St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-17
THE MINNESOTA. HEIR OF A SERBIAN KING.
A CONSULAR ExPE a1BNcE
BY EUGENE SCHUYLER.

great grandfather of August Boyne. 1t
was in German, and ran as follows:
"BRANDENBURG, May l, 1759.-My
Dear Son, Frederic de Lazar:
l hand over to thee my
last will and testament relating
to our family matters, which l know
| from my parents in Serbia. l could
never go there myself, for l was so long
in the military service; and afterWard
and matters l will tell thee orally. But
here 1t seems necessary and important
to describe the days of my youth and
my experience. My father was prince
of Serbia. was born in the year 1857
in castle in the Shumadia, and was
brought up in the castle of ShabatZ, on
the river Sava. In the year 1904 there
was great excitement and commotion,
and there were disasters without prece-
dent.
Zone night, when the reflection of
| burning hot SeS Redeemed all our win
doWS, woke up daZZled by the bright
light of the confederation, and was
seized by the hand of faithful servant.
Get up, Andria,' he cried to me, we
have no time. to lose; the lOng-beardS
are near The long-beardS were the
Turks-so we called them. l was always
! afraid of them-tbey were terrible, and
came often to our town to kill and plum
der, and | rose instantly. The servant
took me in his arms. l heard fearful
noises everywhere about me. My
mother came into the room very much
agitated and excited, and wished to see
! me. AT the same moment we heard the
firing of muskets quite close by us.
One of the doors was burstOpen: smoke
and sparks flew all about us, and gang
nf fipran-l nnt- inU 'Inrl-c rnShal into hn
room. They swung around their heads
their swords, which glittered like red
dish flame; and. shouting terribly,
! threatened to kill and massacre all OF
us. The servant, in his fright, let me
! fall to the ground; and L rolled under
some furniture and crept off as far as
| could get. But could see how he fell
a victim to his fidelity, in the attempt
to save me, by the cruel hands of the
! Turks l could also see-oh. horror!-
how they caught my mother, how they
took her by the hair and cut her to
| pieces. When this was done they left
the place. This bloody scene remained
/ deeply engraved on my mind; so that
even now, after many years, l see these
horrible details again enacted. l
remained alive among the dead {;
but felt. after while, that l
was taken up and carried into the street.
| They washed my face, which was covered
| with blood, put ME on cart and off we
went in great haste, as fast as the horses
could run. We saw all round US vii
lagos in blaze and people and cattle
running in all directions. From time
! to time we met many carts and people
| laden with their property going along
the road to the Shumadia forest. When
we reached the forest we were warmly
received with joyful acclamations. They
! took me down from the cart and passed
! me about from one to another. All
| were surprised that had survived, and
| covered me with kisses. My man-the
same who brought me here-toOk me
| into his arms, carried me into tent
and told me to lie down and rest. He
told me that his name was Yefrem Ma
| dustratZ zone who has lost all hope), that
! he was servant of our family, and that
he had saved me out of gratitude to NY
father, his master. The people called
| me Andria Obilitch. They afteward
built houses and shelters, and my serv-
ant and preserver also built a house.
| He was clever in healing horses and
| lived well, and | often travelled about
with him, When l was about twelve
years old l went with him to Sokol, and
as we came back he said: we will
pass now on the Belgrade road. so that
you may see where your father lived.
| DO you see yonder that half-ruined
tower and the ruins Of buildings?'
Yes, ! see.' That was where your
father Lazar lived. He was a prince of
the Serbian land, and famous and
highly esteemed lord. All of your fam
lily were greatly respected. But they
were all killed by the Turks, who car
| rled Off great treasures. You are now
/ the nnlU Snruiy1inn Of
great race. | saved you when ShabatZ
was burned. The Shumadia castle
alone remains in the possession of your
family; but, you see, it is worth moth
ing now. The Turks killed every liv-
ing soul and burned down all the viii
| lagos, and it will be worth nothing dur
ing your lifetime'"
The castle of SokOl is now pictur-
esque ruin-like so many others in Ser
bia-which gives a great idea of the
power and wealth of its former owners.
The general effect of all of them is occi-
dental rather than oriental. The old
garia and Greece, were either eXtermin-
ated by the Turks, or reduced to peas
antry by being stripped of their lands.
In Bosnia, on the other hand, the no
bles saved their estates by turning No
hammedan. They are Still fanatical
Mussulmans: but they speak Serbian
and rarely Turkish, retain their family
names, and use coats of arms.
The remaining part of the story was
on the missing sheets, and has to be
filled In from the family traditions told
by August Boyne to the minister. There
was, however, copy of the notes from
the old Bible about the descendants OF
Andria Obilitch by which it may be
| cnen that nna of his conc Fradorio VIM q
born in Brandenburg on May z, TIA
that Frederic's son John was born on
June IL, 1884; and that Johns son Au-
guSt-the man in question was born in
ChemnitZ on Aug. 5, 1918.
The accuracy of names in this d0cu-
ment and its general air of historic
truth make it curious and interesting.
Mr.. MiyatOvitch believes it genuine,
and has published it as throwing light
on the popular rising against the Turks
in 1904. One might, perhaps, account
for the character of the story by sup
posing it to be romance invented by
some soldier who had served in the
army of Prince Eugene. when he be-
sieged and took Belgradein 1717. This,
however, could not be the case If we
are to accept the family history as
handed down and related by Boyne.
| According to the oral account Andria
lived in this way for some time longer,
until Yefrem, feeling himself infirm,
said to the boy: II shall die soon, and
you will be left alone to live as you can.
If it is possible, escape across the river
away from the Turks, so that your life
may be preserved; and perhaps your
descendants may some time come back
and get again the lands and property of
your family" Later on Yefrem, after
| swearing the bow SOlemnly TO secrecy
took him to the ruined castle; made him
observe carefully, and try to remem-
Der certain signs and landmarks, and
finally led him through subterranean
passages of great length into a
[ uanltnd rom 1uhnra the nnndn nnA