Show J I 1 s I I I J J- J 1 y r N a r ty d Y n. n i I K d Bulgarian Village Laue Lwe Carrying Water Prepared by the tho National Geographic Society Washington 13 ll C C. C Bulgaria aria where democracy has lias advanced advanced ad ad- to such an extent that the time peasant premier is reported to have publicly discussed the time advisability of declaring a republic and electing the young king president has developed so rapidly since Turkish rulers were ousted little more than a n generation ago that this suggested world record In peaceably dethroning kings hardly seems an Impossibility Bulgaria might be termed the most Balkan of or the time Balkan countries both geographically and characteristically The country countr bulks large In Balkan his his- tor tory In one generation of freedom she has made incredible progress and crowne crowned J. J her achievements achIe with eXceeding exceeding exceeding eX- eX ex ex- prowess In the first Balkan war From Irom this growing pinnacle a hideous mistake her ller to a sad repute In no wise due due to JQ the qualities of ot her people but hut rather to one headstrong headstrong headstrong head head- strong and chauvinistic statesman whose fateful counsel undid In a single month all nil that the founders of the Balkan alliance had worked for two years ears to accomplish and whose mad folly destroyed for the time majority of the time world an impression of or Bulgarian wisdom and capacity which had been built U un m from such meager beginnings A second error entailing e even n greater disaster was made when the time Bulgar king cast the lot of his iris people with the Teutonic allies In th World warThe war The history of ot Bulgaria differs little littie little lit lit- tle tie from that of her sister Balkan states the successive chapters aro are written In blood Herodotus the father father fa fa- ther timer of history was the first to notice the wild Thracian and Illyrian tribes who inhabited that portion of the peninsula and what time Jle he said of them centuries ago a o has hns a poignant emphasis In n these last sad d days tys of Bulgarian experIence experience ex ex- If It the they were only ruled by byone byone byone one mean man and could only agree among them themselves the they would be the greatest greatest great great- relt- relt est of all nations Modern Are Slavs These ancient however were doubtless of another strain than those who now claim the tile name and who are purely Slav Slav more more characteristically characteristically character character- so than the time Russians even Just when the Slav first filst set his hits murk mark In this region Is difficult to sa say but there he has been heen for Cur more inure than thana a thousand years Jears spreading out from the parent center in a brood which at nt length has covered much of ot the territory territory terri terri- tor tory from the to the Adriatic He lie early embraced Christianity and from the first Boris down to the time last religion has highly colored the politics of Bulgaria Gibbon in a famous pa passage sage has hils remarked that the glory gIOl of or the Bulgarians Bui- Bui was confined to a narrow scope both o 0 and place e and true It is whether one speaks of ot that remoter era cra when the Emperor Simeon gave to the ilia Bul ars golden age or to the present day when day when less than 40 10 years lars united sufficed to mark marl the time passage age of ot the time country from a state of awful servitude servitude- to a place of power lower mid and prosperity And now ten years eats aft r fr fr e triumphal conclusion of lime Ihu first Balkan war It Is again ln a sh shorn shern fIne nail nd shattered nation y J reason of or their closer to the on on-marchina forces of ot the prophet et the time Bulgarians fell earlier captive captive captive cap cap- tive to the Turk than the other oilier Christian Christian Chris Chris- tian peoples of the Balkans and the Turkish supremacy In Bulgaria which began begun in the Fifteenth ol century and lasted lusted well into the Nineteenth Is the gloomiest epoch In th the national an nn- nals There as ever where the Turkish foot root had trod In triumph freedom van van- vanIshed vanIshed shed learning languished n and the memories s r rf past glories all but dis dis- appeared Even the character of the people seemed to change and had hadIt It not been for the time priests and the brigands It is probable that the time thread of Bulgarian national life would have been definitely sundered But nut in their mountain fastnesses this strange combination combination com com- of the monk and the time marauder marauder ma marauder kept alive all the national feeling Like Robin Hood they are always alwa's represented represented rep represented resented as the protectors of the poor pOOL and the weak and In addition as the time friend of ot all Christians and the ruthless ruthless ruth ruth- less scourge of ot the Ottoman oppressor Thousands of ot legends and songs have I grown out of ot their exploits and had they made war against the common foe only Instead as they too ott often n did among themselves their fame would rest upon a far tar firmer foundation tion Nevertheless among all the agencies agencies agen agen- cies which contributed In the time end to the winning of Bulgarian Independence ence oce the brigands were by far the most continuously active and the lon long centuries of Turkish misrule were constantly constantly constantly con con- broken by a series of abortive revolts which were suppressed with Increasing cruelty until the brutal massacre In 1875 1815 Inspired Mr 11 Gladston Gladstone Gladstone Glad Glad- stone ston to the time famous Midlothian campaign campaign campal cam cam- pal gave guve to the time czar a convenient handle against the sultan and brought broughton on the Russo Turkish o- o war Their Rapid Development That war was ended by the time treaty of ot San Stefano which essa essayed cd to establIsh establish establish es es- a big Bulgaria but thanks to Disraeli British Influence brought about the congress of ot Berlin and It was a little Bulgaria which finally secured a place at the worlds world's council table A lowly place It was but with splendid splendid did courage the Bulgarians set out to tomake tomake make e It better and the time stor story of or Bulgarian Bulgarian Bul nul- garian arian development In a single generation generation generation genera genera- tion finds few parallels am among on modern mod mod- modern ern nations Except for the humiliating ing log war with her one lIme allies In Inthe Inthe Inthe the Balkans and her subsequent suicidal sui espousal l of pan But Bui garla's garins advance ance has been constant and remarkable The Time country countr possesses great wheat wheatfields wheatfields wheatfields fields extensive fore forests ts rich mines mines- all of which have ha been made to respond re re- respond respond spond to that patient industry for which the Bu Bulgarian arlan peasant Is the model for all his Balkan neighbors I A unique product product and and the most profitable profit profit- able ls able Is the attar of roses the worlds world's supply of which comes from southern Bulgaria and aud which has enriched the landed landell peasants of that b be beyond yond their wildest dreams Nation of or Farmers Agriculture has always alwa's held first place In the time life lift of or the Bulgarians Turkish domination for half a mil mull made farming still more moregen gen gen- eral oral among the rs for practically practically cally no other calling was left open to them By y weeding weding out the tho upper classes classe too the Turks lurks made Bulgarian agriculture more and more n a peasant activity And now by legislation the time Bulgarians them themselves es EI are emphasizing ing lag farming on ti a small scale A Ana na national national na- na law limits the estate that an individual Indi mo may hold to a maximum ol of about 74 acres and find most of the hold are much smaller Another law lau alum to abolish a leisure cIa class 9 by oy requiring requiring requiring re re- quiring all nil adults between certain ages age to work There Is a temptation to consider Bulgaria touching Greece as It does a southern country Rut nut Its latitude Is approximately that of ot Iowa Town Its area Incidentally Is some square miles less than that of Iowa The principal port Yarna Varna on the Black Blacksea semi sea Is farther north than Boston and its ts harbor Is is- often otten frozen In to winter I The Time southern portion of ot the time country however becomes very Cry hot Ux la summer I |