Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-04-18
A PECULIAR PEOPLE.
GladstOne's Account Of Montenegro
and itB Inhahitauts.

ana itB AnhahitautB.
In a popular lecture delivered re
Gently, Gladstone, the ex-premier
of England, gave the following
terse account Of Montenegro:
The history of Montenegro was
briefly this: A portion Of the in
habitants of the northern part of
the Adria6c Sea were conquered by
the Turks in the fifteenth century.
A certain portion of them did not
accede to any Of the three alterna-
tiyes which, as he had told them
before, were proposed, but went up
to the mountains, which we're very
high and difficult Of access, and
there remained. This occurred in
the year 1885. For the sake of
their religion and freedom, and
everything else that made life hap
py or desirable, they abandoned
their property and went to an in
hospitable cline with very limited
means of existence, to maintain a
desperate struggle against the whole
power Of the Ottoman race, which
struggle they had now carried on
almost entirely without intermis-
sion for about four hundred years.
Those remarkable people were there
still, and it would be observed that
in the course Of the last six months
while the Turks boasted that they
had beaten the Seryians, with the
aid they had of 5000 or 1000 vol.
unteers from the Russian army, the
Montenegrins, with a population Of
100000 or 100000 people, had, on
every occasion they had met them
beaten the Turks.
They had nothing to fight with,
for the most part, except old-fash
ioned weapons that none of then
would like to use; they had no cav
airy or artillery, and any cannon
they used were those they had taker
from the Turks. With all thest
difficulties and the vast numbers
brought against them, they hat
beaten the Turkish forces. Now
the Turkish military we're goo(
soldiers and brave men, and, as W,
are aware at the present time, the,
had blockaded one of the Turkisl
towns (Nicsic) because there was
question rising about it in connec
ton with the armistice.
In 1916, when the lay sovereign
of Montenegro retired, he mad,
over the government of the countr,
to bishop, and. a succession 0
bishops had since governed th
country and led the people in tn
desperate struggle between life ant
death, almost without intermission
from 1916 to 1912. Those bishop
were warriors; indeed every prizes
in the country was a warrior. |
was a conflict in that country be
tween life and death, from day t,
day and from year to year, and dur
ing that long time have the peopl
not been permitted to lay aside th
terrible arms they used in the cor
stant struggle with their enemies
and have maintained their syster
u religion up to the present time
When they went up to the noun
tains their leader summoned the'
and made them take a solemn oat
! on the New Testament to abide tru
to their faith and nation, and whC
ever broke this should be inyeste
with a woman's apron and hoote
Z from the ranks of mon. Havin
referred to the high esteem in whic
{ women are held in the country, an
the almost savagery with which u
Montenegrins treated the Turl
! they slew in battles, the right hol
or orable gentleman said that tho
should try to understand the ci
u cumstances under which the Mo.
tenegrins, when they went in
battle together, and one of the
n. was wounded that could not be r
!. moved, twas the duty of the othe
" especially if be were his brother
friend, to cut off his head; al
why? To save him from the horr
he and insult and disgrace to who
while alive, his body would be G