The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1877-03-29
:. CAIRO ILLINOIS THURSDAY, MARCH 20 1877
The Bullftim.
PECULIAR PEOPLE.
(sjastst0ue's Account Of Montenegro
aud Its Inhabitants.

GIasistoue's Account Of Montenegro
aud Its Inhabitants.
In a popular lecture, delivered recently,
Gladstone, the ex-Premier Of England,
gave the follow ing terse account OF Mon
tenegro:
The history OF Montenegro was briefly
this: A portion the inhabitants oil the
northern part OF the Adriatic sea were
conquered by the Turks ia the fifteenth
century. a certain portion Of them did
not accede to any Of the three alternatives
which. a. ne had told them before, were
proposed, bnt went up to the mountains.
which were very high and difficult of
access, and there remained. This occurred
in the year 1915. For the sake OF their re-
ligion aud freedom. and everything else
that made life happy or desirable. they
abandoned their property and went 10
an inhospitable cline with very limited
means OF existence. 10 maintain des-
perate struggle against the whole power
Of the Ottoman race. which struggle
they had now carried on almost entirely
without ir termission for about 400 years.
Those remarkable people were there
still. and it would be observed that IN the
course Of the last six months, while the
Turks boosted that they had beaten the
Servians with the aid that they had OF
5000 or 1000 volunteers from the Rus
sian army, the Montenegrins, with pop
ulation OF 10000 or 10000 ofpeople,
had, on every occasion they had met
them. beat the Turks. Applause. they
had nothing TO fight with, for the most
part, except old fashioned weapons that
none OF them would like to
use; they had no cavalry or artillery,
and any cannon they used were those
they had taken from the Turks.
with all these difficulties and the vast
numbers brought against them. they had
beaten the Turkish forces. Now, the
Turkish military were good soldiers and
brave men, and, as we are aware al the
present time, they had blockaded one OF
the Turkish towns (Niksick) because
there was a question raised about il in
connection with the armistice. In ljlG,
when the lay sovereign OF Montenegro
retired, lie made over the government Of
the country to a bishop. and success
sion OF bishops had since governed
the country and led the people
in the desperate struggle between
lite and death, almost without
intermission, from 1916 to 1872. Those
Bishops were warriors; indeed every
priest in the cou ntry was a warrior. Ii
was conflict in that country between life
year 10 year, and during that long time
have the people not been permitted to lay
aside the terrible arms they used in con-
slant struggle with their enemies. and
have maintained their system of religion
sp TO the present time. When they
went up 10 the mountains, their leader
summoned them aud made them take
solemn oath OH the New Testament 10
abide true to their faith and nation, and
whoever broke this should be invested
with a woman's apron and hooted from
the ranks of men. Having referred to
the high esteem in which women are
held in the country, and the
almost savagcry with which the Non
tenegrins treated the Turks they slew ia
hattie. the right honorable gentleman
said that they should try to understand
the circumstances under which the Mon
tenegrins, when they went into battle to-
gether, and one of them was wounded
that could not be removed, il was the
duty OF the other, especially if he were
his brother or his friend, to cat of his
head; and why. To save him from the
horror and insult and disgrace 10 which,
while alive. his body would be exposed.
OF course, a savage state of manners
came in and that was one Of the points
he held, that when the oppressed were
driven 10 this state of things
their oppressors were responsible
for it. lie was glad TO say, however.
that in recent times great efforts had
been made to get rid of that ferocity Of
character. and for two generations past
great pains had been taken by their SOW
ereigns. and, he believed, with great sue
cess. TO establish peace and order and
good government among them. Though
their history had drawn very little atten-
ton, and though he was very far from
denying that ithad its dark spots. because
the spirit OF ferocity still prevailed TO
some extent. still the heroism of the peo-
pie, their sanctities, and their noble con-
stancy would, in his opinion. secure to
them to latest ages a name more endur-
ing than that which would be given TO
other nations, states and peoples who ap-
peared greater in the eyes OF the world.