52 



The National Geographic Magazine 



who sleep in the open air with sheep- 

 skins wrapped around them. 



Hospitality is based upon the ancient 

 oriental laws. No stranger is ever 

 turned from the door if he comes in 

 peace. The poorest peasant will share 

 blanket and bread without the asking, 

 and no visitor leaves a cabin without 

 being offered a bunch of grapes, a mug 

 of milk, or at least a glass of water. 

 Each family has at least one pair of 

 oxen, forty or fifty sheep, besides cattle, 

 goats, pigs, geese, and chickens. Fruit 

 is plentiful. The southern slopes of 

 the Balkan Mountains are clad with 

 vines, and the grapes produce an excel- 

 lent wine. Tobacco and cotton grow 

 well and all the vegetables known to 

 temperate zones. 



The great majority of the people be- 

 long to the Orthodox Greek Church ; 

 not more than one-fifth are Moslems. 

 Their patron saint is St John of Ryle, a 

 monk, who lived in a hollow oak in the 

 mountains. A monastery, built upon 

 the site of his retreat, is an enormous 

 building of medieval architecture, fre- 

 quently visited by tourists, who are hos- 

 pitably entertained by the monks. It re- 

 ceived considerable notoriety lately be- 

 cause of a report that Miss Stone-was con- 

 cealed there, and a thorough search was 

 made by the soldiers. This profanation 

 of the holy place excited great indigna- 

 tion among the orthodox Greeks, who 

 blamed the American missionaries and 

 threatened reprisals. 



Its picturesque walls have often shel- 

 tered brigands, and in olden times its 

 secluded situation made it a convenient 

 rendezvous for enterprising gentlemen 

 when tempted by favorable opportuni- 

 ties or oppressed by necessity. In re- 

 turn for their hospitality the monks 

 were liberally supplied with game from 

 the mountains, and are supposed to have 

 received liberal contributions from the 

 booty of their guests. 



Around the picturesque city of Phil- 

 ippopolis are many ancient ruins, which 



should attract the interest of archae- 

 ologists, but have thus far received very 

 little attention. Perhaps that is because 

 they are so far away. In Philippopolis 

 there is quite a colony of Protestants, 

 which last year erected the largest and 

 finest Protestant church in the Balkan 

 States. In Sofia there is another pros- 

 perous Protestant church. The princi- 

 pal school is at Samakov, where Miss 

 Stone had been attending a teachers' 

 convention before her capture. 



The most influential woman in Bul- 

 garia is Mrs Ivan Kassuroff , a former 

 pupil of Miss Stone, who is notable as 

 the first woman of social position in that 

 country to enter mercantile business. 

 Her character and abilities have not 

 onty carried her through a trying or- 

 deal, but she has gained the respect and 

 confidence of the entire community and 

 has opened the field of commerce for 

 women. When her husband, who was 

 the proprietor of the principal bookstore 

 in Sofia, died, he left her nothing but 

 the good will of his business, and she 

 was compelled to carry it on or become 

 dependent upon others. Although no 

 woman had ever undertaken such a task 

 in Bulgaria, Madam Kassuroff assumed 

 the responsibility. Now every one ad- 

 mires her and is proud of her success, 

 and every hat is lifted when she passes 

 along the street. She is a typical ex- 

 ample of what American ideas, intro- 

 duced by American missionaries, have 

 done for the emancipation and advance- 

 ment of women in the East. The gov- 

 ernment, as well as the public, has ex- 

 pressed its approval, and Madam Kas- 

 suroff is now the official printer and 

 bookseller. 



Sofia, the capital, is a city of 45,000 

 inhabitants, situated at the base of Mt 

 Bitosch, a beautiful peak, 7,800 feet 

 high. It covers a considerable area, 

 and looks as if a building boom had 

 been suddenly checked, which is true. 

 Under the reign of Prince Alexander 

 and Stefan Stambuloff, Bulgaria made 



