Carroll County democrat. (Huntingdon, Tenn.) 188?-1971, 1913-07-11


He happened to be born with ROYAL blood n HE
VEINS but that is Of small account Every inch Of
VeiEtory' every subject he owns he has fought for
ana u is 70 his credit that the domains handed to
nlnl py his predecessor, hftytwo years ago have
Deen rather more than doubled in extent and popu.
son through the might Of his sword and the agility
OF his brain go
Nicholas Petroyich Niegoch, car Of Montenegro,
prince Of the zeta, yoiyode of Brda and sospodar
OF Tchernagora Europe's last feudal ruler was born
AZ Nlegoeh, the ancestral home Of his house on
september rs, 1841. He came Of the wonderful
me which has given rulers to Montenegro for more
tnan two hundred years and which was one of the
foremost families of the ancient principalty for
centuries before that. The Petrovich dynasty has
reigned IN Montenegro since 1896 when the rule Of
the hereditary vladikas, or princebishops was in.
augurated But for hundreds of years before that
date even before the time of the first Black Prince
stephen Chrnoevich, the Petrovich were an hon
ored family, who boasted the rank of yoiyode or
lord
All of the men Of this line have been men of great
personal prowess exceptional military ability
craftsmanship and political cunning and possessed
OF marked personal magnetism Living, for the
most part, lives of strictest cebacy, quaint mix
lures OF the warrior and the monk, they presided
over the destines 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 last was the Chrnoievch In 1916 however
the system Of government was changed and what
were known elective vladikas were installed
One ruler of the Petrovich was succeeded by his
brothers SON Strangely enough, there was
never any jealousy among the nephews who were
passed over.
For instance the father Of Car Nicholas,
Mirko, known as the Sword of Montenegro
the most famous warrior the little land can boast
and stalwart bulwark against the invasions Of
the Turks which threatened Montenegro until
1873 when Russia put stop once and for all to
Moslem aggression in Europeans twice passed
over for the throne, the second time in favor Of
his own Yet he fought cherefully both for
his brother and his son and never showed trace
Of illfeeling, although, as has been said, he has
always been regarded as the best leader the
Black Mountain men ever had.
TO tell the story Of Gear Nicholas, the first Of
the Montenegro rulers to wear kingly crown
means the telling Of the story OF his country
throughout his reign
1t is not a story which be lightly told,
either for it involves description Of several Of
the most stirring combats which have taken place
since the days OF the Crusades.
In the first place it is necessary to give
brief sketch of the land of Montenegro or Tcher-
nagora-'the Black Mountain" to call 1t by the
colonzed in the last decade Of the fourteenth cen
fury by noble families from Macedonia, Serva
and Bulgaria the pick of the old Sav aristocracy
who fed 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 mightiest in Europe, went down 70
everlasting defeat
ti,,o fho stn III Montenegro
the story Of endless battles, wars, sieges raids,
forays and encounters with the Turks, varied
occasionally by combats with the Venetians, who
made several abortive attempts to scale the I'M
nrepnable road known as the Montenegro Lad
der which runs from the Bocca di Cattora up
TO Cettinie and, later, combats with the French
and Austrians.
Time and again the Turkish Sultans and their
v,corovs the Pashas OF Albania, Bosnia and the
r1o..osoy;ra endeayored to conquer the tiny
Iond For four hundred and fifty years army
aftar 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 httie
rrIrcinality and its great enemy wac almost I'M
caasing In the reign Of Danilo H. uncle OF
Nicholas number Of tremendous Dattles "eie
fought
r4vo YEARS before the time came for Nicholas
- ascend the throne, his destiny had been de-
nnon and as his uncle was man OF
cons,derable foresight api small intellectual
ottainments. it was determined that the nelr-
apparent should be given irst-class western
aSpcaton n preparation for his assuming the
resnonsibilities of leader of his people.
Accordingly. after a preparatory course IN the
home Of his aunt In Trieste-where ne imDioeu
principally hatred Of the Austrians, who were
becoming almost as dangerous enemies OF MOn.e-
rhT nnad
- 10 stsded at the Academy of Louis-le-
nraaS and obtained some proficiency in French,
ltal,an and German, besides Serb history ana
the, -tl1ls,'i more usual branches Of knowledge
ne, 4 Nicholas had not been king he would
80 daserved communication and distinctive
olace Is the history Of his country through MS
itarary endeavors Besides volume OF poetry