In this chapter are included events that have been missed previously.

THE KILLING OF THE TAX COLLECTOR

(As described to me by SPIRO PRASINOV - KACHANDONOV)

The tax collector and one soldier came from the neighbouring village of BABCHOR and established themselves in our village "town hall" (in the HAN) upstairs with the soldier standing guard at the staircase. Suddenly, two men appeared (one of them being KOLIO YANCHOV, whom we met earlier). After overpowering the guard, they went upstairs into the room, shot the tax collector dead, and escaped with the "double bag" (DISAKI) with what they thought was the money. To their disappointment, they soon discovered that they had grabbed the wrong bag! The bag they had taken contained only apples! Meanwhile, the village ranger (FILETO STUMBOV) grabbed the bag with the money and took it to the authorities in Kastoria so that there would not be any reprisals against the village. In the meantime, all the people fled towards the place we call "LUNGO" and stayed there until the ranger returned and assured them that there was no danger. This happened in 1905. (The guard died of wounds soon after.) Miteto Prestenarov's account claims (according to Pando Petrov) that to facilitate the gathering of taxes, the tax collector befriended KUZO BLATSKY, a rebel leader from the village of BLATSA (OXIA) (KUZO POPDINOV). When the Turkish authorities in Kastoria learned about this, they offered the tax collector 200 lira for the elimination of KUZO, which he accepted, and was asking the villagers his whereabouts. Meanwhile, the Committee learned about this and ordered three men, KOLIO YANCHOV and PETRETO PASHKIN from the village of SHESTEOVO and another unknown man to assassinate the tax collector.

(Damianos Giantsos)

As mentioned earlier, the above person held the post of secretary of the Anti-Fascist group in our village during the worst period in our history. Apart from the mistake he made in informing indirectly the police station of the impending attack by the insurgents, he also, it is claimed, made other mistakes and finally fell asleep on duty. He was suffering from insomnia and would go without sleep for several nights. He would then suddenly go into a deep sleep. It is claimed that the high command, which kept a close watch on him after the first incident, was looking for an excuse to eliminate him, and this was it! It is not known whether he pleaded "guilty" at the trial by an open "people's court," but before his execution on the spot by firing squad was asked if he had anything to say, to which he replied, "My only regret is that I die by the hands of my
Zz comrades instead of the enemy." However, a source close to his family claims that he did not fall asleep on duty and the whole episode was a frame-up as an excuse to eliminate him.

(DAMIANOS TOSCOS) by the Italians

NOCHO MIHAILOV was the president of our village since 1932, and during his power of office, additional water had been brought into the village including a fountain and a plum tree planted in the village square. He was young and "progressive"; he even suggested to the "peasants" to trim the branches off the trees and cut short the thorns that were overhanging and blocking the road from SVETI ATANAS to SELISHTA. Because of the branches and thorns, a lot of hay was lost during carting, but the peasants turned a deaf ear. During the dictatorship of General Metaxas, he fully cooperated with the authorities, and one man from our village told me that he and another man were talking in our language over a cup of coffee in the HAN. NOCHO overheard them and politely said in Greek, "Leave this language alone, will you?"

In 1937 a youth parade took place in the city of Kastoria from about 10 villages. it was lead by our respective presidents. We paraded, passing each other and saluting in Nazi style. As described earlier, most of the older youth of our village were organized secretly into an Anti-Fascist group, of which the above person knew but did not join them because of his positions. For these reasons, some of the people in our village regarded him as a "GRECOMAN" (Hellenophile).

According to MITE's account, he refused to cooperate with the Italians and asked the Anti-Fascist group for advice. They told him that the only way to save his life would be to join the Resistance Movement in the mountains. However, before they could negotiate this move, the "Bulgarophiles" from our village saw an opportunity to liquidate him because of his pro-Greek leaning and, through the Anti-Resistance Committee, they "exposed" him to the Italian command in Kastoria. One day in 1943, committeemen from the village of APOSKEP took him to Kastoria; and, after questioning him, the Italians set him free. When his enemies heard this, they went to the Italian command a second time, pleading for his liquidation. The Italians in their "wisdom" would rather lose one individual than the supporters of the Anti-Resistance Committee, so they arrested him before leaving Kastoria and executed him soon after. It is claimed that before he died he cried out "Long Live Greece!"

After 1949, the main square in our village was named after him by the Greek government (PLATIA DAMIANOV TOSKOV).