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

ful whether 10 l. Possible TO Make Iur-
key u Land Of Peace aud Harmony AL
banians Dress Richly, hut Hate Soap.
Owing to the extraordinary variety
Of races aud creeds over which the
Sultan Of Turkey rules, his difficulties
are almost insurmOuntable; and IL ia
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 Alhanians are "a numer-
ous rs the Ottoman Turks, each con-
,ingent numbering about 1900, 900,
according to the best authorities. Con-
stantinople itself has just as diversified
II mixture AZ the kingdom generally;
and only 1855. 900 of it, S75, 900 inhab-
itants are Mussumans, the Greeks
numbering 1913, 900 and the Armenians
100, 900. But in Asia there are twice
"a many Ottomans M all other races
put together. The Turks proper con
sist Of Ottomans. Iurouks and Turko-
mans. The names have something
terrible in their very sound to us; but
travellers unite in describing the OF
tomans M honorable and humane men,
although they can fight when il comes
to blows. The Turkomans live pas
toral life, while the lurouks are mo-
ma lie and therefore not easily sub.
iccted to law.
Although the Greeks and the Alba
mans are regarded as belonging to the
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 scots
hate each other az cordially as Par
nelites and anti-Parnelites. But,
whatever the form of faith, they pre-
fer robbery IA means Of liyelihoodto
any other industry Al the same
time they are of n fine physical type
and make splendid soldiers; but they
treat their women like oxen, and, A.
though they dress in rich clothes Of
the fashion of the Scottish Highlands,
they have horror Of soap. In fact,
il is said that they put on their clothes
once for oil and never take them of.
In the event Of war, the Albanans
would probably fight for the Sultan.
The Greeks have not penetrated very
far inland, but have scattered them
selves along the coast If both Euro
pcan and Asiatic Turkey, where they
are always on the lookout to put
money in their purse. Together with
the jews aud the Armenians, they do
nearly all the trading and banking Oh
the country, and make q very good
thing out of it. In spite of the Sui
tan's misrule, the Greeks immigrate
in increasing numbers every year,
which makes one think that they must
be singularly imprudent people.
Armenians and their cXterminators,
the Kurds, are both sprung from II
Persian stock. The Kurds live in the
mountains, and arc 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 Moslems. 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 Keno
phOn. Armenia was portion OF
Western Asia, between the Caspian
sea and Asia Minor, but it has suf-
frrel the fate of Poland, and the Ar
menians are now almost as scattered
a. the Jews. They number about two
and half millions, aud are intelligent
people, with n particular talent for
trade and banking. The Kurds would
probably fight on the side Of the
Turks, and we all know what side tho
Armenians would take.
The Semetic race has many families
in Turkey There are the Hebrews,
who, prosecuted everywhere, took ref
uge in Turkey; the Greek church Mar
onites, who are the deadly foes of
their neighbors, the Druses; the
Druses, of the Mahometan faith. brave
aud temperate men, who take neither
wine nor tobacco. and who detest the
Maronites; the CNaldeans, who detest
the Maronites; the Chaldeans, who
are Christians OF q sort; the Arabs, Of
whom there are four or five millions,
and who, though holding the same re-
ligious views IA 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; tho
Lazes and the gypsies. 1t is supposed
that in the event OF war. the IaZeS