The Red Cloud chief., 1913-07-10

middle path Of caution.
he happened to be born with royal blood In his
veins; but that Is OF small account. Every inch OF
territory every subject he owns he has fought for
and 1t Is to his credit that the domains handed to
MIN by his predecessor, ffty.two years ago. have
been rather more than doubled In extent and popu.
lation through the might OF his sword and the agility
Of his brain
prince OF the Zeta. volvode OF Brda, and gospodar
OF Tchernagora. Europe's last feudai ruler was born
at Negoch the ancestral home OF his house. on
september 2b. 1S41. He came OF the wonderful
line which has given rulers to Montenegro for more
than two hundred years and which was one Of the
foremost families Of the ancient principality for
centuries before that The Petrovich dynasty has
reigned In Montenegro since 1896 when the rule of
the hereditary vladkas. or prince bishops, was in
augurated But for hundreds OF years before that
Date. even before the time Of the first Black Prince
stephen Chrnoievich the Petrovch were an hon.
ored family. who boasted the rank OF voivode or
lord
All Of the men Of this line have been men Of great
personal prowess. exceptional military ability
statesmanship and political cunning. and possessed
OF marked personal magnetism Living for the
most part lives OF srictest celbacy, quaint mix.
lures OF the warrior and the monk. they presided
over the destnies OF their tiny nation with a sense
OF responsibility that you will not find equaed 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
q last was the Chrnoievich In 1916 however
the system OF government was changed, and what
were known as elective vladikas were installed
One ruler OF the Petrovch 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 salwart bulwark against the inyasIons OF
the Turks which threatened Montenegro until
1873. when Russia put a stop once and for all to
Moslem aggression In Europe-was twice passed
over for the throne. the second time in favor OF
mis- own son. Yet he fought cherefuly both for
his brother and his and never showed a trace
OF flfeeling. although. as has been said he has
always been regarded the best leader the
Black Mountain men ever had.
To tell the story OF Car Nicholas the first of
the Montenegrin rulers to a kngly crown,
means the telling Of the story OF his country
throughout his reign.
1t Is not a story which can be lightly told,
either, for II 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 It by the
name Its Inhabitants love best Montenegro was
coionzed In the last decade Of the fourteenth cen.
tury by noble families from Macedonia Servia
and bulgaria. the pick OF the old Slav arstocracy,
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 mlghtiest In Europe. went down to
- everlasting defeat.
From that time on, the story OF Montenegro is
the story Of endless battles. wars, sieges, raids
forays and encounters with the Turks varied
occasionally by combats with the Venetians who
made several abortivs attempts to scale the i'm
pregnable road known az the "Montenegrin Lad
DER which runs from tho Bocca di Cattora up
to Cettinje and, later, combats with the French
and Austrians.
Time and again the Turkish sultans and their
viceroys. the Pasbas of Albania. Bosnia and the
Herzegovina endeavored to conquer the tiny
land. For four hundred and fifty years army
after army led by the Janissares 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 was almost un.
ceasing. In the reign Of Danilo H., uncle OF
Nicholas. q numbar Of tremendous battles were
fought
Five years before the time came for Nicholas
to ascend the throne his destiny had been de-
termined upon. and as his uncle a man OF
considerable foresight and small intellectual
attanments, II was determined that the heir
apparent should be given q frst-class 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 Trleste--where he imbbed
principally hatred Of the Austrans who were
becoming almost as dangerous enemies OF Monte.
negro the Turks-he was shipped of to Paris
where he studied at the Academy Of Louis.leI
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
literary endeavors Besides volume OF poetry