Written by Petrit Latfi

In the years 1840 -1843, Shitiari was forced to ask the Metropolitan, (ruler) of Montenegro for protection and promised to pay tribute for the attacks on their van. This lasted 2 – 3 years until the Turks again took the border islands of Lesendri and Vranina. Shitiari paid the tribute *(tax) by taking it to Rijeka and from there the Ceklinjani took it to Vladikavka. Upon taking these islands, Osman Pasha fortified them and placed two ships with 24 brave Arbanas / Albanians chosen who had the task of crossing the Shkodra lakes by ship and securing the Krajani during the voyage.

Two clashes between the Ceklinjani and the Krajani in those years are known. One in Pjetrov (Petrova Ponte) and the other near Lesendri. The first happened during the day in 1836, the second on the night of February 11-12, 1858. (These two cases are also described by Simo Matavul in the post below, noting from the testimony of Malisha who was also the protagonist of these two events).

During the first battle, the detachment had captured about 80 rams under the Bjeshkeve të Nemuna (probably the present-day field around Koplik where the Krajans drove their cattle) and returned during the day. But the Krajans noticed them, so the entire Kraja rose up, tied all the rafts and boats, filled them with people and chained them together towards Petrova Ponta, where the lake is narrowest, and thus cut off the detachments’ return.

There were up to a hundred Montenegrins in the detachment, when they saw it they rushed forward in despair, fighting out of fear. As soon as they entered the chain-link fence, they broke it with axes, then broke forward and ran. On both sides there were many killed and wounded.
In the second attack, a party of ten ships and boats rose and crossed from Lesandra at night to attack the loot in Shkodra.

The ships were scattered from Lesandra to Pjetrova Ponta, when two guard ships from Lesandra collided with the last two Ceklina ships. The Turkish ships each had a cannon. The Montenegrins captured one “Turkish” ship among them, while the others fled to Lesandra, and threw themselves among the Turks and cut off eighteen of their heads, while the rest of them drowned. They took the cannon and sailed..