Smyrna times., 1913-01-15
GRAPHIC SKETCH OF LAND
OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS
A FLYING VISIT TO MONTENE-
GRO AND IMPRESSIONS GAINED
Letter to the Readers of Smyrna at a
Time When News from the Balkan
States is Interesting Every One

tme Wnen news from tne DdiNdH
States is Interesting Every One
Just now when all the news from
the Balkan States is interesting
every one, the following letter de-
scriptive of flying visit to Monten-
egro may be acceptable to your read
ers.
Finding ourselves in the Adriatic
the chance of seeing Cettinje was too
good to be set on one side, accord
ingly our Captain navigated his ship
up the beautiful Borche di Cattaro.
AS you approach Cattaro the scenery
reminds one strongly of Norway with
its fjords, the villages nesting by the
water edge, small white and blue
houses with red roofs and green shut
tiers and the churches with quaint
spires, backed by mountains, the
lower slopes a beautiful green, the
upper steep and bare of vegetation.
Cattaro itself from the water is i'm
pressive with its old gates and walls
climbing up to the fortress planted
high above the town. Beyond on the
mountain slope what seems a series
of white walls in zig-zag which later
on we found to be the new road made
by the Austrian and the Montenegrin
Governments leading over the Black
Mountains to the heart of Montenegro
or Cudgora.
In Cattaro one sees a mingling of
races, CIoatian, Italian and Serf, in
land one meets the true mountain
tribes, still faithful to the national
dress and customs. Indeed one might
say that in the near East where sea
and rail approach there is smatter-
ing of Europe, and but a few miles
from those influences the life is the
life of the Middle Ages, and the
people a primitive race. Along the
quay side is the Montenegrin market
with kids and sheep for sale, as well
as their smoked flesh, and an abun-
dance of fresh vegetables and home
woven cloths, etc. The mountaineers
had brought in produce from over the
mountains, and the women and mules
had toiled over rough ways carrying
loads of firing, etc. for sale, for here
it is woman who does the hard work
and carries the burdens and she be-
comes worn and old before true old
age sets its mark on her.
ConveYances to Take Us to Cettinie
10 get on-Early next day We
hired conveyances to take US to Get,
TIME, a matter of some six or sever
hours. We drove along the magnifi
Gently conceived and engineered roaC
zig-zagging up and always upward
For three hours we climbed steadily
and often we left the carriage anC
took short cuts to the road above
sometimes by mere foot-paths ant
tracks down which came the womel
and mules on their way to market.
They wore mostly a creamy coat O.
rough undyed wool, common alike tc
both men and women, and as they
N6AAAS NAAC NOAOAo IOAAC0 Win bAAC LONh
and it was hard to distinguish then
at distance. And l thought the
that should it ever be it would be b
these wild ways the people would de
scend, perhaps staying from time t
time to hurl destruction in the shap
of huge boulders and stones that stree
the land, upon the foe beneath.
Very soon houses and trees wer
left behind and the vegetation cor
sisted of sage scrub and wonderfI
beautiful clumps of spuge in flu
flower, then came rocky waste {
gray limestone formation squeeze
and pushd up at any and every incline
To account for the piled-up masses {
rock that make Montenegro a leger
runs as follows:
The Lord passed over the earth ca
rying bag of stones to scatter owe
the surface of the land, when the b;
burst and the remaining stones fe
upon the Black Mountains.
Here and there we observed til
terrace gardens made with infinite tt
and patience and in which rye a
maize and potatoes are grown, b
often the rain destroys everything
washing the soil away. About hs
way we topped the pass and enter
on truly bleak and desolate lar
Snow lay in patches on the mountain
the rest was bare gray limestone W
pinkish red patches.
Halted to Rest at Niegus.
At Niegus we halted to rest q
refresh both man and beast. H
we made friends with some of I
peasants, took their photographs Z
went inside their house which '
rather like an Irish cabin, a roI
room with hard earth floor, the 1
on the hearthstone, no chimney,
hanging pot over the fire, bed
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