The Land of the Black Mountain | Page 4

mountains of old
Montenegro, from which the country derives its name; while to the east
lies the Brda, mountains vying with Switzerland in beauty, rich grazing
grounds and densely-wooded hills abounding with game, and the
streams well stocked with fish.
The plains are the granaries of Montenegro, unfortunately too limited
in area to give an abundance, but there is a mine of wealth in the Brda,
when that part shall be opened up by connecting roads. The vast
primeval forests and mineral products will be an important source of
income in the times to come. Even at the present day the district
constitutes the chief source of revenue from the export of cattle, sheep,
and horses which flourish on the magnificent mountain pasturages.
Montenegrin wool, greatly famed, comes too from the Brda.
It is chiefly in the Katunska, the cradle of the Montenegrin nation, that
the most interesting geological formations are to be found, and in these
formations lay its former strength. The most prominent features of the
Karst region are imperfect valleys which have no outlet. As a
consequence of this, the water cannot escape by an overground bed, so
it forces itself through the porous surface to reappear in a lower valley,
undermining the subsoil, which in time collapses, and forms the oases
of this otherwise barren land. The rain washes down the little earth that
there is on the hillside, the chemical action of the limestone oxidises
the same, and the so-called "terra rossa" is formed in these depressions,

sufficient to give nourishment to the trees and bushes which grow there.
The frugal peasant cultivates these tiny patches of earth and derives
enough crops to subsist on, the goats and cattle living on the bushes and
smaller trees.
In olden times the little nation found barely enough substance for
themselves, consisting as they did of but a few thousand, but an
invading army starved. It was in truth a land "where a small army is
beaten, a large one dies of hunger."
The character of the people has been formed by their surroundings.
Hardy and frugal, capable of subsisting on the smallest amount of
nourishment, lithe and active, and open and fearless as their native
mountains.
Their food consists of a piece of maize bread at daybreak, and they eat
nothing again till sunset, when bread and a little milk form their
evening meal. Meat is eaten but rarely, and then they feast. The athletic
feat of crossing rock-strewn surfaces, bounding from rock to rock at a
great pace, rivalling their goats in sure-footedness at dizzy and
precipitous heights, has lent their gait that perfect grace of motion
which characterises the mountaineer, and in particular the Montenegrin.
The danger in which they have perpetually lived, accustomed to look
death in the face at any moment, has stamped upon them that open and
fearless look which most forcibly strikes the stranger.
Their blood is of the purest and noblest in the Balkans, for they are
largely descended from the noble families of the old Servian Empire
who fled to the Katunska after the bloody field of Kossovo, which
destroyed the might of the Serbs for ever. It is probably from these
ancestors that their noble bearing and perfect manners, in even strange
and unaccustomed surroundings, are derived. Their notion of honour is
of the highest, and thieving and robbery are practically unknown.
Prince Nicolas, like King Alfred, trusts his subjects in this matter of
thieving implicitly. Should a man drop a case of banknotes on the road,
the law says that the finder shall pick it up and place it on the nearest
stone, so that the loser has but to retrace his steps, glancing at the

wayside stones. This law is invariably followed.
The Montenegrins are still an armed nation, and the following proverbs
illustrate their love of weapons. One says, "A man without arms is a
man without freedom"; the other says, "Thou mayest as well take away
my brother as my rifle."
Their patriotism and unswerving loyalty to the reigning Prince have
ever been their most brilliant virtues.
The famous traveller Kohl has likened the Montenegrins to the ancient
Greeks of Homeric times, and the comparison holds good to this day.
"Love of freedom and pride of weapons, simplicity of life--remember
the love of mutton and wine, as described by Homer--hospitality, the
superiority of man over woman, all these features, together with the
fact that the heroes are themselves the singers of their deeds," says
Kohl, "are to be found in the Montenegrins, as well as in the Greeks of
Homer."
Woman takes a very inferior position in Montenegro. She is respected
in a sense, and her position has improved greatly in recent times,
chiefly owing to the example set by the Prince himself. At the official