THE VASOJEYIĆKI KOM
ALBANIANS AND MONTENEGRINS AT ANDRIJEVIĆA
P.'s horse was ill—in fact, it was his last journey. A few days afterwards he died from inflammation of the lungs, contracted at Velika that day.
We went for a few days' shooting on the Vasojevićki Kom, and were handed over by the Voivoda to one called Vaso, a rich peasant of the district. He swore to be answerable for our safety, with his head and all that was his, and we lived with him for many days on the side of the mighty mountain.
The shooting was not good, however; it was not the season, but otherwise our stay was very pleasant. The grassy plateau was about five thousand feet high and bitterly cold at night; below us, on either side, stretched great beech forests, and the Kom rose abruptly before us.
Our hut was large and roomy, but draughty to an extreme. At night the icy wind whistled through its crevices, and we had to bury our heads in blankets. The whole family shared it with us, and in one corner stood an unwearied calf, too tender to brave the cold of the outside.
Those evenings which we spent round the fire are impossible to describe adequately. Tired from a long day's tramping and sliding through the forests, often wet to the skin from heavy showers, the peace and warmth of that camp fire were delightful.