The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1897-05-29

rhe variety o. Raeee over Which ths
sultan nales'
The sultan Of Turkey naSy &c = very
inefficient ruler; but when we blame
him for not carrying out the promised
reforms without hitch or delay we dor
not treat him with that fair play Of
which we are 50 proud as nation Ow-
ing TO the extraordinary variety of
races and creeds over which he rules his
difficulties are almost insurmountable;
and II is doubtful whether he or anyone
else will ever succeed in making Turkey
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 as numerous
as the Ottoman Turks, each contingent
numbering about 100000. according
TO the best authorities. Constantinople
itself has just as diversified n mixture
as the kingdom generally; and only 1885,
600 of its SIS, 900 inhabitants are Mus
sulmans, the Greeks numbering $4,000
and the Armenians 10000. But in Asia
there are twice as many Ottomans as all
other races put together. The Turks
proper consist of Ottomans. YuroulSs
and Turkomans. The names hnve some
thing terrible In their very sound 10 us;
but travellers unite in describing the
Ottomans as honorable and humane
men, although they can fight when IL
comes to blows. The Turloomans live
a pastoral life, while the Yuroulxs are
nomadic and therefore not easily sub
jected to law.
Although the Greeks and the Alban-
ians are regarded as belonging TO the
same Greco-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 ench other as cordially as Par
nellites and anti-Parnellites. But,
whatever the form of faith, they prefer
robbery as a means of livelihood TO any
other industry. At the same time they
IRE of fine physical type and make
splendid soldiers; but they treat their
women like oxen, and although 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 all and never
take them off. In the event OF war the
Albanians would probably fight for the
sultan. The Greeks have not penetrated
very far inland, but have scattered
themselves along the coast of both Eu-
ropean and Asiatic Turkey, where they
are always on the lookout TO put money
In their purse. Together with the Jews
and the Armenians, they do nearly all
the trading and banking of the coun-
try, and make a very good thing out OF
IL. In spite OF the sultan's misrule, the
Greeks immigrate in increasing num-
bers every year, which makes one think
that they must be- a singularly impru-
dent people, or that Abdul is not so very
much damned after all.
Armenians and their exterminators,
the Kuris, are both sprung from Per-
sian stock The Kurds live in the noun
tains and are not precisely the kind OF
people one would care TO set about re-
forming. Some say there are an even
million of them; others say there are
over 100000. They keep the sultan in
perpetual hot water. being very bad
Moslems. But they are very enterpris-
ing, chiefly in slaying Armeniane and
stealing their neighbors' goods. When
not thus engaged they rear cattle, sheep
and goats; and they differ in no way
from their ancestors as described by
Xenophon. Armenia was q portion Of
western Asia, between the Caspian sen
and Asia Minor, but 10 has suffered the
fate of Poland, and the Armenians are
now almost as scattered as the Jews.
They number about 100000, and are
intelligent people with particular
talent for trade and banking. The
Kurds would probably fight on the side
OF the Turks, and we all know what
side the Armenians would take.
The Semitic race has many families
in Turkey. There are the Jews who, per-
secuted everywhere, took refuge in Tur-
key; the Greek church Maronites, who
are the deadly foes Of their neighbors,
the Druses; the Druses, OF the Mahome-
tan faith, brave and temperate men, who
take neither wine nor tobacco and who
detest the Maronites; the Chaldeans,
who are Christians of a sort; the Arabs.
of whom there are 1900, 900 or 5,000,0 900,
AMI who, though hoiuing the. same re
ligious views as the sultan, are his i'm
veteratc enemies, and the Syrians.
Then there is the fine race of Circas-
SLAMS, who are differentiated from most
OF the other inhabitants by the fact that
they work for q living; the Lazes and
the Gypsies. IL Is supposed that, in the
event OF war, the Lazcs and CircassiaDs,
as well as the Tartars, Yurouks and
Turkomans, would support the sultan
and his Ottoman subjects, while the AL
banians and the Kurds might, but prob
ably would not, oppose him.--St. James
Gazette.
Partisan Ingenuity.
French army pensioners living in the
Hotel des Invalides, who have all re-
cefved medals for braVerv On the field