The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-29
IF. GREEK AND TURK MEET.
PROBABLE SCENE OF HOST7LITIES
IF POWERS FAIL To PRE-
SERVE PEACE.
Between the Balkan States for
Many Years-Rich i'm Roman
Ruins.

come the theater Of a struggle between
the Turk and the Greek, and perhaps
the Balkan states as well, is rich and
naturally fertile country, says the New
York Sun. It's southern limits are the
Aegean sea and the Greek frontier of
Thessaly. On the west it is bounded
by the prolongatiOn of the Pindus
chain, called the Grammes mountains,
and the ranges Of hills that terminate
at the sources of the Vardar, that d.
vides the country into two nearly equal
parts The northern boundary extends
fl ON this point along the watershed OF
the Vardar to the southernmost point
of the Servian frontier, which it fol-
lows to its junction with the Bulgaro-
Macedonian boundary. 1t then follows
this frontier to the valley of the Kara
su, which it follows to it's mouth in
the Aegean. The Karasu also forms the
western boundary of ancient Thrace.
The principal city and seaport OF
Macedonia is the well-known city Of
Salonica, with a population of about
1885, 600, of whom some $4,000 are Jews
of the Spanish emigration, speaking
the Spanish language with relative pu-
rity, but keeping their business books
and doing their literary work mostly
in Hebrew. OF these Jews about 5000
are Mussulmans by profession, but are
more or less suspected of practicing
the Hebrew rites in secret. The main
street Of Salonica is part of the old
Roman road that, starting from DC-
razzo, on the Adriatic, ran through
the nlyrian mountains (now Albania)
to Salonica, thence on through Thrace
to Constantinople. AT the eastern exit
from the city is a fine
ROMAN ARCH OF THE TIME OF
HADRIAN
in a good state of preservation. Sa-
lCnica is the starting point of a railway
running up the Vardar valley to Uskub,
from where the main line continues on
to Mitrovitza, just on the southern
limit of the Sandjak Of Novi-BaZar
and branch line runs to the Servian
frontier, where it joins the Serviar
railway to Nisch and makes Junction
with the line coming from Belgrade on
to Sofia and Constantinople.
The Southern part of Macedonia Is
served by a line of rail running west
ward by the important town of Vodena
to Monastir, or Bitolia, the headuuar-
The country south of this line is in
habited by a Greek-speaking popula-
ton, and contains many important
towns, such as Verria. Servia, Tchat-
ista, on the road by Grevena and Met
zovo to Janina in Epirus, and Kastoria
ON the headwaters of the Vistritza or
1ndji- Karasu, that discharges into the
Gulf of Salonfca, not far from the
mouth of the Vardar. In the North
eastern part of this district lies the
Yenidje country, celebrated for the del
1cate quality of it's tobacco, that fur
nShes the cigarettes for the smoking
ladies of the imperial and wealthy
harems of ConstantinOple, and supplies
the sultans tchibOuk. Here, also, is
the vineyard country of Niaoushta.
whose delicious golden colored wine,
something resembling Madeira, is re-
nowned all over Macedonia.
1t is to be noted here that the river
NiStritZa, just mentioned was pro-
posed by England in 1882 as the
NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF
GREECE,
but the united influence of Austria.
Prussia and Russia prevailed, and the
boundary was run from Surpi, on the
Gulf of VOlO, nearly due west to
Menidhi, on the Gulf of Arta. giving
so to speak, the meat back to Turkey
anu l6oNlliS GI66cS Win the Dafe DOne
of her devastated hamletS and ravaged
hillsides to begin her national exist
ence. The great difficulty of Greece
always has been that she had not D
sufficient area of grain producing land
as a basis for the national SustenanCe
1t is in the region between the Greek
frontier and the Vistritza that the
Turkish army Of observation is now
concentrated, with its headquarters at
10 and lnfT
the slopes of Olympus, the abode of
the ancient gods of Greece, with the
right flank covered by a force can
tened at Naselitch watching the Greeks
at Trikkala. The whole country be-
tween the Greek frontier and the Sal
ca-MonaStir railway line is broken
by series of mountain ranges some
of considerable height. The roads, as
are those all over Macedonia. and in
deed, all over the Turkish empire, are
unworthy Of the name Occasionally
special taxes are collected for the al
legged repair or construction of ROADS
but they seldom get beyond the pocket
of the pasha who has ordered them.
North of the railway line the Bulgarian
element begins to dominate in the pop
ulation, and in the region north Of a
line drawn east from Monastir by
Dorian to NeVrekOp, on the Karasu
the population is wholly Bulgarian. The
road running northeast from MonastIr
which is
A PRETTILY SITUATED TOWN
on the foot slope of the Grammos
range, passes over a fine plain to Per
lipe or Prilpe, Bulgarian town Of con-
siderable size, the fruit gardens sur
rounding which are noted for the quail
lty and flavor Of the small, luscious
peaches they produce in profusio-
ic !
a dehle opening on a fairly open coun-
try to Gradsko on the Salonica- skuu
railway, and another across the hills
to kuprih, or Valessa, several stations
north of GradskO, with a mixed pon;.-
lation. The country to the westward
of the MonastirP erlipe- Velessa road
thouSh bulgarian in great part has q
large and unruly Albanian Ghega. po,,-
ulatlon, who perpetrate atrocities on
the Christian inhabitants and rob their
fields and hocks, much after the man
ner of the KurdS with the Armenians
In Asia.
Arriving at Uskub, on the Vardar
the country opens out into plain an6
undulating country that stretches away
TO the Servian and Bulgarian fro,;.
tiers Uskub or Skopia, as It is called
by the Turks, is an ancient city. an6
dates back to the Roman occupation
traces Of which are to be seen in the
walls Of the old fortress and In the
aqueduct, still in fair preservation
though no longer fulfilling the purpose.
of its construction thanks to the In
durable misgovernment Of the Turk
and his incapacity to appreciate civil
izatiOn in any form.
With the military instinct that still
survives, however. the Turks have con
structed redoubts and batteries round
Uskub. and have converted It into an.
other Plevna. The population here be-