Gilpin observer., 1913-07-10

<SSVl mined, daring resourcefu. bold, yet neve
xxx reckless; withal man who knew whel
S~N to let well enough alone and steer thu
middle path Of caution.
He happened to be born with royal blood in hi.
veins; but that is Of small account Every inch o.
territory every subject he owns he has fought for
and 1t fs to his credit that the domains handed te
him by his predecessor, ffty-two years ago. have
been rather more than doubled In extent and popu
laton through the might of his sword and the agt,
of his brain
Nicholas Petrovich Niegoch, czar of Montenegro
prince OF the Zeta voivode Of Brda, and gospodal
OF Tchernagora Europe's last feudal ruler, borr
at Niegoch. the ancestral home of his house or
September 25, 1S41 He came of the wonderful
line which has given rulers to Montenegro for more
than two hundred years and which of the
foremost families of the ancient principaty fo
centuries before that The Petrovich dynasty has
regned In Montenegro since 1896, when the rule Of
the hereditary vladikas, or prince-bishops, in
augurated. But for hundreds of years before tina
date even before the tine the first Black Prince
Stephen Chrnoievich. the Petrovich were an hon
ored family. who boasted the rank of voivode OF
lord.
All of the of this line have been men of grea,
personal provess, exceptional military ability
statesinanship and political cunning and possessed
OF marked personal magnetism. Living for the
most part. lives Of strictest celibacy quaint mix
lures of the warrior and the monk they presided
over the destinies of their tiny nation with sense
OF responsibility that you will not find equaled BY
the standard of any ruling dynasty in Europe
At the beginning OF its existence Montenegro was
ruled by successive dynasties of princes of which
the system of government changed, and what
were known elective vladikas were installed
One ruler Of the Petrovich succeeded by hi,
brothers Strangely enough there was
never any jealousy among the nephews who
passed over.
For instance. the father OF Czar Nicholas
Mfrko. known as the Sword of Montenegro
the most famous warrior the little land can boast
q Stalwart he tnva of
the Turks which threatened Montenegro until
1878 whe:. Russia put stop once and for all to
Moslem aggression in Europe-was twice passed
over for the throne. the second time in favor of
his own son. Yet he fought 'cherefully both for
his brother and his son and never showed a trace
Of ill-feeling, although. has been said, he has
always been regarded the best leader the
Black Mountain men ever had.
To tell the story Of Gar Nicholas, the first of
the Montenegrin rulers to kingly crown,
means the telling of the story of his country
throughout his reign.
1t is not story which be lightly told,
either. for 1t involves description OF several of
the most stirring combats which have taken place
since the days of the Crusades.
In the first place 1t is necessary to give
brief sketch of the land OF Montenegro or Tcher.
nagcra-"the Black Mountain" to call it by the
name its inhabitants love best. Montenegro
coonized in the last decade OF the fourteenth
tury by noble families from Macedonia, Servia
and Bulgaria, the pick of the old Slav arstocracy,
who fled from their upland castles In the Rho
dope hills after the battle of Kossovo in 1889,
when the Turks completely crushed the Christian
power In the Balkan peninsula, and the great
BulgarSerb empire, which had been numbered
among the, mghtiest In Europe went down to
everlasting defeat.
From that time on. the story OF Montenegro is
The story of endless battles. wars seges raids.
torays and encounters with the Turks. varied
occasionally by combats with the Venetians who
made several abortive attempts to scale the i'm
pregnable road known the "Montenegrin Lad.
DER which runs from the Bocca di Cattora up
to Cettinje and, later. combats with the French
and Austrians.
Time and again the Turkish Sultans and their
vceroys. the Pashas of Albania Bosnia and the
Herzegovina endeavored to conquer the tiny
land. For four hundred and fifty years. army
after army. led by the Janissaries and best gen.
erals Turkey could produce. attempted to conquer
Montenegro and failed During the first half of
the last century the warfare between the little
principality and Its great enemy almost un-
ceasing In the reign of Danio H., uncle OF
Nicholas. number Of tremendous battles we're
fought.
Five years before the time came for Nicholas
to ascend the throne, his destiny had been de-
termined upon, and his uncle was a man OF
considerable foresight and small intellectual
attanments, 1t determined that the heir
apparent should be given firstclass western
education in preparation for his assuming the
responsibilities OF leader of his people.
Accordingly after preparatory course in the
home OF his aunt In Trieste-where he imblbed
principally hatred of the Austrians who were
becoming almost dangerous enemies OF Monte
negro as the Turks-he was shipped of to Paris.
where he studied at the Academy OF Louisle-
Grand and obtained some proficiency in French,
italian and German, besides Serb history and
other more usual branches Of knowledge.
Even II Nicholas had not been a king he would
have deserved commendation and a distinctive
place in the history Of his country through his