Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 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 it IS to his credit that the domains handed
him by his predecessor. fftytwo years ago. have
been rather more than doubled in extent and popu-
iaon through the might of his sword and the agility
of his brain.
Nicholas Petrovich Niegoch car of Montenegro
prince of the Zeta, voivOde of Brda. and gOspOdar
of Tehernagora Europes last feuda ruler, was born
at Niegoch the ancestral home Of his house,
September 25, 1841. 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 pTincipaHty for
centuries before that. The Petrovich dynasty has
reigned in Montenegro since 1896 when the rule of
the hereditary vadikas, CT prnce-bishops, was in
augurated. But for hundreds of years before that
date, before the time Of the first Black Prince
Stephen Chruoevich, the Petrovich hon
ored family. who boosted the rank of voivode
lord
All Of the men Of this lire 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 celibacy, quaint mix
lures OF the warrior and the monk they presided
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 the ChTnoievichi In 1916, however,
the system of government changed, and what
were known elective vadikas installed,
One ruler of the Petrovch was succeeded by his
brothers Strangely enough, there
never any jealousy among the nephews who were
passed over
For instance the father of Gar Nicholas,
NirkO known as the Sword of MontenegfO'-
the most famous warrior the little land can boast
and stalvart bulwark against the invasons of
the Turks which threatened Montenegro until
1878 when Russia put a stop and for all to
AIoslem aggression in Europeans twice passed
over for the throne the second time in favor of
his Yet he fought cherefully both for
his brother and his son and never showed trace
of ili-feeling, although, has been said, he has
always been regarded the best leader the
Black Mountain ever had.
To tell the story of Car Nicholas, the first of
the Montenegrin rulers to kingy 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 it by the
its inhabitants love best. Montenegro was
colonized in the last decade of the fourteenth
fury by nCbe families from Macedonia, Seryia
and Bulgaria. the pick of the old Say aristoCracy,
who fed from their upland castles in the Rho
dope hills after the battle of Kossoyo in 1889,
when the Turks completely crushed the Christian
power in the Balkan peninsula, and the great
BugarSerb empire which had been numbered
among the mightiest 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 aborttve attempts to scale the i'm
preguable road known the "Montenegrin Lad
der which from the BOCca di Cattora up
Cettinje, and, later, combats with the French
and AUstrans.
Time and again the Turkish Sultans and their
viceroys. 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 Ianissaries and best gen
erals Turkey could produce, attempted to conquer
Montenegro and failed. During the first half of
the century the warfare between the little
princpality and its great enemy was almost I'M
ceasing In the reign of Danilo H., uncle of
Nicholas 8 number of tremendous battles were
fought.
Five years before the time came for Nicholas
TO ascend the throne, his destiny had been de-
termned upon, and his uncle was man of
considerable foresight and small intellectual
attachments. it was determined that the heir
apparent should be given 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 Trieste-where he imbibed
principally hatred of the Austrians. who were
becoming almost as dangerous enemies of Monte
negro as the Turks-he shipped off 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 if Nicholas had not been king he would
have deserved commentator and distinctive
place in the history of his country through his
literary endeayors. Besides volume of poetry
-~~~~~~0~~~-~o~~~~ooo