THE STORM CENTER IN THE BALKANS. 175 



are enrolled in the Turkish army as irregular troops, or bashi-bazouks. 

 The cradle of their race lies along the shores of the Adriatic from 

 Montenegro on the north to Greece on the south. The country corre- 

 sponds to ancient Epirus and in physical character resembles the high- 

 lands of Scotland. They are descended from the old Illyrians, who 

 were never recognized as Hellenes by the ancient Greeks, but were 

 probably allied to the Greeks racially. 



The Eoman occupation left many traces, especially in the valleys 

 and more accessible parts of the country, and the great number of 

 Latin derivatives in the Albanian language makes it semi-Eomance in 

 character as spoken to-day. The Albanians have blended to some ex- 

 tent also with Slavic elements in the north and Greeks in the south. 

 Their religion is a form of Mohammedanism, but they take their 

 religion less seriously than the moslem Turk and probably embraced 

 it more for political reasons than for feelings of religious conviction. 

 They made a magnificent fight against the conquering Turks in the 

 fifteenth century. For twenty years under their heroic leader, George 

 Castriot, they repelled army after army sent against them. After the 

 death of Castriot, or Scanderbeg, as the Turks called him, the 

 Albanians lost heart and with the fall of Scutari in 1478 they passed 

 under Turkish dominion. They were governed by pashas appointed 

 by the Porte, and under one of these, Ali Pasha, in the early part of the 

 last century they became practically independent. They at first sympa- 

 thized with Greece in the Grecian war for independence, but the Greeks 

 refused their offers of friendship, and in a certain town besieged and 

 captured by Greeks, there were massacred along with the Turkish garri- 

 son a body of 3,000 Albanians who had signified their willingness to 

 desert the Turks and deliver the town to the Greek besiegers. Their 

 treatment at the hands of the Greeks forced the Albanians into the 

 arms of the Turk, and they have since fought valiantly to maintain 

 the supremacy of the Porte. Their native dress is not unlike that of 

 the Scotch highlander, and their skill and bravery in war, their con- 

 stant interclan strife and their fierce untamable character make the 

 analogy almost complete between the Scotch highlander and this other 

 highlander of the Albanian mountains. The Albanian is a born 

 plunderer. War is his business, and pillage his pastime; and he is 

 held in great dread by the Slav, Eouman and Greek inhabitants of 

 Macedonia. 



The Macedonian question is kept alive by several distinct forces. 

 The warring racial elements — Slav, Greek, Eouman and Albanian — 

 and common hatred of the christian inhabitants for the Turk cause 

 constant turmoil and riot. The desire of Servia, Bulgaria and Greece 

 to annex Macedonia no doubt also contributes to the local unrest. The 

 influence of Eussia must not be overlooked. Eussia has been accused, 

 and history supports the accusation, of fomenting insurrection in 



