St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-17
soribner's Mapazine for FEBRUARY

mad been seeking for treasure IN several
of the ruined old castles of Serbia.
heard enough to interest me deeply,
and seized the first occasion for obtain
ing accurate information. What L am
now about to tell was chiefly derived
from Mr.. MiyatOvitch, afterwards min
lister of foreign affairs, but at that time
minister of finance. He was kind
enough TO give me not only all the details
he knew, but copies of certain papers In
his possession, sand to note down for
me the most important points. 1t is
more convenient, however, ID eX-
press myself in my own words
and in my own way, though
many of the expressions which l heard
still cling TO me.
In July, 1875, man, evidently for
eigner, came to the ministry of finance
at Belgrade. When he obtained an in
terview with the minister and was asked
why he came to Serbia and why. eSpe-
cially, he wished to see the minister of
finance, he said, in strange German
English dialect, that he was a citizen of
the United States and owned aTarm in
Minnesota, which be worked with his
children. but that he was unfit for hard
work, as he had served in the war as
private, had been wounded and was
then receiving pension of So a month.
The first impression which he produced
on the miniSter-and the minister had
the pardonable weakness of trusting
to first impreSSiOnS-WaS favorable
one. He was man apparently
of between tifty-five and sixty years
old, of middle size and well built,
with fine head and face. His fore
head was high: his bluish-gray eyes eX-
pressed goodness and gentleness as well
as strong will; his nose was we'll pro-
portioned and well formed; his thick
brown beard was slightly sprinkled
with gray. He was poorly but neatly
dressed, and had all the air of an earlI
est, sober man, accustomed to earn his
own living. On being asked again what
had brought him to Serbia and what he
wanted, he presented his American pa
pers, began to smile, and said: You
will laugh at me, and perhaps pity me,
and think me an old fool; but the reason
that have come out here all the way
from Minnesota is to search quite alone
for what was left me 10y my ancestors"
There was nothing extraordinary in the
request for permission to seek for hid
den treasure. Such permiSsiOns are
often asked for; sometimes as many as
twenty or thirty in year; and once in
while th6re seems to be an epidemic
of the sort in different districts. But
the minister was surprised that so old a
man, who seemed SO sensible and mod
est, should abandon his family and his
country and come as far as
Serbia with the sole object
of hunting for q treasure.
Then, as On many subsequent occa-
siOns. the minister tried to dissuade
him and to prove the uselessness of his
work. But all in vain. mo, no. dear
Sir" he said, 'the treasure is buried in
the ground, or there would be something
of it in the European museums; l have
been in many places in Europe, and
have never seen anything like it, and
therefore | am sure of my enterprise,
as | am searching according to my dOcu-
ments." He then said he was of Serbian
origin; that his name was August
Boyne de LaZar: that he was born in
ChemnitZ, in SaXOny, in 1918, and that
after the revolution in 1913. in which he
was implicated, he had emigrated to the
United States. He claime.i to be de-
scended from a family closely related to
that of Prince LaZar, which was once so
rich and powerful that it owned SOkOl,
ShabatZ aud other towns in the Shu-
NADIA, that wonderful forest-country.
even the name of which is derived from
a word expressing the Tustling of
;sle leaves. When he said this the
minister, who is we'll VerSed in his
rory, remembered an old tradition that
the 0biltch family had owned property
in this region; and he advised the Amer
lean, if he searched at all. to contne
himself to the delta between the Sava
and the Drina, where these towns are
situated. Boyne knew the name of
Oblitch, but nothing of the connection
of that family with King Lazar. and had
never heard of the hero Milosh.
In order to thoroughly understand the
circumstances, it is necessary to make
here a slight historical depression. The
literature of Serbia is rich in ballads of
an epic character. These we're among
the earliest Slavonic ballads collected,
and were of great interest, especially to
German scholars, as throwing light on
the possible composition Of the Homeric
poems. One great cycle of these ballads
is concerned with the battle of KoSsovo,
where on Vidovdan (St. Vitus' day.,
June Is, 1885, the Serbian King Lazar
was defeated by the Turks, and Serbian
independence was lost for nearly FIVE
centuries. This defeat was rendered
decisive by the decision of Vuk Drank
ovitch, one OF the sons-in-law of Lazar,
over to the Turks. Vuk had had
a personal quarrel with an
other sOn-in-law of Lazar. Milosh
Obilitch. At banquet which
Lazar gave the night before the grand
battle he brought out great gold COB
let and drank to the health of MilOsh,
haunting him with his dlsloyalty. The
latter accepted the toast, finished the
cup, and strobe out of the tent in fury,
swearing that he would show if it were
he who could be disloyal. With two of
his friends he rode into the Turkish
camp straight to the tent of the Sultan
Murad |. (Amurath and demanded an
audience. On the advice or the ViZer,
Murad, instead of giving his hand 10 be
kissed, offered his foot, which Milosh
seized, pulled him to the ground, and
stabbed him in the belly. After killing
the two viZers he mounted his horse
and rode away with his companions,
pursued by the Turks. but leaving a
broad swath of death as they galloped
through the camp. The other two were
killed and Milosh was captured. The
sultan did not die on the spot, but was
so grIevously wounded that his
son Bayazed tBajazeD, the same
who was afterward captured by Tanner
lane and kept in cage, fought the bat
tie in his stead. King LaZar was taken
prisoner, and both he and MiIosh Obi
Itch were brought to the dying Murad
for his orders. The sultan ordered them
to be executed, and commanded that
Milosh Obilitch should by buried by his
side and King LaZar at his feet. to Show
that all Christians were rayahs, or sub b.
Jects. Milosh spoke up and said:
'Thou art dying also am death doom'd.
] beseech thee, . Murad, great sultanl
Let not thus our dead bodies be buried,
Let the two Tsars lie in death side by sideI
Let me lie at the feet of Tsar Lazarl
His true knight was | ever in this world;
His true vassal l would be in that onel''
1t is said that Murad, struck with the
bravery and fidelity of Milosh, granted
his petition.
Milosh is the hero from whom the
treasnre-seeker was apparently, de-
scended. The proofs OF this descent
are very curious.
When August Boyne left Saxonv to
go to America, his father gave him
some papers and documents, a small
Bible containing notes. and told him all