THE SUNDAY OKEGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 8, 1912.
O)
A
Peace-Time Characteristics of Staunch" Peofie' Account
for Proficiency in War Their Customs, Habits,.'
History, Religion and Present-Day Life
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IX hort x weeks' time we have
learned a, ot we never knew about
the Bulgarians. How tkey respond
ed to the call to the colofs for war
against their lifelong oppressors; trow,
under the personal leadership of their
Caar, they followed the Initiative as
alffned by the allies to miniature Mon
tenegro, and mobilised among the foot
bills of the Rhodopes, which separates
their country from Turkey on the
anuth; how they swooped down upon
the Turkish frontier town of Mustapha
Faeba like a hawk In the night; how
they bottled -up Adrianople with their
decisive victories at Kirk JClllsseh, Us
kub and Lule Burgas; and. In no wise
content to rest upon their laurels, how
they drove the fleeing Turks before
tbem and swept on to the' great line
of forts and lntrenchmenta within an
hour's motor drive from Constantinople
Itself all this Is history. .
Tea, we have learned much lately
about the Bulgarians the fightln
Bulgarians, who have shouldered the
brunt of the Balkan conflict, and
whom all credit of the series of brll
llant victories Is primarily due but
what do wa know of the real Bui
garians, the peaceful, pastoral Bui
garlana? What do we 'know of their
little kingdom that boasts of but
lightly greater area than the state of
Indiana?
If you will come with me to Calais,
wa ah all board the "Orient Express,
which takes almost four days and four
nights to wend its tortuous tri-weekly
way across Europe from edge to edge.
Through Paris. Vienna and Budapest
we shall rattle along; through Bel
grade, Servia's "capital of crime-
through Nisoo. through Sofia and Phil
tppopolls; and if we remained aboard
wa should be resenting, but without
avail, the rigid Turkish customs in
spection at Mustapha Pasha, wa should
tie looking upon the squalid reslden
. tlal quarters of oeleagured Adrianople,
and finally we would be stopping our
ears against the grarrulousness of the
Mohammedans in the streets of Stam-
Balawrla's Pttrrtns; History.
Bulgaria, however, commands our dls
mbarklng at Sofia. Hera and in the
country roundabout we shall have time
and opportunity to observe the Bui
sari&ns ai close range and form an
Ides, of their country as it is today.
But as we s't In our berth in the
Americanized railway car of the tren
de luxe a car placarded with signs
warning itinerant gentleman from go
ing to bed with their boots on rup
pose we try to forget the heat and the
suffocating dust by rehearsing briefly
Bulgaria s past.
To commence at the beginning of
tnings, that entire territory !ylng be
tween the Macedonian frontier on the
South and the Danube Ktver on the
north was generally known by the an
cient and honorable name of Thrace.
Farther to the north, beyond the Bal
kan Mountains, lay Moesia. Prior to
the conquests of Philip and of his suc
cessor. Alexander, the Tnraco-Macedo-nlans,
the Thraco - niyrlans and the
Thraco-Daclans held savage sway over
the whole of the Balkan Peninsula. The
Roman conquest of Thrace followed in
due time. Its beginning Is still a mat
ter of mere conjecture, but the Indis
putable fact remains that Vespasian
annexed Thrace and proclaimed it a
Roman province In A. D. 7S. '
Then the Slavs, an agricultural people
gradually moving westward from their
confines In Asia, populated Thrace be
tween the third and the seventh centu
ries. Indeed, they introduced their lan
guage, customs and religion throughout
the greater part of Southeastern Eu
rope, and their descendants, Influenced
of course by tha dominant races which
came later, constitute tha presort -dy
population of Bulgaria
Just at this point In history we hear
Xor the first time of tha Bulgart, -a
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horde of Asiatics of Turkish strain,"
akin to the Tartars, Huns, Avars ami
Finns, who made their appearance upon
tha eastern frontier of Thrace. Primi
tive, wild and barbarous, without po
litical affiliations or even religious lies,
they swarmed over the country and
founded in the seventh century the first
Bulgarian empire an empire that at
tained Its height between the years 893
and (37 under Czar Simeon. Although a
conquering race. It is interesting to
note that the Bulgarl became complete-
absorbed, one might say, by the
Slavs. Scarcely a trace of their lan
guage Is to be found in Bulgarian
speech. Like the Franks In Gaul, they
gave their political organization ana
even their name to the vastly more
civilised race which they had conquered,
adopting In turn this race's language.
local institutions and customs.
Bulgarian history proper may be said
to have begun, however, with the N
tion'a conversion to Christianity und
Czar Boris late In the ninth century.
Cyril . and .Met&odiua, .two monks of
Salonika, who worked originally among
tha Slavs of Moravia, became Bulgaria's
national apostles, and they are respon
stole for introducing at this time the
Cyrillio alphabet, later adopted by all
the Slav nations including Russia.
As long ago as a thousand years,
under Csar Simeon, "Bulgaria,' Gibbon
says, "assumed a rank among the civi
lized powers of the earth." Simeon's
dominions extended over the whole Bal
kan Peninsula; ha was tha most power
ful monarch In Eastern Europe, and his
capital. Preslav, came to rival even
Bagdad in magnificence and splendor.
But Simeon died, as other men must,
and the great empire mirrored Its loss
by its inability to remain Intact. The
country was rent, and a separate em
pire. Including Albania and Macedonia.
was established under Czar Shlshman.
Close upon this came the first Russian
invasion of Bulgaria under Sviato-Slav,
disastrous enough in Itself, but a mem
forerunner of the deeper intrigues and
plots and mightier invasions ' by the
"Northmen" which were to follow.
The Bulgarians, after 168 years of
absolute subjection under Byzantine
rule, revolted in ,1186, and the second
i'
Bulgarian empire sprang from a dream
into a reality. Trnovo, which they
claim as the historic capital of their
race, and to which Prince Ferdinand
Journeyed out of pure sentiment to pro
claim himself "Czar of all the Bulgars'
in 1908, became the seat of government.
This Assenide dynasty, so called.
reached its height early In this :3th
century under Assen II, who established
his sway over Albania, Epirus, Macedo
nia and Thrace. He became the great
est of all Bulgarian rulers, and under
him the country attained a prosperity.
hitherto undreamed of. Scarcely a cen
tury later, however, Bulgaria fell before
the conquests of King Dushan, of Ser-
via She even became Servian, after
the defeat of her Czar by tha Servian
leader, and was made to form part of
the short-lived empire of King Stephen
Dushan.
But five years after Dushan's death,
In 1340, the real troubles of the Balkan
states began.
. "Terrible Turk" Appears.
A great, dark, baggy-trousered, red-
fezzed bugaboo. Inflated with cruelties.
appeared suddenly like a storm cloud on
the eastern horizon. As time want on It
grew larger and darker and mora omin
ous, stretching its talons threateningly
above the Christian races of the penin
sula, which had become distracted and
torn apart by the quarrels of their petty
Princes. Slowly the terrible cloud
climbed to it zenith; westward, always
westward it moved until the whole of
Europe cringed. If you doubt this state
ment you may wander into -the United
Service Museum In Whitehall, upon
one of your pilgrimages to Loudon, and
look upon a great silken tent of gor
geous hues captured from the Turkish
commander before the very gates of
Vienna.
Precipitations from the cloud fir
engulfed the Valley of the Maritza,
away to the east. Onward It came until
Phillppopolls, writhing from Its atroc
ities, surrendered in 1362. Sofia, Bulga
rla's present capital, was taken 20 years
later, and the last Bulgarian Czar, Ivan
Shlshman III, by force of circumstances
declared himself a 'vassal of Sultan
Murad L Alt token of his subjection
he sent his own sister to the harem of
his conqueror.
The complete defeat of the combined
Serbs, Bulgarians, Croatian and Bos
nians on the historic battlefield of Kos
sovo in 1389 sealed the fate of the en
tire peninsula.
It is not necessary, nor does space
permit, to tell again In detail of the
Ave awful centuries of Turkish dom
Inatlon In the Balkans, from 1398 to
1b7, which" forms such a glJOtnjr ipoah
Bulgarian history. Suffice it to say
that tha Invaders carried fire and sword
into tha land with a vengeance. Their
rule was one of continued tyranny,
Towns, villages and many of the great
monasteries throughout tha country
were sacked and destroyed. Peopla of
the plains fled Into the mountains.
founding new settlements, which, on ac
count of tha topography, they were bet
ter able to defend. Tha lands they left
were devastated. While many of tha
nobles embraced the creed of Islam,
only a small proportion of the people
abandoned Christianity, and were sub
jected to heavy taxes and impost In
consequence. Bulgaria itself was di
vided into five sanjaks, or minor prov
inces, and placed under the Governor
Generalship of the Beylerbey of Ru-
inill, who resided in Sofia
Her attention distracted by her own
sanguinary wars, Europe for a time re
mained apathetic, perhaps even in igno
rance, of the atrocities in the Near
East under Ottoman rule. After the
Crimean War of 1854-56, which resulted
In the emancipation of Roumanin, con
ditions in Bulgaria grew gradually
worse Instead of better. In 1881 12, two
Tartars, followed by a still largor num
ber of Circassians in 1864, were given
lands taken by the Turks from the Bul
garian peasants without even so much
as a hint at compensation. The latter
lawless race of Caucasian mountaineers
proved nothing better than a scourge to
the country. The insurrection of 1875 in
Bosnia and Uie Herzegovina, now Aus
trian territory, which prompted Bul
garia to revolt, brought on a succession
of massacres the - parallel of which
cannot be found in history. Then, and
not until then, did Europe, brougnt to
her senses by the appeals of Gladstone,
step In and demand retribution.
By the treaties of Berlin and San
Stefano, which came with the close of
tha Russo-Turklsh war, Bulgaria reai
Used almost to the full her National
aspirations. Autonomous government
was granted her and, upon the sugges
tion of Russia, she chose as her ruler
Prince Alexander of Battenburg, then
In his 34th year. Alexander was un
popular on account of his Russian af
filiations, and, after bringing his coun
try into war with Servla. his palace
was entered by force on the night of
August II, 1888, and his signature to
his abdication papers secured. On Sep
tember t ha announced his abdication
publicly, and on the following day left
Bulgaria.
New Klaa- Is Acclaimed.
A brief regency followed, at the con
clusion of which the Grand Sobranye,
or Parliament, assembled at the ancient
capital of Trnovo and offered the crown
to Prince Valdemar of Denmark, brother-in-law
to the Czar of Russia. Prince
Valdemar declined the honor, and after
an anxious time spent in scouring the
capitals of Europe for a suitable ruler
the Sobranye unanimously selected i6-year-old
Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Co-burg-Gotha,
a maternal grandson of
King Louis Philippe, then a lieutenant
in the Austrian army.
And thus you see that Bulgaria, hav.
ing enjoyed but 34 years of partial
freedom, is the youngest of the Balkan
states in rjoint of independence. From
the Droud. Droeressive. prosperous king
dom of today it is difficult to imagine
the down-trodden province of Turkey of
four decades ago. In 30 years Bulgaria
has built more than 4300 primary
schools, 200 secondary schools, 18 gym
nasia, six technical and three agricul
tural academies. More than 1000 stu
dents are enrolled In the University in
Sofia. In thirty-odd years Bulgaria has
so developed her land that agriculture
is the main source of wealth to the
country. Corn, wheat, barley, rye, mil
let and oats, are successfully cultivated
in almost every district, and together
they represent about 80 per cent of the
total exports. Rice fields are found in
the neighborhood of Phillppopolls, and
cotton fields In the southern districts
of Eastern Roumelia. If her peasants
could be induced to adopt more modern
methods of wine-making the brands of
Bulgaria would soon rank among the
best in Europe. From the little valley
of the Toundja, the "Rose Valley,'" 6000
pounds of rose essence, valued at about
875 a pound, are exported annuaiiy.
Unlike the other Slav .nations, in Bul
garia there are practically no large pri
vate estates. It is a land of peasants
and peasant proprietorships. What
large tracts there were, owned by
wealthy Turks, have since been divided
among the people. Bulgaria Is a coun
try of small farms, averaging but 18
acres each. Principally on this ac
count there is little poverty, and that
only In the towns. The Bulgarian
peasant lives' In a state of rude and
primitive comfort. He looks with sus
nlplon nnon modern implements, but he
lacks nothing, craves nothing to make
life more livable He is supremely sat
isfied. An interesting feature of his
life and work is his house community,
or zadruga, which dates from ancient
times and which Is perhaps the best
working example of organized labor ex
tant. Whole families, forming a com
munistic association, often live together
and work together on the lama farm
under the common leadership of a
"house-father" and a "house-mother"
who assign them their dally tasks. All
moneys earned go into the common
fund.
And this aptitude of the Bulgarians
for organization does not rest hern. It
In estimate that 10.000 tieasants are
members of certain comolnatlons ofl
market gardeners, leaving their homaj
In the Spring for the purpose of culti
vating small patches of land ll the out
skirts of different towns and soiling
their produce to the townspeople. In
the Fall when they- return their accu
mulated earnings are divided equally.
There are numerous provident societies
throughout the country, and various
associations for the promulgation of
industrial and mining enterprises. The
artisans of tiia cities are organized Into
guilds. j
Scenes in Sofia.
Sofia, tha capital. Is but matter of
S00 miles west of Constantinople. It
is a city of the size of Tacoma, Vash
with wide, -well-paved streets radiating
like the spokes of a wheel from the
Royal Palace as a hub, each named In
honor of some national hero of the era
of liberation. Where once dingy Turkish
oil lamps yhed their pallid flickering
light scarcely . fai ther than the boun
daries of their iapecttve bazaars, blaz
ing electrio arcs now turn what narrow
thoroughfares remain into comparative
daylight. Where once the ox and buf
falo carts of the peasants monopolized
whole streets, now double Unas of tram
car tracks crowd tr.em over to th-j curb.
For Sofia has undergone a change. Rap
idly is she being transformed from tha
typical Turkish city of 80 years ago.
with filthy narrow streets anil slat
ternly little shops, into a modern Euro
pean city, with wide boulevard! and Im
posing public buildings and monuments
that become her rank as one or tna
world's capitals.
Sofia's principal mosque, the Buyuk
DJamia, has been changed Into a na
tional museum. Hsr postoffic, Inside
and out, is a something worth looking
upon. Her Sobranyu, or Par'iament
buildings, ara ornate edlflcas In tha
architecture of the French Psnaissince.
Her Royal Palace, built by Alexander on
the site of the old Turkish konak, has
been thoroughly modernized, enlarged
and embellished by Czar Ferdinand. A
magnificent new cathedral, a present
to tha people from the Czar of Russia,
and costing 81,000.000, Is in process of
completion. She boasts of the largest
theater in Southeastern Europe, com
pleted in 1906. A public park has been
laid out In the eastern suburbs. Tha
city is well drained and supplied with
clear, sparkling water from the snow
capped Balkans.
But still there may be found in Sofia
many crooked old streets, flanked with
bazaars and populated with the hodge
podge of howling humanity that con
stitutes at least a quarter of her In
habitants, Greeks, Russians, Serbs,
Roumanians, Turks, Albanian!, Croats
and Jews of a half a dozen varieties,
not to mention the business people and
diplomats from Western Europe, glva
the city a strange, cosmopolitan cast.
Where 400 years ago Sofia possessed 11
(Concluded on Pa
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