Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1925-06-03
prepared by the National Geogra phic So.
ciety. Washington. D. c.


A LBANIA is settling down again
"A after revolution which
4 n threatened under the surface
for time to be another match
m the European powder magazine.
With the backing of Yugo-Slavia a pre-
viously ousted leader came to power
again, superseding a prime minister
who appealed to Italy for aid. Other
powers discouraged Italy from lending
assistance, and after Italy, Great
Britain, and France had all rushed
warships to the Adriatic, the crisis
passed with the new leader still in
power.
The prevalence of Turkish names
and Northumberland in Albania
tempts a superficial observer to con-
slider the Albanians as brothers to
the Turk. But the Albanians are
most ancient race of southeastern
Europe. There is no record of their
arrival in the Balkan peninsula, no
legend relating to their origin. They
are thought to be descendants of the
earliest Aryan immigrants, and with
praiseworthy persistence have retained
their mountain strongholds through
many ages.
Except for Byron's casual tribute in
"Childe Harold" the Albanians, I'M
like other peoples of the Balkans, have
not been praised in song or story.
Indeed, they appear to have received
but little attention from the world,
except to be characterized as a turbu-
lent race of mountaineers, whose prin-
cipal occupation has been to fight
among themselves when not engaged
in fighting against some one else.
But, like the early Swiss, these rude,
untutored people possess many prim-
tive virtues. They have preserved
with remarkable tenacity the traditions
of their descent, and are brave, honest
and hospitable Their lives having
been spent in constant conflict with
nature in it's most unfriendly aspects,
they have been taught from infancy
to fight against man as readily as
against the warning elements of the
air.
Land of the Blood Feud.
Albania is notorious as the land of
the blood feud-a tribal, or perhaps
more properly a racial, custom OBJ
served for many centuries. Travellers
and commentators usually refer to the
Albanian mountaineer as utterly law
less, but in reality his actions toward
his fellow-men, up to a few years
ago, were based upon the strictest pos
sible observance of lava tribal law
founded upon a most distorted idea
Of personal and family honor.
The smallest infraction Of custom
a blow struck in anger, an unwilling
shove in q crowd-inevitably led to
the declaration of a blood feud, and
the honor of the injured party was
sullied until he had slain either the
actual offender or some male member
Of his family. The relatives of the
slain individual were then compelled
to take up the man hunt. and thus
the feud spread.
So fatal were these feuds that in
old man is seldom to be encountered,
in spite of the traditional longevity
of the Albanian race. The men were
killed off before they attained patriar
chal years.
A rigid code protects guest in the
mountain Businesses, and if traveller
has slept under the roof of an Al
bantam the host, according to tribal
law. is obligated to declare a blood
feud against any person who insults
a. harms the visitor within a certain
leugth of time after he has been en-
tertained
Under the Turks the great majority
of the Albanians, probably more than
three-fifths. were Moslems. The con-
version of the Christian population to
Islam appears to have taken place
during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth
centuries OF the Christians about
sixth are Roman Catholics, the re-
mainder orthodox, or followers of
the Greek Church. In Difference to
popular prejudices, the bishops and
priests oF the Catholic Church wear
the mustache and are typical speci-
mems of the church militant.
Before the italian occupation, edu-
cation was almost nonexistent in Al
bania; both Christian and Moslem
were. and the adults still are, totally
Illiterate. Under Turkish control, in
struction in the Albanian language
was prohibited for political reasons.
A single exception was made in the
oosa of LITTLE American school for