Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-02-07
THE MOyTENEGRINS.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A PECULIARLY
INTERESTING PEOPLE.
Government an Autocracy Conferred In the
Prince--Men, Excepting Criminals, All
Go Armed-Women DO All the Labor.
Honor the Dominant Sentiment.

4
Go Armed-women DO All the Labor
Honor the Dominant Sentiment.
The Montenegrins are first Of all sol
diers. They begin their military servic,
| in childhood and remain soldiers oil theii
| lives The military costume does not differ
| from the ordinary costume. Tho poorest
man never goes abroad without having In
| his belt pistol, and often other arms II
is about tho only thing no consents to
| carry, for he works but little. All the
| hard, laborious work falls to the women,
| unfortunate creatures, miserably clad,
who are always occupied, weighed down
| under enormous bundles Of wood or carry
| ing on their heads pals OF water or other
| heavy loads, while the mon, adorned with
| brilliant garments, walk before them
empty handed. Not only does the woman
| attend to her household duties, it Is she
| who plows tho field and the man will
| rarely lend helping hand. He thinks
| that, aside from being a soldier, he should
| do nothing Tho Montenegrins are a
| handsome race, very tall, brilliantly dress
| ed, with naughty bearing, which never
| leaves them. Their hair is black, and
| their expression always serious and digni-
| fed. They ARE far more attractive than
| tho Bosnlans, Of whom they are the issue,
| but their history explains why il Is so. II
| they are taller, greater, stronger than the
other Slays IL IL because their ancestors
| were the bravest and the haughtiest Of the
! -crvians, who condemned themselves to ex-
| Ito and poverty rather than submit to the
yoke of tho Mussulman. Jews are IN
known in this country, no doubt on ac-
count Of tho poverty that rcigns there.
Tho house Of the Montcncgrin peasant
consists Of one room. The four walls are
built of stone the roof Is matched with
the straw ~ Indian wheat, aud there are
| ono or twu windows. mere holes in the
wall. in the winter stuffed with straw
| The door is i'll Hitting. but the stranger
can knock without fear, for the people are
haspitable and always give one u hearty
welcome. Tho woman who opens the door
viii kiss ynar hand and then lead you to
| "a low scat neur the fire The husband, if
at home. gives military salute. No mat
| ter how poor they may be they make a cup
Of coffee for you, and it is excellent.
An inventory ~ the furniture In tho
smoke blackcned room IL quickly made.
a gun hangs obtrusiyeiy on the wall. and
| q huge pot * suspended over the fire.
There Is mckinney place, but a hole made
in the roof lets tho smoke out. In the
room there ara two or three little beds
mounted on thick branches OF trees. Two
or three sleep in each bed. Add to these
| two low seats, some pitchforks and rakes,
and certain number Of shcepskins and
goatskins dried and as hard as wood,
which are heaped up in corner waiting
| to b. sold SO Is TO help support the family.
Their expenses are few. They live on what
vegetables they can raise. eat little meat.
and the women weave their own clothing.
When man is forced by poverty to work
Tor Others. he receives form go cents)
for day 5 work.
Honor appears to he the dominant senti-
ment Of the Montencgrin. | was surprised
70 see this morning on the square Of Get
TIME certain number OF inhabitants with
no pistols, contrary TO the custom Of the
country. This public square, open to al,
is prison, and the people who prone
naded there, chatting and smoking with all
the dignity and pride which mark the Mon
tenegrins, are condemned prisoners. When
| expressed my establishment, | was told
that these prisoners were not captives. The
only punishment inflicted on them is to be
deprived of their weapons, and this affects
them more than anything, for they are,
above all, "men OF honor" They are not
thieves. Theft is almost unknown In Mon
tenegro. They are murderers, and this is
considered more distinguished. Moreover.
it is not to be wondered at that men ac-
customed to carrying arms should some
times give way to the temptation of using
them. According to the gravity of the
case, the guilty one is condemned TO be
prisoner, as stated above or his hands are
chained together, and he is allowed to cir
culate freely In the worst cases the man
Is condemned to be shot, a spectacle that
may be witnessed twice or three times a
year. The condemned face death brayelv
and are generally made TO undergo their
punishment at the very place they commit
ted their crime. l recently witnessed the
execution of two men. They walked to
their doom chatting and smoking with the
men who were destined to end their DAYS
When they reached the fatal spot, they
each spoke in turn and said: Il commit
ted a horrible crime and am happy to ex-
plate it by death. Long live the Judges
who sentenced me; long live the country"
And then they themselves gave the order to
fire. The execution of women is unknown
in Montenegro. No man could be found or
hired to fire on woman. He would con-
slider il a disgrace to use his weapon for
such Il purpose
The autocratic government of Monte
negro is n direct consequence of the his
tory of the people The country does not
question the orders of the prince any moro
than an army would question the orders
of its general. Nothing near or far resem-
bles parliament. The prince makes the
laws, and, being sovereign judge, has the
power to apply them or not as he sees fit
Almost daily he goes and sits under "a
beautiful elm, which shades his sham pal
ace, and, patriarchly, like st. Louis of old,
renders justice. His wisdom and discern
ment are remarkable, but before many
years have passed he will have difficult
task to accomplish. The historical and
important part Montenegro has played in
the past is not yet ended The arduous
little country l have just described will
remain the bulwarlz of the Yougo-Slay
race rs long as the thorny questions of the
Balkans and the numerous problems which
arc working the downfall of tho artificial
monarchy OF the Hapsburgs still await
final solutiOn.-St Louis Globe Democrat.
Quill pens arc prepared for use by sort