We had altogether a very merry stay in Andrijevica, and the men of Vasovic are sturdy, honest, fearless, and excellent companions.

Once, as I was admiring an old pistol worn by a man who was visiting us—­for men were continually dropping in on us at any hour, in a most unceremonious fashion—­he promptly took it off and gave it to me.  It had been carried thirty years by a priest, he told me, before it came into his possession, and had killed at least twenty men.  Afterwards I gave him a present of six florins.

There are no police in Andrijevica, but the population take their turn to patrol the town at night with rifles.  This is not to keep order amongst themselves, but as a guard against an eventual raid of Albanians.  Crime is unknown in this mountain town.

One afternoon we were startled to see half a dozen Turkish officers ride into the town, accompanied by an escort of Turkish soldiers, all fully armed.  They were proceeding to Gusinje, where fighting had been taking place and many men had been killed.  It is very curious to observe the way that the Turkish and Montenegrin authorities visit each other, for the intricate formation of the border often necessitates the traversing of a small portion of the other’s country.  Owing to the danger, everyone goes fully armed.  The greatest possible harmony reigns between the Turks and Montenegrins, as the formidable array of Turkish decorations which adorn the breasts of all Montenegrin border officials will testify.  The Albanian is the only cause of trouble, and it is chiefly against him that the Albanian borders are garrisoned by Turkish troops.

In the above-mentioned border dispute, the Turks sent down a formidable army to assist the Montenegrins and prevent an incursion into a friendly state.  Truly things have changed very much, for it was not so very many years ago that Albania held aloof when Turk and Montenegrin were fighting.  Their sympathies, if for either side, were with the Montenegrins, and now the hated Turk throws himself into the balance for Montenegro.

No man goes any distance unarmed.  A rifle is part and parcel of his being.  So it is that visiting Albanians carry theirs too, and it is no uncommon sight to see eight or ten Gusinje men, conspicuous by their white head-cloths, rifles slung over their shoulders, and a girdle of cartridges, come into Andrijevica to market, or perhaps even to consult the Voivoda on a question of blood-guilt.

No one knows in these parts when an alarm will be given, either by trumpet-call or rapid magazine firing, and each man must be ever prepared to hurry to the appointed rendezvous at a moment’s notice.  If he be guarding his flock, eating at home, or carrying produce to the market, it is the same; his rifle must be ready to his hand and everything left standing to answer the call to arms.  Life is very real on these turbulent borders, and a chance dispute may assemble a brigade of Montenegrins and a horde of Albanians, each ready to attack the other on the spot.  The shepherd private knows where to find his section commander, the latter, on completion of his section, meets his company officer, companies assemble, battalions form, and the brigade is ready within an hour or two.