“ The inhabitants form a peculiar people, the Albanians, called by the Turks Arnauts, and by themselves Skipetar. The Albanians are half-civilized mountaineers, frank to a friend, vindictive to an enemy. They are constantly under arms, and live in perpetual anarchy. At one time the Albanians were all Christians; but after the death of their last chief, the hero Skanderbeg, in 1467, and their subjugation by the Turks, a large part became Mohammedans. Albania became an independent state in 1912. ”

“ A fine climate and a favorable soil would seem to invite the inhabitants to agriculture, but in the N. little is cultivated but maize, with some rice and barley, in the valleys; the mountain terraces are used as pastures for numerous herds of cattle and sheep. In the S. the slopes of the lower valleys are covered with olives, fruit, and mulberry trees, intermixed with patches of vines and maize, while the densely wooded mountain ridges furnish valuable supplies of timber. ”

“ It formed the southwestern portion of former European Turkey, and extends along the western shore of the Balkan peninsula, from the river Bojana to the Gulf of Arta. There are three lakes, Scutari, Ochrida, and Janina. ”