Page:The nomads of the Balkans, an account of life and customs among the Vlachs of Northern Pindus (1914).djvu/24

 years. Local opinion is undecided as to who is precisely to blame, and suggests the ferryman or the railway which is supposed to dislike road traffic. We crossed this time with little delay, but two mules jammed their bundles in the ferry boat and broke a bottle containing five okes of the best Tirnavos uzo. Uzo is the North Greek variety of raki ; that made at Tirnavos is justly famous. We followed the road for some distance, and at 10 a.m. halted in a grove of mulberry trees by the roadside just beyond the khian of Zarkos. The village of Zarkos, which lies in a recess in the hills to the north of the road, has a considerable Vlach population mainly from Avdhela.

The midday halt lasted several hours. Fires were lit and enough food cooked to last till the next day, for the camping ground where the night was to be spent was known to be bare of fuel. On the most frequented routes the muleteers have regular camping grounds where wood, water and grass can be found together. The whole journey is often calculated by so many kunăk’i or camps, and the length of each day’s journey depends on the position of these rather than on the distance actually covered. The sun was so hot that those who could not find shade under the mulberries unpacked and set up their tents. As a race the Vlachs seem to feel the heat to an excessive degree, and even in the hills will complain of the sun on a day which most would consider only reasonably warm. A Vlach tent, which is only used for sun or heavy rain, is of a simple and effective type (Plate III 2). It consists of a long, oblong blanket, very thick and made of coarse wool, and in colour white with broad black or dark brown stripes. The narrow ends are pegged to the ground, while the centre is supported by two light poles connected at the top by a thin cross-bar. The baggage heaped up and covered by another blanket forms a back, and so a simple gable tent without a door is made. These tents have two points in their favour, first the sides can be touched without any fear of letting in the rain, and secondly they are very light and portable. The two poles and the cross-bar, hardly thicker than laths, make no appreciable difference to any mule load, and the