CHAPTER XV.

Excursion to Blato--Radobolya--Roman Road--Lichnitza--Subterraneous Passage--Duck-shooting--Roman Tombs--Coins and Curiosities--Boona--Old Bridge--Mulberry Trees--Blagai--Source of Boona River--Kiosk--Castle--Plain of Mostar--Legends--Silver Ore--Mineral Products of Bosnia--Landslip--Marbles--Rapids--Valley of the Drechnitza.

The week following upon my return to Mostar was devoted to excursions to different spots in the vicinity of the town. In one instance the pleasure was enhanced by the anticipation of some duck-shooting; for, as the event will show, the expectation was never realised. Our destination was Blato, a plain about nine miles distant, which all maps represent as a lake, but which does not deserve the name, as it is only flooded during the winter months. The party consisted of M. Gyurcovich, the Hungarian dragoman of the British consulate; the Russian Consul; his domestic, a serf strongly addicted to the use of ardent drinks, of which he had evidently partaken largely on the occasion in question; a French doctor, who had many stories of the Spanish war, in which he had served; two other individuals, and myself.

About one hour from Mostar, we arrived at the source of the Radobolya, which flows through Mostar and falls into the Narenta near the old bridge. The road was sufficiently well defined, although needing repair in places. The walls on either side, as well as its general construction, proclaim its Roman origin. It was doubtless a part of the great main road from the east to Dalmatia. It is only at occasional points that it is so easily discernible, but sufficient evidence exists to show that on quitting the Albanian mountains it passed Stolatz, crossed the bridge at Mostar, and continued thence by a somewhat circuitous route to Spalatro. On emerging from the defile through which we had been marching, the plain of Blato lay extended before us, some nine or ten miles in length and four in breadth. The land, which must be extremely fertile, is cultivated in the spring, but only those cereals which are of the most rapid growth are produced; such as millet, Indian corn, and broom seed, from which a coarse description of bread is made. The Lichnitza, which runs through it, is a mere stream. It takes its rise near the Austro-Bosnian frontier, and loses itself in the hills which surround Blato. The plain is porous and full of holes, from which, in the late autumnal months, the waters bubble up. This continues until the river itself overflows, covering the entire plain to a considerable depth, in some parts as much as thirty-six feet. The original passage under the hills, by which the water escaped, is said to have been filled up at the time of the Turkish conquest. If such be true, it might be reopened with little cost and trouble, and the plain would thus be rendered most valuable to the province.

Arrived at the scene of operations, we lost little time in getting to work. A still evening, and a moon obscured by light clouds, promised well for sport; and we should doubtless have made a large bag had ordinary precautions been taken. These, however, were not deemed necessary by the majority of the party, who walked down in the open to the river's edge, smoking and chattering as though they expected the 'dilly-dills to come and be killed' merely for the asking. The result, I need not say, was our return almost empty-handed. Late in the evening we assembled round a large fire, to eat the dinner which our servants had already prepared; after which we courted sleep beneath the soothing influences of tales of love and war as related by our Æsculapian friend, who undeniably proved himself to have been a very Don Quixote. Early the following morning we were again afoot, and a few partridges, hares, and quail rewarded our exertions. Amongst the hills, where most of the game was shot, I noticed several old Roman tombs. Many of these were merely large shapeless blocks of stone, while others were of the proper sarcophagus form, ornamented with sculptures of considerable merit. On some were depicted men in armour, with shields and long straight swords, while others had two men with lances aimed at a deer between them. The absence of anything like moulding on the sides proves their great antiquity. In its place we find a rather graceful pattern, vines with leaves and grapes predominating; or, as in other cases, choruses of women holding hands and dancing. In no instance did I detect anything denoting immorality or low ideas, so prevalent in the sculptures of intermediate ages. Amongst these tombs, as also on the sites of the ancient towns, curiosities and coins are found. Of the last, small Hungarian silver pieces, and large Venetian gold pieces, are the most numerous; although Roman copper coins are by no means rare. Stones engraved with figures of Socrates and Minerva were shown to me, as having been found in the province, and it is only two years since, that two golden ear-rings of fifteen drachms weight, and about the size of pigeons' eggs, were dug up in the neighbourhood of Blato. About the same time a ring was found, of which the Pacha obtained possession. It was of iron, set with a stone only three tenths of an inch in diameter, on which were most beautifully engraved no fewer than nine figures of classical deities.

The ensuing day I devoted to a double expedition to Boona and Blagai. The former of these is about six miles distant, on the plain from Mostar. It consists of a few houses built by the rebellious Ali Pacha, who was Vizier at the time of Sir Gardner Wilkinson's visit to Herzegovina. That functionary's villa, which is now the country-house of the British Consul, is a moderate-sized yellow house, with little to recommend it save its situation at the confluence of the Boona and the Narenta. The former is spanned by a large bridge of fourteen arches, upon one of which is a Turkish inscription, from which it appears that it was repaired by the Turks in the year of the Hegira 1164--that is to say, 113 years ago.

The bridge is in all probability of Roman construction, though the Turkish habit of erasing all inscriptions, and substituting others in Turkish in their place, renders it impossible to fix precise dates. Near the villa stands a square house intended for the nurture of silk-worms, while a garden of 30,000 mulberry trees shows that Ali Pacha had pecuniary considerations in view as well as his domestic comfort. From Boona to Blagai is about six miles, and here also is a bridge of five arches across the Boona. Leaving the village, which stands on the banks of the river, we proceeded to its source. Pears, pomegranates, olives, and other fruit trees grow in great luxuriance, and two or three mills are worked by the rush of water, which is here considerable. The cavern from which the river pours in a dense volume, is about eight feet high, and situated at the foot of a precipitous cliff, under which stands a kiosk, the abode of our fighting friend the Affghan Dervish. Thence we proceeded to the castle, which stands on the summit of a craggy height, overlooking the village on the one side, and the road to Nevresign on the other. Speaking of this, Luccari says, 'Blagai stands on a rock above the river Bosna, fortified by the ancient Voivodas of the country to protect their treasure, as its name implies, Blagia (or Blago) signifying treasure.'

It was governed by a Count, and the Counts of Blagai performed a distinguished part in the history of Herzegovina. Some of them, as the Boscenovich and the Hranich, are known for their misfortunes, having been compelled to seek refuge in Ragusa at the time of the Turkish invasion; and the last who governed 'the treasure city of Blagai' was Count George, who fled to the Ragusan territory in 1465. The view to the southward over the plain country is extremely picturesque, but this portion of the battlements are completely ruined. On the north side they are in good preservation, and there wells exist, the cement of which looked as fresh as though it had been recently renovated.

In one of the batteries a brass gun was lying, of about 9lbs. calibre, with vent and muzzle uninjured. In the interior of the fort, shells of dwelling-houses, distributed angularly, denote the part of the building which was devoted to domestic purposes. In these the woodwork of the windows may still be seen, as well as stones projecting from the walls, on which the flooring of the upper stories must have rested. At the main entrance an oak case is rivetted into the wall to receive the beam, which barred the door. At the foot of the hill is a ruined church, in which some large shells of about thirteen inches diameter were strewed about. One of these was lying on the road side, as though it had been rolled from the castle above.

Having now seen all the lions of the neighbourhood, I bethought me of leaving Mostar once more, but this time with the intention of working northward. The ordinary route pursued by those whom business calls from Mostar to Bosna Serai is by Konitza, a village situated on the frontier, nearly due north of Mostar. To this course I at first inclined, but was induced to change my plans by the prospect of some chamois-hunting, in the valley of the Drechnitza. Having laid in a supply of bread and other necessaries, we, i.e. M. Gyurcovich and myself, made an early start, in hopes of reaching our destination on the same night.

Following the right bank of the Narenta, our course lay for a short time through the northernmost of the two plains at whose junction Mostar is situated. These, from the smooth and round appearance of the stones, with which their surface is strewed, lead to the supposition that this at one time was the bed of an important lake: this idea is confirmed by the legends of the country, which affirm the existence of rings in the sides of the mountains, to which it is rumoured that boats were moored of old. Whether this be true or not, the appearance of the place lends probability to the statement.

Shortly after leaving the town, there is a small square tower close to and commanding the river, which is here fordable. As we proceeded farther north it becomes rocky and narrow, and some small rapids occur at intervals. The bad state of the roads, and the ill condition of our baggage horses, rendered it necessary to halt several hours short of the point which we had intended to reach that night. Having, therefore, cleared out an outhouse devoted in general to looms, green tobacco, hens, cats, and the like, we made our arrangements for passing the night. While thus engaged a peasant brought me a tolerably large specimen of silver ore, which he stated that he had found in the hills on the Bosnian frontier, where he assured me that any amount was to be obtained. His veracity I have no reason to doubt, although unable to proceed thither to confirm his statement by my own testimony. It is certain, however, that the mountains of Bosnia are unusually rich in mineral products. Gold, silver, mercury, lead, copper, iron, coal, black amber, and gypsum, are to be found in large quantities; silver being the most plentiful, whence the province has received the name of Bosnia Argentina. The manifold resources of the country in this respect have unfortunately been permitted to remain undeveloped under the Ottoman rule, while the laws laid down relative to mining matters are of such a nature as to cripple foreign enterprise. In this proceeding, the Turkish government has committed the error of adhering to the principles and counsels of France, which is essentially a non-mining country. In three places only has any endeavour been made to profit by the secret riches of the earth, viz. at Foinitza, Crescevo, and Stanmaidan, where iron works have been established by private speculation. The iron is of good quality, but the bad state of the roads, and the difficulty of procuring transport, render it a far less remunerative undertaking than would otherwise be the case. Good wrought iron sells at three-halfpence the pound. Were a company formed under the auspices of the British government, there is little doubt that they might be successfully worked, since there is nothing in the nature of the country to render the construction of a road to the coast either a difficult or expensive operation. Continuing our course on the right bank of the Narenta, we arrived at a lofty mound, evidently of artificial construction, situated at a bend of the river. Traces of recent digging were apparent, as though search had been made for money or curiosities. It was just one of those positions where castles were built of yore, its proximity to the river being no small consideration in those days of primitive defences. A short distance from its base were two tombstones, sculptured with more than ordinary care and ability. One of these represented a man with a long sword and shield, faced by a dog or fox, which was the only portion of the engraving at all effaced.

At a spot where a spring issued from the rocks, we were met by a party of Irregulars, shouting and firing their matchlocks in a very indecorous manner. They were doubtless going their rounds, bent on plunder, as is their wont; and living at free quarters. The place where we encountered them was wild in the extreme, and well adapted for deeds of violence. It was indeed only in the preceding spring, that a murder was committed on that very spot. Nor was it the first murder that had been done there. Some years previously two Dalmatian robbers concealed themselves behind the adjacent rocks, with the intention of murdering two Turks, who were carrying money to Bosna Serai. These Turks, however, detected the movements of the assassins, and as one of the Christians fired, one of the Turks returned the shot, each killing his man. Sequel: the second Christian ran away; the surviving Turk carried off his companion's money in addition to his own.

At one part of our route a landslip of large dimensions had taken place, covering the slope to the river with large stones and blocks of red marble. This, as well as white, black, and gray marble, are found in large quantities in the surrounding hills. The river at this point is turgid and rocky, and there are two or three rapids almost worthy of the name of falls. The narrow rocky ledge, which constitutes the only traversable road, immediately overhangs the water, having a sheer descent on the right of nearly 200 feet. The edge of this precipice is overgrown with grass and shrubs to such a degree as to render it very dangerous. Indeed it nearly proved fatal to my horse and myself: the bank suddenly gave way, and but for the fortunate intervention of a projecting ledge, which received the off fore and hind feet of the former, we should inevitably have been picked up in very small pieces, if anyone had taken the trouble to look for us.

Having now journeyed about ten hours from Mostar, our road wound to the left, leaving the Narenta at its confluence with the Drechnitza, which waters the valley of the same name. Close to its mouth, which is spanned by a neat two-arched bridge, a Ban is said to have lived in former days; and a solitary rock projecting from the hills on the left bank is pointed out as his favourite resort. The summit of this is smoothed off, and traces of an inscription still exist, but too much defaced to be deciphered.