we find ourselves in a 

 different world. The 

 entire country seems to 

 be one enormous gray 

 rock, cut into the most 

 fantastic peaks and 

 ridges, with here and 

 there a patch of green. 

 Wherever there is a de- 

 pression or a level to 

 hold a little soil, there is 

 a farm, with grain and 

 vegetables growing, and 

 here and there are 

 clumps of trees. The 

 houses are of blocks of 

 stone, small and plain. 

 The people, on the other 

 hand, as many travelers 

 have testified, are mag- 

 nificently handsome and 

 strong. All, rich and 

 poor, from the prince 

 down, wear the national 

 costume. As a rule, they 

 pay no attention to the 

 traveler. 



It was market day 

 when we drove through 

 the village of Njegus, 

 and peasants were gath- 

 ered there with their 

 cattle and sheep. Some 

 young men were bowling 

 in the village square, just 

 as they might have done 

 in France or Italy. Several magnates, 

 armed to the teeth, were taking coffee 

 on the terrace of the Hotel Njegus — a 

 house where the traveler will probably 

 stop for lunch and where the night could 

 be spent. The road now mounts again, 

 and as it leaves the valley of Njegus for 

 that of Cettinnje it attains a height of 

 over 4,000 feet. 



The view at this point is not only over- 

 whelmingly grand from its great extent, 

 but is also unique in character. In the 

 distance one can see the lake of Scutari, 

 as our Italian-speaking driver calls it, and 

 here and there a little green between the 

 crags, but in the main, so far as the eye 

 can reach in every direction, there is 

 nothing to be seen except absolutely bare 

 rocky crags of a uniform gray color, ris- 

 ing in range after range like enormous 

 waves on a stormy sea. Then one under- 

 stands the name of the countrv — Black 



AiUA 1 IvNKGKiiN iJUVS 



Mountain. We pass a few shepherds 

 and goatherds with their flocks, which 

 somehow get a living among the rocks. 

 More vegetation appears as we descend 

 rapidly to the broad, level valley of Cet- 

 tinnje, which is about 2,000 feet above 

 sea-level. 



The road is excellent, although in 

 places narrow, and our carriage rolled 

 along smoothly enough. All at once, 

 however, the driver discovered that one 

 of the horses had a loose shoe. After 

 futile attempts to have the damage re- 

 paired at several farm houses, he adopted' 

 a novel device : he took a bag which had 

 held fodder and tied it tightly over the 

 horse's hoof, loose shoe and all. The 

 horse, after his first surprise, trotted 

 along contentedly ; but the repairs were 

 evidently of only temporary effect. A 

 passing teamster, however, was able to 

 attend to the matter properly, in the mid- 



II7S 



