308 Henry Skene, Esq., on the Albanians. 



The Gheghides, who boast of having numbered among them 

 such a hero as Scanderbeg, unite, according to the learned 

 topographer of Greece,* " the cruelty of the Albanian to the 

 dulness of the Bulgarian." They have long enjoyed a greater 

 share of independence, under the Pashas of Scodra, than any 

 other of the Albanian tribes. They are equally good soldiers 

 with the latter, and have preserved more of their natural 

 stubbornness, from the fact of their having been less often 

 employed as such by the Turks. Their country extends 

 from the frontier of the Austrian territory of Cattaro round 

 the Montenegro, which may be considered an independent 

 state ; and, following the ridges which unite it to Mount 

 Scardus, it rraches the Herzegovina, while it is bounded on 

 the south by the river Drino. Scutari, or Scodra, is their 

 chief town, and Dulcigno, Alessio, and Durazzo belong to 

 them. 



,The Mirdites are merely a branch of the Gheg tribe, and 

 they speak the same dialect. They occupy the pashalik of 

 Croja, and their capital is Ores. Many of them are Roman 

 Catholics. 



The tribe of the Ghegs and Mirdites are of lofty stature 

 and athletic frame ; and their swarthy complexion and black 

 eyes still retain the characteristics of their supposed Cauca- 

 sian origin. The distinguishing mark in the dress of these 

 two sections of the same family is, that the jacket of the 

 Ghegs is red, and that of the Mirdites is black. Both 

 branches of the tribe are entitled to much credit for their 

 daring disobedience to the tyrant Ali Pasha, when he or- 

 dered them to fire upon and destroy the remnant of the 

 Gandikiotes, which he had enclosed in a courtvard for cold- 

 blooded butchery. 



The Toskides are the most handsome of the Albanians. 

 They have noble features, with fair hair and blue eyes, indi- 

 cating the mixture of Georgian blood, which probably flows 

 in their veins : less warlike than their countrymen of the 

 other tribes, their stature is also less Herculean. They are 

 supposed to have derived their name from the Toxidae, men- 



* Colonel Leake. 



