The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-05-23
TROOPS ABOUND.
so REPORTS AN AMERICAN OB-
 SERVER IN MACEDONIA.

ofPrsIIp-The Turkish Regulars aud the BashI- Baz ouks-A JumbIe of Races and n HeItsr Of Anarehy-Fhs BuIga- risn's ssrvtan Brothsr-Ths Many Greeks and she IndIan.LIke AIbani- ans.
 The military condition of Macedonia is an epitome of the state of European Turkey. Troops. troops, troops every where! Turks. Albanians, Kurds-all kinds! Infantry, cavalry and artillery! Soldiers and civilians striving to out number one another! All bristling with arms, with the exception of the Bulga- rians, who carry theirs concealed. If ever region looked warlike this thea ter of European contention does. learn from one of the newspapers which has slipped through the censorship into this wild district that martial law has been declared at PreIip. Martial law!
 
 mia, martial is euphemism for it.
 rode into the little town of Prelip on horseback in the center of bodyguard of twenty men. They dismounted and walked with me to my room in a Turk ish hun. I went out for walk with my dragoman after washing. The troops preceded and followed us. At dark we were informed that we could be out no ,IoI Ira all night and another the stairs leading up from the stable below. The mean ing of it was that Prelip was the center of a district where Albanians, Turks and Bulgarians were in nearly equal numbers. An Albanian or Turk in an evil mood might level his gun as us, or even a Bulgarian might do it in the hope of drawing foreign nation into Balkan affairs.
 We rode out of the town the next morning with a foot soldier on each side of our horses, two gendarmes ahead and two behind us. At the edge of the town stood military barracks, larger than could be found in any American city of 5OO,OOO population: but tents were pitched on all sides to ac- commodate the overflow. There we took an escort of score. The road led along the side of a mountain stream that had cut it's way between two ridges-a fine place for an ambuscade; and from the crests of the mountains on either hand fezzed heads peered down at us and silently assured us that H the road was overlooked for miles ahead. Studded over the steep slopes, wherever a great powder protruded far enough for a roofing armed Turks were suspended between us and the clouds, which the mountains often pierced. 2 Despite this survey of the route five of our men struggled out to the front to reconnoitre, the foremost mile in the lead. As we would descend deep slope we could see him climbing the next, with his hand curved above his eyes as he looked for the fez on every head that appeared. Every mile or two the gar risen of blockhouse always pitched on the highest peak, would arouse from it's cigarettes and coffee and bring us cool water from the nearest spring. Cavalry patrols of from twenty to 200 men were frequent, Occasionally an escort with handcuffed prisoners would pass. .
 Such is the condition of Macedonia off the railroad lines, not only in the PreIip district, but in every province. The railroad lines are a sight. At the station troops, troops, troops. You pass through a file of them to the officer who examines your tescaries, without which you cannot move a mile anywhere. You march out to your hotel, followed by soldiers, if, as newspaper correspond ent, you happen to incur suspicion as spy. Patrols tramp up and down the crossties from section to section. Sol diers stand sentry within earshot of one another.
 On much of the railroad line block houses are constructed; in some sec tions similar structures are building, and on the remainder tents are pitched and temporary brush huts are raised. The f1agman carries his weapon and has his military escort. Troop trains are twice as frequent as other trains, and behind every freight or passenger train trail several cars filled with new recruits or seasoned endorsements. In the towns soldiers are stationed every fifty yards; at night they are nlassed more closely. Patrols parade continually. Every day regiments march through the streets, with bands playing and colors flying. The border is now impossible except in few places, which, from natural environ ment, can never be closed. It is said that from S0,000 to S00,000 troops are in Macedonia. The figures, like all those which one obtains in the Orient, may be untrustworthy, but at least I have seen the conditions which I am describ- ing.
 In addition to the regular troops there are the ashi-bazouks-a comprehensive term embracing all who take up arms against the Christian population-and they are an important reserve whenever a fight takes place. Constantinople is not typically Turkish town, but those who have been there have seen and heard at the cry of fire the human fiends known as the volunteers. Half aroused, they run toward the fire in hot haste till their tongues hang out, and they keep up all the while hideous screeching. The regular fire department walks to the scene of disturbance. There is no conveyance to carry the 4 firemen, and nothing will be gained if the pump be at the fire before the men. The bands of volunteers, formed in the vicinity of this or that mosque, fight
 L. -T., I~.- l