Charlevoix county herald., 1913-08-02

he has written several poetic dramas. including
The Empress of the Balkans"~and Prince Ar
banit," all dealing with Serb history, and de
clared TO possess unusual merit.
He was not quite nineteen when he called
to take his unce's place. Two months later he
married Milena Noukovich daughter OF one OF
the principal vovodes, who had been brother
in-arms of his father, Mrko The Czarna Mil
ena is still one of the handsomest women in Eu-
rope. She stood shoulder to shoulder with her
husband throughout all the trials and Universities
OF his eventful reign, at times when he
driven from pillar TO post BY the Moslem hordes
that poured through the dehes OF the
Lovchen range in wave after wave, so that even
the brave Black Mountain men quailed under the
attack and sought safety on the impossible noun
tain heights.
They had peace of a kind for year, and then
war broke out with redoubled violence The in
surrection Of the rayahs. or Christian peasants OF
the Herzegovina aroused the sympathies of the
Moutenegrins and young Prince Nicholas found
his hands full trying to obey the injunctions OF
the great powers to refrain from hostilities and
keep his fiery subjects In check.
For some months he held out against the
wishes OF the nation, with somewhat dubious
cess He honestly did his best to remain neu-
trail; he even consented to allow the Turks to
send their conveys across Montenegrin territory.
series Of frontier incidents frontier Incl
dent is the designation for any fracas along the
Mcntcnegrin border which results in fatalities
followed close upon enc anothers hels. The
Turks grasped eagerly at the chance they had
been looking for Omar Pasha, viceroy of the
western provinces, one OF the bitterest foes OF
Montenegro, threw huge army across the from
tier, undeterred by his previous defeats at the
hands OF Mirko. IL reasoned in CONSTANT
nople that young Nicholas had earned the dis.
like of his subjects by his peace policy, and that
now, while there turmoil in the Christian
camp, Turkey might find it easy to crack the nut
which had resisted so many efforts for so many
hundreds OF years.
But things did not turn out exactly as Turkey
had anticipated. great part of the principality
overrun, most of the villages destroyed
and ruin stared every in the face. Onars
army had entered the country in three divisions,
aiming to comb il from side to side and making
their principal effort against the valley OF the
Zeta which might be called the highroad OF
Montenegro, the main artery of its life But led
by the giant fighter, Ntirko and their boy prince
In whom they trusted implicitly, once he had
sanctioned war-tho sIontonegrns took up I'm.
finchingly the struggle OF their fathers. The
Turks were assailed from every height from the
sides OF every pass.
True, the valley of the Zeta fell into the in
vaders hands, but on little else could they keep
their grip for long The war was fought with
fierce, unrelenting fanaticsm which is all but in
comprehensive to the western mind. After sixty
battles. the Montenegrins glad to meet their
foes halfway.
They conceded some untmportant points and
won breathing spell
Cholera followed in the wake of famine and
despite the assistance of France which sent
shiploads OF corn TO arrest the ravaees OF hun.
ger many who had survived the bullet and steel
of the Turkish armies were carried off by the
scourge OF disease, among them Mirko, the
Sword"
The loss Of his father was great blow to