The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-04
MANY INSTANCESOF /.
BLOODY WARS Being.
CAUSEDBY TR|FLES
Turkey and Venice Came to
Blows Over Form
of Oath
CUT KRUGER'S SALARY;
BOER WAR STARTED
Only Once Have Two Countries
Plunged Into War on Account of
Mule--In 1907 Between Hon
duras and Nicaragua

| matter angrily retorted the Turk, do
monkeysl' Stung by the insult the ann
bassador struck the Turk and the latter
returned the blow. The treaty was torn
to fragments. and the result was san
culinary war between the two nations.
The beginning of the great uprising of
the Sicilians against their French con-
querors and masters. commonly known
as the "Siciian vespers." was intensely
dramatic Tt was Easter eve and Pa
lermo was thronged with merry-ma kers
A Sicilian bride passed by leaning on the
arm of her husband. A French officer
| flung at her a insulting remark and the
husband sprang at him and felled him
with a blow.
One War Only for a Mule
Now, the Sicilians were not allowed to
bear arms; the Frenchman carried a
sword. This he attempted to draw as he
scrambled to his feet. but second time
the husbands arm shot out and again
| the Frenchman measured his length on
the ground. Then. before any one could
! interfere the insulted husband wrested
| the sword from his PROSTATE enemy and
ran him through.
| Wild shouts OF exultation from the as
sembled Siciians showed how they, at
| an rate, regarded the deed Cries were
| raised of Death to the French!" Seized
with a sudden frenzy the populace rushed
wildly through the streets, Staying all
Frenehmen they encountered. Altogether
| it is recorded 5000 perished and many
times that number lost their lives In the
4
| to avenge what she stigmatized as mas
sacre, but which the Sicilians gloried in
| as an act OF praiseworthy patriotism
! Somewhat similar was the origin of that
| terrible series OF religious wars that des-
olated France in the latter half of the
| sixteenth century More than Il thousand
| fIuguenots We're assembled i'll a large
barn near Vasy, peaceably celebrating
their religious rites under the protection
of what was known as "the Edict of
January The Duke of Guise, with a
numerous escort. rode bye and certain of
| his followers Knocked and mimiclSed the
| Huguenots in so offensive way that
| the latter retaliated with most opprobri-
Gus remarks. Soon all were at blows
and from the compa ratively trivial be-
| ginning arose the bloody wars between
| Huguenots and Catholics that for 80 years
agitated the French nation.
|
| In China, ESQ years ago the smashing
| of teapot led to a sanguinary con-
| fliet extending over a period of years
The teapot in question formed a part
of the travelling equipment of one Of
the Emperors during his progress
| through a disaffected province OF
northern China. 1t happened that cer-
tain of the Emperor's retinue were in
| tercepted by band of robbers. who
found the teapot among the baggage
and Indignantly flung it to the ground
and broke 1t. The matter was report
| ed to the Emperor. who was so an
gered by the occurrence that he sent
out a punitive force. A long war en-
sued, resulting, it is said, In the death
! of 100000 men.
| A bucket was once the cause of a
war. Nine hundred years ago a party
of soldiers of Modena stole such an
article. apparently as a practical joke.
! from a public well in Bologna. Upon
| their refusal to restore it, fights oc-
CURED between the soldiers of the rival
states. fights that developed into a
war that devastated a large part of
| Europe.
| The cash value of the bucket might
| be represented by a few cents, but
| there have been waged other wars con-
cerning things that represented little
| from a monetary point of view. An ex-
| cellent Illustration is afforded in the
case of Algeria, which came into the
possession of through disagreement
over a petty debt. The Bey OF Algeria
had demanded immediate payment,
| through the French consul, who asked
a delay in the matter and for a reply
was cost into prison. Two days later
| there was begun war that endured
! for 20 years, during which time more
| than half a million lives We're sacri-
| ficcd.
Salary Cut Started Boer War
In the year 1879 the Transvaal was
declared crown colony and the SAL
aries of officials. both Dutch and Eng
lish, were cut down. Among the num-
Der so treated was certain Paul Kru-
| ger, whose salary was reduced by $3.50
per annum. The loss of the money an
noyed the Dutchman. who raised the
standard revolt. AS a consequence thef e
| followed the Majuba Hill fight. years
| of agitation, the Jameson raid and
| finally the great war which cost Brit
ain $1100,000,000 and the lives of 20
900 of her sons.
The borrowing of tobacco pipe and
its retention caused civil war in the
Pamirs and Afghanistan. while the
stealing of a lace petticooat belonging
| to lady OF CASTLE by a Moor led to
a long and bloody conflict. The war
between Sweden and Poland, which he
gun in 1854 arose through supposed
! slight.
| The King Of Sweden suddenly discov-
| reed that In a certain dispatch his
name and titles were followed by o:>ly
I two ct ceteras, while the King of Po-
| lard was given three. The result, in
| credible as 1t may seem, was war
| Mrs. Masham. the favorite lady in
waiting of Queen Anne, was one day
carrying q glass OF water to her royal
mistress when she collided with the
Marquis de Torey. on whose clothes the
water was spilled The marquis, fail
| ing to obtain an apology for what he
| regarded as an insult to both himself
| and his country. made such ado in the
matter that soon bad feeling was en-
gendered. 1t spread from the court and
Involved the two nations 1t was not
settled without the Intervention of the
great Duke of Marlborough and his
brilliant campaigns.
OuD of the most curious excuses for
was, as we'll as one of the most en-
| traordinary of wars, had its origin In
| a little matter that occurred in the
sixteenth century. This fwar" was coll
Quoted between bankrupt grocer CT
Berlin. on the one hand. and the
Elector of Saxony, on the other. The
immediate cause was the ARREST" OF