tured rebels,
as also a significant letter from the Italian Minister accredited to
Nikita, which was addressed to the chancellor of the Italian Legation at
Cetinje. An inter-Allied Commission, over which General Franchet
d'Esperey presided, issued their report on February 8 at Podgorica. "All
the troops," it said, "in Montenegro are Yugoslavs and not Serbs; there
are not more than 500 of them." It further stated that the rebellion had
been provoked by certain agents of the ex-King, assisted by some Italian
agents. As for the ridiculous Italian charge which I quoted, accusing
the French of a share in the low intrigues of Balkan politics, this
participation consisted in their General at Kotor demanding of
Darkovi['c], the leader of the Montenegrin deputies, that his followers
and the rebels should not come to blows. The reply, which annoyed the
General, was to the effect that if the rebels made an attack, then
Darkovi['c] with his scratch forces would defend himself--and the battle
lasted for two or three days. A junior French officer, who had been in
command of a small detachment at Cetinje, told me that the noise of
firing had awakened him every night and he had not the least idea what
it was all about. But the French had a pretty accurate idea of the
nationality of the "brigands" who on December 29 fired on the SS.
_Skroda_ and _Satyre_ near the village of Samouritch when it was
carrying a cargo of flour up the Bojana for the Montenegrins. These
vessels were sailing under the French flag and the "brigands," about
fifty in number, were armed with machine guns. An International
Commission established these facts, as also that the Italian ship
_Vedeta_ passed up the river just before the outrage and the _Mafalda_
just after it, and neither of them was molested. In consequence of what
occurred and as practically all the supplies for Montenegro had at that
time to be sent by the Bojana, General Dufour, in the absence of French
troops, authorized the Serbs on February 12 to occupy the commanding
position of Tarabosh.

WHAT HAD LATELY BEEN THE FATE OF THE AUSTRIANS THERE

These Yugoslav troops had been detached from the left wing of the
Salonica forces and had come overland in order to deal with the
situation in Montenegro. The Austrians had been in a woeful plight; it
was regarded as a punishment to serve in Montenegro and Albania, not
only because of the lack of amenities and the unruly spirit of the
people, but also fo