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410332

WARRIORS OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS: PODGORICA,

PEEPS AT

MANY LANDS

MONTENEGRO
A LAND OF WARRIORS
BY

ROY TREVOR
AUTHOR OF

"MY BALKAN

TOUR," "EN ROUTE," ETC., ETC.

WITH TWELVE FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR BY

ALLAN STEWART

LONDON

ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK

r-

AS'

TILC

>NS.

L_

"0

smallest
C
f

Great Crnagora never since thine own Black ridges drew the cloud and broke the storm Has breathed a race of mightier mountaineers."
!

among peoples! rough rock-throne Of Freedom! warriors beating back the swarm Turkish Islam for five hundred years,

TENNYSON.

11

TO THE

DEAR PRINCESS
WHO EACH YEAR MAKES MY
THIS BOOK
IS

LIFE

SUNNIER BY HER PRESENCE

AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.

Ill

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
I.

A PEEP AT THE BLACK MOUNTAIN

II.

THE MAKING OF A NATION

..... ......
.
. .

PAGE
I

III.

THE SMALLEST CAPITAL IN EUROPE

A THOUSAND BATTLEFIELDS IN ONE

l8

IV.

V.

TOWARDS ALBANIA
PODGORICA
A PEEP AT

VI.

....... .........
.
.

2Q

33

40

VII.

MONTENEGRIN LIFE

.48 '54

VIII.

HATCHES, MATCHES, AND DISPATCHES

IX.

TRUE TALES OF THE SAVAGE BORDERLAND

TALES OF THE VENDETTA
NIK^ld
A

X.

XI.

AND THE OLD MONASTERY OF OSTROG

XII.

PEEP AT SCUTARI

XIII.

THE SEABOARD OF MONTENEGRO

A

XIV.

PEEP AT POLITICS

...... ....... .......

.

'59
64

.69
75

So

84

LIST

OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IN

COLOUR
.

WARRIORS OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS

Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

SUNRISE

MISTS LIFTING

FROM THE NAKED " KARST

.

'

9
1

NJEGUSI

BIRTHPLACE OF KING NIKOLAS

IN

THE MARKET-PLACE, CETINJE

:

....
.

25

EVER READY

WEEKLY DRILL AND INSPECTION OF WEAPONS

.
.
.

32

PODGORICA, UPON THE ALBANIAN FRONTIER

MARKET DAY

.........
SCUTARI
.
.

-41
48
57

YOUNG TURKS AT PODGORICA

A MOSLEM

WOMAN AT

...... ......
.
. .

64

ALBANIANS OUTSIDE SCUTARI

-73
80
On
the

VIR PAZAR, UPON THE LAKE OF SCUTARI

FEARLESS AND FREE

A MONTENEGRIN NEAR KOLASIN

Cover

Sketch-Map of Montenegro on page

viii.

vn

BOSNIA

HERZEGOVINA
Mostar

SKETCH-MAP OF MONTENEGRO.
viii

PEEP

AT MONTENEGRO
CHAPTER
I

A PEEP AT THE BLACK MOUNTAIN

"

WHEN God

was making the world

He

carried

all

the

mountains
there as

negro

He thought He halted, in order

when by

in a great sack, and placed them here and While passing over Montebest.

to

make

a gift of a

mountain

to the country,

great misfortune the sack burst,

and the mountains, rocks, and stones came tumbling down pell-mell on to poor Montenegro, where to this day they form a bewildering mass." So runs the popular legend, which has grown up in
account for the existence of that great of bleak and rugged mountains that conassemblage stitute the Montenegrin Kingdom and the endeared
the land
to

home

realise

in England can scarcely our own lives are those from different vastly of the simple folk who live in this mountain-girt and rock-strewn territory, which, really of less size

of a warrior race.

We

how

though

than Wales, yet possesses war-annals that brilliantly and daringly surpass those of the entire world.

MON.

A
First,

Peep

at

Montenegro

If

you must understand where Montenegro is. you examine a map of Southern Europe you will
somewhat resembles
a

notice Italy, that, jutting out into the Mediterranean

Sea,

badly-formed

leg.

Opposite

" the " heel of Italy, and across the Adriatic, lies Turkeyin-Europe; and where Turkey greets Bosnia there is a
small irregular patch, probably of different colour from the rest of the map, that is Montenegro, surrounded

upon
his

all

sides

by powerful enemies.
the history of

Most

know how Men, Merry

of us

Robin

Hood

and

ful Barons,

who,

in

they were outlawed by the powerthe Lion-Heart's absence, took upon

themselves to oppress the weak, and how desperately hard but in vain these feudal lords tried to kill brave

Robin and

Montenegro, to speak of Europe, a dauntless figuratively, is the Robin Hood with of Freedom's clarion-cry that, liberty champion ever on the lips, has for hundreds of years stood facing
his

sturdy band.

fearful odds, fearless of

men, fearing God alone.

all

Mean-

while her valiant sons, with

the fierceness of their

nature, have fought for their very lives, the might of the most powerful armies in the world failing to quench
their matchless courage, or to break wearied defence.

down

their

un-

Montenegro is hemmed in by Albania (Turkey), Novi Pazar (Turkey), Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Dalmatia; some of these are hard names to remember, but
then this

Only

hardy people. of Montenegro fringes the sea, for both Turkey and Austria are extremely jealous of this
a very
little

is

a hard land, inhabited

by

Peep

at

the Black
if

Mountain

tiny kingdom, and, in altogether.

they could, they would shut her

Imagine, if you can, a land consisting almost entirely of naked rock, of enormous waves of jagged mountains
of grey stretching as far as eye can reach, and composed broken here and there vast limestone, valleys that by

look for

all

the world like the craters of extinct volcanoes.

We gaze as though upon a dead world, for the glaring

sunlight,

pouring relentlessly down and with over-

whelming force, reveals only a stricken desert. In this panorama of indescribable vistas the mountain barriers extend, fold upon fold and crest upon crest, until in appearance they sink in the embrace of cruel and savage
Albania, while to the stranger, one who for the first time views their wild and unsurpassable grandeur, the
idea

uppermost
to

in

his
in

mind
stone

is

that

Nature has here

striven linked.

portray

Commotion and Chaos

ride through

On
I

the occasion of

my

first

Montenegro

could scarcely believe that people existed amid such desolation. Slowly our horses picked their toilsome

way, following a rugged path that pursues

course

its perilous of and the rock, pinnacles towering grey among skirts precipices where a hasty movement or a false step would mean certain death and destruction.

My
the

companion was a Montenegrin gentleman who,

with true courtesy and the chivalry of his race, had volunteered to act as guide. He wore the native dress,

most gorgeous and picturesque

3

in the world.

It

consists of a coat of fine, sky-blue cloth,

hanging from
T

Peep

at

Montenegro

shoulder to knee, open at the front to display a hand-

some red waistcoat heavily embroidered with gold braid, with baggy blue trousers to the knees, and high ridingboots of Russian leather.
silk scarf of considerable value, in

Encircling the waist is a rich which is stuck a busi-

nesslike-looking revolver, loaded in every chamber. Upon the head is worn the "Kara," or small round

Montenegrin hat embroidered with symbolic designs. Carefully we wended our way, and, if not my companion, certainly I was impressed by the solemn stillness As far as that broods over this mountainous waste. of human was no whatever scan there eye could sign habitation; the ground, too, was one confused mass of gaping fissures of the ever-monotonous grey rock, not
a particle of water nor even trace of moisture, neither earth nor soil; just here and there green bushes that
cast a

welcome shade, yet

that

grew out of the very

that

rock

itself.

My
my

companion informed me

we were approach-

ing a small hamlet boasting only of four houses, yet although following the direction of his hand I strained
eyes in vain. Nothing but bleak, bare rocks did these mountains appear to be; then, as if by magic, four
cottages seemed to spring into existence.

Vastly amazed, I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was not dreaming. I could have positively sworn they were not there a
tinctly

moment before, and now they stood out disand but a short distance away. Presently I under-

stood the explanation for all this. The cottages are built of the same rock as their surroundings, and just as the

A
stripes

Peep
on a

at the

Black Mountain

on a leopard hide their owner's presence among jungle grass and shrub, so do these stone huts at comparatively a short distance become
tiger or the spots

merged

in their surroundings.

the first cottage, for it was little more, one storey high and roofed with slabs of being merely the door grey stone, swung open, and a magnificent
figure of a man appeared, bearing a tray bottle jino-Jed against two thick glasses.

As we neared

upon which

The man was

dressed in similar fashion to

my

companion, save, being-

poor, his clothes were of coarser material although of equally brilliant colours. In his belt was stuck the ever-

present revolver, together with a silver-handled knife. His hair was snow-white, and his moustache reached

almost to his chest, forming a strong contrast with his weather-beaten face, tanned to a dull brown by long exposure. Though over sixty years of age he stood as
stiff

and straight

as a

ramrod, and his walk had in

it

the

spring of lusty youth.

His height was close upon six feet four inches, a giant we would think him at home here; but then in Montenegro you never meet a man under six-foot, while men
of six-foot seven and eight inches are by no means un-

common. At that moment the warrior was joined by his son, who topped his sire by a full inch, and as I looked at
them both

men

thought I had never seen a finer pair of yet they were only typical examples of their
I

countrymen.

The refreshment

that

was offered was

5

for myself, for

Peep

at

Montenegro

in their simple creed a stranger to the land is a guest to be honoured and feasted, to be made free of their

houses, given the best bed, and the last crust or drop of water. To such an extent is this hospitality carried that, in the event of a sudden attack by the Turks,
in the village will, if the necessity arise, his life in defence of his freely give guests. drank a little " Schnapps," or white brandy, that

every

man

We

coursed

down my

of agony to run over

throat like liquid fire, causing tears my cheeks. I was more careful

afterwards, for these warriors

seem

to possess throats

of tanned leather, and could probably drink vitriol

without turning a

hair.

in appearance and speech himself like a country

realise that

Both

our host comported gentleman, and it was hard to

starvation.

he and his people were upon the verge of In the dark shadows of the cottages we

could discern the retiring figures of the women, for in Montenegro do not mix upon equal terms with their men-folk. I gazed around to discover the

women

means by which this tiny community kept themselves alive, and perceived that a hollow had been scooped out of the rock and filled with soil. My companion told me afterwards that each bucketful of earth had been

many weary miles. few stalks of indian corn provided the necessary nourishment, while half-a-dozen unhappy-looking goats nibbled any straggling blades of grass that had succeeded in rising above ground.

carried

Poverty

in

Montenegro

is

no disgrace, since from the

A
count for
I

Peep

at the

Black Mountain
:

Money and position King downward all are poor. honour and little; bravery are alone esteemed
man
be a hero naught else matters; and, as

provided a

confidently hope to prove to you later on, Montenegro can incontestably claim that she has reared a spartan race
that are indeed true heroes, comparable in all points with the paladins of old. bade good-bye to our hospitable hosts, and re-

of

men

We

sumed our journey

saddle
I

into the wilderness; turning in

my

looked

back.

The houses had

vanished,

absorbed by their bleak surroundings; only the brilliant blue and green coats of our friends radiated in the sunI saw the elder man raise his right arm, and two puffs of smoke spurted forth, followed the next moment by the sound of the shots. My companion and I pulled out our revolvers, and returned the salute. It was merely the Montenegrin way of bidding goodbye, and of speeding the parting guest.

shine.

Peep

at

Montenegro

CHAPTER

II

"THE MAKING OF A NATION"

To
and

understand and appreciate Montenegro,

their
lives,

its

people

you must know something of the of the Land; when I say history, please do not History
imagine for a moment that I mean dry, dusty history, together with dates and difficult names, that we all learn

at school.

date in

is no need for reference to a single Montenegro's history, since that history is

There

already a peerless record of ancestral warriory, of heroic deeds, of centuries of righting, of holocausts of slain,

prodigally devoted in defence of freedom, home, and

faith.

following epitome of history cannot but stir the heart of every British boy and girl for the very spirit of patriotism, with contempt for overwhelming odds,
that breathes

The

throughout

its

emblazoned pages.
landed upon the

At

the time William of

Normandy

Sussex Coast the Montenegro of to-day was inhabited by only some twenty thousand people, scattered

throughout the mountainous region that lies between the Adriatic Sea and the o great Lake of Scutari. The most
powerful nation in that part of the world then was that of the Turks, who, desiring further conquests, of adding
8

uN

FOUNDATIONS.

Q
UJ

UJ

O
cr

u.

U) tU]

UJ

" The Making of a Nation

fresh laurels to fame,

"

and of incorporating further terriwith their tory already great Empire, poured out of Asia in countless hordes, and took by storm the City
of Constantine
Constantinople

which commands the

important outlet of the Black Sea. Not content with their triumphs, the followers of

Mohammed

set

about the gigantic task of conquering

Europe. These Turks were a brave people who spent their lives in fighting, and it was with high hopes of
success that they commenced their perilous attempt. Onward the Warriors of the Crescent surged in great

waves, sweeping all before them, and what to-day are Albania, Bulgaria, Roumania and Servia succumbed
before those fierce onslaughts. Arriving at the country of the Black Mountain, and feeling confident that no people, however great or powerful, let alone a few

mountaineers, could stand against them, they sent an

enormous army

into

Montenegro.

The Children of the "Crnagora" which is the forsook the fertile native name for the Black Mountain
valleys and rich pastures bordering upon the Lake of Scutari and, retreating into the mountain fastnesses, founded their capital upon the plain of Cetinje, a small
level area, as high up as the top of Snowdon, and protected by a grim circle of jagged mountain-peaks.

only way to reach Cetinje is by a steep, rocky which climbs from the Lake into the naked fastvalley this valley the Turks marched, but behind nesses. Up every rock stood a Montenegrin ready to shed his blood in defence of hearth and home. Charge after charge

The

MON.

A
the

Peep

at

Montenegro
and dying, but never
the
valley.

Turks made,
in

fighting, slaying,

succeeding

carrying

the

regiment
suffered

attacked,

and

though

Regiment after Montenegrins

terribly, they

unfailingly

hurled back their

inveterate and deadly foes. Then said the all-powerful Sultan

" Shall this tiny people stay the might of Islam

Send a greater and still greater army, until by sheer weight of numbers our feet stamp their mountains flat." So the Sultan dispatched his bravest troops under
the

command

of skilled and trusted Pashas.

The armed

host of Turks, almost as terrifying as a devouring horde of locusts, and with the martial intrepidity for which
noted, stormed the valley, and though the Montenegrins thus assailed fought with the fiercest
their race
is
it was impossible for them to arrest the advance. For every warrior that Montenegro had, Turkey brought up a hundred; moreover, the weapons and armour of the Moslem host were vastly superior to those of the Christians. For days this unexampled battle raged, the Montenegrins dying where they stood, in many cases their wives fighting on until they, too, were killed. Slowly yet inevitably the brave mountaineers were driven upward, contesting every foot of the steep mountain-sides; then, at last, the Turks burst,

courage

Valley of Cetinje, compelling the surviving Montenegrins to take refuge among the crags and crevices of their mountain strongas a river
its

does

banks, into the

little

hold.

Continuing

their advance, the

Moslems with

fire

and

10

"

The Making of

Nation

"

sword ravaged Cetinje, destroying the houses of the Montenegrins and trampling underfoot the standing From the surrounding hills the survivors of crops. these awful tragedies watched this wanton destruction of D
and homes, their churches razed to the and the sacred images and crosses flung headground, down and broken to pieces. Deliberately and long
their hearths
stealthily,

though

their hearts

hatred, the surviving

raged with the deadliest Montenegrins assembled in the

steep valley through which the marauding Turks were compelled to pass in order to return to the Lake.

History records and it is a record that merits being emblazoned in golden characters that not a single
in invading Monteat such frightful cost, and with so unexpected but negro, a result; while the Black Mountain still remained the

Moslem reached the plains alive. The Sultan had indeed succeeded

unshaken stronghold of
defiance.

Montenegrin freedom and

disas-

Meanwhile, undeterred by the drawbacks and

ters that followed in the

wake of

the

Moslem

scourge,

the tried and matchless remnant of the

Montenegrin o

nation took counsel with their hereditary Vladika or

Undeservedly they were starving, their churches had been impiously sacked and were in ruins, their homes devastated, and their once fertile lands had
Prince.

become

a desert.

Moreover, they had suffered enor-

mous

and considerably more than one-half of the Montenegrin army had been killed, while the remainder
losses,
less severely

were more or

wounded.
II
2

A
The

Peep

at

Montenegro

Sultan, ever an admirer of high courage and spirited defence, sent an embassy to the people of
a large area of fertile land bordering the Lake, together with a Turkish title for their Prince, upon condition that they would

Montenegro, offering them peace and

The Prince's acknowledge themselves his subjects. answer was worthy of his race. " So " long as my people defend me," said he, I need no Turkish title; if they desert me, such title will avail

me

little."

In other words, the Montenegrins preferred to starve

for freedom's sake rather than to
slaves.

grow

fat as

favoured

Being for the moment unable to subdue these mountain warriors in consequence of their unparalleled defence, the Turks determined to leave them alone for a while, and by avoiding Montenegrin territory still to continue their great advance into Europe. At this time the Christian Kingdoms were too busy quarrelling among themselves to take heed of the danger threatening from the East, but when Bosnia and Herzegovina fell, and the powerful Hungarian capital of Buda surrendered after the battle of Mohacs, even warlike kings

and intriguing

priests

found the existence of Christenthe

dom

itself

threatened, and

Pope made

a fervent

appeal to all of

and combine Turk.

less

to forget their private quarrels together against their common foe the

them

Though Montenegro had been

12

engulfed by the ceasewaves of predatory Turks, surrounded yet never

"

The Making

of a Nation

55

overwhelmed, you may imagine how angry successive Sultans were to think that though they ruled over the
greatest
in the

and most powerful empire in the world, yet middle of their own country a mere band of
still
it

mountaineers
efforts to

upheld the Cross, despite

all

Moslem

drag Against brave, dauntless, spirited and defiant Montenegro army after army had been hurled campaign after
;

down.

campaign had been conducted, until

finally the entire

area of this small, stony, mountain-girt valley had been literally soaked in blood, not once, but too terribly often
for

one

to

enumerate.

The

years rolled on, generation

after generation of warriors did the fierce conflict rage.

fought and died, yet still Prince succeeded Prince,

and led rank of

his

battle

Montenegrins to the fray, and in the front upheld the highest traditions of the race

by his own personal bravery. Sultan after Sultan, too, dispatched armies against the miniature kingdom, but though these armed hosts inflicted terrible loss and
slaughter, yet were one and the fatal valley to the lake.
all

finally

driven back

down

When

the Turkish advance

into

Europe had been

stopped by quest of Europe

the united Christian Powers, and the con-

drawn the Turks contented themselves with the huge slice of There now begins territory they had already acquired.
the darkest period in the stormy annals of Montenegro, for, relieved from the strain of her great wars with the Powers, Turkey was enabled to devote her immense

impossible, a frontier line was across the Continent to the north of Bosnia, and

made

A
Conceive,
!

Peep

at

Montenegro

resources towards the long reckoning with the Warriors of the Black Mountain.

you can, what fate threatened MonteTurkey at peace with the world meant Turkey negro warring against Montenegro, an Elephant attacking a Flea. For the Montenegrins, barely a few thousands no means of strong, with but little ammunition, and further it seemed a supplies, foregone conclusion getting till at the last moment came a renewed offer of peace from the Sultan. He offered generous terms, peace and
if

security,

even friendship,
suzerainty.

in return for

an acknowledg-

ment of

The moned

reigning Prince of Montenegro hastily suma council of his people; it should be for them to decide between serfdom on the one hand and untram-

With one voice the melled liberty on the other. Children of the Karst gave their answer. " If die we must, then let us die for freedom freedom for our faith, for our homes, for our children's children."
;

Montenegro had little preparation to make, for she was always ready for war, but as her people gazed down the rocky valley it seemed as if all Turkey were marching No small expedition was this, but the against them. of a Great Empire, in whose van marched powerful army
the flower of the

Ottoman
for
it

and seasoned warrior,

in that fatal valley.

soldiery, each man a picked was certain death to be first

come the final stages in the defence of a brave the last fearful nation, fight for very existence, not only for the men of the Black Mountain, but for their women-

Now

" The Making of a Nation

"

folk as well. Boys fought sturdily by their father's side, whilst their sisters helped to load the guns. Regiment after regiment of their inveterate foe was sent forward,

with the only result that innumerable thousands of bodies lay mangled and crushed beneath the boulders

and rocks that had been rained on them from the Mountain. Still steep and precipitous sides of the Black did these Turkish assailants persevere and fight on, proving to the very last their courage, and by sheer

numbers alone driving back the Montenegrins, who, dauntless and fierce, died to commemorate the warriory
of their race.

Yet once again did the Moslems reach Cetinje, raidand razing to the ground all that ing, slaying, burning was habitable in that embosomed valley, but paying only too dearly in the end for their momentary triumph.

With Tennyson

let

us say

They rose to where their sov'ran eagle sails, They kept their faith, their freedom on the
Against the

height,

Chaste, frugal, savage, armed by day and night

Turk; whose inroad nowhere

scales

Their headlong passes, but his footstep fails, And red with blood the Crescent reels from

fight

Before their dauntless hundreds in prone flight

By thousands down
It

the crags and through the vales.

may

be well to mention here as an instance of

neither

Montenegrin initiative and resource that often had they powder nor bullets, yet with dogged courage
in, so

refused to give

they slew their enemies with the

'5

A
from
little

Peep
ail

at

Montenegro
powder and bullets hundred years did this

sword, and took

the necessary

For full five their bodies. band of Montenegrin warriors sustain the unequal
though at their last gasp, become allies of the unspeakable Turks.
refuse time after

fight, and,

time to

How

many

countries can boast of such a history, or

what peoples of such ancestors ? Between the wars with the Turks Montenegro had
often Christian enemies to face
parte,
first
:

when Napoleon Buona-

was sweeping almost over the face of Europe, only irresistibly as conqueror two countries were able successfully to withstand him. the other was One, as you know, was our own land,

Emperor of

the French,

Montenegro.

Even

little

Montenegro did not

hesitate

So enraged was the to defy the Great Napoleon. that in his anger Emperor when his army was repulsed he threatened to turn Montenegro (The Black Mountain)

into Monterowo (The Red Mountain), meaning he would do so with her people's blood; but, like that most people who say things in a rage, he subsequently found himself unable to carry out his threat, and, as the Americans say, " having bitten off more than he could as the Sultan chew,' he was forced to march away, just himself had had to do.
5

Until about thirty years ago Montenegro was conwith Turkey, unrecognised as a nation tinually at war
as it was imposby the Great Powers of Europe, but, sible for these same Powers any longer to overlook her

centuries of heroic

in struggles, they

the year 1876

a

formally recognised

Montenegro
1.6

as

country,

and

" The Making of

Nation

"

acknowledged her ruler as a King. Her frontiers were strictly defined, and two seaports were bestowed

upon

her;

Turkey being forbidden

to attack her small

neigh-

bour without just cause. In this rough and terrible way was the Montenegrin Nation made, and now you will cease to wonder to-

why

day the people carry loaded firearms and, walking with the proud step of a conqueror, look you fearlessly in the eyes. Jus gladii (By Right of the Sword) is the Nation's motto, since the land has been won, and is still held, by might of arms alone.

MON.

Peep

at

Montenegro

CHAPTER

III

"THE SMALLEST CAPITAL

ALTHOUGH Montenegro
own, the

IN

EUROPE'

of her possesses two seaports

traveller to Cetinje does not make use of either of them, on account of their distance from the

to Cattaro, the Austrian Capital; he journeys instead Mountain. Here there Black foot of the the at seaport
is

Bocche

wonderful harbour formed by Nature, called the di Cattaro, and absolutely landlocked save for

a narrow outlet into the Adriatic.

Three great bays,

themselves out in strongly resembling lakes, spread the radial manner of a star-fish, and by way of further likeness they have often been compared with the Fiords of Norway or, in a lesser degree, the Lochs of Scotland.

As
rises

the steamer sails

first

up

the Bocche di Cattaro the

traveller catches his

glimpse of Montenegro, which water's edge, and precipitously almost from the

forms a great barrier or jagged tableland some five Austria's most southerly thousand feet in height. here in a tiny strip extends called Dalmatia, province,
of territory barely half-a-mile broad, but effectually sea. Cattaro lies at separating Montenegro from the
the extremity of the farthest landlocked bay, and so near is the giant Black Mountain that the town can

18

" The Smallest " Capital in Europe

room, the little white houses looking as though some Eastern Genii had in joke picked them all up and thrown them hard against the
scarcely find

towering mountain, that while some houses had tumbled back to the water's edge, the remainder had stuck fast to where they were hurled, seemingly
climbing,

and clinging
face.

as

by

a miracle to the precipitous rock-

As

the steamer

makes

its

way slowly

to the

quay,

the traveller has pointed out to him what looks like a long, irregular, white scratch on the mountain-side,

which zigzags backwards and forwards above the town, somewhat resembling a piece of cotton thrown care" It is The Giant Staircase," lessly upon a dark cushion. the only portal by which one may enter Montenegro, and what from below looks simply like a narrow streak
is in reality a fine carriage road built in the face of the precipice by dint of marvellous skill and years of unflagging labour.

exceptionally full of interest, as it does narrow Italian possessing streets, and a beautiful old-world harbour. this hive of civilisation
is

Cattaro

itself

To

crowd of Montenegrin peasants, bringing their heavy baskets of market produce down the long zigzags of "The Staircase." But some look terribly ill-atease, for the men's hands are for ever at their
a

come

clutching

empty belts. The Austrian Government wisely compels them to leave their rifles and revolvers at home, or at
any rate
at the frontier.
It is as

well here to state

clearly

that

there

is

no

19

32

A
love lost
present.

Peep

at

Montenegro
I

between Austria and Montenegro, but to discuss Balkan politics certainly do not intend

at

The panoramic

drive

up

into the heart of

The Black

Mountain is a glorious and entrancing memory, giving the traveller the vivid impression that he is in some or airship, for, as he proceeds on his rising balloon and higher, winding this way, the road climbs higher

way and

that,

in the precipice face, yet

without end.

of every irregularity taking advantage always ascending, seemingly Now and then the traveller, if he is so
a stone over the road's

minded,

may drop

edge

that

stone will probably fall upon the thousand feet beneath. Looking down from the top of the ascent, the serpentine turns seen beneath closely

self-same

road a

resemble the rungs of a ladder raised against the mountain-side. still waters of the Bocche Presently to our view the are reinforced by the other two arms, and beyond them for glorious vista to the horizon lies the great, Sea. Four thoublue, glittering expanse of the Adriatic traveller takes sea the the above feet sand five hundred the ocean and his at his last look upon Cattaro feet, enters the he in the road, beyond, and, rounding a turn At once the of Montenegro. rock-strewn

Kingdom

of rock, crag, changed, a perfect wilderness and boulder confronts him, and he gathers his first vivid " and lasting impression of the Crnagora." Upon the much frequented high road to Cetinje the traveller can of the true life of the gain no adequate conception
scene
is

20

"

The

Smallest Capital in Europe

"

people, and therefore we need not linger any further on this our journey to the Capital.
is one place of exceptional interest, was here that Njugusi, King Nikolas was born in a very unpretentious dwelling, and we pass it as we quit

However,
for

there

it

village of low, stone-built houses. a further climb Again, through the same bleak, grey rocks, and after a while the road descends towards a

this small

hemmed in by eternal mountain-peaks, and not unlike the interior of some looking Brobdingnagian At the far end of this miniature plain nestles egg-cup.
little

plain,

cluster

of houses

we have

reached

Cetinje,

the

smallest Capital in the world.

Apart from stirring historical memories, it cannot be said that there is much of spectacular interest to be

found
in

There are no imposing buildings as Cetinje. or Sofia, no theatres, no crowded streets, Belgrade, neither electric trams nor trains, nor, indeed, traffic
in

any

as

we understand

the word.

Cetinje
a
street

is

virtually a big

village

somewhat resembling
a

South African " townlined

ship," consisting of

broad

with low,

two-storeyed houses, and

thing
is

a large market-square.

Every-

of the simplest kind, almost primitive, and the King's Palace is only dignified by that name on account of its really being the largest house; and the daily life

of the Royal Family

is*as simple,

open, and unaffected

as that of the poorest peasant. What strikes the stranger the

most is the motley assortment of coloured garments donned by the people.

The

first

impression

is

that

some

special fete

is

beino-

21

A
held, and
it

Peep
is

at
after

Montenegro
a sojourn of a week or to realise this almost
is

only

so in the land that

we begin
in

prodigal phase of brilliance

distinguishing features
little

but one
ordinary
the

among many
life

the

of this

nation

people. interesting Although is the reverse of wealthy, not far

fact,

Montenegrin removed from

yet from three to forty pounds are paid ungrudgingly for a national costume; and this inordinate love of finery, coupled with a passion for gambling, alas

poverty in

serve to keep this chivalrous nation poor.

The men wear

and with the

a long coat, shaped in at the waist,

skirt reaching to the knees,

made of

fine

cloth, coloured either light blue, green, or red, and at the front. The waistcoat is of scarlet cloth,

open and

heavily embroidered with gold thread. Round the waist there is a silk sash, through which is thrust a revolver.

Covering the
felt

legs, the

poorer classes wear tight, white

leggings; those who can afford it have adopted high O Russian boots of soft, black leather. The little
'

round hat

referred to in the
Its

first

chapter

is

worn by

of red cloth, to signify the everyone. blood shed upon the grey rocks, and on it are embroidered five gold circles, each symbolically representing a
is

crown

hundred years of
H.I.

fighting.

In the centre are the letters

I.

"IINKOAA.I." the Greek form of Nikolas

is

The

memory of a great battle fought long ago, at the time Turkey first conquered the Balkan Kingdoms. The women are dressed
black, in

outside band of the cap

sashes like just as brilliantly, wearing long coats and those of the men. you think of a whole country

When

22

"

The

Smallest Capital in Europe

"

dressed in such an extraordinary fashion, it is very easy to imagine the everyday, gay appearance of the public
streets.

in

Unfortunately, there are very few ancient monuments Montenegro, since the continual inroads of the Turks

effectually destroyed all traces of

many

that

must have

In Cetinje the oldest building is the which is Monastery, perched against the grey rocks, " above it stands the and Kula," or stone tower, that used to be surmounted with iron spikes, each of them

formerly existed.

garnished with a newly-severed Turkish head. Many people in Cetinje can remember the last occasion when
In the Monastery, they bore their ghastly burdens. the hereditary burying-place of the Kings, lives the
Vladika, or Archbishop, of the Black Mountain.

Any

morning

at

daybreak one

may

see

King Nikolas wor-

shipping at the tombs of his ancestors, for the King is an early riser, and has generally put in a hard day's

work long before most people

breakfast.

at

home

are ready for

In front of the Monastery a number of heavy Turkish cannon are placed in rows, the spoil of the last campaign, and the sight of them affords great
satisfaction to the inhabitants.

In the large, open market-square, always a prominent feature in Montenegrin towns, the sun blazes down

with insufferable power, and the peasants are only too the glad to take advantage of the welcome shelter that

Until the traveller has few leafy trees afford them. brilliant native dresses he is the to accustomed grown o

23

Peep

at

Montenegro

ever imagining himself transported to some medieval town whose inhabitants are parading in all the glory of
ancestral, barbaric

adornment.

Even

the houses of the different

Government Minit

isters are

but tiny two-storeyed buildings, and

is

over very strange to see the emblazoned coats-of-arms the narrow doors of these unpretentious dwellings.
In the post office the man who sells stamps or takes your telegram is dressed in the same gorgeous fashion,

with revolver stuck prominently in belt. This habit of carrying firearms is general throughout the land, and

one of the most dreaded punishments for a man is to be deprived of his weapons for any period whatever.

Towards

the Albanian frontier

rifle,

we

shall

find

that

in
:

addition to the revolver, a

knife,

and "handjar'

with plenty of (long heavy sword) are carried, together

ammunition. " A man without firearms

is

man without freedom

'

and
rifle

"Thou may as well take away " are two well-known maxims.

my

brother as

my
and

The King will often stop a man in the demand an inspection of his weapons, and
punishment adamant upon

street
if

by any

chance they are found to be dirty or unloaded, the is is extremely severe, for King Nikolas
this point,

and rightly

so.

As the supreme head of a fighting nation, and the descendant of a long line of warrior kings, it is hardly
surprising that leader of men.

King Nikolas should look every inch

He

is

both

tall

the prevailing feature

of the national physique

and broad-shouldered, and

24

I
111

-3

LU

o
Ul

cr
<t

Ul

"

The

Smallest Capital in Europe

is

"
and

despite his seventy-two years his back

his

as

straight,

movements

as

strong and vigorous,

as a

young

man's.

age of twenty, the King has seen his advance from country comparative obscurity to its present honourable position among the nations. For over a score of years he fierce battle with

Coming

to the throne at the

waged

the Turks, leading his men in the thick of the fight, proving his ability as a general, and by a hundred brave

deeds his personal courage. In times of peace, too, he has striven really hard for his beloved country, both diplomatically with the Powers of Europe and in personal organisation of the scant resources of the little kingdom. He is to-day a crack shot with rifle and
pistol, as

he

men.

One

also a past-master in the leadership of foreign minister remarked jokingly that not
is

a bird's nest could

fall

in

Montenegro without

the

King

issuing an order for

It is said that

its

reinstatement.

King Nikolas knows each of his subjects " Gosand by name, certainly all look upon him, their with esteem and reverence. The podar," passionate humblest peasant may freely obtain an audience and
recount to his
suffered,

O Nikolas holding his informal morning Court upon the steps of his unpretentious Palace, his sturdy and imposing figure, clad in the national dress, seated, and surrounded by a few officials, the steps lined by his " Perianths," the name given to his picked bodyguard, on account of the feathers worn in their caps. With
1

and

Sovereign any wrong he may have happy in the conviction that it will be righted, have often watched with the keenest pleasure Kino-

MON.

25

Peep

at

Montenegro

the utmost speed the audiences take place, now and then a prisoner is led up, sentenced, and the next called.
It is all so easy and so simple, for the King's word is law, and neither liar nor traitor could meet those steady

eyes of his, that seem to pierce one through and through. Up to quite recent times King Nikolas dispensed
until cases grew too justice in this primitive way, numerous for his personal attention; he then instituted

volumes

It speaks Courts of Justice, and appointed judges. for the decisions of these Courts that even

Mohammedans and

Albanians from over the frontier

bring their cases for trial before a Montenegrin judge, in preference to their own Moslem one. King Nikolas
has a great veneration for England, and he was a special favourite of Queen Victoria, who personally decorated

him.

As we

ride through the land

we

shall find

everywhere

evidences of King Nikolas' genius, and the overwhelm-

ing respect and esteem in which he

is

held.
fifteen

The Montenegrin army was founded

years

ago by King Nikolas to replace the volunteers. The Every man between regulations are simplicity itself.
the ages of 16 and 60
is

forced to serve.
it

This service
is

they render almost instinctively, and

therefore

scarcely surprising that compulsory service is extremely popular in Montenegro, and that under capable instruc-

men quickly make splendid soldiers. After four months' service they return with rifles to their homes, and are then, to ensure efficiency, subject
tors the

to a

weekly

drill.

In place of the long coats, to which

" The Smallest Capital in Europe

I

"

have already referred, they wear red, short-sleeved There are jackets, and look thoroughly businesslike.
few military distinctions, the different grades or ranks merely donning special badges upon the fronts of their
little

round

caps.

Russia

has
rifles,

supplied
cavalry

up-to-date field-pieces
artillery

and

them with and heavy

being useless in

From

the

mountainous Montenegro. same foreign source the country is also pro-

vided with
renders
all

much

other valuable

assistance.

Russia

possible help to

Montenegro, because they

and belong to the same Greek Church. For the same reasons, however, Austria has persistently remained a sworn enemy of Montenegro. Behind Austria there really stands Germany, armed to
are both Slav nations,

the teeth, and behind Russia looms France.

see that even petty quarrels

Thus you

Turkey may of Europe in

as I

between Montenegro and involve the Great Powers quite possibly a terrible and disastrous war. But then,
I

have before remarked,

become entangled o
complication

in that vast

must not allow myself to maze of international

known as European Politics. There are two particularly fine buildings in Cetinje, the Russian and Austrian Embassies; and, too, the new Barracks are especially popular. There is a tiny theatre, open for a few weeks in the summer season, where King Nikolas' plays are produced, for the King is a famous poet, and has written many beautiful odes, besides
having composed battle-songs for his various regiments. There is also a small but well-equipped hospital, and a high school for girls and boys. The climate in sum-

27

42

Peep

at

Montenegro
hot, but

mer is excellent, though very months of winter it is terribly

for

the eight

and much snow then falls. Every other house seems to be a cafe, where the men congregate of an evening, and though they
severe,

consume large quantities of spirits they never grow more than noisy. In the remoter parts of Montenegro a man will often fire off his revolver in the air, particularly if he is excited, by way of letting
occasionally

minded minded

off steam, a practice rather disconcerting to any nervousthen but folk, you seldom find any nervous-

folk in

Montenegro, not even among the few

as

visitors.

There are no shops

isn't a

we know them;

in fact there

You large piece of glass in the whole place. walk an into a small simply open doorway through room, on the floor of which or on the walls are exposed
the goods or merchandise, consisting of clothes, weapons, embroideries, shawls, scarves, etc., and the man who

serves

you

carries his revolver fully loaded,

and very

probably towers above you quite six inches.

A Thousand

Battlefields in

One

CHAPTER

IV

A THOUSAND BATTLEFIELDS IN ONE

rocks.

" Bella highest point has been well-named from this spot is truly one of the Vista," since the view

Leaving Cetinje, the one and only road climbs high above the red roofs of the tiny Capital, pursuing its sinuous and difficult course ever amid the same grey

The

finest

We are gazing down the fatal valley, in whose rugged

embrace the Turks and Montenegrins have fought so many well-contested battles; a valley in which every
boulder
fierce

and most charming

in

Europe.

may

be said to treasure the

memory

of some

and heroic struggle, and every pinnacle of rock to embody a tombstone. Upon either side of our way the jagged and riven mountains extend before our gaze in myriad fantastic and grotesque forms, and ever them still more and more mountains. At the beyond
foot of the valley lies a glittering sheet of silver, radiant in the sunshine, the famed Lake of Scutari, that has for

glorious background and vista the snow-white Alps of mountainous Albania, the home of a race accounted the

most warlike of

all

the

Sultan's

numerous

vassals.

Wave
rise

after
fall

wave

and

the seemingly interminable mountains perspectively to the horizon, to one's imagi-

29

Peep

at

Montenegro

nation an enchanted and petrified sea, burdened with torn and gaping folds of storm-lashed crest. The road

descends this marvellously steep valley in great curves

and erratic windings, ever clinging to the precipice edge, and anon slanting directly downwards. Upon our left rises a solid wall of rock: on our right the nearest D ground is fully a thousand feet below. Now and then we meet a party of Montenegrins
returning with springy
step
to

their

rock-sheltered

A thousand feet above Rjeka a small cafe is perched amid the rocks, and here we halt for a brief rest. The
moment
spirit
I

homes, the men swinging along in the women-folk leading the mules.

front, followed

by

entered the almost bare

a

room

a glass of white

and

cup of coffee were

set before

me; not having

ordered either, I naturally desired an explanation. The man who waited upon me pointed to two warriors in
the corner.

"

They ordered
it

So

is

where we
tion; a
will

it for you," he said, and grinned. over this remarkably unique little land, meet with so much hospitality and considera-

all

man may

be upon the verge of bankruptcy, yet

:

cent insist on treating the stranger no expectation of favours to come, all proceeds simply from the inborn hospitality of the people; sometimes they forget there is a limit to even a stranger's bodily capacity, beyond which he is unable to go, no matter how desirous he may be to please his host, and

he with his
is

last

there

after

state, I

having once or twice been reduced to this painful was continually upon the watch for misplaced

30

A
decency

Thousand

Battlefields

in

One

generosity, and always insisted upon ordering drinks all round, careful to do so several times until I could with
slip

away.

Every warrior we meet looks fearlessly into our eyes. " My country is yours, ask what you will," his bearing
and it is a current and true Montenegrin boast wherever the stranger finds himself, be there a house near, he has only to knock at the door to discoversignifies,

that

home. Rjeka
or rather
lake.
is

busy

upon

little village a broad river

upon the Lake of Scutari, communicating with the

upon

small steamer calls every day, thus bestowing the place the dignity of a port. The houses are

one-storeyed, for in

Montenegro

man who owns

house with a floor above the doorway, and also possesses ^50 a year, is considered a very wealthy person indeed.

The
blue,

fronts or facades of the houses are coloured red,

all this

and green, and

chromatic effect gives the

village an unusually gay and lively appearance. Under the trees by the harbour the men, like Solomon in all

and bullets and buy powder The King has at home.

his

glory,

parade,

in as

the

tiny

easily as

shops one can one can sweets

house here, and half-a-mile

entirely into a vast

away the broad

river disappears

cavern in the mountains.

Many of the rivers of Montenegro and The Herzegovina behave like this one.

They gush out from some cave and turn a dried-up valley into a veritable Garden of Eden, where figs, pomegranates, peaches, grapes, and
indian corn

grow

in profusion; then the flowing river

Peep

at

Montenegro

suddenly disappears into another great cave, and the country again becomes parched and barren. No one

knows where these mysterious rivers come from, or where they go to; sometimes they reappear fifty miles away, often they disappear and are lost for ever.

One

river

visited in

The Herzegovina

has a curious

history or series of incidents attached to it, illustrating the peculiarity already alluded to of these underground

streams.

One morning

an old

Turk was

sitting

upon

the rocks watching the rushing water appearing from the mountain cavern, when he was astonished to see a

shepherd's crook floating by, and

to recognise
it

more surprised

still

one he had given his son a year Now, this man's son was a shepherd employed ago. upon the mountains twenty miles away, and the father at once dispatched a messenger to bring him home.
as the

Being a dishonest pair of rascals, they hit upon an ingenious plan, which was for the young man to kill one of his master's sheep every third day, and to throw its body into the stream in which his staff had been lost. The scheme succeeded admirably. Every third day the

young man slew

father recovered

a nice fat sheep,

its

and

in

due course the

body twenty miles away. All went well until the owner of the flock, noticing to his great
surprise that his sheep were disappearing in a remarkably mysterious manner, determined to find out the

watch to be kept upon his shepherd. Two days later the old Turk, waiting eagerly by the cavern's mouth, was horrorstricken to see, in place of the dead sheep he had excause,
strict

and therefore ordered a

32

EVER READY: WEEKLY DRILL AND INSPECTION OF WEAPONS.

r.ige 26.

FIJI

ASTCfi. LENOX AND JILDEN FGUNDM-,Or JS

Towards Albania
pected, the headless body of his murdered son so overcome was the old man at the terrible sight that he lost his footing, and falling into the river was instantly
:

whirled away and drowned.

CHAPTER V
TOWARDS ALBANIA

FROM Rjeka to Podgorica is a desolate and somewhat wearisome journey over the same grey, bleak rocks, but here and there with fine views disclosed of the rivercoursed valley to the lake. However, the time soon
passed, as
tales

we chatted with our guide, who told plenty of of wild adventures upon the frontier, the cream of which later on I must recount.

The Vendetta is still one of the most cherished and " deadly customs of the Montenegrins. The word vendetta" is, as you doubtless know, an Italian one, meaning vengeance, and it signifies the revenge taken, instead of allowing the law to deal out justice, by private individuals upon any who have wronged them.

Before social order was established in the world, when each man lived as he thought fit, and did as best he could,
quarrels, family
spot.

or
at

otherwise, were settled

upon
5

the

Two men

enmity would
33

fight;

if

one were

MON,

Peep

at

Montenegro

male relative challenged the victor, a host the and so on, until single quarrel had involved came of innocent persons. When Law and Justice upon the scene, those in authority instituted Courts where
killed, his nearest

to accept disputes could be settled, each side agreeing the verdict, thus avoiding the wholesale sacrifice of lives.

man consider himself an aggrieved or he goes to law, and the State, in due injured party, the course, punishes guilty individual. In Montenegro
To-day,
if

the case

is

different.

Although the State has

built

Courts of Justice, the people still prisons, and instituted of their to settle quarrels as of yore; centuries prefer moulded their character and given rise to have fighting certain beliefs, the principal one of which is that, if a

man
he
is

a coward.
will then

does not personally resent and avenge an insult, I will relate a typical case I heard of, and

you

understand
is.

how

terrible

a custom the

Vendetta really

certain

man,
fine

remarkably
proud.

One

I will call A, possessed two he was naturally very of which cows, finer beast of the two strayed upon the day

whom

a piece of land belonging to this man's neighbour B, who drove it away. The owner of the cow

roughly happened to witness this treatment, and angry words followed. Tempers are quickly roused in Montenegro, and perhaps before he quite realised his deed A had

pulled out his revolver and fatally wounded his neighbour B. The dead man's son, fifteen years of age, took
his father's

him

lay in wait for B's slayer, shooting the heart, and at the same time wounding through

gun and

34

Towards Albania
A's brother.

managed

to kill the boy,

Although mortally stricken, A's brother and so a vendetta started.

a brother in a village twenty miles away, happened, there lived a family of A's

Now, B had
in which, as
it

cousins.

The

brother
fields,

going out into the

thereupon took his rifle and, shot down two of A's cousins,

who were working

in turn dispatched

at the crops, before their relatives

him.

these people had relations, and as the trouble was in danger of extending like wild-fire, King Nikolas,
all

As

acting

with

his

usual

promptitude,

ordered

every

member of the two families to be brought to him in chains. The King's wonderful personality finally settled
the blood feud, the nearest male relatives standing upon the shore and throwing stones into the lake to the

number of
to

the dead.

King Nikolas does

all in

his

power

stamp out the vendetta, and his uncle, the last Prince, took such strict measures as almost to make himself
unpopular. remarkable

trait in the

Montenegrin character
be called a thief
is

is

that of absolute honesty.

To

the

It is no greatest insult that can be inflicted. exaggeration to quote the strict law, and that is, that if a man

drop his purse

filled

with gold pieces, the

first

person

passing will place it upon a boulder at the road-side, so that the loser has only to retrace his steps in order to recover his property. Theft is considered as terrible a
sin as cowardice.

a coward, he a

If a Montenegrin found his only son would not hesitate to shoot him, so that Montenegrin boy will tell you seriously that he is

35

Peep

at

Montenegro

a " hero," and although he may have done nothing yet to merit such a title, he regards it as a proud heritage descended through a long line of warrior ancestors,

and, should the necessity ever arise, certainly not disgrace the title.

knows

that he will

Boys in Montenegro are soldiers from the time they can walk, and they stand straight and firm, saluting the stranger with military precision as though, to say the
very
least,

they were Napoleon's Old Guard.

The

chief reason for their instinctive military bearing is that, as Turkey conquered the surrounding countries, those

members of
and

the

ancient

refused to acknowledge
settled chiefly in

Moslem

fighting aristocracies who rule left their homes

that to-day her

Montenegro, so
really

people are descended from throughout the Balkans.

the noblest

blood

boys quarrel in Montenegro, one will shout to another with infinite scorn
:

When

"Thou
in his bed!

a hero indeed,

"
is

thou whose grandfather died

to turn
at

and the other boy has perforce shame, inwardly and darkly vowing that away the first opportunity he will clear the family honour. Considering the remarkable stature and strength of
Terrible
this taunt,

in

the

men, the quantity of

meagre.
sunset, milk.

At daybreak they

their daily food is incredibly breakfast on a piece of heavy

maize bread, and take absolutely nothing more until

when they eat more bread, this time with a little They seldom eat meat, except at a feast, for they

cannot afford such luxury.

Upon

this scant diet

they

36

Towards Albania
are able
to

make wonderful journeys

showing the

stamina of the race climbing almost inaccessible mountains, and traversing paths at giddy heights, where

seemingly only mountain goats would find footing; and they will maintain this most arduous travelling for hour
after

hour without the

road

least sign

of fatigue.

The

we

are

now

traversing leaves the

mono-

tonous grey expanse of rocks, and there stretches before us the great Valley of Zeta, beyond which rise the

mountains of Albania, at whose foot lies Podgorica. This is altogether a new part of Montenegro, given her by the Powers, and its richness and fertility of soil have brought much wealth to the little kingdom. Not far from Podgorica we come upon the river
Moraca, whose swift current and treacherous eddies have scooped a deep bed down through the massive rocks. Many lives have been lost from time to time in
the black pools; and with the river in full flood no living thing can possibly exist once it is caught by the angry,

swirling waters. very fine old stone bridge that spans the chasm was built, so the story goes, by a Turkish Vizier. Many

stirring episodes and fierce fights this self-same bridge, and not so

have taken place upon very long ago, for that

matter.

There are two high stone piers close to the town, and some forty yards apart; they have been so placed
a singular occurrence. In the thick of one particular battle a Turk succeeded with one terrific sweep of his arm in cutting off the head of a
to

commemorate

37

Peep

at

Montenegro

Montenegrin; to the horror of all the combatants, the headless body of the Montenegrin warrior ran forty paces before it dropped to the ground. is Podgorica, meaning "at the bottom of the hill,"
it

Were the leading commercial town of Montenegro. not so open to attack from Albania, it might have

been the Capital, for all the important business is carried on within its white walls. Albania is the name given to the country which here
joins

Montenegro, and although Turkey, yet the Sultan has little

it

is

real

actually part of power over the

people, who are half-Mohammedan, half-CatholicChristian. The Albanians have 'always proved a sharp thorn in the side of Turkey, for they live in walled
villages high
at

up

in the

mountains, and are continually

war with the neighbouring Montenegrins.

The two

races are at daggers drawn. Time after time the Sultan has tried to disarm these Albanians, but as yet without

the slightest avail.

The Albanians being

Catholics,

and the Monte-

negrins adherents of the Greek Church, causes them to be the bitterest of enemies. One would imagine that
these two Christian peoples, surrounded as they are by Moslems, would be firm allies, but we must remember

the bitter strife that existed at one time in our

own

kingdom between

Roman

Catholics and Protestants.

Unfortunately, the Montenegrin-Albanian frontier is such that the line is often drawn through a man's back
garden, so that to pick a potato he must actually trespass upon Albanian territory, and while an Albanian possesses

38

Towards Albania
bullets

he

feels

impelled and in duty bound to use them.

this

When we

journey along

same

frontier I shall

have many stirring anecdotes to recount. Both King Nikolas and the Turkish authorities are hard put to it to maintain peace. It is no uncommon
his flock

thing for a Montenegrin shepherd deliberately to drive on to the Albanian frontier for the sheer love

called

of daring. Close by Podgorica is a strip of ground " Crna Zemlja," meaning Black Earth. The two
it,

covered with long, here the men and of Montenegro pampas grass, young and Albania will deliberately resort, as we would to a
it is

frontiers pass round man's land. For the

making

this plot a sort

of no

most part

cricket or football match,

There

is

and stalk one another. excellent cover, and two enemies will enthu-

engage in this task until crack goes a gun, and the victor returns home in triumph. It is said that every inch of this spot is soaked with blood out of pure bravado a man will sling his gun upon his back, take his hand from his revolver, and humming a loud tune
siastically
:

will actually court death

strip

by walking slowly

across this
a bullet

of ground, knowing that at any from Albania may end his life.

moment

fate

man goes to his death in this way, but his does not daunt others. Truly it is no exaggeration to say that these people have but one great fear,
Often a
is

and that
beds.

the chance of

dying peacefully

in their

39

Peep

at

Montenegro

CHAPTER
PODGORICA

VI

No

one has really seen Montenegro unless he has made himself thoroughly conversant with the medley of
strange
life

to be

encountered
characteristic

in the

market-place of

Podgorica. Here are groups of fierce-looking Albanians

dressed in
their

costume, tight, white

trousers, heavily black-braided jacket, and white fez; slung round waist and shoulder is the leather bandolier

with long cartridges, but every gun and revolver has been left at the frontier. They stand over their
filled

wares,

whom,
death
:

bargaining possibly with the very men with a mile out of the town, they will fight to the quite half of the gay figures are of Turkish
little

nationality, for

Podgorica was originally Turkish terriMoslem maidens, with brighttory. Pretty coloured, baggy trousers, and gaudy shawls, run hither

and

mothers being heavily veiled according and one never gets so much as a glimpse of their faces, since Turkish women only look upon the world through a narrow slit in their veil or " yashmak."
thither, their

to custom,

themselves are strange, wild-looking with heads shaved save for a single figures, o o tuft of coarse this is and left so that after death the hair, purposely

The Turks

40

U H Z o
cc

01

UJ

Z o
0.

cc

o IS o o
0.

Podgorica
substantial with which to angels may have something faithful up into Paradise. the They wear red drag enormous from which fezzes, bright-blue silk hang Their shoulders. the to reach to tassels, long enough men the old clothes are for the most part white, though wear long, coloured coats. Here and there are the rough farmers from the hills,

dressed in their heavy cloaks of

matted

fleece

turned outward.

Here

sheepskin, the long a band of gypsies

with jet-black hair and dancing eyes rove round, their restless hands for ever fingering the handle of a familiar
knife, conspicuous and forbidding in their belt. and again a madman runs shrieking through the throng,

Now

or a cripple exhibits some terrible deformity to the gaze of the charitable. Only the Montenegrins are armed,

and they

stroll

through the crowd with proud step and

haughty bearing.
with a medley of strange tongues, as were one though among the very builders of The Tower of Babel. There two men losing their tempers feel for
air is rent

The

their revolvers; the

Albanian has

left his at

the frontier;

armed, but in his rage he does not Montenegrin of a lifetime; the Albanian being unhabits the forget
the
is

armed

no Montenegrin fires upon an unarmed man or woman. A few curt words and the disputants One might smile, were it not for the fact that part. outside the town these two men will, when they meet,
is safe,

for

fight

to the death,

and

alas! their relatives after

them.

Among
figures

the seething, shambling crowd stride the tall There are of the Montenegrin police.

MON.

41

A
negrin,
ties

Peep

at

Montenegro

very few police in Montenegro, for they are rarely needed, save in suppressing the vendetta. The Monte-

though capable of consuming vast quantiliquor,

carries
it

of

with

scarcely

an

effort,

and

does

so

peaceably,

drunken
is

brawls

being
it

unknown. practically becomes a serious business,

of shots.

When men
and there

do

quarrel

a quick

exchange

The Montenegrins

exceedingly hospitable, and stranger in their midst.

are jovial companions, ever ready to welcome a

armed only with revolvers, exercise an effective and unassuming control over those congregating in the mixed market at Podgorica; they are cool and determined men, acting promptly yet
police,

The Montenegrin

where passions

quickly, for they live upon the edge of a human volcano, at furnace heat may burst forth at any

police force, like the army, have discarded long coats, and wear instead short, red jackets with sleeves, that give them a noticeably smart, businessI need like appearance. scarcely mention that there is not a man in the force under six feet one or two inches.

moment. The

stalls groaning which can be bought for a mere nothing. Sugar melons, sweet and delicious, at a halfpenny apiece; peaches, plums, and magnificent

In the market are hundreds of

wooden

under

their loads of tropical fruit,

grapes a penny a pound. But the colour! the colour of

it

all,

the gorgeous

blues and greens, the yellows and blood-red scarlets; the babel of strange tongues, the roar of rough, harsh
voices; overhead a cloudless sky of deepest blue,

and

42

Podgorica
for

background

the

purple

vista

of

mountainous

Albania.

Podgorica is strictly respected as neutral ground, and bitter enemies may therefore meet face to face in the market-place, but a lightning glance and a significant tapping of a revolver are sufficient evidence of a blood
feud that will probably have sooner or later a
ending.
fatal

There

are

two

distinct

towns

in Podgorica,

divided

Thirty years ago by the lazy Ribnica. negrins carried old Podgorica at the point of the sword, and after its fall the market was held in the grassy fields
the
at the other side

Monte-

into existence a
transferred.

of the stream; consequently there sprang new town, to which all the business was

the Turkish part, you will find it crumbling to decay; its streets are hilly and badly paved, and the massive old walls, that for

To-day,

if

you wander through

centuries defended the town, are fissured in a thousand

places,

though
fierce

Many
by

bravely struggling against neglect. encounters have taken place in the old

citadel, the cruelty of the

Moslems being

quite equalled

Montenegrins, and there are men in Podgorica to-day who, after an attack, have witnessed
that of the

the victorious Montenegrins seated upon the ground counting the number of Turkish noses and heads that

they had cut off during the fray. I saw one Turk in the market-place
his nose.
It

who had

thus lost

seems that during a

sortie this

man was

stunned, and upon regaining consciousness found him-

43

62

A
self

Peep

at

Montenegro
wonderful to
relate

crawling Podgorica, where after a time he recovered. To-day he is hale and hearty, and follows the occupation of baggage-carrier; he is a

he

bleeding violently in the face; succeeded in back to

humorous personage,
which
is

but,

when he happens

to smile,

There

pretty often, the effect beggars description. are many instances upon the frontier of men

who have
savage

recovered from

similar

mutilation.

The

atrocities of the

Turks begot

similar retaliations,

and

has always been the custom of the Montenegrins to cut off the noses of their slain foes, since only by producing the nasal appendages in question could a man
it

prove the truth of his boasts. There are two mosques in old Podgorica, whose white minarets still point to Paradise, and summon the
Faithful to prayer. The minaret is the name given to the slender tower attached to Moslem churches, and round the top it has a circular balcony, from which point

of vantage the priests each day.

It is a

make

their call to prayer five times

piercing, long-drawn-out wail, ending in the final " Allah -hu," a cry which at daybreak and sunset seems to impart to the stillness of the air a weird
to be

and profound melancholy. Although Turkish homes are

found among

this

scene of desolation, the Turk is yet a big power in Podgorica, since he is the most businesslike man in the

whole country. The word of a Turk in business matters is his bond, and in all such dealings he is strictly honourable. The Albanian is also a shrewd man of affairs,
while the warriors of Montenegro, although good at a

44

Podgorica
it comes to real bargain, are utterly outclassed when business. The Montenegrin, as I said before, despises

every kind of labour, and under

this

heading he un-

fortunately classes business dealings, probably thinking other it beneath his dignity to be mixed up in anything

than

bloodthirsty

fight.

The Montenegrins

are

content to stroll

about like conquerors, to sit outside the little cafes, and to discuss national affairs in their usual grand manner, while in the background the shrewd

Albanian and the businesslike Turk laugh in their capacious sleeves, and divide between them the visible
wealth of Podgorica. King Nikolas, who has accurately gauged his people's character, is fully aware of this failing. That is one of
his gravest troubles, since it hinders the development of the country in a hundred different ways. One day

King summoned the chief men in Montenegro and, before their very eyes, planted a stout vine with his own hands; furthermore, he caused to be erected in front
the

of his Palace a smith's forge, and under the shamed gaze of the same illustrious company he hammered a

horseshoe into shape.

Surely, if such
it

enough
them.

for their

"Gospodar,"

work was good was good enough for

sets his

Another splendid example the King

country-

men
his

is

during the great yearly festival,

when each of
insists

male subjects journeys

to Cetinje, in order to kiss

their lord's hands; at such times the

their first kissing the

hand of

his

King Queen.

upon
is

This

to

make

the

men

respect their

women-folk, for one of the

45

Peep

at

Montenegro

most serious drawbacks in the character of the nation is its harsh and unconscionable treatment of women.
Centuries of fighting, while converting the men into fighting units, have unfortunately transformed the

women-folk into beasts of burden.

regarded as of vastly less importance men; for instance, no woman, unless she
is

To-day they are and value than

ever allowed to
sit

even

is of high rank, the men's table, nor must she In the remoter parts of the in man's presence.

sit at

country a woman leaving a roomful of men does so backwards, while universal custom denies to woman a man's kiss. Men kiss one another, women kiss men's
hands.

The

kiss

between men

is I,

a strange a stranger,

able custom; at least, so

and uncomfortfound it. The

Montenegrin kiss bears no resemblance to a kiss between Frenchmen or between Germans. It is as loud and solemn as a hand-smack, and echoes round the establishment for about a minute and a-half I do not
.

know which

is the most embarrassing to a Britisher, to be solemnly kissed by half-a-dozen men, or to have his

hand saluted by
mountain

as

many women.
I

In a previous chapter
villages
is

remarked

that water in the

as precious as wine,

and

this is

no

exaggeration; often the nearest spring is a two-hours' journey down the rocky track into the valley, so that

every drop is brought up by hand, and this endless labour falls to the lot of the women. Young girls
of perhaps twelve, and old

women,

breaking paths.

It is

very sad to see

up the heartthem resting their

toil

Podgorica
heavy burdens upon some friendly rock while trying
to straighten their backs.

Perhaps you
their

will see a pair

of

tall,

handsome warriors making

way up

the

same

road and passing these tired

in all likelihood their

women

without a glance,
the tair escut-

own mother
a big blot

or sister.

Without doubt,

it is

upon

cheon of Montenegro, yet we must not forget the long

years of fighting that are primarily responsible for this national failing.

On

the other hand, no

woman

in

Montenegro
her.

is ill-

treated, nor

may man

lift

hand against

She

may

be compelled to work until she drops, but never will she be struck. In our own land we read in the papers day after day of drunken men ill-treating their wives

and daughters, and it is with a feeling of shame that we have to acknowledge it. In Montenegro during the fervent heat of a great vendetta women go scot-free, and even a man is safe so long as he is in the company of the women-folk.
In Turkey
teaches

women
:

are almost slaves,

though they are

religion

not forced to labour

yet the

Mohammedan

boys to regard their mother with love and honour, and not to imagine that disrespect is a form
of manliness.

The most
is

deadly insult you can

inflict

on a Moslem
of

to affront his parents, and this example Mohammedan teaching is a standing D rebuke to

Christian Monteneoro.

47

A Peep

at

Montenegro

CHAPTER

VII

A PEEP AT MONTENEGRIN LIFE

THERE

is no such thing as privacy in a Montenegrin home. For the most part the houses are built of stone, and have no upper storey. The street door of the house opens into one big room, which is bedroom, drawingroom, dining-room, nursery, and kitchen combined, a

wonderful saving of space, to say the least of it. In one corner is a bed, in the middle of the room a table,

and on one side a

chimney

merely always open, often even

for the night.
at all

is

fireplace; and not infrequently the The door is a hole in the roof.

when

People go

the family are retiring into one another's houses

hours; of an evening the

men

gather together in

groups, or walk gregating at the

up and down the broad streets, connumerous little cafes, and talking of local affairs. Needless to add that their wives and daughters have no place in these assemblies, but are
doing their humble duty in preparing their lord and master's supper against his return. One of the popular amusements is that of listening
to the

" Gushla."

This

is

a one-stringed instrument,

a cross between a violin

and a banjo. It is played with a bent bow, and the most talented performer in the land

A **! iU
'

>-

DC
i

A
finds
it

Peep

at

Montenegrin Life
its

almost an impossibility to extract the faintest

interior; at least, to

semblance of music from

my

ears

that seemed to be the case. Like the troubadours of

old, the

performer

is

usually

a blind musician,

often
local

still,

hero

sings a popular legend, or, more recounts in verse the great deeds of some how valiantly he fought the Turk, the
collected, or his latest borderis

who

number of "noses" he
fight.

Often the hero himself

among

the listeners,

and

this

circumstance always adds to the general enjoy-

ment.

The Montenegrins possess a wonderful gift of longdistance talking; they can speak with one another over Think of it, and try just a space of some five miles. how far you can make yourself heard. It is not by the
mere volume of sound, but by a peculiar use of the A man will speak from a village to his son throat. who is tending the sheep far up on the hill-side and invisible to the naked eye. No stranger can acquire the
as gift, practise

much as he will. Children begin to talk thus at a very early age, and gradually increase the In fact, it is a kind of distance as they grow older.
national,

human

telephone, and very valuable

a theft,

it

has often

proved.

Not long ago a man committed made for the frontier, some fifteen
theft

and

at

once

miles distant.

The

was discovered, and by means of this strange power the human telephone warned the border guards, who caught the man ere he could leave the country.

Although the people MON.

are so frugal,

and

eat but little food,

49

A Peep
they certainly
feast days,

at

Montenegro
abstemiousness upon

make up
at other

tor their

times of rejoicing. At Christor on the occasion of a marriage or the mas, Easter, of some anniversary victory, they gorge themselves to

and

It astounds the repletion. stranger in Montenegro to see the amount of food the people are able to cram down

their throats; for three days

on end they
of

will eat

and
a

drink continuously.

The
stranger

Montenegrin
is

conception
to

honouring

to provide

him with unlimited

and the unfortunate

popular rejoicing
is

visitor

honoured

provisions, the country during a in a way that makes him

loathe the very sight of food for weeks afterwards. In the Greek Church Christmas Day falls

upon

January 6th, and this is a time of great rejoicing. For days before Christmas every member of the family is

move

busy collecting wood until there is scarcely room to either in or around the houses. Upon the great
is

day itself the living-room and the Christmas dinner

strewn with clean straw,

eaten
sitting

is

upon the

natural carpet, in the manner of the old heroes of Greece. Even the Royal Family make a point of doing likewise.

Upon

Christmas

Eve

the head of the house wishes

his people all happiness, and casts the first log upon the the fire; guests do the same, and a huge fire is kept up
for three days

and nights.
it

The surrounding

hills are

deep

in

snow, and

is

a fine sight at night to see the

blazing hearths roaring a welcome. true fighting man is an ardent lover of hospitality. Again, like the heroes of Homer, the Montenegrins

50

Peep

at

Montenegrin Life

keep open house; the stranger is given a welcome of welcomes, and is treated to so much good cheer that he is apt to experience, presumably, the feelings of a
tightly-stuffed sausage. Pigs and sheep are roasted whole,

and

all

the while

with shouts of hearty merriment, and the continuous rattle of revolver shots.
the air
is

filled

Easter

is
it

a time of similar scenes.

is

To

the stranger,

however, There is a favourite account of the hard-boiled eggs. oo game with these eggs, whose shells are coloured blue or
red, played by two men, each with an egg of different colour. They hold their eggs in their big palms, and One egg is strike the pointed ends sharply together.

an even more embarrassing period, on

soon cracked, and the victorious egg tackles

bour.

its

neigh-

There was once a man who possessed an egg so hard that it seemed to bear a charmed life, for red or blue
antagonist it cared not, but cracked egg after egg, until The at last it stood triumphant among a heap of shells.

owner of
this

this

marvel was asked to exhibit his egg, but

Thereupon a quarrel arose, and, Several men the custom, out flashed revolvers. unbreakable owner of the were wounded, but the egg ^ was killed. As he fell his egg- dropped on to the hard
as
is

he refused to do.

stone floor, yet rolled

tion
it

unharmed away.

Upon

examina-

practical jokes with gentlemen loaded revolvers, with ten-inch barrels and halfcarrying
:

Moral

proved Don't play

to be a coloured, cleverly-shaped stone.

inch bores.
5
1

72

A
The eggs
therefore
guests.

Peep

at

Montenegro

are all eaten, and the largest, hardest, and most indigestible are carefully saved for the a healthy digestion for eggs has been by a chance visit to Montenegro at

Many

utterly ruined Easter, and the unhappy stranger once thus surfeited invariably conceives a violent dislike to hens for ever

afterwards.

the wilder mountaineers,

There are many queer superstitions among who believe in sorcery and

wizards, and have great faith in talismans, charms,

amu-

lets, and so forth. On Christmas Night you must hang an ivy branch over the door; on Saint Jean's Eve, if you rub your

chest with

pure

oil

it

is

sorcery for a whole year. way to preserve oneself

On

the

sure preventive against same evening, the best

evil spirits

from

and wicked
the

goblins
fires

is

to

go out on the

hills,

and

to

jump over

lighted by the shepherds.

The

ringing of bells

storms and tempests, by putting to flight the witches hiding o in the clouds. If you see a snake, do not touch it, for its business
quells
in this
It is

world
is

is

to live over

unlucky

to

and guard buried treasure. have three candles burning at the same
It
is

time, so

the birth of a black lamb.

equally

unlucky a house
table,

to spill salt, or cross sticks or knives, to enter left foot first, or sit down seven or thirteen at
will

by which you

see

that

the

Montenegrins
and
in the

include several of our

own

superstitions.
religious,

The Montenegrins are deeply large room in every house hangs a

Eikons are old images of
saints

sacred Eikon.

wrought

in silver,

These and

52

A Peep

at

Montenegrin Life

sometimes in gold. They are greatly treasured, apart from their intrinsic value, and are handed down as heirlooms from father to son for generations. Before each

Eikon there

is suspended a small silver lamp, and, whenever possible, some holy relic; before these shrines the members of the household pray.

Montenegrins, religion is a very real and Living upon the borderland, they are called continually upon to defend their Faith against
the
serious matter.

To

Catholic and

Mohammedan

alike.

53

A Peep

at

Montenegro

CHAPTER

VIII

"HATCHES, MATCHES, AND DISPATCHES"

THE Montenegrin baby must

hardiest
a
little

of

necessity

be
If

the

being

in the

whole wide world.

once

Montenegrin survives infancy, the roughest existence can henceforth hold no terrors for him. Baby is strapped tightly into its great wooden cradle, which has If baby cries, and a flat, box-like bottom and rockers.
babies mostly do, he is covered with several folds of thick blanket, resembling a piece of felt, and is rocked
in a

way

that

would quickly reduce any ordinary

child

to a condition of chronic hysteria; one could picture his little body a mass of bruises, and with some dislo-

cated limb
scot-free,

but, bless you he emerges from the ordeal and crawls over the rough rocks as healthy young crabs might. Tumbling here and there, he soon begins to walk, and quite quickly becomes as nimble and sure-footed as a mountain goat. Women cannot, of course, fight like men, and are
!

not regarded as their equals; consequently the birth of a daughter is looked upon more as a misfortune than
a blessing, and therefore meets with no rejoicing as does man will announce the the advent of a baby boy.

54

"

Hatches, Matches, and Dispatches

"

birth of his daughter to expectant comrades with the " Comrades, excuse me a girl." words,

Until thirty years

ago

the

population was only

counted

is to say, supposing many one of the walled villages to contain two hundred men, each with his "handjar" and rifle; two hundred women,

as so

"rifles," that

hundred children, with forty lusty boys, of whom and say sixty thirty were able to shoot and had guns, old men and women, then that place would be said to have two hundred and thirty inhabitants, non-fighters
three

going absolutely uncounted. So fierce and continuous was the fighting that children were born, figuratively, u with a bullet in the mouth and a taste of powder on the tongue." Directly they can walk they are hard at work, helping their mothers
or carrying food and
ever, as soon as a

ammunition
is

to their fathers.

How-

boy gun strong enough taught to shoot, and supposing there is a border raid, he will fight by his father's side, while his little
he
is

to hold a

baby sister's fingers instinctively try to load the guns. Thus, the present generation has been born in an
atmosphere of fighting, like their fathers before them. If a father or brother be shot, "a man does not weep
over his dead, he avenges them."

Boys and months, for

to school, mostly during the winter girls go in summer the schoolmaster usually takes

to the hills with his flocks; as the country

becomes richer

King Nikolas is establishing proper schools wherever " he can, and is having the very teachers themselves sent
to school."

55

A
The men

Peep

at

Montenegro
They
invariably

and, of course, the boys are fond of shoot-

ing, and are continually practising. rest their guns upon some rock, and

generally require a fairly time to take aim; given these conditions, long they are for the most part good shots, but above every-

thing they are fondest of cold

reckless bravery. It was never the

steel,

and delight

in a

hand-to-hand encounter, fastening upon their foes with

savage wars to take was reckoned a dead man. comrades was so badly hurt as to be unable to move, he would strive to prop himself against a boulder and shoot to the last, and rather than be left, if his companions were forced to retreat, he would ask
in these

custom

prisoners, and a If one of their

man who

fell

to

be shot by a friendly and merciful hand, a request

I

that

was always granted. recount these incidents in order to show

how

savage

and cruel and hard has been the Montenegrin upbringing, and one cannot wonder that a boy reared among
such scenes should attain
early age, and view ours.
life

manhood
through

at a surprisingly

different eyes than

The

girls

as a rule.

marry very young, from twelve to fifteen Marriages are usually arranged by the fathers
;

a son desirous of taking a wife will speak to his father, and patiently wait until a suitable girl has been selected.

Next, her dowry

is

bargained

for,

and

this

satisfactory, the marriage takes place.

Men

being found of Pod-

gorica marry girls of Niksic and Kolasin; it is usual to take a girl from a distance. If a young man has a fancy

56

DC

O O o
a.
i-

<
tc

u>

O z 3 O

"
for

Hatches, Matches, and Dispatches

one particular
girl,

"

he

may marry

her

if

the matter

can be arranged, but as men and women mix together so little, there is not much opportunity for the usual

love-making.
It is

no uncommon thing

to see a

young mother of

of age nursing her baby, while the infant's grandmother of nearly thirty years of age is gathering sticks, and maybe another generation or two of greatfifteen years

grandmothers of forty-five and even sixty years are

toiling in the sun. Occasionally a Montenegrin
a

becomes infatuated with

lively doings invariably naturally opposed to such marriages for their daughters, since the girls have to The join the Greek Church and become Christians.
result.

Turkish

in girl,

which case
are

The Turks

Montenegrin, therefore, arranges a romantic elopement, and with a few friends carries through the affair. The whole town is in a state of excitement, and everybody
carries loaded firearms for

some time;

generally, the

Montenegrin Governor interviews the bereaved father, and then matters gradually cool down. It is only from among the Turkish families living in Montenegro that these marriages occur, otherwise such unions would lead
to general war.
is an occasion for great festivity and the amusement of which is eating principal rejoicing, and drinking, varied only by drinking and eating. Salvos of revolver and rifle shots greet the happy pair,

marriage

and the
days.

festivities

are

kept up for the usual three

All the town are welcome, and generally bring

MON.

57

A
gifts,

Peep

at

Montenegro

and even food to add to the prolongation of

!

the feast.

Death, when it comes, alas too frequently, is a time of deep mourning. The body of the dead "hero' is laid in state in the living-room, beside it the women

weep

gently,

and the male

relatives enter the

chamber

singly; ripping open violently upon the chest, utterly woebegone, and giving vent to the deepest lamentation. In the remoter parts
of Montenegro death will give rise to exhibitions of most acute grief and overwrought passion, the men vying with each other in their demonstration of sorrow, sometimes inflicting serious bodily wounds in the
process, the women keeping up the death dirge for days on end, until the very hills reverberate with sounds of

their shirts, they beat themselves

woe.

woman

as you pass a house you will hear a the death-song, with long-drawn-out chanting women while at their work are often apt and old wail; to break out in similar strain, in memory of some loved

Now

and then

one long since dead.

True Tales of the Savage Borderland

CHAPTER

IX

TRUE TALES OF THE SAVAGE BORDERLAND

to Kolasin the road passes for a space along the Frontier of Albania. It is a wild spot, for a river comes tumbling through a deep and rugged ravine,

FROM Podgorica

while upon either side the giant mountains tower until

they seem to pierce the sky. Many men have passed over here intent upon killing, led on by the lust of

To step upon the farther bank is to slaughter alone. court death, since the unwritten law is that an armed trespasser may be shot at sight.
For the most part the frontier is an invisible line, and then a a range of hills or a wooded valley. band of Albanians will cross into Montenegro and drive

Now

back a dozen head of

foot

fine cattle, to

be followed hot-

by Montenegrin vengeance,

in the

form of
the

a score
hills
is

of armed warriors.

Then

the silence of

broken by the crack of

rifles,

and

in

due course the

Montenegrins return with sadly lessened numbers, but

in triumph, or, having met an overwhelming number of the enemy, they take shelter among the rocks, and

retreat as best they can, fighting fiercely to the last.

The

following narratives

take from

Mr. Reginald

59

82

A
Wyon, who

Peep

at

Montenegro
in

spent

some time

Montenegro, and has

published an interesting book upon that country.^ One of the most famous of the border heroes was Voivoda Marko, who began life as a shepherd boy, and died a national hero, with the title of Voivoda (Duke)
conferred

hear his

upon him by King Nikolas. To-day you will name and his famous deeds sung to the tuneless

" strumming of the Gushla."

Before
killed

Marko

many

reached his twentieth birthday he had Turks; later on he collected a few equally

bold

and together they made raids upon any Moslem soldiers that happened to pass near their homes. So daring were his deeds that King Nikolas heard of
spirits,

his

them, and, sending for Marko, gave him a place among own personal bodyguard, a great honour, since that

favoured body is recruited only from picked men. Marko remained near his " Gospodar " until he was
returned to his mountains, twenty-five, at which age he about a large band him, began to make and,
gathering
raids

and

and harry the Turk at every opportunity. Fierce were his adventures, and quickly the name of Marko came to be dreaded among the Moslems, who dared not venture out, save in large numbers, and then
skilful

only in

full

readiness for battle.

As Podgorica lay close to the mountains wherein Marko dwelt, the Pasha or Turkish Governor of the town, by name Yussuf Mucic, became enraged at the
continual complaints that reached him, and offered a
*
"

The Land

of the

Black Mountain."

60

True Tales of the Savage Borderland

There were no large reward for the Christian's head. volunteers for the dangerous work until a prisoner, lying in Podgorica jail under sentence of death, offered
to

make
set

the attempt

upon condition

that, if successful,

he should have both freedom and reward.

he

Fully armed, out upon his mission, and two days later his dead

cried out aloud that, were he not forbidden to leave Podgorica by reason of his high office, he would desire nothing better than to meet

body was found in a ravine. The Pasha was furious, and

Marko
boastful

face to face,

words

and fight him to the death. These v/ere quickly carried to Marko's ears,

straight for Podgorica, clattering through the ill-paved streets, and drawing rein before the palace of the Pasha a little

and, without hesitating, the young Montenegrin quitted the safety of his mountains and rode his horse

before noon.

"

am

here,

Yussuf ," he

cried in a loud voice, " to

answer thy challenge. me,

Come

out, therefore,

and meet
once

man to man." The Pasha heard

these words and

knew

at

who

spoke them, but his courage failed him, and at the critical moment his blood turned to water. Obeying his

command, one of his women went to the window and called out that Yussuf Pasha was away. Marko knew
this to be a lie, and, turning upon the trembling circle of Turks that had gathered about him, cried in a loud voice, heard by every single one there " Take notice, all, that the challenge is now withI refuse to meet that in drawn, single combat your
:

61

A
Wheeling

Peep

at

Montenegro
I,

Pasha, Yussuf Mucic, for men, not cowards."

Marko,

fight only

with

his horse about, he galloped through the terror-stricken throng, to freedom. So terrible and open

had been the insult that the Pasha was beside himself with rage, and began to put into force the great powers with which his master, the Sultan, had invested him. Marko's people began to fear for their beloved leader, whose life was too precious to be sacrificed by a treacherous knife-stab,
since
its

preservation

was of the
his people

greatest importance to

Montenegro. While Marko pursued his dauntless way,

put

way young man was

their heads together, and determined that the only to save their hero was by the death of the Pasha.
selected,

who

willingly accepted the

mission, although he knew it meant certain death. This young man, scarcely twenty, was a true son of
the Black Mountain, for, cleverly smuggling himself into Podgorica disguised as a Turk, he stationed himself before the Pasha's Konak, or Palace, and waited patiently
for

Yussuf's appearance.

surrounded by his
ness the

Presently the Pasha emerged officials, when with the utmost cool--

dead.
the

young man raised his pistol and shot the Turk The brave man was instantly cut to pieces by Pasha's bodyguard, but Marko was saved to Monthe
traits

tenegro.

Among
generously
prisoners

that

place

Marko above
It
is

his

countrymen was that of mercy.

he
treated
his

recorded
liberating
shot,

how
his

enemies,

without

hesitation.

perfect

and

62

True Tales of the Savage Borderland

possessed

of

wonderful

muscular

development and

iron will, he was, like King Nikolas, both a warrior and a poet, and though living amid continual warfare and

bloodshed he nevertheless preserved intact of a true gentleman.

all

the virtues

war the Battle of Fundina was won Marko's skill and bravery, and to him entirely through a owes Montenegro large slice of her new territory.

During

the last

The
tain

mounhim interred at Podgorica with great pomp, and would have done so but for his dying wish to lie for ever amid the scenes
hero's

body

is

buried at

Medun,

his simple

home.

The King

desired to have

of his great deeds and

well.

among

the people he loved so

Peep

at

Montenegro

CHAPTER X
TALES OF THE VENDETTA
two further tales of men living in or near Podgorica to-day, for which I am again indebted to Mr. Reginald Wyon, who knew the chief characters personally, and heard their stories from the men's own

Here

are

lips.

The

following

life

history was recounted by a

man

called Keco, a leading figure of the borderland, old before his time.

grown

"

Though my hands

tremble and

my

hair

is

white," he said, "I do not fear death:

this

growing house I

have built
for

my

is strong, and I have money that will provide wife. They have tried to kill me twice, but
:

they do not find it easy the last time seven hid themselves by the house, their rifles ready, but they dared

not shoot, since

I

was with me." have explained before, that even during the heat

my wife

of a vendetta a woman's

life is

sacred as

is

that of the

man
a

with her; should a

woman by any

mischance shoot

man, she is exempt, and the blood-guiltiness falls upon her husband or his surviving relatives. To continue Keco's tale it seems that he possessed a cow, of which he was particularly proud; one night it vanished
:

MOSLEM WOMAN AT SCUTARI.

ASTCR, LENOX A NO TILDGN FOUNDATIONS.

Tales of the Vendetta

from
it.

his

home, and the

strictest search failed to

discover

The same day Keco

visited Podgorica market,

where

he encountered a wealthy Turk, by name Achmet, with whom he was not upon good terms the Turk asked
:

Keco where

his beautiful

cow had got

to,

and, after

hearing the story of its loss, tauntingly informed Keco that he (Achmet) had stolen it the previous night.
In Podgorica no man may draw a weapon, so that Keco was perforce compelled to listen in helpless fury to his enemy's insults, and afterwards to return emptyhanded to his house. Failing to get any satisfaction from the authorities Keco, with two companions, determined to regain his cow and exact vengeance; let him
therefore finish the tale himself.

"

did not go at night, like a thief, but

when
I left

the

sun was highest, and all men could see me. comrades outside Achmet's house, and went

my

in alone.

There

present.
that

found my cow, but only the women were So I drove my cow and her calf out of the

door towards
I

was

my comrades. Then lest any should think afraid, I fired my rifle into the air. Very soon
the fields

the
son.

men came running from

Achmet and

his

"

When
firing,

they saw
I

me and my cow

they came towards

me

but their bullets flew wide.

shot

careful aim,

Achmet

Then, taking dead, and afterwards his son.

We then ran
were afraid
likewise, so

to

quickly, and though men pursued us, they come too near, lest I should shoot them
safe

we got "Since then the

back to Fundina.
of Dinos wait for me.

men

They

MON,

65

A
will kill
is

Peep

at

Montenegro

me

very great,

I have put upon them soon, for the insult and the fame of my deed has travelled over

the land."

Mr.

Wyon

asked Keco

and risked being

why he stayed in Fundma or murdered; why not go to Cetinje

would not follow?
"
:

Niksic, where his enemies

Keco replied promptly What would they say if

elsewhere
leave
?

Men know me

for a hero.

ran away and sought

I

safety

should be a double coward, for

should
in the

my

brother to inherit

my
me

fate.

These men of

Dinos are dogs, who love

ing."

to kill their

enemy

shall not find night, but they

unprepared or sleep-

of Montenegro, and shows the of the fatal vendetta. No wonder King ravaging effects such a belief, Nikolas tries all in his power to stamp out so many which each year is responsible for the deaths of brave men. have been In rare instances, where all the men-folk

This story

is

typical

slain in a
attire

blood feud, one of the women will don^ man's and continue the vendetta. Under these circum-

stances the

woman

loses all the privileges of her sex,

and
kiss

is

the man, even giving and receiving we know, forbidden to upon the face, which is,
treated as a

women. Here is another true story related to Mr. Wyon by Achmet Niko himself. Achmet Niko was born in Podgorica, then in the
Sultan's possession, killing three men.
'

and fought
66

his first battle at fifteen,

to

At seventeen he was compelled

Tales of the Vendetta

fly

Scutari he
in

from Podgorica, on account of a fatal fight, and at became a gendarme. Then he was mixed up a family affair and, having killed two of his enemies,

returned to Podgorica. offence, the Pasha threw

Remembering his original Achmet into prison, but he

escaped and fled to Bosnia. series of adventures,

many

of

them with

fatal

endings, for his fell to his lot.

(a

opponents drove him to Antivari, now At that time the Captain of Dolcigno

neighbouring seaport) had been murdered by a fierce man called Jovan, who had afterwards escaped to Albania and joined one of the fierce tribes of these
offered a free pardon if he would and Jovan, cheerfully he set off towards Albania. One day he rode back to Dolcigno with Jovan's severed head wrapped in a bundle, and for this famous deed King Nikolas gave him a hundred sovereigns and,
regions.
kill

Achmet was

close to Podgorica, an old fortress.

For many years Achmet fought with the Montenegrins against the Albanians, and won great honour in a land where all men are brave.
Jovan's brother attempted to shoot Achmet, but the
latter
alive.

was too quick, and actually captured his assailant Once he was caught by the Turks. Here he

was

at the

mercy of
fetters.

his bitterest foes,

who

shut

him

up

in a

powerful

fortress,

and loaded him

to the

ground

with iron

Achmet's friends smuggled into his cell a file in a loaf of bread, and after strenuous efforts Achmet filed his way to freedom and, making a gallant dash, escaped.
67

92

A
Many

Peep

at

Montenegro
Moslems who have

of these border heroes are

become naturalised Montenegrins. The King is ever honourready to welcome anyone who will serve him efficient frontier guard ably, and he has founded a very houses and ground upon his new subjects by giving the borderland, a favourite custom of those war-wise old Romans. Had I the space, I could go on recounting similar for the present, however, I must thrilling anecdotes; continue the description of my journey through Montenegro, in which journey

imaginably you are accom-

panying me.

68

Niksic and the Old Monastery of Ostrog

CHAPTER

XI

AND THE OLD MONASTERY OF OSTROG.

To

we must

reach Niksic, the Northern Capital of Montenegro, recross the old Vizier Bridge, and follow up the Great Plain of Zeta to where it ends in an amphitheatre of bare

and rugged mountain heights. plain luxuriates with heavy-foliaged trees and
crops.

This
fertile

Here grows

in profusion the little yellow flower,

Pyrethum, from which is manufactured insect powder, one of Montenegro's chief industrial products. There
are also rich

ground

pastures for cattle.

different
all

that

afford

excellent

grazing-

was thirty years ago, when gallant little Montenegro held no rights of proprietorship in this plain, and when from the barren fastnesses
this

How

overlooking the valley her famished and even starvingpeasantry could only watch their oppressors, the unspeakable Turks, lording
their unwilling gaze.
it

with iron rule beneath

The high road passes beside some ancient ruins, bearing the name of Dioclea, the birthplace, it is said,
of the great
for

Roman Emperor Diocletian, and certainly of years these lands were known by hundreds many no other name.

A
completely

Peep

at

Montenegro
it

Finally, this plain

of Zeta narrows until

becomes

hemmed
barrier,

mountain

in by bleak and scarred masses of and our road, hewn out of the

mountain-side, and forming, as it were, an almost natural escarpment, laboriously ascends on the left hand of the
range, and overhanging the valley beneath. Above our heads great boulders of rock jut out from the precipitous face, looking as though they only needed the gentle touch

of a Vila's hand to be dislodged, and, hurtling down, to wreck the road they so realistically threaten. Vilas,
for the information of
tain-fairies,

my

readers, are legendary

moun-

who

are said to live in

leafy

woods and

and ravines, and are reputed to be remarkably beautiful and clever little ladies. So

among rocky

fissures

firmly established is this popular belief that young girls of the surrounding villages will often set out alone to those retreats to pour their troubles into the ears of

these invisible folk for solace and relief.

Upon
far

the opposite side of the valley, and not very away, a road is cut that leads to the interesting old
a building

Monastery of Ostrog,
eyrie.

which nestles

aloft in

the precipitous mountain-side like

some daring

eagle's

Ostrog

is

famous throughout the Balkans

as

the

burial-place of the remains of Saint Vasili, a very pious and holy man, who, in obedience to a vision, left his
distant

home, and, collecting much valuable building to material, journeyed Montenegro, to found a

Monastery. He slept near Podgorica the first night, and in the morning discovered that all his possessions

70

NiHic and

the

Old Monastery of Ostrog

had mysteriously disappeared. Searching the land over, he recovered them where Ostrog now is, and, interpreting the occurrence as a sign of divine direction, there and then established the present Monastery.

many years, preaching eloquently, and the infirm. To-day his body lies in its sick and healing stone coffin, watched over by the priests, and long
lived for

He

tomb.

streams of pilgrims go to Ostrog to pray at the Saint's Wonderful cures have taken place at this moun-

tain sanctuary, the halt

seen, and the dumb Lourdes of the Balkans. It was here that Mirko, the father of King O Nikolas, with a mere handful of men, performed one of those In this cleft in deeds for which his name is famous. the rock Mirko and his men were besieged by a large
'

have walked, the sightless have have spoken; Ostrog is in fact the

army of Turks who,

to the

way through Montenegrins, threw burning straw down upon them. Mirko's escape was a rare stroke of genius, for,

failing to fight their

with the loss of only one man, he led his warriors back in safety to their mountain homes.

Mirko

Petrovic, father of

Arthur " of Montenegrin history. He was a hero in a Land of Heroes. among heroes, and this, too,

King Nikolas,

is

the

"King

Known

to his

" Sword of Montenegro," Mirko stands forth a glorious all that is chivalrous, brave, and noble. of Wise example
in

countrymen by the proud

title

of

Council and

first in

Battle, a brilliant shot,

is

and

fearless

swordsman, Mirko Petrovic

ideal

acclaimed by posterity an

and worthy leader of

his time.

A
He
died

Peep

at

Montenegro

died, alas!
fifty
it

break of
for

of cholera during the terrible outhe might have years ago; would that
his fervent

was

wish

at the

head of his

warriors, leading a forlorn hope.

the Crossing the desolate mountains that divide wilds the we and Niksic, pass through plains of Zeta of the Crnagora, and at last emerge to sight a vast plain, towards which our road directs itself, though with an

In the centre of this plain lies ever-winding course. Northern the Niksic, Capital of Montenegro, sheltering
itself,

as

it

were, under the wings of

this

its

famous old

Castle.

Thirty years ago by a large garrison of Turks, Montenegrins of the locality,

hills.

strong fortress was held who put to flight the few

to suffer starvation in the

Although Niksic was composed of only a few beneath the shadow miserable hovels huddled together o of the powerful citadel, the possession of the place was
of the most vital importance to the future of MonCommanding the whole of the surrounding tenegro. and fertile crops, Niksic, plain, with its rich pastures
as

extension of

warrior-kingdom, would mean the Montenegro to double its then area, and well worth making a supreme and it was therefore for to effort capture it. King Nikolas called desperate
part

of

the

volunteers, and personally led a daring assault upon the almost impregnable structure. Gazing at the towering
walls,

one could scarcely credit that mad attack, and yet so recklessly brave were the Montenegrins that, followtheir fearless King, they carried the defences by sheer
ing

72

..

ALBANIANS OUTSIDE SCUTARI. (Note the Lake Dwellers in the background.

Niksic and the Old

Monastery of Ostrog

hand-to-hand fighting, and, falling furiously upon the well-armed Turks, literally hacked them to pieces.

Under Montenegrin

rule

Niksic soon became an

before
is

big market-square by low, single-storeyed houses. Here the people are purely Montenegrin, and very wild, sitting over their baskets of fruit and across vegetables with loaded

important town, and, as Northern Capital. Its

we have

said,

the

surrounded

guns

the knees; quaint, uncouth country-folk, but jovial and hearty, prodigally hospitable.
'

and

proud of its one and only brewery, which turns out quite excellent beer, a novel drink for Monis

Niksic

tenegrins, yet that flourishes

Another popular industry throughout Montenegro, and whose rapid

liked.

much

is the State manufacture of Not only are these articles both cigarettes. cheap and of excellent flavour, but each cigarette is fitted with a neat cork in boxes tip, and the goods are

growth has been truly remarkable,

packed

of distinctive design. I spent one whole afternoon

whose existence being no longer

exploring
a

the

Castle,
is

necessity

now

away. climbing towards the ancient gateway I encountered a Montenegrin of distinguished appearance and rich attire. With that charming hospitality I had experienced during my sojourn in Montenegro, he accosted me courteously and

threatened; the structure is slowly decaying, beginning here and there to crumble As I was

upon accompanying me to act Fortunately, my newly-made friend spoke

thus

insisted

as

cicerone.

we were

Italian,

and

able to converse together.

MON.

can honestly

I0

A
1

Peep

at

Montenegro

never met with a more interesting companion, say for he recounted many thrilling anecdotes.

wandered all over the old place until dusk, and sun was sinking in a blaze of blood-red splendour, silhouetting the rugged mountains so that they looked
as the

We

like a

row of gigantic

teeth,

black

and

sinister,

we

climbed to the summit of the massive battlements.

ing from this lofty height

Gaz-

down
in

to

ground

was

almost

lost

the

where the rough, rock growing dusk, I

marvelled anew at the dauntless courage that KingNikolas and his loyal warriors showed when they stormed
these self-same walls at the point of the sword. The King has built a new Palace at Niksic, and close by a Cathedral has been erected. There was once much
talk of

moving

the

Capital

hither,

but the isolated

position of Niksic, together with the expense of such an undertaking, finally killed the proposal. Yet in spite

of the increasing evidence of approaching civilisation

you may hear the good folk of Niksic speak of anywhere " away from Montenegro as in the world outside."

74

Peep

at

Scutari

CHAPTER

XII

A PEEP AT SCUTARI

FROM

return to Podgorica, where we are barely a dozen miles distant from the Lake of Scutari, by a broad road leading to Plavica, the tiny

Niksic

we must

upon the low banks of a sluggish river. Each day a steamer sails from Scutari, the Capital of Albania, to the Montenegrin shores, and returns thereport

from in the evening. The single journey occupies as a rule nearly four hours, and the steamer passes up the centre of the lake, so that the traveller gets a good view
of the mountain ranges of savage Albania.

About

halt-

way we

cross the invisible

lies

Turkish
the

frontier, for

more

than half the lake

within

Sultan's domains.

Every now and

comporting

pass quite close to a pelican, itself with all the absurd solemnity of its

then

we

tribe, for there are

many

of these large birds on the lake;

besides, innumerable smaller- winged

in addition there
is

game abound, and

to
fall

fine fishing.

My
fasting.

last

visit

to

Scutari

happened

during

Ramadhan^

the

Mohammedan Lenten
this

During

month

period or time of no true believer allows a

hours single particle of food to pass his lips between the of a wellsunset. the and of sunrise Naturally, sight

75

10

A
fed Christian
fore

Peep
is

at

Montenegro

upon

my

an abomination to a Moslem, and therearrival I found the mixed populace not

its

only manifesting

ill-humour, but bordering almost

is

upon

frenzy.

Upon

landing, the

stranger

subjected to

much

questioning and annoyance, besides having to endure incessant demands for "baksheesh" (money). We pass through the Bazaar, which is a town in itself, being composed of wooden houses with open fronts, and whose roofs almost meet each other and so shelter the dirty streets beneath from the sun's scorching rays and
the heaviest rains.

Here

the
as

Turks

sit

cross-legged

among

in looking huge wooden packing-cases; and during Ramadhan they are forbidden to touch even a cigarette. Under these cir-

their wares,

though they were

cumstances

it

is

not considered safe for a Christian to

smoke
a

in the Bazaar, for

he will cause a

riot, since for

Moslem
is

to

even breathe the smoke from another's

cigarette

to break the

Law

of the Prophet.

The firing of a cannon announces sunset, and a few moments before the expected signal the hungry worshippers of
cigarette in

be seen with a carefully-made one hand and a glowing lump of charcoal Boom goes the gun, and a held ready by the other. hundred glowing cigarettes are dancing in the twilight,
!

Mohammed may

while a merry clatter of shutting-up shop has taken the Until the sun appears place of the usual quietness.
again these Turks will feast and smoke, fortifying themselves for the

morrow's
a

fast.

Scutari

is

very dirty place, and the smells are

Peep

at

Scutari

that belie the very appalling, and one witnesses scenes name of Europe. In and around Scutari one is among a race of people who live in a state of almost constant market days large numbers of Catholic warfare. Albanians come into Scutari to trade; they arrive early

On

their positions upon the Whole families are there, Bazaar. the open plain outside usually father and two or three sons, armed to the teeth
in the

morning, and take up

handjar and revolver, and dressed in the picturesque costumes so familiar at Podgorica; with

with

rifle,

them
deep

are their

women
round

in short

silver belt

their waists,

white dresses, wearing a and with possibly

two or three children clothed in heavy white felt garments that would half smother a little civilised boy or Two or three mules bearing market produce girl. complete the picture, and when the vegetables and fruit are laid out for inspection the men stand over them with firearms ready to hand in case of sudden attack, for you must know that everybody in Scutari goes about

momentary expectation of an unyou were to shut up two Kilkenny pleasant surprise. cats in a small packing-case, you would scarcely expect them to lie down together lamb-like any more than you would expect Christian and Mohammedan Albanians
the daily tasks
in If

to fraternise within the white walls of the

same town.

Now
No
their

it

is

a Christian

who

is

the aggressor,

now

Moslem.
so very long ago the Christians, being tired of

Moslem neighbours' taunt of "unbelieving dogs," determined to insult their hereditary enemies by the
77

A
ber

Peep

at

Montenegro
first

most revolting means

in their

how

the Indian

Mutiny

power. You will remembroke out, when the

native troops were given cartridges said to have been greased with pig's fat, for the pig and also the calf are

regarded by

all

med

as unclean.

true followers of the Prophet MohamKnowing this, some of the Christians

of Scutari slew a large fat pig, and left its bleeding body in the doorway of the largest Mosque in the town; as
further insult they threw the entrails of the animal down the well in the courtyard, thus poisoning the water.

Imagine the result. As a lighted match applied to gunpowder, so did this gross insult cause the Moslem population to rise as one man, only to be met by the
Christians ever eager for a fight. The Sultan's Governor acted with commendable promptitude, and stationed two

regiments between the contending parties, with orders for them to shoot down friend or foe without distinction.
It

was only

after

several

disturbances had been thus

that bloodshed

quelled, with the usual large scale was avoided.

fatalities,

on a

As you walk through

the Bazaar of Scutari

you can

picture yourself back in the wonderful pages of the "Arabian Nights," and many are the strange figures that
sit

their

cross-legged and imperturbable in the shadows of open shops, eyeing the Christian with sullen and
stare,

contemptuous

scarcely

deigning to notice his

presence, save perhaps to draw aside flowing draperies that might suffer contamination from the shoes of the
Infidel.

Clearly,

anybody who

is

tired of a quiet,

humdrum

21

A
existence could not

Peep

at Scutari
h

do better than take up

his residence

in Scutari; let him smoke a cigarette during Ramadhan, and in addition take his kodak into the Bazaar. I have no hesitation in saying that he will not experience a dull

moment during
I

his short stay there.

cannot say that I was altogether sorry when the lowroofed town faded into the distance, and only the noble
old Castle set high on its superb eminence asserted its proud position as the dominant landmark of the Capital of savage Albania.

79

Peep

at

Montenegro

CHAPTER

XIII

THE SEABOARD OF MONTENEGRO

i

FROM

Scutari

instead

of

return by steamer to Montenegro, but disembarking at Plavanita, the port of

to the

we

Podgorica, Vir Pazar.

we remain on board
is

end of the journey,

upon what is really an island, in the centre of a marshy valley between lofty mountains. The road to and from the town is banked high, since the Lake of Scutari often rises and floods the town to
Vir Pazar
built

such a depth as to compel the inhabitants to take refuge

upper rooms, which are generally the living apartments. The only outlet to the lake is at Scutari, and
in

the

Turks

are too lazy to clear the river of the refuse

which yearly blocks it. At Vir Pazar the life

is

is purely Montenegrin, for it the sun's rays pour down Albania. As from away it almost dazzles one's eyes the market scene, busy upon to look at the brilliant, motley colours, the blues, reds, the people; while, for greens, and golds bedecking sombre contrast, there rise those eternal mountains of

the

same grey, cruel rock. Although this scene is a gay one, we cannot forget that Vir Pazar was also the scene of the Montenegrin 80

il
u
>
ui
c
IS

<
-I

LU

2 O
Q.

=5
">

a:

>

The Seaboard of Montenegro

Vespers. In 1702, soon after the death of William III. of England, and the accession of good Queen Anne, the ruler of the Crnagora, Prince Danilo, was asked by the Christians under Turkish rule near Podgorica to
consecrate a

new

church.

In those times the reigning

It

was King two offices. wisely The Governor of Scutari, Dervish Pasha, gave his sworn safeguard, and Prince Danilo, himself the soul of honour, descended without hesitation from his mounPrince

was also the Chief Bishop.

Nikolas' uncle

who

separated the

tains to fulfil the pious request.

The

the point of returning,

mission accomplished, Prince Danilo was upon when he was treacherously seized

by command of Dervish Pasha, consigned to prison, tortured, and finally ordered to be hanged. Frugal yet poor as the Montenegrins were, nevertheless they were able to offer sufficient ransom to satisfy the cupidity
of the Turk, thus securing their Prince's release.

Among
of Turks

the

who were

Montenegrins there lived a large number allowed to carry on their business

of
their

unmolested.

After the capture

left in

Prince

the

mountaineers determined that henceforth there should

be no renegade

was

the land, and a solemn meetingheld, at which five brothers were chosen as leaders.
the great work of offered the choice

At Vir Pazar upon Christmas Eve vengeance began; every Turk was
J

between Christianity and the Sword. Those who embraced the Faith were troubled no further, those who did not were instantly killed, so that Christmas Morning,
1703, broke red in the East, and Montenegro awoke

MON.

II

A
alike.

Peep

at

Montenegro
in Faith

to find herself united at last

and Freedom

From

Vir Pazar we

which crosses a
in height, that
sea.

set out over the Sutormann Pass, mountain range three thousand feet separates the Lake of Scutari from the

quaint

little

railway over the Pass has been built

by an Italian company, and each day an engine and two carriages wind their slow way across these heights.
service as scarcely worth notice, mere the whole concern a toy; but the Montenegrins regard it as something of a miracle. I travelled by road, which one must always do to get a fair knowledge of the country. It is a precipitous route ascending the side of those giant hills, and the

We should consider the

higher

we
r

rise the better

we

obtain

that

remarkable

bird's-eye view of all Montenegro, which lies beneath us like a huge relief map. Wave after wave of mountains stretch before us, that lose themselves in infinity.

Upon

the

summit of

the Pass stands a noble old

Castle, taken by the Montenegrins at the sword's point

The Castle's large Turkish garrison thirty years ago. held the Pass until one night a band of Montenegrins,
travelling by paths at giddy heights and along almost impassable precipices, surprised and slaughtered them. Thus Montenegro won her way to the sea, and gained

the ports of Antivari and Dolcigno. The Adriatic lies far beneath us, a wide expanse of deep blue, and in our faces blows a glorious breeze, salt-

flavoured,

that

reminds us of our own home.

82

It

The Seaboard
our

of Montenegro

invigorates us as a cool drink to a thirsty traveller, tor home is an island, and our inheritance the sea.

lies two miles inland from the beautiful and bay, possesses a Castle, once the finest in the Balkans. The bay is magnificent, and a powerful syndicate once offered a vast sum of money to King Nikolas if he

Antivari

would allow them

of

to erect there a

Casino similar to that

Monte

Carlo.

King: o Nikolas,

the land for five

hundred

expect him

to

"I am

years, a leader of

whose ancestors ruled replied, as one would

MEN,"

he

said,

" not

the keeper of a gambling saloon."

Antivari

other port is Dolcigno, but like too exposed to rough weather; besides, the Powers do not allow her to possess a Navy, conse-

Montenegro's
it

is

quently the coast is always open to a possible attack by Austrian warships. Montenegro gains, it is true, an
outlet
for

her

produce,

but

otherwise

obtains

no

advantage whatever from her seaports.

8;;

1-2

Peep

at

Montenegro

CHAPTER XIV
A PEEP AT POLITICS

THROUGHOUT
to dwell

this little

book

have been careful not

easily
fill

upon

Politics, for

one might

volume

upon this single subject alone. The Balkan States, or the Near East, as they are more often described, have
for

ages

proved

European Peace.
'

stumbling-block in the path of As we have seen, the Turks con-

quered a vast area of the European Continent in the Middle Ages, but from the moment their combative O to decline they have been forced to relinpower began
quish province after province; and it has been solely the question of who shall possess these recovered lands
that has

been and
the

still is

the cause of so

much

friction

between

Great

Roumania regained

and by the common to become separate kingdoms; yet although they are
nominally independent, they are nevertheless to a great extent under the invisible control of one or other of

and freedom and independence, consent of Europe were permitted

Bulgaria,

Powers.

Servia

their

powerful neighbours, Russia and Austria, behind whom stand France and Germany. Thirty-five years
their

Peep

at

Politics

ago the Christians in the Turkish provinces of Bosnia and the Herzegovina revolted against their Turkish rulers, who were massacring the defenceless peasants.
stop these terrible atrocities Austria her armies across the frontier, and by so doingdispatched saved thousands of valuable and innocent lives. The

In

order to

Great Powers met

at Berlin to

determine what should

be done, and as clearly they could not allow the Turks to return to these provinces, therefore they handed them

over to Austria in reward for her inestimable services, and at the same time acknowledged the freedom of

Montenegro.
of
late.

the Treaty of Berlin, of which

This arrangement or compact was called you have heard so much

Austria has worked wonders for Montenegro's onetime unhappy neighbours. She has built roads and
railways, instituted Schools and Courts of Justice, so that to-day the Moslem and the Christian are able to

dwell together in unity, with perfect equality and impartial justice for all, and are very much happier than
they ever were under Turkish rule. In this way the Austrian Eagle has buried
in
its

talons

an appreciable slice of the rich Balkans, and the o-rowlino- ever since. But BuiRussian Bear has been o o
garia, Servia

and Montenegro spring from the same as Russia, speak almost the same and tongue, belong to the self-same Greek Church, so that Russia by advancing money to her little friends in
Slavonic

source

the Balkans reaped in return firm allies with whom to stem the Austrian advance. Now you begin to glimpse

85

Peep

at

Montenegro

the real powers that loom ever more and more distinctly in connection with the present Balkan War.

Although the Turks have held these provinces in Europe for five hundred years, they are in reality an Asiatic people, and, as such, have no real right to these possessions, save, of course, the right of the sword. So
long as they maintained their military efficiency their hold was secure, but during the last few decades Turkey
revolution of
has been undergoing a speedy dissolution, not to say its own. The old Sultan Abdul Hamid

was deposed, and a new party styling themselves the Young Turks came into being. The result has been
in the military one, surpassing that existed under the old

indescribable corruption in both Services, but especially by far the corruption

regime.

kingdoms, noticing the rapid of their relentless and once unassailable weakening determined to combine enemy, together in a supreme
little

The

Balkan

effort to free for

all

time their Christian brothers in

Albania and Macedonia, aided by Greece, who had to settle many old scores with terrible interest.

Who should strike the first blow? Here there was momentary hesitation on the part of the four Greatest Powers until Montenegro pluckily stepped into the
arena,

and with the highest courage

fired the first shot

in a great campaign, a campaign alter the map of Europe.

I

that

will

materially

to detail the already wonderful and almost miraculous result of the war, or the grave lesson
it

do not need

teaches us, for as I write the facts are before our eyes

86

A
the

Peep

at

Politics
Turkey-in-Europe, the

shattering for ever of

downfall of inefficiency and unpreparedness before the onslaught of fervent patriotism and perfect organisation.
I

am

only concerned here with the share Montenegro

has taken, how for almost the first time she has been the attacker and the Turks the defenders; the over-

whelming privations bordering upon actual starvation, coupled with the severest and most embarrassingweather, she has been forced to face; how scant, too, her hospital resources, for, as of old, a man who falls
is

reckoned a
tale

man

dead.

It is a

harrowingly grim and

awful

of slaughter as fort after fort succumbs to or

repels the Montenegrin attack upon Scutari. It is Scutari that Montenegro will claim when Peace

so doing she will extend her frontiers until they encompass the whole of the Great Lake. This will mean a vast expanse of new territory,

has succeeded

War, and by

and by its acquisition Montenegro will be regaining the land of her people, held ere the Turk defiled the soil of Europe. It will be a great triumph for King Nikolas,
that probably long before he is gathered to his fathers he will leave his countrymen no longer a small band of

warriors unrecognised by the world, and a prey to a usurping foe, but a nation honoured among nations,

with settled frontiers extended a hundredfold, and a great and glorious future before her as the pluckiest of
the Balkan Powers.

Let us express our fervent and

heartfelt

come years encroaching modern

trn
to

prosperity,

aided

civilisation, will

hope that in by our evernot overshadow

8?

Peep

at

Montenegro

long Let them jealously retain their picturesque costumes tributes to ancestral barbaric splendour remind them of since, by so doing, they will serve to
speech,
their goal
?

far that her Montenegro's primitive virtues. Better by ever have as children remain, been, chaste and they that than rather they imbibe frugal, brave and honest, the social unrest of their more advanced neighbours. What matter their rough bearing and their abrupt as truth is their watchword and honour so

from which Montenegro has sprung, for surely not even King Arthur and his Champion Table could boast of loftier aims, Knights of the Round or more cleanly and honourably lived lives than those of the Grand Old Heroes of the Crnaeora.
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The

25 Volumes. Price I/- net per Volume. Victoria Edition. 25 Volumes. Price 1/6 per Volume. Shilling Edition. 25 Volumes. Price 2/- per Volume.

Popular Edition. Portrait Edition.

25 Volumes.

Two

Standard Edition.

25 Volumes.

Dryburgh
PUBLISHED BY
A.

Edition.

25 Volumes.

Price 2/6 per Volume. Price 3/6 per Volume.

6

AND

C.

BLACK,

4,
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