Connecticut western news., 1880-10-06
THE MONTENEGRINS.
A Nation of Warriors.

The Montenegrins are nation of
 soldiers. Their history is one long
 epic, in which the deeds of heroism
 wrought in their mountain home seem
 more fitted for the verse of the poet
 than for the sober pen of the histo-
 rian. It is indeed hardly possible to
 relate the fortunes of this heroic peo
 pie without appearing to encroach on
 the province of writers of romance, and thus, as MT. Gladstone said, "beget-
 ting in the mind of the reader restless
 suspicion of exaggeration and of fable. :" | The proportion of men able, ready and | expected to bear arms in case of war is
 higher in Montenegro than anywhere
 else in the world. Age claims no ex-
 emption. In the war with Turkey in
 1862 corpses of children under fourteen
 years of age were often found on the
 battlefield. The present Captain of
 Niegush, Juro Petrovic, narrowly
 escaped with his life at the age of
 twelve. Not long ago Prince Nikita
 asked youth where he gained the terri
 ble scars on his face. tI was wounded
 in the war under Mirko," said he.
 "How old," asked the Prince, "could
 you have been ?'' "I was thirteen, "
 replied the youth quietly. When Mon
 tenegrin children are baptized the hilt
 of dagger is given them to kiss. The
 baby in the cradle plays with pistol as
 with coral. At the fount the god-pa-
 rents cry, "May he not die in his bed J
 Feeble old age vindicates its rights to
 share in the fray. Cripples compel
 their neighbors to carry them to the post
 of danger, that they may fire from the rocks upon the invaders. Even womer court the dangers of war. There was one whose husband was standard
 bearer. He fell in battle and was sue } ceeded in office by the eldest of hi , grown sons. That son fell and was fol lowed by second, and he in turn by ,
 third. The woman's fourth and las
 son was still a child, so she shoulderet
 the banner herself ''I will bear it til : my son be grown," she said.
 | Upward of ten thousand men can b assembled at any point of the frontie r within twelve hours of the first intima s tion of danger. Twenty-four hours ar 8 sufficient to concentrate almost tn a whole male population. They are al v active skirmishers and expert marks a men. They pass over precipices an' r climb the steepest rocks with ease 2 They bear hunger and thirst with tn 2 utmost patience. Their commissaria e is of the simplest They are conten r with small loaf of bread, cheese r some garlic, a little brandy. An ol q garment and two pairs of sandals forr t all their equipment. At home, as i - the field, all their thoughts are of wal a There, when the hour for the fami supper arrives, the sons stroll in arme to the teeth with pistols and rifles l though they have been merely sellin n garden produce at Cattaro or the pou, s try which was roasting last evening i e the midst of the family. After the mea 9 while the women sew and knit, the me n relate stories of personal adventure e As matter of course, they tell ( past battles. The old father has som V story of the days of the great Viadiks V and counts once more the white plume f which he received for each Turk h S slew. The younger ones tell of th h days of Grahova, and of their exploit |, under Mirko, and have long been lool o ing forward to the call that their Princ
 has to-day sent forth. These warlih
 recollections are listened to with profoun
 interest, and those who have been
 market tell the news they have heal n there, discussing the promises of the Su n tan and the purposes of the Powers: 4 e neighbor after neighbor drops in, u n gusle is brought out and lays of the al & cient days of Servia, of Bosnia, of Iva ,e Bog, of Milosk Obilic and of the glori
 of the reign of Stephen Dashan are SUI ,t to the accompaniment of the nation Tyre. So night draws on, and the tin o for sleep arrives. The friends from u Is neighboring cottages disappear, and u if chant of a prayer follows them homewa1 d until it is lost in the distant hills.