Gilpin observer., 1913-07-10

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 was called
to take his uncles place. Two months later he
married Milena Voukovich, daughter of one Of
the principal voivodes. who had been brother
in-arms of his father, Mirko. The Czarina 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 adversties
Of his eventful reign, at times when he was
driven from pillar to post by the Moslem hordes
that were poured through the defles of the
Lovchen range in wave after wave, so that even
the brave Black Mountain men quailed under the
attack and sought safety the impossible noun
tain heights.
They had peace Of a kind for a year, and then
war broke out with redoubled violence. The in
surrection of the rayahs. Christian peasants OF
the Herzegovina. aroused the sympathies of the
Montenegrins, and young Prince Nicholas found
his hands full trying to obey the injunctions Of
the great powers to refrain from hostties and
keep his fiery subjects in check.
For some months he held out against the
wishes of the nation, with somewhat dubious sue
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
Montenegrin border which results in fatalities
followed close upon anothers hels The
been looking for. Omar Pasala, 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 Mrko 1t was reasoned in CONSTANT
nope 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 1t easy to crack the nut
which had resisted many efforts for so many
hundreds of years.
But things did not turn out exactly as Turkey
had anticipated. great part of the principalty
was overrun, most of the villages destroyed
and ruin stared every one in the face. Omar's
army had entered the country in three divisions
aiming to comb It from side to side, and making
their principal effort against the valley OF the
Zeta which might be called the hghroad OF
Montenegro, the main artery OF its life. But. led
by the giant fighter, Mirko, and their boy prince
In whom they trusted implicitly, once he had
sanctioned war-the MonteDegrins took up un
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 fought with a
fierce. unrelenting fanaticism which is all but in
comprehensive to the western mind. After sixty
battles, the Montenegrns were glad to meet their
foes halfway
They conceded some unimportant 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 ravages Of hun
ger many who had survived the bullet and steel
of the Turkish armies carried of by the
scourge Of disease. among them Mirko. the
Sword"
The loss of his father was a great blow to