

The Famous Brigand Demands to see the King.

It now appears that Musolino was captured a week before the arrest was announced, but the police could not make quite sure of his identity at first.

When the Carbineers surrounded him Musolino said : "Let me go, let me go ! lam only a peasant, and I've done nothing." While ho was being taken to prison he said ; "If you let me off, I'll give you ten pounds—all I've got." When he found his guards could not be bribed, lie begged to be allowed to commit suicide, and said: "However well you look after me, I shall manage to do away with myself I cannot live without liberty, prison will kill me." Lat.-r on he a<-ked to be taken to Home and prosented to the King, so that ho might tell him who he really was, and protest his innocence. "I nrfver assassinated anybody, I only took my revenge. Vengeance is one of God's comma davnts"—so saying, ho showi d. han<*i ground his neck, a little medal (if 'Our Lady of Victory." He addtd:

"All tho newspapers have been talking about me. If I really am Gnis gpo Musolino, why uro you nos afraid of m«?"

For some (hy3 the authorities could not believe tint thoy really had Musoliue under lock and key, although they could not help noticing rhat their prisoner was of a diffsrant stamp to an ordinary malefactor.

He is r>f ntr.rae'ive appearancp, very weli bui t, has regular and rather pleading feature-, a "1 seems to be very intrlliiient. •Uchough h' wni wi aring peasant's c'othes he did not]wear them like a peasant, bub in a much more e'egant fashion,

Musoline had picked up a few words -of the Dalmatian patois, and tried at first to pass himself off as a native of that country-.

Since he has been in prison he has succumbed to nervous prostration, and says from time to timo: "I shall manage trt escape after all."

He is continually asking whether the newspapers are writing about him. He said to-day, after his first eximinathm before the magistrate i '■±3veil the foreign newspapers are interested in me. I must really be one of the best known people in the wholo of Italy."