After three days' journey we reached Bosna Serai, where I was most kindly received by Mr. Z., the acting British Consul, and by M.M., the French Consul, with whom I stayed during the three weeks that I was confined to my room by illness.
Bosna Serai, or Serayevo, is probably the most European of all the large towns of Turkey in Europe. It is not in the extent of the commerce which prevails, nor in the civilisation of its inhabitants, that this pre-eminence shows itself; but in the cleanly and regular appearance of its houses and streets, the condition of which last would do credit to many a Frankish town. This happy state of things is mainly attributable to the energy and liberality of the present governor of Bosnia, Osman Pacha, who, notwithstanding his advanced years, has evinced the greatest desire to promote the welfare of the people under his charge. In the nine months of his rule which had preceded my visit, he had constructed no less than ninety miles of road, repaired the five bridges which span the river within the limits of the town, and introduced other reforms which do him honour, and have procured for him the gratitude and goodwill of all classes of his people. The system which he has introduced for the construction of roads is at once effective and simple. By himself making a small portion of road near the capital, he succeeded in demonstrating to the country people the advantages which would result from the increased facility of traffic. By degrees this feeling spread itself over the province, and the villagers apply themselves, as soon as the crops are sown, to making new portions of road, which they are further bound to keep in repair. This is obviously the first and most indispensable step in the developement of the resources of the country. It would be well for the Sultan were he possessed of a few more employés as energetic, able, and honest as Osman Pacha.
I regretted that the rapidity of his movements prevented my taking leave of him and his intelligent secretary. But, a few nights before my departure, an express arrived bringing intelligence of a rising in Turkish Croatia, near Banialuka. The news arrived at 9 p.m., and the energetic Pacha was on the road to the scene of the disturbance by 6 a.m. the following morning. The émeute proved trifling; not being, as was at first reported, a Christian insurrection, but a mere ebullition of feeling on the part of the Mussulmans of that district, who are the most poverty-stricken of all the inhabitants of the province.
CHAPTER XVII.
Svornik—Banialuka—New Road—Sport—Hot Springs—Ekshesoo—Mineral Waters—Celebrated Springs—Goitre—The Bosna—Trout-fishing—Tzenitza—Zaptiehs—Maglai—Khans—Frozen Roads—Brod—The Save—Austrian Sentry—Steamer on the Save—Gradiska—Cenovatz—La lingua di tré Regni—Culpa River—Sissek—Croatian Hotel—Carlstadt Silk—Railway to Trieste—Moravian Iron—Concentration of Austrian Troops—Probable Policy—Water-Mills—Semlin—Belgrade.
The shortening days, and the snow, which might now be seen in patches on the mountain sides, warned us of approaching winter, and the necessity for making a start in order to ensure my reaching Constantinople before the Danube navigation should be closed. My illness and other circumstances had combined to detain me later than I had at first intended, and I was consequently compelled to abandon the idea of visiting either Svornik or Banialuka, two of the largest and most important towns in the province. The former of these places is interesting as being considered the key of Bosnia, in a military point of view; the latter, from the numerous remains, which speak eloquently of its former importance. The navigation of the Save, too, having become practicable since the heavy rains had set in, I resolved upon the simplest route of reaching Belgrade, viz., that by Brod. In coming to this decision, I was influenced also by my desire to see the valley of the Bosna, in and above which the road lies for almost the whole distance. No site could have been more judiciously chosen, than that in which Serayevo is built. Surrounded by beautiful hills and meadows, which even in November bore traces of the luxuriant greenness which characterises the province, and watered by the limpid stream of the Migliaska, its appearance is most pleasing. As we rattled down the main street at a smart trot on the morning of the 16th November, in the carriage of Mr. H., the British Consul, it was difficult to believe oneself in a Turkish city. The houses, even though in most cases built of wood, are in good repair; and the trellis-work marking the feminine apartments, and behind which a pair of bright eyes may occasionally be seen, materially heightens the charms of imagination. The road for the first six miles was hard and good. It is a specimen of Osman Pacha's handiwork, and is raised considerably above the surrounding fields, the sides of the road being rivetted, as it were, with wattles. At the end of that distance, and very near the confluence of the Migliaska and the Bosna, I separated from my friends, who were bent on a day's shooting. From the number of shots which reached my ear as I pursued my solitary journey, I should imagine that they must have had a successful day. The love of sport is strongly developed in the people of these provinces, and nature has provided them with ample means of gratifying their inclination. Besides bears, wolves, boars, foxes, roebucks, chamois, hares, and ermines, all of which are plentiful in parts of the country, birds of all kinds abound; grey and red-legged partridges, blackcock, ducks of various kinds, quail, and snipe, are the most common; while flights of geese and cranes pass in the spring and autumn, but only descend in spring. Swans and pelicans are also birds of passage, and occasionally visit these unknown lands. The natives are clever in trapping these animals. This they do either by means of pitfalls or by large traps, made after the fashion of ordinary rat-traps.
Before continuing my journey, I visited the hot springs, which rise from the earth at a stone's throw from the main road. Baths were built over them by Omer Pacha, on the occasion of his last visit to Bosnia, for the benefit of the sick soldiers, and such others as chose to use them. Besides two or three larger baths, there are several intended for one person, each being provided with a kind of cell, as a dressing room. The waters are considered most efficacious in all cases of cutaneous diseases, and were at one time in great request for every kind of disorder, real and imaginary. From what I could gather from the 'Custos,' I should say that they are now but little frequented. Leaving the Migliaska, which is here spanned by a solid bridge of ten arches, we crossed the Bosna in about half an hour. Scattered along the river bank, or in some sheltered nook, protected by large trees alike from the heat and the eyes of curious observers, might be seen the harems of various pachas, and other grandees connected with the province. After four hours farther march, we arrived at Ekshesoo, where 1 located myself in the khan for the night. My first step was to send for a jug of the mineral water, for which the village is famous, and at one period of the year very fashionable. The water has a strong taste of iron, and when fresh drawn, effervesces on being mixed with sugar, wine, or other acids. It is in great repute with all classes, but the Jews are the most addicted to its use. No Hebrew in Serayevo would venture to allow a year to elapse without a visit to the springs; they generally remain there for two or three days, and during that time drink at stated hours gallon after gallon of the medicated fluid. The following night I arrived at Boosovatz, where I left the Travnik road, which I had been retracing up to that point. The water of the Bosna is here beautifully transparent; and at about an hour's distance is a spring, the water of which is considered the best in Bosnia. The Pacha has it brought in all the way to Serayevo, yet, notwithstanding this, I saw many persons in the village suffering from goitre, a by no means uncommon complaint in Bosnia. The cause for the prevalence of this affliction is difficult to understand, unless we attribute it to the use of the river water, which is at times much swollen by the melting snow.
10th November: rain fell in torrents, much to my disgust, as the scenery was very beautiful. The road, which is a portion of the old road constructed by Omer Pacha, skirts the banks of the river, which winds sometimes amongst steep wooded hills, at others in the smooth green plains. At one point we were obliged to ford it; the stream was rather deep and rapid, and I certainly experienced a sensation of relief when I saw my baggage pony fairly landed on the opposite bank, without further injury to his load than a slight immersion. The fishing of the Bosna is not so good as that of the Narento and some other rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Let me not be accused of a partiality for travellers' tales, when I say that trout of 60 lbs. have been killed in the latter province. In external colour these are veritable trout, the flesh, however, having a yellowish appearance, something between the colour of trout and salmon; the smaller fish are of excellent quality and are very abundant. Three hours after leaving Boosovatz we reached Tzenitza, a small town where a little trade is carried on. While sitting in the public room of the khan, the post from Brod arrived en route to Bosna Serai. The man who carried it came in wet and mud-bespattered, and declared the road to be quite impassable; a bit of self-glorification which I took for what it was worth. Had I not been pressed for time I should have myself been inclined to give way to the importunities of all concerned, to postpone my journey to Vranduk until the following day; but seeing no prospect of any improvement in the weather, I deemed it prudent to push on.