The Mirdits are typical of the independent tribes of Northern Albania. They inhabit the high valleys to the south of the gorge of the Drin, and, though hardly numbering 12,000 souls, they exercise, in consequence of their warlike valour, a most important influence in all Western Turkey. Their country is accessible only through three difficult defiles, and they hold command of the roads which the Turkish troops must follow when operating against the Montenegrins. The Sublime Porte, well aware how difficult it would be to subdue these redoubtable mountaineers, has endeavoured to attach them, showering honours upon them, and granting them the most complete self-government. The Mirdits, on their side, though Christians, have at all times fought most valiantly in the ranks of the Turkish army, in Greece and the Morea, as well as against their fellow-Christians of Montenegro. They are formed into three “banners” of the mountains and two of the plains, and in time of war are joined by the five banners of Lesh, or Alessio. The banner of the renowned clan of Orosh takes precedence of all others. The country of the Mirdits is governed by an oligarchy, of which the Prince or Pasha of Orosh is the hereditary head. His power, however, is merely nominal, for in reality the country is governed by a council consisting of the elders (_vecchiardi_) of the villages, the delegates of the banners, and the heads of clans. The proceedings of this council are regulated by ancient traditions. Wives are taken by force from the enemy, for the members of the five banners look upon each other as relatives, and the Mohammedan girls in the lowland villages look forward with little fear to their being carried off by Mirdit warriors. The _vendetta_ is exercised in an inexorable manner, and blood cries for blood. A violation of hospitality is punished with death. The adulteress is buried beneath a heap of stones, and her nearest relative is bound to deliver the head of her accomplice to the injured husband. It need hardly be said that education is at a very low ebb amongst these savages. There are no schools, and in 1860 hardly fifty Christians of the Mirdit country and of the district of Lesh were able to {124} read. Agriculture, nevertheless, is in a relatively advanced state. The valleys of the sterile mountains are cultivated with a certain amount of care, and they produce finer crops than do the fertile plains, inhabited by an indolent population.