758 



TURKEY 



raent for furnishing the garrison from Monte- 

 negro, but could only get its wants supplied 

 from day to day. Early in March he met the 

 chiefs of the insurrection at Cettigne. They 

 declined to agree to a peace. Deputations of 

 refugees communicated to him the general 

 determination of that class not to accept a 

 pacification or return home. They declared 

 that they would resist to the last, rather than 

 submit to the Turks again ; they preferred let- 

 ting their families starve in a Christian coun- 

 try to returning them to Turkish maltreat- 

 ment. They had no confidence in the promises 

 of the Porte. Baron Kodich informed them 

 that the allowances to them would be discon- 

 tinued in a few days, and that henceforward 

 no powder would be allowed to cross the 

 frontier. Baron Rodich held another inter- 

 view with the insurgent leaders in the Sutto- 

 rina, at Castelnuovo, on the 6th of April: On 

 the previous day the chiefs had had a confer- 

 ence with M. Vesselitzky Bogdanovitch, a Ser- 

 vian gentleman, who visited them partly on his 

 own account and partly by the authority of the 

 Russian chancellor, Prince Gortchakoff. The 

 chiefs communicated to him, as the terms on 

 which they would agree to a suspension of 

 hostilities: 1. That all the Turkish troops in 

 the Herzegovina should be concentrated in six 

 fortified places, viz. : Nicsic, Trebigne, Stolatz, 

 Mostar, Fotcha, and Plevalje, and that the 

 Christians and insurgents should keep their 

 arms until the Mohammedans were disarmed. 

 2. That stores of provisions should be fur- 

 nished by the Porto to last the population till 

 the next harvest. 8. That the collection of 

 taxes should be suspended for three years. 4. 

 That the Christians should have a third of the 

 lands held by the rayaha, on lease awarded to 

 them. 5. That the reforms proposed in the 

 Andrassy note should be immediately and 

 fully carried out in those parts of Bosnia not 

 in insurrection, so that it might be seen how 

 the Mussulmans would behave in reference to 

 them, and especially whether they would tol- 

 erate reforms in favor of the Christians. 6. 

 That a commission of the European powers 

 should be established, to look after the execu- 

 tion of the Turkish promises. A reply pre- 

 scribing similar conditions was given to Baron 

 Rodich. Although both parties refused to 

 agree to a formal armistice, a suspension of 

 hostilities was effected from the 28th of March 

 to the 10th of April. 



While the diplomatic agents were trying to 

 bring about a peaceful understanding, mili- 

 tary movements were suspended by the win- 

 ter weather, and only a few engagements took 

 place. These generally consisted of attacks 

 by the insurgents upon the Turkish convoys 

 conveying provisions to the garrisons. The 

 most important of these occurred at Murato- 

 vizza, on the 6th of March. Five battalions of 

 Turks, under the command of Selim Pasha, 

 going to provision the fortress of Goransko, 

 were attacked and defeated by the insurgents 



under Paulovitch, with the loss, it was said, 

 of 800 men killed, 675 rifles, and four rifled can- 

 non. The Turks were pursued as far as Lipnik, 

 four hours' march. The insurgents had in this 

 engagement 1,150 men, and claimed to have 

 lost only ten killed and twenty-five wounded. 



Liubibratics, who had played an important 

 part in the beginning of the insurrection, but 

 had since lost much of his prominence as a 

 leader through the superior influence and ener- 

 gy of Pico Paulovitch, had retired to Ragusa 

 and busied himself in promoting the agita- 

 tion through the journals, and by the help of 

 their correspondents. He collected a small 

 corps, consisting of Serbs, Russians, and advent- 

 urers from Italy, Poland, and France, design- 

 ing to arouse to resistance the districts of 

 Bosnia adjacent to the Herzegovina and to 

 Servia, which had as yet taken but little part 

 in the insurrection. The detachments of his 

 force embarked from different points along the 

 coast toward the last of February, and landed 

 at Klek. With a command of between 500 

 and 600 men thus obtained, he marched, keep- 

 ing close to the Austrian border, toward Lin- 

 bushka. Near this place he met a company 

 of Bashi-Bazouks, March 5th, who were out 

 upon a reconnaissance, and repulsed them. 

 On the llth of March he reached the neigh- 

 borhood of Imoschi, in Dalmatia, where he 

 and the members of his staff were arrested 

 upon Austrian territory. Among those who 

 accompanied his expedition and were arrested 

 with him was Mademoiselle Markup a rich 

 Dutch lady, who was an enthusiastic supporter 

 of the insurgent cause, and had contributed 

 liberally of her means and personal services 

 to assist it. The prisoners were interned 

 within Austrian territory, but by the end of 

 March Mademoiselle Markus was again within 

 the lines of the insurgents. The greater part 

 of the command of Liubibratics, not having 

 been on Austrian territory, escaped capture. 

 Its members were dispersed, but eventually 

 joined other bodies of the insurgents. 



In April the needs of the garrison at Nicsift 

 became pressing. The understanding with 

 Montenegro, by which provisions were supplied 

 from day to day, though in quantities barely 

 sufficient for the daily needs of the command, 

 continued in force till the 10th of April, when 

 the insurgents cut off the communications be- 

 tween Nicsic and Montenegro. Mukhtar Pasha 

 marched from Gatchko, April 13th, with a force 

 of about 10,000 men and a convoy of provisions, 

 for the relief of the garrison. At the north 

 end of the Duga Pass he met with a fierce re- 

 sistance from the insurgents, and it was only 

 after four days' fighting that he succeeded, 

 with his convoy considerably reduced, in reach" 

 ing Presyeka. His force was exhausted, and 

 he was obliged to retreat to Gatchko for reen- 

 forcements. On his retreat he was attacked 

 and lost his mules. He started again from 

 Gatchko, April 26th, with 18,000 men. As the 

 sole object of the new expedition was to take 



