The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-14

M declared war against the Otto A empire. is recently created in- dependent kingdom-formerly an inde- pendent principalty-363 square miles in area. For purposes of comparison it Is 40.400 square miles,
 The country is extremely rugged Its name ''Black Mountain" is taken from, and appropriate to, the topo- graphy. series of ridges with lofty peaks rising here and there to from 5000 to 5000 feet. The valleys are nar- row, but beautiful and verdant.
 Cultivable land is not plentiful in Montenegro. and every available square yard of soil that will grow a crop Is titled with antiquated implements, but with good care of the ruture productivi- ty of the soil. One of the leading crops Is Indian corn and another is potatoes. Crops" are seen growing upon fields only a few feet square. which no Amer ican truck raiser would consider worthy of attention.
 The mountain streams of Montenegro are among the finest trout streams .n the world. Montenegro Is still little off of the beaten track, but may some time be discovered" by anglers who have time to journey far in quest of pe- culiarly large and lively trout that are to be caught in crystal water cold enough to need no ice to make 1t drink able even to Americans.
 There are no manufactures, in the modern sense, in Montenegro. except that a coarse woolen cloth, some thing like old fashioned "homespun,' is made commercially. Nearly all of the inhab- itants are farmers and fishermen-and fighting men. Smoked mutton hams, butter and other flock and herd prod ucts are the exports of Montenegro. The Monetenegrins are Slavonic and are of the Siberian branch of Slavs. They are tall. exceptionally handsome and noted for their strong voices. The women lose their beauty early in life unless they are of the upper classes. and the upper class Is small in coun- try so undeveloped. There are few mine charm. The men retain remarka- ble health and strength up to a great age and their booming voices allow them to carry on conversations from one hill to another at distances that would require the use of megaphone between Americans.
 A Montenegrin hates a Turk IS a fer ret hates rat. He is born hating all Turks. He dies in bed, or in his boots. hating all generations of Turks.
 Montenegrins go fully armed at all times. But there are few crimes of violence Not so many. Cor example. as in an equal area in the United States The Montenegrins live in stone houses with matched roofs and dis pense open handed hospitality to any one who comes along. There are no cities in Montenegro Not one The capital, Cettinje-pronounce it "tset- tin-ye," if you can, and if you cannot, try s"chet-ten-ya," which is some what easier to the non-slavic tongue-is not quite as large as Shelbyville, Ky. It is situated in lofty mountain valley. where the air Is like champagne. A palace. a convent, a girls institute, an arsenal and theatre are the notable buildings. Turks sacked and burned
 the capital in 1883 and Montenegrins
 are brought up to remember that and to long for the blod of the descendants of the invaders.
 What does your little country pro-
 duce for exports?' asked European
 prince who sought to guy Prince Nich-
 olas--now King Nicholas-about the
 size and importance of Montenegro. My daughters your serene high ness.r replied Prince Nicholas suavely. He referred to several brilliant matches between princesses of Monte
 negro and royalties in important coun-
 tries He is the father of quite q bouquet l of handsome daughters.
 Nicholas l. Petrovitch Njegoosh,
 King of Montenegro. is >72 years old
 and has been reigning, as prince and king, for two years more than half
 century. He succeeded his uncle, Prince Danilo, in 1860. Two years later
 he went to war with Turkey. He was unsuccessful, but the powers inter-
 vcned to prevent Turkey from making I Uncomfortable for Montenegro perma-
 nently. He waged a successful wal