11. The Road to Banditry
Lampiao’s path to banditry started with petty stuff, then snowballed. In 1916, when he was still Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, not yet the famous or infamous Lampiao, he and three of his brothers were accused of goat theft, and were forced to financially compensate the accuser. Shortly thereafter, two cowbells belonging to a local named Ze Saturnino were found on cows from the Ferreira family herd. In retaliation, Saturnino seized three cowbells from the Ferreira herd, and put them on his own cows. In response, a young Virgulino seized one of Saturnino’s donkeys. Saturnino accused the Ferreiras of being a family of theives, which offended Virgulino. He told Saturnino to come fetch his donkey from the Ferreira’s yard, and while he was doing that, Virgulino snuck off to kill nine of Saturnino’s cattle while their owner was absent.
Saturnino spoke with Virgulino’s father, and warned him not to let his sons herd cattle anymore. The Ferreira brothers ignored the warning, and were ambushed by Saturnino, in a clash during which Virgulino’s older brother was injured. Virgulino’s father sought justice from the authorities, but no action was taken. Efforts by other locals to mediate the dispute failed, so in 1917, in an attempt to avoid further conflict, Virgulino’s father sold his land and moved the family to another farm near the village of Nazare do Pico, Pernambuco. Saturnino promised not to go anywhere near the Ferreira’s new residence, but in 1918 he broke that promise to fetch some money owed him in Nazare. There, he was ambushed by Virgulino and a cousin, but got away. Saturnino returned the next day, with fifteen men, and surrounded the Ferreira’s farm. In a clash that followed, one of Saturnino’s men was shot.
