Tzernagora--Collusion between Montenegrins and Rebels--Turks
abandon System of Forbearance--Chances of Success--Russian
Influence--Private Machination--M. Hecquard--European
Intervention--Luca Vukalovich--Commencement of
Hostilities--Dervisch Pacha--Advance on Gasko--Baniani--Bashi
Bazouks--Activity of Omer Pacha--Campaigning in Turkey--Line of
March--Pass of Koryta--The Halt--National Dance--'La Donna
_Amabile_'--Tchernitza--Hakki Bey--Osman Pacha--Man with Big
Head--Old Tower--Elephantiasis--Gasko--Camp Life--Moslem
Devotions--Character of Turkish Troops--System of
Drill--Peculation--Turkish Army--Letters--Scarcity of
Provisions--Return of Villagers.
If the past history of Tzernagora or the Black Mountain is deserving of
our admiration and wonder, its future prospects afford a no less open
field for doubt and speculation. So far all has gone well with her: the
manly character of her people, and their apparent invincibility, have
enlisted the sympathies of the world in her behalf, while identity of
religion and race have procured for her the more tangible advantages of
Russian protection.
That the last-named power is disinterested in pursuing this policy is
not for a moment to be supposed. The price she has ever demanded for her
protection has been one too willingly paid by these lawless
mountaineers, an unremitting hostility to Turks and Turkey. For
centuries this was open and undisguised on the part both of the people
and the Vladika, by whom, despite his religious calling, the destruction
of Turks was rewarded as a distinguished national service. Such,
however, is no longer the case; although their hatred is not one whit
diminished, or their depredations less frequent than of old, they mask
them under the garb of a feigned neutrality and an unreal friendship.
Thus they protest, in the face of the most damning proofs to the
contrary, their innocence of all connivance with the Herzegovinian
rebels. Corpses of those who have been recognised as accredited leaders
they declare to be Uskoks, proscribed brigands, whom it behoves every
lover of order to hunt down and destroy. But none are deceived by these
shallow excuses, which ill corroborate the assertion which, in an
unguarded moment, escaped from the young Prince, that he would
undertake, upon the fulfillment of certain conditions, to pacify the
frontier within fourteen days.
This tacit admission of collusion with the rebels is quite sufficient to
justify the Porte in endeavouring to overrun the province, and thus
trample out rebellion in its principal stronghold. Presupposing its
ability to effect this, we then arrive at the real debatable point,
whether such a course would be allowed by the other powers. In the case
of England the answer can hardly be doubtful; for it would ill behove a
country, in whose Parliament all religions are tolerated, to interfere
in the matter, abandoning that policy of non-intervention which she has
so openly confessed and so successfully pursued, upon the narrow grounds
of the inexpediency of permitting a Mussulman power to overrun a
Christian province, and a province, be it remembered, which legally
composes an integral portion of the Turkish empire.
The candid announcement made by the Porte of its intention to abandon
the policy of forbearance towards Montenegro, which it has as yet
pursued, betokens the existence of a small spark of its ancient spirit,
and augurs well for its success. Should the belligerents be left to
themselves, I believe that it will succeed; but the web of political
intrigue which has grown around the question, fostered by hereditary
policy, imperial ambition, and private machination, render it difficult
to foretell the issue. The chances which render success probable are the
deference which France has of late shown to the wishes of England, the
want of union prevalent throughout the Austrian empire, and the internal
movement in Russia, which incapacitates her from doing mischief in this
part of Europe. Yet, let us not disguise from ourselves the self-evident
fact, that the views of Russia remain unaltered, that the policy of
Peter is still maintained inviolate, and that, although the last war may
have convinced her that actual self-aggrandisement will not be
tolerated, she still holds one object ever in view--the destruction of
Turkish supremacy on both banks of the Danube and the substitution of
dependent Slavism.
Throughout European Turkey, and nowhere more than in Montenegro, has her
influence waned since the Eastern war; yet so long as she shall possess,
and so freely use, the golden key, she must and will have very great
weight.
Of the three causes which, as I have said, tend to complicate the
Herzegovinian-Montenegrin question, private machinations have recently
been the most successful, and consequently the most injurious to order
and the general weal. The energy of some of the foreign employés has
been truly astounding, while their glib tongues and manœuvring minds
have worked metamorphoses worthy of Robin or the Wizard of the North.
This distortion of facts was somewhat naïvely described by a French
colleague of M. Hecquard.[P]
'Montenegro,' said the former gentleman, 'c'est une invention de
Monsieur Hecquard.' Instances of such duplicity have been frequently
brought to light. These, while they reflect little credit on the
individual, speak badly for the good faith of the government
represented, as discovery is rarely followed by punishment--frequently
quite the reverse.
The high-handed policy which the Porte is now pursuing is the most
likely to be attended with beneficial results; for, as experience has
shown us, the system of concession is entirely useless, each addition to
their territory only making the Montenegrins the more grasping and more
avaricious. That a solution of the difficulty must in some way be
arrived at is clear. Should Turkey fail in effecting this by the means
she is now adopting, Europe will be called on to interfere; for while
things exist as at present, the developement of those countries in
agriculture or commerce is as impossible as in civilisation and
Christianity.
The disorganised condition of the Herzegovina, with its attendant
incubus of half a million of debt, renders it certain that one of two
results must inevitably ensue: either Turkey will be compelled to
surrender that province, and possibly Bosnia also, or she will sustain a
still severer blow to her already shattered finances. Of the two evils,
the latter is the least in the opinion of the Ottoman government, and it
was this consideration which induced it to determine on the prosecution
of hostilities in 1861. Several causes combined to retard the
commencement of military operations until late in the year. The
principal reasons were, the almost unprecedented drought which prevailed
during that year, and the deference shown by Omer Pacha to the wishes
of the European Commission, then sitting at Mostar, whose members did
all in their power to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion without having
recourse to arms. In the meantime troops were being massed, and stores,
provisions, and magazines provided at Gasko, Bieliki, and Trebigné. The
country infested by the insurgents extended from Bosnia round the
frontier as far as Suttorina, in the vicinity of which Luca Vukalovitch
had established his quarters. This man, who has acquired a certain
notoriety, was a blacksmith by trade, but, preferring a life of lawless
indolence to honest labour, betook himself to his present calling. He
appears to be quite devoid of that chivalrous courage which has
distinguished many of his class, and consequently deserves neither
sympathy when free nor mercy from his captors when taken.
On September 3 the first move was made. Columns left Bieliki and
Trebigné, which, after scouring the district surrounding Grahovo,
returned without effecting any important results. A re-distribution of
the troops then took place. Trebigné was almost denuded of regular
soldiers, its defence being intrusted to Bashi Bazouks, while the entire
force was distributed at other points of the frontier, Bieliki and Gasko
constituting a permanent base of operations. At the former of these
Dervisch Pacha was in command, a man of considerable military talent,
though thoroughly unscrupulous, while another General of Division, Osman
Pacha, had his head-quarters at Gasko.
Such was the position of affairs on September 18, 1861. Upon the morning
of that day, intelligence was received of such a nature as to render an
immediate move advisable. An order to this effect was issued at 2
P.M., just as I had succeeded in rendering habitable a very
smart little tent, which had previously belonged to the Spanish General
Prim, and had been given by him to Omer Pacha after the campaign on the
Danube. At 3 P.M. six battalions paraded with eight guns, and
some sappers, the whole under the command of Ali Pacha of Scutari, a
General of Brigade. For some hours our course lay in a NE. direction
along a ridge, and separated only by the intervening gorge from the
mountains of the Baniani, which ran parallel on our right. These were
known to be infested with rebels, traces of whom were found by a force
of irregulars sent to attack them during the chilly hours of morning.
Here I, for the first time, saw Omer Pacha throw off the air of easy
carelessness habitual to him, and apply himself _con amore_ to the work
before him. He selected the positions to be occupied by the outposts and
picquets, indicating to his staff such points as he considered most
worthy of their attention, and endeavouring, by his own exertions, to
atone for the shortcomings of his subordinates. The force bivouacked
that night on the side of a hill overhanging a hollow, in which was
pitched one of the small camps with which these districts are now
interspersed. The choice of ground was certainly most injudicious, and
the General expressed his annoyance in no measured terms.
From this time the privations endured by the troops were very great.
Long marches over an almost impracticable country by day, the most
intense cold by night, without tents or extra clothing, and with little
food, were endured with uncomplaining devotion. In some measure I could
sympathise with them, having passed all the nights since leaving Mostar
without bed or blanket. Thus many a cold morning hour did I eke out in
vain search for wood to kindle a little fire; and had I to undergo the
ordeal again, I should certainly prefer to pass the night _à la belle
étoile_, with my toes to the smouldering embers of a camp fire, and my
head well wrapped up after the manner of all Easterns.
On the second day after leaving Bieliki, our course lay due N. through a
perfect wilderness of rocks, varied only by an occasional basin, formed
by surrounding hills, and covered with a species of dwarf vegetation.
The appearance of the force, as it straggled over this wavy expanse of
stone, was curious enough, and it certainly baffles all attempts at
description; so I must ask my readers to allow their imagination to
people the _mer de glace_ with some thousands of Oriental soldiers,
regular and irregular, pipe-bearers, and household servants formidably
armed, and they will not be far from a just conception of the case.
After marching for five hours over this inhospitable tract, we halted at
the mouth of a valley where the hills open out into a small plain. This
forms the entrance to the Pass of Koryta, whence we had just emerged. It
is a spot of ill repute even amongst the barbarous inhabitants of these
regions; and more Turks have received their death-wounds from behind the
boulders, which have served to screen the assassins, or from the knives
of the ever-ready Greeks in that fatal gorge, than in any other spot of
these disordered lands. The Pass is formed by the extremities of Banyani
and Pianina, and is of much strategical importance. It was one of the
first points subsequently occupied by Omer Pacha. Many a disaster has
been brought about by the incautious recklessness of those in command of
Turkish troops, and it was with some satisfaction that I saw the heights
both in front and rear crowned by Turkish battalions, before the
remainder were allowed to pile their arms, and betake themselves to
sleep or any other recreation. It was impossible not to revert in
imagination to the scenes of blood and strife of which Koryta has been
the site, as contrasted with its appearance at that moment. Groups of
Turkish soldiers were amusing themselves by dancing a national dance,
with as much gaiety as though they had not marched a yard, and with far
more activity than one would be disposed to give them credit for
possessing. The dance, a kind of jumping reel, was accompanied by
droning music not unlike the pipes. A little farther a regimental band
was murdering the two or three European airs with which it was
acquainted. One of these, to which they showed a good-natured antipathy
by frequently murdering, was 'La Donna è Mobile,' or 'La Donna
_Amabile_,' as Omer took pleasure in calling it. And thus the day wore
on, until, late in the evening, we arrived at Tchernitza, a little town
of about 600 inhabitants. Our camp was formed on a level plot, which
looked green and pleasant after the barren country through which we had
passed. Just above the spot where the men bivouacked was a lofty mound
surmounted by a turret, from which an armed sentry of a regiment of
redif (or militia) kept watch over the surrounding country. While taking
a bird's-eye view from this point, I heard myself accosted, to my no
small astonishment, in very fair English by a Turkish officer. My new
acquaintance proved to be one Hakki Bey, a Major of Engineers, employed
on the staff of Osman Pacha. He told me that, after having passed ten
years at the Turkish Military College, he had been sent to England for
five years to complete his education. What can the world say of Turkish
education after this stupendous example? He was an officer of much
intelligence, and soon worked himself into Omer Pacha's good graces. On
the following morning I met Osman Pacha at breakfast in the
Generalissimo's tent. He answers fully to the latter's description of
him, as being a man of much feeling, and very much the reverse of what
he is represented by Mr. Oliphant. That gentleman, in his narrative of
the Trans-Caucasian campaign, calls him 'a thorough Moslem, and a hater
of all Feringhees.' Now I am at a loss to conceive on what grounds he
can base that assertion; for, excepting that he speaks no language but
his own--a very common circumstance with English gentlemen of a certain
age--he is thoroughly European in his ideas and tendencies. Of his
kindness to myself under circumstances of difficulty and danger I shall
ever entertain the most lively recollection.
While peering about in the single street of Tchernitza, I observed a
crowd collected in one corner. The centre of attraction proved to be a
man with a big head. The unfortunate creature seemed to experience very
much the same treatment as he would have met with had he been turned
loose in the streets of London. Everybody stared, most people laughed,
and some jeered at his terrible affliction. He may have numbered some
five-and-forty years, stood about five feet four inches high, with a
head of about twice the natural size. The idiotic appearance produced by
this deformity was increased by the dimensions of his tongue, which
protruded from his mouth, and hung down at the side in the most
woe-begone manner. The poor wretch accepted the banter of the spectators
with that good-humoured indifference which leads one to hope that the
victims of such freaks of nature are insensible to the full weight of
their calamity. To the SE. of the town or village stand the ruins of an
old castle, once the favourite resort of the Dukes of Herzegovina.
Nought save the remnant of the walls remains to mark its importance in
days gone by.
The remainder of our march to Gasko was in the plain, and presented few
objects to attract attention, unless it was another victim of fell
disease. A poor girl, suffering from elephantiasis, was one of the only
women whom I had seen for many days. Her foot was swollen to an
incredible size, and I have been since informed that it is not an
uncommon complaint in those countries. As usual, we found the force
already encamped at Gasko drawn up to receive us, four mountain guns on
either flank. These were mounted, and drawn by two mules. In places
inaccessible to wheeled carriages, they are carried, as in our own
service, by two mules, viz. the gun on one, and the carriage on the
other.
The infantry presented a more creditable appearance than any I had yet
seen, and the encampment generally looked clean and orderly. Camp life
is under no circumstances a very agreeable phase of existence, and least
of all in Eastern countries, when divested of the excitement resulting
from the probability of an attack. In other lands there is sure to be
something to attract the mind. Staff officers in gay uniforms pass and
repass in all the importance of official haste, cornets of cavalry bent
on performing the onerous duties of galloper, and the pompous swagger of
infantry drum-majors, all combine to vary the scene and amuse the eye.
But in Turkey this is not so. All are equally dirty and unkempt, while
the hideous attempts at music have very far from a soothing effect. An
attentive listener may hear a single voice four times in the day calling
to prayer, a custom which, under no circumstances, is ever omitted. Of
the internal response to this appeal I am of course unable to judge, but
from outward appearance I should imagine it to be small. The Pachas, it
is true, indulge in the somewhat unintellectual amusement of twiddling a
chain of beads, talking on indifferent subjects the while; but I never
observed even this small tribute of respect amongst the inferior
officers. And thus the day wears on in dull monotony, until at sunset a
crash of many voices may be heard from the centre of the camp, rising up
to heaven, and calling down a blessing on their Sultan's head.
Immediately upon his arrival at Gasko, Omer Pacha had betaken himself to
the only habitable house in the adjacent village, coming down to camp
with early morning. I consequently became the guest of Osman Pacha, who
treated me with uniform kindness. It is a strange coincidence that
almost every Turkish Pacha, whatever may have been his origin, however
low his moral character, possesses a dignity of deportment and a charm
of manner which among Europeans is deemed an infallible test of a kind
heart and high breeding. This, however, does not apply in its full sense
to Osman, for a more amiable and moral old gentleman never breathed.
Indeed, I much fear that the good qualities of his heart somewhat
eclipsed those of his head, as subsequent events will show. Many of his
remarks, however, were shrewd and pointed enough; thus, while comparing
the English with the Turkish soldier, he very candidly admitted that the
former carried off the palm in the matter of fighting, with the
following reservations--that the Turk is content to serve with a very
considerable arrear of pay, and with very little in the way of clothing
or nourishment; that he is able to endure equal if not greater fatigue
and hardship; and lastly, that he does not indulge in strong drinks. All
this must be admitted by the most prejudiced arbitrator; nor is it the
highest eulogium to which the Moslem soldier is entitled. Habits of
order and obedience, which are only sustained in European armies by the
strictest discipline, form part of the national character, and therefore
render the minuter details of military economy unnecessary. That they
will ever become sufficiently familiarised with their European clothing
as to present a smart appearance, is improbable; yet their parade
movements are even now performed with considerable accuracy and rapidity
in the loose shuffling manner in vogue amongst the French, while of
their prowess in the field we have had ample proofs on divers
occasions--whether in the European campaign of 1828, when, despite the
confusion resulting from the recent destruction of the Janissaries, they
beat the Russians at all points; or in Asia during that and the
following years, where, if not so successful, they often displayed a
heroism unsurpassed in history. Or, coming down to the present time, we
have but to recall the noble stand made at Kars and Silistria, which,
almost without defences, they held for months against the most
determined efforts of Mouravieff and Paskievitch. Singularly enduring,
brave, and obedient, they require only good leading to form them into
one of the most effective armies of the world. But this is precisely the
one thing in which they are most strikingly deficient, and of which
there is little hope of any permanent amelioration.
In no department of the public administration are the baneful effects of
that spirit of insincerity and rapacity, which is almost universal at
Constantinople, more apparent than in the army. Money drawn upon the
authority of false returns, and eventually appropriated by the highest
people of the land, affords an example of peculation and dishonesty
which is carried out through all ranks, and the result is that the
greater portion of the army has received no pay for more than
six-and-twenty months. There is reason to believe that this system of
sending in false numerical returns has been of late carried to an
incredible extent. The nominal strength of the Turkish army is as
follows:--6 corps d'armées, each consisting of 6 regiments of 4
battalions, each battalion numbering 1,000 effective men, with a
proportion of cavalry and artillery to each corps d'armée.
This gives us 144,000 regular infantry; and yet I have good authority
for saying that, should Turkey enter upon a war to-morrow, she would do
so with less than 80,000 regular infantry. Of these 29 of the strongest
battalions were in the Herzegovina during the past autumn, and that
force has received a slight increase during the winter months. To the
merits of these troops I have already borne testimony. Against those by
whom they are officered I would now raise a protest, since they appeared
to be so selected without regard to any one qualification which may
entitle them to the rank. Even were the finances of the empire restored
to a flourishing condition, and other reforms instituted, the army
cannot be thoroughly effective until it is re-officered, and the new
officers duly impressed with a conviction of the just distribution of
rewards and punishments. It is deplorable that so low a sentiment should
be the only one with which to inspire the officers, in order to secure
the zealous fulfillment of their duties. But so it is: their birth and
education, and the flagrant instances of bought rewards, which are
constantly before their eyes, combine to render it the best sentiment of
which they are capable. This applies principally to the regimental
officers in the lower ranks, upon whom the efficiency of an army so much
depends. Great good is anticipated from the extended scale introduced
into the Military College, and it is said to be the intention of the
government to appoint as soon as possible officers to commands who have
passed through it, to the extinction of the old system of conferring the
highest rank upon Pachas, whether fitted for the position or not.
Excepting the chief of the staff, and some of the aides-de-camp, the
staff in the field was composed of engineer officers, most of whom had
passed some years in France or Belgium, while one had remained five
years in England. But these are men of a very different stamp from the
general run of regimental officers, who appear to think it the greatest
privilege of their position to get very drunk whenever the opportunity
offers itself, thus presenting a curious contrast with the remarkable
sobriety of their men. One evening I chanced to witness a scene as
amusing as it was characteristic of the people among whom I lived. A
post had arrived, and Osman Pacha's private Secretary was occupied in
dispensing the letters. The officers were admitted to his tent, and the
childish glee which they displayed was diverting in the extreme. Not
only did they mark their gratitude by kissing every portion of the
Secretary's garments on which they could lay hand, but danced about,
showing the epistles to all who approached. Fortunately, perhaps, few of
these could read, so the breach of confidence was not very great. I have
often noticed that an Oriental, when he does shake off the apathetic
reserve habitual to him, becomes more excited and enthusiastic than
warmer-blooded nations. At any rate they seem to possess a full measure
of that natural instinct of joy at receiving tidings of loved ones in
far distant lands. One of these letters was from the wife of an officer,
who had not heard from her for many months, and whose last reports had
informed him of the destruction of his house by fire. The apparent
indifference with which he had received the first announcement
completely gave way to a flood of happiness on hearing of the safety of
those he loved. Verily they are not so devoid of feeling as is generally
supposed--these fatalist Turks.
The arrival of Dervisch Pacha with six battalions from Bieliki, which
was now occupied by two battalions of redif, converted Gasko into the
sole base of operations. The rain, which had for the past few days
fallen in torrents, would have enabled Omer Pacha to have commenced
hostilities on a greater scale, but for the dearth of provisions, which
should have reached the frontier long since. It now became apparent that
little could be done during the remaining months of the year, for nature
had effected for the rebels whatever the indolence of the Turkish
commanders had left undone. The magnificent harvest of the preceding
year, which the rebels had appropriated, and the extraordinary drought
which had prevailed during the spring and summer of 1861, combined to
diminish the Turkish prospects of success. Moreover, the object of the
Generalissimo was not so much to hunt down the rebels as to inspire them
with confidence in the leniency of the Sultan's rule, while he, at the
same time, occupied the country in such force as to convince them of the
necessity of eventual submission. Already were the good effects of this
measure manifested in the rapid return of the inhabitants to the
surrounding villages. Metokhia, Aphtoria, and Lubniak, all in the close
vicinity of the Turkish camp, had been deserted by their occupants, who,
like the majority in the plain of Gasko, are of the Mussulman religion.
These now returned to their desolated homes.
[Footnote P: The French Consul at Scutari and member of the European
Commission, a man as remarkable for talent as for cunning and love of
intrigue.]