or Mahommedan Bulgarians, whose
conversion to Islam preserved their women from the licence of the Turkish
conqueror; they inhabit the highlands of Rhodope and certain districts in
the neighbourhood of Lovtcha (Lovetch) and Plevna. Retaining their
Bulgarian speech and many ancient national usages, they may be compared
with the indigenous Cretan, Bosnian and Albanian Moslems. The Pomaks in the
principality are estimated at 26,000, but their numbers are declining. In
the north-eastern district between the Yantra and the Black Sea the
Bulgarian race is as yet thinly represented; most of the inhabitants are
Turks, a quiet, submissive, agricultural population, which unfortunately
shows a tendency to emigrate. The Black Sea coast is inhabited by a variety
of races. The Greek element is strong in the maritime towns, and displays
its natural aptitude for navigation and commerce. The Gagaeuzi, a peculiar
race of Turkish-speaking Christians, inhabit the littoral from Cape Emine
to Cape Kaliakra: they are of Turanian origin and descend from the ancient
Kumani. The valleys of the Maritza and Arda are occupied by a mixed
population consisting of Bulgarians, Greeks and Turks; the principal Greek
colonies are in Stanimaka, Kavakly and Philippopolis. The origin of the
peculiar Shop tribe which inhabits the mountain tracts of Sofia, Breznik
and Radomir is a mystery. The Shops are conceivably a remnant of the
aboriginal race which remained undisturbed in its mountain home during the
Slavonic and Bulgarian incursions: they cling with much tenacity to their
distinctive customs, apparel and dialect. The considerable Vlach or Ruman
colony in the Danubian districts dates from the 18th century, when large
numbers of Walachian peasants sought a refuge on Turkish soil from the
tyranny of the boyars or nobles: the department of Vidin alone contains 36
Ruman villages with a population of 30,550. Especially interesting is the
race of nomad shepherds from the Macedonian and the Aegean coast who come
in thousands every summer to pasture their flocks on the Bulgarian
mountains; they are divided into two tribes--the Kutzovlachs, or "lame
Vlachs," who speak Rumanian, and the Hellenized Karakatchans or "black
shepherds" (compare the Morlachs, or Mavro-vlachs, [Greek: mauroi blaches],
of Dalmatia), who speak Greek. The Tatars, a peaceable, industrious race,
are chiefly found in the neighbourhood of Varna and Silistria; they were
introduced as colonists by th