Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1915-12-01
THE BALKANS.


4
Thrace, he opened with the bronze
tipped pixies Of his famous Macedo-
nian Dhalanx that Padnora's box
! called the Balkan Question.
twenty-five and half centuries,
! for want Of hand strong enough to
! close it, that box has stood open,
| pouring out disCOrdant questions to
! disturb the peace OF the world
Not the short sword OF Rome or
| the scimitar of Islam, neither the
| cross Of Constantine, nor the iron
! heel Of MuSCOvy has ever been able
! TO dim the crimson glare of the uuCS-
! ton mark inscribed so boldly across
the map Of the Balkan peninsGla
The reason of that is clear to the
! Cthnologist. This region, long be-
! fore the dawn OF civilization. was the
| crossroads Of human wandcrings
| Tribes naked and mail-clad nations
! have blaZed and rcblaZed their trails
| across it: first of whom we have any
| definite hint were the Pelasgi. Thcy
| started from the great plateau Of
| Asia. and stopped when they came to
the smiling valleys beneath the
mountains. Following these came
wave .tIj"r wave, always Aryaus. till
rs early as thousand years before
| Christ the Greeks, the Dacians. the
! PhoCians, the Epirots and a hundred
others were there--Cach jealous Of
! its tribal rights, guarding its tiny
| territory Philip OF Macedon
| built an army with which his son
| Alexander would weld the whole into
ightiEg mass for trampling the
eastern world. With his return the
| blood Of .he Balkans ceased to be
wholly Aryan, for his armies brought
| wives and slaves and companions
semitic f"Om Assyria and Palestine,
! llamitiC from Egypt and Mongolia
| from farther Asia. Long before these
| %CoplCS could be diGeSted in poured
| the Romans with their countless
| shades and COlOringS, and by 1863 B.
! &. IlmOS, all the peninsula had pass
! ed under the Roman yoke. which was
never lightcncd till Aurelian. seeing
! jhc once iron hand Of Rome palsying,
! deliberately withdrew the finger r"st-
ing on Dacia, Rcme's pet colony.
Alaric, with his Teutonic Goths
from the north, and Attila, with his
even hcrcCr Finnish Huns from the
east. took turn about at Over-running
and enslaving and restocking the Oft
| bled peninsula. Came the Crusaders.
pbbing and flowing in countless
! thousands. to yariegate variety: and
/ hen, aS if there were not rainbOws
enough in the Balkan blood, in came
! the Sara"enic lSemitic) flood that
| washed against the very walls Of
| COnStantnople. At every turn we
are impressed with the thought that
| he Balkan region is the meeting
| place OF all mankind and OF all
| 1, L 4 L.. Il II I
| To breach the walls Of Constantino-
pie in 1853 cannon was used for the
first time, and side by side With it
were rams and towers, while man
ming them were brown soldiers from
Egypt black from the Upper Nile,
brown from Arabia and Palestine,
white from Persia, yellow from be-
NOnd the Caspian, and over all was
that human battering ram, the gal
liant, chivalrous, indomitable, iron
fStcd Turanian (TurD, Mahomet IL.
From carly spring till early summer
he ba cred the walls Of this eastern
citadel of Christianity with COO
pound stone cannon balls and many
times that weight OF iron-shod rams.
and then, in the last days OF May,
! il%. this tOpmOst gem in Chris
tcndOms diadem nodded, wavered,
fell into tho lap OF the Moslem.
For full thousand years the
EinnS Of Bulgaria and the Turani2ns
from Asia had looked and longed and
coveted the seat Of power by the Col
den Horn.
The Turanians, who are neither
wholly Tartar nor Mongol. Semitic
nor AryAn, have. n"Xt to the French.
shown the highest gallantry One Of
;hc most chivalrOuS acts recorded
was done by I'mur the Turk, Prince
OF \idin. AndrOnicuS, Emperor Of
! jhc Eastern Empire WAS nard press
ed by his rcbclliOus grandson. who
was using the warikc Bulgari&ns
a@ainst him. These Bulgarians were
ever ready on any pretcXt to come an
! inch nearer ConstantinOplc. The
! Prince Umur wa asked TO aid the old
! Emperor, and very quickly disposed
| o; the Bul%arians under the very
! walls OF the city. The Emperor was
absent, seeking aid elsewhere. The
| empress sent I'mr her thanks and
urged him to enter the city as her
| Guest. He refused. saying it was
not 5"cm'N i"I hm 10 visit the En-
| press in the absence Of the Emperor;
| but he remained outside the walls,
| oncamp"d throughout bi,ter win
! tCT. awaiting the Emper"r's retnrr
| that he might make the visit with
| prrpri"lr
All nature is designed in pairs, even
| 10 tie great deeds Of men.
When lat"r years came bringing
| the Great Mahomct II bat1ering at
jho walls Of CONStantinoplr. circIing
| its land side with iron pixies. closing
| III I