19143 In Petritch 



The Bulgarian says: "We went down to Macedonia to set 

 you free. Why don't you stay there instead of coming up here 

 to take our jobs, to die in our houses, to fill us with trouble? My 

 brother died in Macedonia. Oh, go home!" And the Macedonian 

 replies: "Who asked you to come to trample our vines, kill off 

 our herds, and bring the Greeks down upon us ? I don't care if 

 your brother did die in Macedonia. Mine is dead, too!" 



As already explained, however, since 1877 the 

 freedom of Macedonia had been the one sacred 

 purpose of Bulgaria as a whole. 



At Petritch I met a tall, rather handsome blond- An irate 

 bearded Bulgarian officer who spoke fairly good $ c " 

 French, but who after a few minutes shook his fist in 

 my face and broke out violently: 



You Europeans have treated Bulgaria abominably. You do 

 not understand us. You have allowed us to be robbed. Stam- 

 bouloff was the greatest man in Europe; you had him mur- 

 dered, and now when Bulgaria has been insulted, plundered, 

 and slaughtered, you stand by and raise no hand for justice. 



To my quiet explanation that I was not European, 

 that I sympathized largely with him, that I acknowl- 

 edged the greatness of Stambouloff, and that I un- 

 fortunately could not prevent the crimes of which he 

 complained, he seemed to pay no attention and went 

 on with his tirade. Finally a brother officer drew him 

 aside. I offered to shake hands, but he scornfully 

 refused. 



As we entered the automobile some fifteen minutes 

 later he again appeared, still harping on Stambouloff, 

 but his mood had changed; he was now not only willing 

 to take my hand as an American, but he seized it and 

 kissed it, and kept kissing it as long as he could hold 

 on. Meanwhile for our protection several Bulgarian 



n 591 3 



