Page:The nomads of the Balkans, an account of life and customs among the Vlachs of Northern Pindus (1914).djvu/30

 first. They were followed by a band of women and girls also on foot, most of whom were carrying their shoes in their hands in order to get over the rough ground more easily. The rear was brought up by the long and slowly moving procession of laden mules (Plate II 1), by side of which walked the muleteers and men urging them on with sticks, stones and curses, and ever on the look out lest a mule should get into rough ground. If a mule gets into uneven ground, the clumsy bundles balanced on its pack saddle, which is never tightly girthed, begin to sway ominously from side to side, and may turn right over to one side saddle and all, and so involve five minutes’ delay while all is unfastened, and reloaded. Also should a mule stumble and fall it cannot get up again unaided ; the load is too hea^ and clumsy. Then when men rush in on either side and lift the bundles to help the mule to rise, the perverse animal as often as not politely declines to do so, and rolls over on its side kicking out in a tangle of ropes, bales, chickens, cooking pots, puppies and any other small items that may have been thrown on top. Between each of the three divisions of the caravan there was a gap, and with the last mounted on the mules was all that could not walk, grandmothers, cats, babies and chickens.

Up the steep ascent on the other side of the Venetiko we pushed on ahead with the division of boys, till we came out on to a wide grassy plateau. This was covered with droves of grazing mules and horses, each in charge of a small Vlach boy, and showed that at last the fair was near at hand. In less than an hour the plateau was crossed, and suddenly on reaching its northern edge Ghrevena and the fair of St Akhillios came into view. The shelving slope beneath us was covered with groups of Vlach tents arranged according to villages. Here were the Smiksi families from Potamia, there the Perivoli folk from Velestinos, beyond the Samarina people from Elassona, below the Avdhela families, and so on. At the foot of the slope was the river of Ghrevena, a wide but shallow stream, which flows into the Haliakmon a few miles further east. Directly in front on the further bank was the town with its trees, minarets and clock tower nestling