IN WILD ALBANIA

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 166, 30 November 1912, Page 1 (Supplement)

IN WILD ALBANIA

THE TROUBLED EMPIRE OF THE TURK. (By M. H. Donohuc, in London Daily Chronicle). Almost daily conies news of fighting in the land of the Malissori, on or near to the Turkish-Montenegrin frontier. Northern Albania generally lias not yet been developed as a tourist centre, and it has not come under the suzerainty and benign swav of "King Cook." Amongst the wild and beautiful scenery of its rugged slopes one is more apt to encounter hardy tribesmen, armed cap-a-pie. then wandering tourists from Central Europe with ruck-sack and Baedeker. In this corner of the troubled empire of the Turk, as the old Balkan war song puts it. ''passions are rapid and red." and the death song of the Mauser is niiisic beloved by the native ear. The modem magazine rifle has by universal consent been chosen as the sole arbiter in the settling of disputes, racial or religious. Ethnologists have not definitely settled in their own satisfaction whether the Albanians are the descendants o c the Pelasgians. or whether they sprang from some more ancient race whose lineage is lost in the mists of antiquity; but Europe long ago decided that these fierce, libertyloving mountaineers are amongst the most restless and turbulent of the many races settled in the Balkan peninsula. The Albanian question is, politically, a many-sided one. It has well-nigh set Europe by the ears, and it is curious to know that the vexed problem of the choosing of an alphabet for the Albanian language has brought about a cleavage between the tribes of the north and those of the south, between Mohammedan. Catholic and Orthodox Albanians.

A PHASE OF THE BALKAN PROBLEM. Tt is but a phase of the present Balkan problem that while the Albanians arc bitterly opposed to the continuance of Turkish rule —pronounced misrule by the tribesmen —they are less hostile to what they term Montenegrin pretensions. The Christian Albanians of the north, on principle never lose an opportunity of lessening the number of their Turkish oppressors; yet to-morrow, in the event of a Turkish-Montenegrin con-

iih't, tIIHSL- SUJJl'l'l) glUil'l'illil fighters, who snipe ;it their old enemy the Turk in ii a son «nd out of season, would unhesitatingly full into line, under the banner ' of tile Prophet, and would cheerfully make war on their fellow-Christians. the subjects of King Nicholas. "But why?" one will naturally ask. The question is simple enough, , To the Albanian, the Montenegrin, his near neighbor, stands for Slav inlluenee: and the Slav is.reminiscent to ins mind of the extinct Servian Knipire, which ground the ancestors of Alalwsori and Mirdite ruthlessly in the dust before the Turk came and made himself ruler of Serb and Albanian by shattering the Servian Empire on the held of Kossovo. After all. there is logic in the Albanian process of reasoning things out. They know well enough of the stern ethics of war and conquest , to realise what would be the probable fate of Albania in the event of a Slav triumph over the Turk. A victorious Montenegro would undoubtedly recompense herself by territorial indemnification, and this at the expense of Albania. So the Malissjri, the Murdites, and the rest of the tribes, be they Moslem or Christian, see eye to eye upon one thing —the necessity lor keeping the Slav from extending his frontier to the south or south-east. Were King Nicholas tomorrow to launch his Russian-trained battalions against Turkey, the Albanians woukl without doubt take sides against him and assist the Sultan's troops. The knowledge of this fact helped, perhaps, to exercise a calming influence in State councils at Cettinje recently, when, as the outcome of a series of unhappy frontier incidents, the Montengrin people were clamoring to be led to battle against the infidel Turk.

A DEADLY RACE HATRED.

A deadly race hatred exists between Albanian and Montengrin, Latin and Orthodox Christians though they be. Not that on the Turkish side of the frontier and in certain parts of Albania any creed counts for very much. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that to the minds of many of these untutored people Christ and Mohammed appear somewhat in the light of two powerful sheiks or chiefs, whose respective accredited representatives offer to their followers the c-njoyment of certain secular advantages;' and if Mohammed in Albania gathers in more proselytes than the meek and lowly Galilean, it is not due to any predilection for the tents ot Islamism, but rather because Mohammedanism is officially recognised, and confers upon its adherents a sort of Government cachet. That the oft-avowed resolve of Albania to attack Montenegro in the event of war between the latter country and Turkey is no mere idlethreat may be gathered from the attitude of this war-loving people on the occasion of a previous Turkish-Monte-negrin difficulty. The Berlin Congress, in defining the boundaries of the then principality of Montenegro, ceded Touzi, ov Tuzi, south of Podgoritza, to Prince Nicholas. The Turkish troops accordingly withdrew, but before the Montenegrins could enter into possession the Albanians forestalled them, and occupied Tuzi. They successfully held it. too, keeping out the soldiers of the mountain principality, in this respect defying both Montenegro .■■.nd the Great Powers from that day to this. If the Crescent flag of Turkey Hies over Tuzi to-day, it is because of armed Albanian intervention. Indeed, the whole frontier question is a thorny one, providing abundant materia\ for fresh conflicts. If the Turks, ignoring the frequent demands of Cettinje, hesitate to give effect to the findings of the Boundary Commission, it is not that they seek to avoid doing justice to Montenegrin demands; it is because they fear Albanian reprisals were the delimitations recommended to be carried out. To-day the Albanians seemingly have forgotten Montenegrin generosity and their obligations to the little nation that so bravely sheltered the Malissori rebels last vear'when fleeing from the wrath of the Turk.

A QUEER TRAVELLING PARTY. At Podgoritza, in Montenegro, where the adherents of the Cross and the Crescent meet, the people live on terms of thinly-veiled hostility. The population is overwhelmingly Christian, and the Moslem minority live isolated in the west oi the town. They are for the most part renegade Serbs, and herein lies the sting. Knowing little or no Turkish, they speak the Serbo-Slav language of the Montenegrins. These Mosfein'SeTbs are profoundly distrusted by their Christian fellow-citizens; these latter they designate infidels and foreigners, while they proclaim themselves Osmanli and true followers of the Prophet, in the event of a war between Montenegro and Turkey, they would be a source of considerable embarrassment to the Government of King Nicholas, for the lenetrades make no secret as to which side would obtain their sympathy, if not active support. A ramshackle diligence conveyed me from Podgoritza to Tuzi, and then to Helm, or Houm, in Albania, at which point I was told 1 should ftiul a lake steamer plying to Scutari. The wheels of the vehicle in which I had taken passage during the journey emitted as many discordant notes as did the funeral car of the late Mikado. Amongst mv fellow-passengers were a Franciscan monk, ii Turkish merchant from Podgoritza, and two members of his harem, an Albanian returning from Vienna with ~ voting wife, wlto might have served as a model for Sassoferrato's Madonna, and their baby. In less than an hour front starting we drew up at the frontier, and descended from the diligence while the Turkish »arrison of a blockhouse a quarter of a, mile away inspected us closely. We shouted our names, our professions, and: nationality across the frontier, using our hands as a megaphone. The commander of the kula. or blockhouse, called from his forenoon slumbers, appeared presently, buttoning up his tunic. He, too. subjected us to a long-range inspection, alter which we were told we might cross into Turkey. In order to avoid the possibility of any regrettable frontier incidents! we sent the Turk and his womenfolk first, the Franciscan and myself followed, and the Albanian liuslmiid, wheeling a perambulator, and escorting his wife with the Madonna-like face, brought up the rear. A few days previously blood had been shed at this same frontier post over a question of reputed violation of territory, so that international relations were still strained. On their sidi' the Montenegrin soldiers, fully aimed, kept within the shelter of their blockhouse, and did not uiineconsaiily expose themselves to the Turkish sentries -lOOvds distant, and whose rifles, we fathered, had a habit of going off unexpectedly in the direction of Montenegrin territory. A narrow causeway spanning a deep spruit connects the two countries at this point. The formalities on the Turkish side did not take long, and by the time the creaking coach had inmbled across we were free to proceed on our journey.

THE COUNTRY OF TTTE MALISSORI. We got under way again, this time accompanied by an escort of Turkisli o'endarmes, mounted on fleet-footed, shaggy mountain ponies, with girths and stirrup-leathers fashioned out of odd pieces of rope. Now. we were in the country of the Malissori. passing through tne scenes of last year's rebellion. The roofless and smoke-blackened shells of the tenantless houses testified to the ruthlessness of Turkish repression under Turget Shetket Pasha. The driver of the diligence, who was inclined to he communicative, told me that the Government at Constantinople had paid compensation to the homeless

Malissori for the destruction of their dwellings, but the recipients had preferred purchasing Mauser lilies to applying the money to the rebuilding of their homes. After a brief halt at Tuzi, reconquered by Albanian bravery, and where, doubtless in commemoration of this feat, armed tribesmen are permitted to swagger about in full view of the Turkish troons, we drove on to llotini, at the head of Lake Scutari. There is a Turkish military post here, some 30 men, with two officers, being quartered in two tumble-down buildings, pre-eminent-ly filthy. The soldiers all kept a very tight hold of their rifles, for lloiim is a favorite raiding ground for Albanians in quest, of Turkish military rifles. A Mauser costs twelve pounds sterling in this part of the Turkish dominions, but the hillmen very often succeed in equipping themselves* with a serviceable rifle free of cost. At Houm the lake is choked by dense masses of vegetation, the reeds growing to a height of Oft or 7ft. The only navigable channel winds through the leed beds for two or three miles. This end of the lake serves as an admirable hiding place for Albanian rifle poachers. They concentrate 111 the reed beds, and when opportunity serves sally forth and surprise the Turkish sentries. Sometimes they succeed ill capturing the entire detachment and escaping with a very fine haul of rifles and ammunition. Occasionally, the surprised Turks offer a stubborn resistance, and lives are then lost on both sides.

IMPROMPTU TARGET PRACTICE. A leaky barge, or ''londra," with a high prow, was moored alongside the lake short. Into this we all tumbled pell-mell. Our crew of two youths and two men of middle age were all armed with Mausers, and carried filled bandoliers, The lake is too shallow for the steamer to come close to shore, and so for about an hour our leaky craft, impelled by four stout oars, followed the sinuous course of the channel. After this we emerged from the shelter afforded by the tall reeds, and lay in the middie of the lake under a hot sun. The steamer was not yet in sight, so the truculent-looking personage who ofiiciated as captain, having collected the fares for the trip, crawled beneath a tarpaulin and went to sleep. The remainder of the crew amused themselves by some impromptu target practice, to the .great terror of the Albanian baby, who had not yet become accustomed to the playful ways of his countrymen. No better mark offering, they fired at the tallest of the reeds. Apart from these, they had no opportunity of showing their skill in markmanship. The crack of the rifles resounded intermittinglv to the accompaniment of the discordant notes of the bullfrogs in the vicinity, whose siesta was being so rudely disurbed on this hot afternoon. Presently we were aroused from our lethargy by the thudthud of an antiquated stern-wheel steamer. It swung into view round a bend in the reed-studded lake. Our boat, now quarter full of water, was soon alongside. We clambered on board, and the places we had vacated were taken bv half a dozen Albanians bound for Tuzi. There were no cabins and no decking on the steamer. From the gunwale we lowered ourselves into a kind of hold, where a few narrow forms of the "penitent" type were ranged longitudinally. At the last moment we were joined by three men in unmistakable Albanian dress. By way of arms each man carried a rille and revolver; this latter was stuck in the broad, brightly-colored sash encircling their waists. Our wheezy vessel turned her head round towards Scutari, and immediately there was a perfect fusillade of farewell shots between ourselves and the shorward-bound travellers in the "londra," The depleted magazines were recharged, and the firing of a feu de joie with ball cartridges continued. Naturally, the gentlemen in the boat were just as courteous as the Albanians of our ship's company, and they replied with such downright goodwill that soon the air a few feet above our unprotected heads fairly hummed with the zip-zip of Mauser bullets. Sometimes it happens that in the excitement of the moment the saluting muzzles are not pointed sufficiently high, in which case a bullet finds an unlooked-for billet.

A REVOLUTIONARY TRIO. The trio of last comers turned out to be members of one of the local revolutionary bands. Latterly, they had not bothered much about their hereditary enemy, the Turk. By way of variation of occupation they had gone on the warpath in quest of Montenegrin scalps. Indeed, they made no secret of the nature of their iate expedition. The leader, it turned out, had been in America, and in somewhat halting English, interspersed with rich, racy Americanisms, he declared that he had worked as a blacksmith's helper in Chicago. In the case, of one of his comrades, he explained that it was not pure love of slaying that sent him forth in quest of human victims. It was a question of - 'ghak"—i.e., blood vendetta. The comrade's brother, so I learned, had been killed a week previously in a frontier fray, shot dead by a Montenegrin, and so his relatives had sworn a vendetta against all Montenegrins, and had spent four days in the vicinity of the frontier picking off any who happened to come within range of his rifle. The man who was out for "ghak" was a curious psychological study. -He was blue-eyed, with an'irregular fringe of hair showing from beneath his conical head covering. By and bve, succumbing to fatigue, he landed his rifle to his trusty comrade —the man from America. Then, curling himself up on the bare floor of the steamer's hold, he slept the peaceful sleep of an innocent child whose hands were guiltless of blood. And so we passed on to Scutari, that centre of discontent and revolution, ever in a state of ferment. This is the city which the Alnanians fervently hope will one day be the capital of their resuscitated country. But in the opinion of the Turkish overlord much water will flow down the Drill into the Adriatic before that happens.—(September 20).