St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-06-08


its banks are exceedingly fertile and
capable of supporting an immense pop
ulation, and of rolling stream of wealth
into the treasury of the Central Govern
ment. As it is there are extensive
tracts, within sight of the railroad, that
are not cultivated at all, and none of it
yields what it should.
AS in other parts of Turkey the eye
looks in vain for roads and fences and
farm houses scattered over the country
The people all live in villages, for safe
ty, and go out three, four or five miles,
to their farms each morning, and back
each night. 1t was sad to see long lines
of dozen men OF more going out to
their daily work together with their
oxen and rude carts OF ploughs, and
know that they dared not go otherwise
for fear of Circassians who would beat
them, steal their oxen and even the
clothes from their backs.
As | said there are no fences and al
most no roads and the land must be di-
vided by the "ancient landmarks" as in
old Bible times. For example, one of
the boundary lines of the grounds of
Robert College is stated in the title deed
to be ga foot path through vineyard
At the foot of the Balkans runs the
large river Toondja, branch of the
Martha, from the valley of which the
mountains rise very abruptly. The
scenery here is wild and rugged, for the
Balkans are the stronghold of Bulgaria,
and even of Turkey.
1t is mistake to make the Balkans
the southern boundary of Bulgaria, as
is usually done on maps. The division
is purely arbitrary, for as far south as
Adrianople the inhabitants are largely
Bulgarian, and they also extend off into
Macedonia and even to the Egean.
VILLAGES
Are scattered in all directions over the
face of the country. They are generally
built on some rising ground or low hill,
though sometimes in the plain. There
is line of villages just at the base of
the Balkans and stretching upon their
sides, evidently built that the inhabi
tants might have a place to flee for
safety in times of danger. A person
looking out upon the county, who knew
nothing of its history, would know that
it was occupied by an abject and op
pressed people. 1t is not the Christian
population alone, but their Turkish
neighbors as well that are oppressed,
for the rapaciOus pashas and govern
ment officials spare no class or condition
if they can only extort money, for which
they give in return neither privilege
nor protection.
In towns of some size Turks and
Christians live together, in different
quarters, and you will see in one end of
the place a mosque and in the other Il
church. 1t is more generally the case
however that they live in separate vii
lagos, which one can usually distinguish
by the greater amount of squalor and
wretchedness in those belonging to the
| Turks.
In the better class of villages the
houses are built of mud bricks, and
many of the roofs are tile. In others
the houses are wretched huts, made of
a wicker work of twisted withes, plas-
tered inside and out with mud, and COW
cred with thatch.
In every Bulgarian village the church
is the principal building, and beside it
you will usually find the little school
house. The church grounds are usually
surl ounded by high wall, as strong as
the villagers can afford to make it,
which in time of danger is the village
fortress. In several instances during
the troubles in Bulgaria last summer
the people fiocked to the protection of
the church walls with their families and
movables, and there held out until fore
ed to surrender to the merciless Bashi-
bouzOuks.
THE BULGARIAN PEOPLE
Are in some respects the best of all the
subject races of the Ottoman Empire.
Five hundred years of subsection have,
it is true, crushed out in large measure
their national spirit, but it has not ex-
tinguished the spark of their national
life. Instead of the fierce Bulgars,
whose very name once made the By
zantine Emperor tremble OIL his throne,
the present Bulgarians are mild and
inoffensive people. They are genuine
pleasant NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. and practi-
cal, and more honest and enterprising
than you would expect from the school
in which they have so long been trained.
The history of the past years has shown
how irksome the Turkish yoke has been
upon them. With a shadow of prOtec-
tion for their rights they would have
remained quiet and submissive,-but
again and again despair has driven them
to an insurrection which their unwarlike
character has rendered worse than use
less, for it has only served to make their
woke heavier and to rivet their chains
tighter.
Within the last few years desire for
education has been growing among the
Bulgarians. Convinced that the only
way to raise themselves from the wretch
ed condition into which they had fallen,