Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1897-10-22
THE TURKISH EMPIRE
EXTRAORDINARY VARIETY OF RACES
THE SULTAN MISRulES.

Because OF Ciashing Creeds 10 IL Doubt
full whether 10 Is Possible to Make Tur-
key ~ Land of Peace and Harmony Al
banians Dress Richly, but Hate Soap.
Owing to the extraordinary variety
OF races and creeds over which the
Sultan of Turkey rules, bis difficulties
are almost insurlnoGntable; aha it is
doubtful whether he or anyone else
will ever succeed in making Turkey
n land Of peace and harmony.
There are no fewer than seven main
divisions of races In the European and
Asian provinces. In Europe both the
Greeks and Albanians are rs numer-
ous rs the Ottoman Turks, each con-
tingent numbering about 1900, 600,
according to the best authorities. Con-
stantinople itself has just rs diversified
a mixture IA the kingdom generally;
and only $50, 900 OF its S75, 900 inhab-
itants are Mussulmans, the Greeks
numbering 1853, 900 and the Armenians
100, 900. But in Asia there are twice
as many Ottomans as all other races
put together. Tho Turks proper con-
sist of Ottomans, Yurouks and Turko-
mans. The names have something
terrible in their very sound To us; but
travellers unite in describing the OF
tomans as honorable and humane men,
although they can fight when it comes
to blows. The Turkomans live pas
toral life, while the Yurouks are NO.
maiic and therefore not easily sub.
jected 10 law.
Although the Greeks and the Alba
mans are regarded as belonging to tho
same Graeco- Latin race, the latter are,
for the most part, Mussulmans. Some
of the Albanians are Roman Catholics
and others are of the Greek church,
and the two slightly divergent sects
hate each other "a cordially as Par
nellites and ntiParnellites. But,
whatever the form of faith, they pre-
fer robbery IA means OF livelihood to
any other industry. At the same
time they are of II fine physical type
and make splendid soldiers; but they
treat their women like oxen, and, al
though they dress in rich clothes of
the fashion of tho Scottish Highlands,
they have "a horror of soap. In fact,
it is said that they put on their clothes
oace for all and never take them of.
In the event Of war, tho Albanians
would probably fight for the Sultan.
The Greeks have not penetrated very
far inland, but have scattered them
selves along the coast Of both Euro
pean and Asiatic Turkey, where they
are always on the lookout to pnt
money in their purse. Together with
the Jews aud the Armenians, they do
nearly oil the trading and banking OF
the country, aud makera very good
thing out Of IL. In spite of the Sui.
tan's misrule, the Greeks immigrnte
in increasing numbers every year,
which makes one think that they must
be singularly imprudent people.
Armenians and their exterminators,
the Kurds, are both sprung from u
Persian stock. The Kurds live in the
mountains, and are not precisely the
kind Of people one would care to set
about reforming. Some say there are
an even million OF them; others say
there are over two millions. They
keep the Sultan in perpetual hot
water, being very bad Mosems. But
they are very entertaining, chiefly in
Staying Armenians and stealing their
neighbors' goods. When not thus en-.
gagged they rear cattle, sheep and
goats; aud they differ in no way from
their ancestors, a. described by Memo.
phon. Armenia was portion of
Western Asia, between the Caspian
sea and Asia Minor, but it has snf-
ferel the fate Of Poland, aud the Ar
menians ave now almost as scattered
as the Jews. They number about two
and half millions, and are intelligent
people, with particular talent for
trade and banking. The Kurds would
probably fight ON the side Of the
Turks, ana we all know what side tho
Armenians would take.
The Semetc race has many families
in Turkey There are tho Hebrews,
who, prosecuted everywhere, took ref
uge in Turkey; tho Greek church Mar
onites, who are the deadly foes Of
their neighbors, the Druses the
Druses, of the Mahometan faith, brave
and temperate men, who take neither
wine nor tobacco, and who detest the
Maronites; the Chaldeans, who detest
the Maronites; the Chaldeans, who
are Christians Of sort; the Arabs, Of
whom there are four or five millions,
and who, though holding the same re-
ligious views as the Sultan, are his in
veterate enemies, and the Syrians.
Then there is the fine race of Cir
cassians, who are differentiated from
most Of the other inhabitants by tho
fact that they work for living; the
Lazes and the gypsies It is supposed