Sioux County pioneer., 1922-09-28
prepared by the Nationa, Geographic

prepared by the National Geographic
Society. Washington. d. C.)
Little Montenegro, which was the
tiniest kingdom in Europe, has been
merged since the World war into the
big new kingdom Of Jugo-Slavia. Its
well-loved king is dead; Its capital
only the seat of province. But half
a millennium Of dearly bought inde-
pendence and the most intense patriot
ism has made its inhabitants not alto
gether willing to lose their identity {;
30 from time to time commissions ap-
pear to present Montenegro's case to
the world and to keep alive its mar
velous history and traditions
This little country, then smaller than
Delaware, and sometimes with no
more than 5000 fighting men within
Its borders, has the distinction of be-
Ing the one patch Of land in the broad
expanse Of the Balkan peninsula that
kept Itself free from Turkish conquest
during the five and half centuries
since the Turks crossed the Hellespont.
One after another, the regions that are
now Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and AL
bania fell before the excellent Turkish
fighting organizations, and settled
down for hundreds of years under a
condition little better than slavery to
Moslem masters. Montenegro remained
free and was practically Christian
island in sen of Molammedanlsm
Only on its western border waaAit in
contact during this long perio3 with
other Christian territory, narrow
strip of Adriatic coast controlled by
Venice.
Upon the final overthrow of the an
Client glory of the Serbs on the field of
kossovo, a few valiant souls retreated
to the rocky Businesses of Cernagora
to seek asylum with the Volvode of the
Zeta. A few years later, abandoned
by their ruler-who preferred life of
ease Mt Venice-they turned to their
bishop, made him also their prince,
and with him retreated still deeper
into the hills and there set up that
long line of the Vladikas which did
not end until we'll into the last GEN.
fury.
Tributes to Their Bravery.
There they maintained their free
dom. with suffering indescribable and
with courage illimitable; and won
from Gladstone, the great English
apostle of Balkan freedom, those
words of undying praise, in which he
gave 1t us his deliberate opinion"
that "the traditions of Montenegro ex-
ceed IN glory those of Marathon and
Ihermopylae and all the war tradi-
tions of the world"; and inspired in
Tennyson what he regarded as the
nnest of his sonnets, inscribed to the
.. smallest among peoples! rough
rock-throne
OF freedom! warriors beating back the
swarm
OF Turkish Islam for five hundred wears
Great Cernagora! never since thine own
Black ridges drew the cloud and broke
the storm
Has breathed a race of mightier noun
taineers."
Within but stones throw of the
Adriatic sea, Montenegro was long cut
of from 1t until in the middle of the
Nineteenth century her arms won An
tivari from the Turks. Cattaro has al-
ways been the logical port of the coun-
try and its natural gateway from the
West, yet it remained until the World
war in. the hands of Austria. Now
Cattaro is Jugo-Slavic and is no longer
under a control alien to that Of Monte
nero.
III the days before the World war
the few diplomats and travellers who
visited Cetinje, the capital of Monte
negro, considered the ride over the an
tomobile road from Cattaro one of the
grandest scenically to be found in
Europe.
Ascending the marvellous zigzag road
which leads up from the port, one an
proaches the stern and gloomy defile
which forms the portal to this historic
stronghold of freedom in the Balkans,
Splendid engineering is this road.
Built for post and military uses, it
clings to the face of the sheer rock
and weaves back and forth In multi.
tude OF "hairpin curves" which the
chauneurs Of the post automobile treat
With that contempt which familiarity
alone can breed.
Up and ever up, one goes. Below
stand forth the dusky cliffs which jut
into the southern ford; nesting be-
meath them. and hella;.S I'D III Wits tae
!nssstys battlements Of those giants Of