Attenuation measurements of reaction and total cross sections have been made for ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ beams at 410, 464, and 492 MeV on targets of ${\mathrm{CD}}_{2},$ ${}^{6}\mathrm{Li},$ C, Al, S, Ca, Cu, Zr, Sn, and Pb. These results are assisted by and compared to predictions from a recent eikonal optical model. Calculations with this model, which does not include pion absorption, agree with recent elastic scattering data, but are significantly below our measured reaction and total cross sections.