MONTENEGRO. 



551 



aineers. He concluded, therefore, to make se- 

 cure his communications with the coast and 

 relieve Fort Helmi, which was besieged by 

 1,000 Klementi. With his four or five battal- 

 ions of available troops he was unable to pene- 

 trate to the besieged garrison, which suffered 

 for want of food and water. After a couple 

 of days of skirmishing, finding himself nearly 

 surrounded by the Albanians, who were con- 

 tinually receiving re-enforcements, the Turkish 

 commander decided to give battle rather than 

 retreat across Lake Scutari. On the 14th and 

 15th the Turkish Nizams fought with desperate 

 courage. Many hundreds of corpses covered 

 the field. Three Krupp guns were captured 

 by the Leaguers. Hatiz Pasha then sent a 

 message, proposing a truce and negotiations, 

 to the Albanian leaders, Abdul Aga Hotti and 

 Dod Prechi. The latter refused to treat, know- 

 ing that it was only a ruse to gain time for 

 re-enforcements. Hafiz Pasha then crossed the 

 lake in a sail-boat and returned on the 17th 

 with three battalions. His troops had de- 

 fended themselves with difficulty against in- 

 cessant attacks. With the fresh troops Hafiz 

 again took the offensive, and in an eight hours' 

 battle compelled the League troops to retire. 

 These battles cost the Turks over 1,200 men; 

 the Albanians reported their loss as 800. 



Marching farther, Hafiz Pasha encountered 

 the Malissori near Shin Mari, where his army 

 was again surrounded. The Albanians were 

 rendered savage and desperate by the ruthless 

 acts of the Turks, who burned all the villages 

 and farm-houses on their way. The Turkish 

 troops fought their way through after a day 

 and a night of fighting, but left several hun- 

 dred dead on the battle-field and 50 captives in 

 the hands of the Albanians. Anothejr Turkish 

 detachment under Shaban Bey was defeated 

 on the 16th and 17th, with a loss of 250, near 

 Tusi, which place was burned by the Albanians. 

 On the 18th two battalions of Nizams came up, 

 with four guns, whereupon the Albanians re- 

 treated into the district of the Hotti. 



Forced back in front by Hafiz Pasha and on 

 the flank at Tusi, the Albanians retired into 

 their mountains and confined themselves to 

 defending the defiles of approach. The Turk- 

 ish commander pitched his camp near Spinje 

 and opened negotiations, on the basis of in- 

 structions from Stamboul, for the subjection 

 of the insurgents. The latter, who were en- 

 camped in the approaches to Gruda, suffered 

 .from the want not only of ammunition, but 

 of food, as their herds were in Mirdita or 

 far away in the mountains. Hafiz Pasha de- 

 manded unconditional surrender, but promised 

 the tribes complete amnesty and the confirma- 

 tion of their ancient rights. Recently the Yali, 

 Mustapha Assim Pasha, had called upon the 

 Kastrati chief Dod Bachir, whose lands were 

 in the ceded territory, to help effect the peace- 

 able transfer, and the latter accompanied his 

 refusal with an expression of amazement that 

 the Porte should wish to get rid of loyal sub- 



jects by force. The League commanders, Ab- 

 dul Aga Hotti, Nicol Mirasi, and Shaban Smaku, 

 refused to deliver up the leaders, but agreed 

 to surrender on tbe condition that the integrity 

 of their territory was guaranteed, and that they 

 should be left free to defend it eventually 

 against the Montenegrins. Hafiz Pasha re- 

 jected the conditions, and left them another 

 week to consider. As a proof of his determi- 

 nation, he burned the rest of the villages, and 

 destroyed the growing corn and gardens. The 

 League renewed its appeal to the represent- 

 atives of the powers at Scutari, getting no 

 encouragement with regard to the boundary 

 question, but receiving a promise to intercede 

 with the Turkish authorities and endeavor to 

 induce them to proceed less barbarously. As 

 the result of their efforts, the Vali went among 

 the insurgents and proclaimed the intentions 

 of the Porte to grant an amnesty and indem- 

 nity for the destroyed property. Hafiz Pasha, 

 who had received large re-enforcements, began 

 strategic operations, which led to fresh skir- 

 mishes, in which the Turkish artillery carried 

 the day. A demand for the surrender of the 

 chiefs of the rebellion was again refused, but 

 the Albanians continued negotiations. 



A deputation of the League then went to 

 Montenegro and opened secret negotiations 

 with the Government. They proposed that 

 Montenegro should assume a protectorate over 

 all the Malissori tribes, which should be gradu- 

 ally extended over the whole Ghegi territory ; 

 that the Montenegrins should confirm their 

 particular rights, respect their religion, and not 

 interfere in their administration further than 

 was the practice with regard to the tribes that 

 were already subject to the Montenegrin rule. 

 In return, the Albanians promised to aid the 

 Montenegrin Government in war, in the same 

 way as they have the Porte, to pay the same 

 contributions that they have to the Porte, and 

 to annul all existing blood-oaths. These un- 

 expected propositions were at first received 

 favorably by the Montenegrins, though the 

 scheme could not have been definitely settled, 

 as Prince Nicholas was absent in Paris. Hafiz 

 Pasha, growing impatient, pressed for a de- 

 cision, and received the answer that the AJ- 

 banians would not deliver up their chiefs, but 

 that if he attacked them again, they would go 

 over to the principality of Montenegro. 



The Leaguers relied on the experience of 

 the Turks of their ability to defend the passes 

 of the mountains indefinitely and with little dif- 

 ficulty. With their old muzzle-loading muskets 

 this was possible. But they had not learned 

 to make the cartridges for the Martini-Henry 

 and Snyder rifles, with which they were now- 

 armed, and, although they had friends enough' 

 in Scutari, it was useless to attempt to get car- 

 tridges in any quantity, first through the cus- 

 tom-house and then out of the city and through 

 the Turkish lines. The suppression of _ the re- 

 bellion was only a matter of time. First the 

 Kastrati, whose villages were burned, sent back 



