174 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of the west, the Greeks to the south and the Eoumans to the north. 

 Two distinct elements were concerned in the Slavic invasion, the 

 Bulgars and Serbs. The Bulgar and Serb alternated in the supremacy 

 of the country for nearly eight centuries, until the Turk finally 

 conquered both. For the past four hundred years the sultan has ruled 

 the country and his rule has been frequently marked by barbaric 

 cruelty and fanatical race hatred. The Slavic race (Servian or Bul- 

 garian) predominates numerically in Macedonia. The race types that 

 have survived the Slavic invasion and the Turkish conquest (Rouman, 

 Greek and Albanian) are all modified by the infusion of Slavic blood. 



Greeks are scattered throughout Macedonia in considerable num- 

 bers. They are mostly in the cities and towns engaged in trade and 

 commerce, and are like the Eouman — inclined to let the Slav till the 

 soil. The feeling between Greek and Turk is what might be expected 

 after the race conflict of centuries. The Greek can never consider the 

 Turk as anything but an intruder, and he will never relinquish his 

 cherished dream of a great Greek empire with Constantinople for its 

 capital. Yet many Greeks see their way clear to accept Turkish pay 

 and assist in defeating the revolutionary schemes of their Slavic neigh- 

 bors, the Bulgars. 



The Wallachs, Vlachs or Eoumans are a distinct division of the 

 Latin family of peoples and to-day number about 5,000,000, most of 

 them in Eoumania; but Eoumans are found in Bessarabia, Transyl- 

 vania, Hungary, Albania and Macedonia. In Macedonia are numerous 

 colonies of Eoumans; and the Zintzars, as these Macedo-Eoumans are 

 called, are a factor of considerable importance in the question of the 

 future of Macedonia. They are descended from a blended stock made 

 up of Eoman colonists and disbanded soldiers, and the lUyrian and 

 Thracian inhabitants of Macedonia at the time of the Eoman con- 

 quest (146 B. C). The whole of Macedonia was, up to the seventh 

 century and the coming of the Slav, occupied by a Latin-speaking race. 

 The Slavic conquest forced the Eoumans in great numbers to their 

 brothers north of the Danube and many were carried farther by the 

 wave of invasion — as far west as the Tyrol. The supremacy of the 

 Slav did not wipe out the Eouman race, although the races probably 

 blended to some extent. The Eouman exists to-day as a distinct type, 

 speaking a Eomance language and possessing in a marked degree the 

 pride of race common to all peoples of Eoman blood. In physical 

 appearance the Vlachs are short and dark. They are very industrious 

 and are usually engaged in trade and manufacturing. They are skilled 

 in the building trades and metal working. 



The Albanians are probably the chief disturbing element in 

 Macedonia to-day, if we except outside influences. They constitute 

 an important factor in the question, not only because thousands of 

 them live in western Macedonia, but because many thousands more 



