The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.

OCHRIDA. 201 There was a man in the town, a refugee from over Dibra way. When he was sober he talked Slav, but when he was drunk enough to straddle on his heels, which was not infrequently, he talked Albanian. He was a Bulgarian patriot. One day he came and begged my protection. Some soldiers had threatened last night to kill him. 'Why did the soldiers want to kill him? ' I asked. 'Because they suspected him.' 'What of, and why?' Then he related with pride that he was the man who had made the poisoned bread that had killed fifteen Turkish soldiers. I advised him to clear out, saying that if he did such things I could not possibly help him. He was astonished that I was not aware of his great achievement, and still more so that I did not admire it. This was just before I left Ochrida, so I never knew if he took my advice. Later I learnt whence the poison had been obtained, and also that few, if any, of the soldiers, had really died, though they had allbeen very ill. This type of patriot I had no sympathy for, but there were other poor fellows for whom I was very sorry. They had lost their all, and possessed only paper notes given them in exchange for their corn and cattle impounded by the Committee. This was ingenious, as it gave the Committee a lever for raising another revolt, for the notes are not payable till Macedonia is free. Meantime, what were they to do? Would I cash the notes? A patient in the hospital treasured one in a knot in his handkerchief. It was a printed form, signed by the

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Title: The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.
Author: Durham, Mary Edith, 1863-1944.
Canvas: Page 201
Publication: London :: Nelson,; [1905]
Subject terms: Eastern question (Balkan); Balkan Peninsula -- Description and travel.

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Collection: Travels in Southeastern Europe
Link to this Item: https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001
Link to this scan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bosnia/ans3900.0001.001/208

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Full citation: "The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham." In the digital collection Travels in Southeastern Europe. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 1, 2025.

The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.

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