THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



103 



Photograph from Gen. George P. Scriven 



CEXBBRATION AT VAL,ONA WITH ITALIAN OFFICERS AND NATIVE CI^RGY IN 



THE) STAND 



Valona is one of the chief cities of southern Albania and is beautifully situated on the shores 

 of the Gulf of Valona. Under the Italian influence it has been made to thrive and prosper. 



protected, a woman could travel safely 

 from one end of Albania to the other. 



The women are worthy mothers of the 

 men. Industrious and hard working, I 

 have seen hundreds, indeed thousands of 

 them, some with their little children, sit- 

 ting by the roadside with a few old men, 

 breaking stone hour by hour through the 

 long day, hot or cold, and earning from 

 the Italian Government three lire per day 

 with their bread and cheese. Even the 

 little children are given the latter in pay- 

 ment for their puny efforts. No doubt 

 the French pay as well as the Italians ; 

 and so the people live better now, prob- 

 ably, than in times of peace, since their 

 bread is secure. 



In Albania the women are the work- 

 ers, the Orthodox more so than the Mo- 

 hammedans ; but all work. They are 

 moral too ; prostitution is unknown, and 

 so an illegitimate child is said to be a dis- 

 grace to the mother, the family, and the 

 community. 



The Albanians are somewhat harsh of 

 feature, though the children are bright 

 and the young girls are sometimes pretty. 

 The unattractive appearance of the women 

 is increased, if not caused, by the non- 

 descript garments commonly worn in 

 these days, shabby, ill-fitting, and fastened 

 together anyhow or nohow. 



Of the people of Macedonia, seen in 

 the towns or along the roads and the 

 countryside, the same may be said. In 

 both regions there is little that is char- 

 acteristic in the costumes. Clothing, gen- 

 erally of an inferior European make, is 

 worn perforce, for even in Albania wool 

 is now very scarce and dear. 



The pretty national dress of the Alba- 

 nian is seen only on gala occasions, when 

 the men come out with the white skirt, 

 over tight-fitting breeches, vest and coat 

 of white wool, with the pointed, tufted 

 shoe and white or red turban, and usually, 

 especially in the rain, the long sheepskin 

 cloak, generally black. The cap, or fez, 



