Skopje, 3 September 2026 (MIA) - From the memoirs of Gjorche Petrov, June 14, 1908, concerning his role in the Miss Stone kidnapping affair.

I had not yet left Sofia when we decided that Delchev himself should take charge of the struggle here against the Conchevists. This was before I was detained at the police station and sent into internment in Trnovo. By then, the Miss Stone affair had already occurred. Her capture was carried out without our knowledge. We knew that plans were being made to capture another person at the fair in Dolna Dzhumaya, in the Seres area. When that attempt failed, the Razlog cheta, led by Sandanski, devised a new plan on its way back to Razlog and captured Miss Stone together with Cilka. Once they had carried out the operation, and after being driven out of there, they crossed into Bulgaria during the first few days, into the Dupnica area. They had accomplished their task, but then became entangled in the aftermath and did not know what to do next. Maleshevski insisted that I go to Dupnica, as they wanted instructions on how to proceed. We were arranging for me to meet with them, with Sandanski, so that I could give them instructions in person. Here in Sofia, the police had become very active, trying to catch either the people involved or at least uncover the threads of the affair. Because of this, I could not meet with them. A special police officer from here had been assigned to follow me without my knowledge - Veljo Marinov, the current police constable. I happened to run into him by chance and jokingly told him that he had probably come to catch komiti and that he probably wanted to catch me as well. He became confused, and I realized that this was indeed the case. We went out for a drink, had quite a few, and he eventually admitted it to me. The next day, I fled back to Sofia. The government was seriously concerned about capturing Sandanski; they were ashamed that the reputation of the Bulgarian name was being tarnished in Europe and America. The government was convinced that I was the intellectual mastermind behind the affair, and they therefore intended to arrest me. Karavelov had intended simply to have Maleshevski and me hanged by a military court, in order to present a certain image to European public opinion. But the police officials argued that it would be difficult to extract anything from me through legal proceedings.

“You will learn nothing from that devil,” they said. Had they been more careful at the border, they would have caught me in a trap. Eventually, they decided to intern me in Kurtbunar. I protested to mayor K’nchev and mocked the ministers. Since I had no means of support, I wanted them to allow me to remain in Trnovo, where I had friends. They agreed, but under very strict, secret surveillance: my correspondence was to be inspected and anyone who came to see me was to be followed, and so on. I learned about this only later. In practice, I was affected by the measure only conditionally. As I was setting out, I told the mayor that they were not targeting me, but the Organization. And this first attempt to strike at the Organization should not have been allowed to go unanswered. Unfortunately, among us, a sense of organizational honor was often lacking, and Garvanov was also a member of the Central Committee, and he rejoiced at what had happened. Later, I learned from the police constable in Trnovo, with whom I had become friends, just how strict the surveillance measures against me had been. Despite this strict surveillance, I was once again the one who handled the entire Miss Stone affair. Thus, before I was interned, I sent the first letter to the missionaries in Samokov, outlining Miss Stone’s fate, the reasons for her abduction, and a proposal for a ransom of 25,000 lira. It also contained a handwritten letter from her. In response, the secretary of the American Legation in Constantinople arrived. Maleshevski came to see me in Trnovo, secretly, of course, to seek advice about the struggle against the Vrhovists and about this affair. He came twice. We agreed that two representatives of Sandanski should go to Sofia to negotiate with representatives of the Legation. Chernopeev and Krsto Asenov came. They too came to see me twice in Trnovo for instructions. I received indirect proposals from the government that I should reveal the affair to them and leave it to the government to settle it. Rizov wanted to enhance his own importance and insisted on coming to see me so that we could negotiate. They proposed that we abandon the ransom in order to make a good impression. Our needs were considerable. I was puzzled by the government’s interference in the matter. At the first meeting, the American secretary had acted very arrogantly, saying that he had no business dealing with bandits and that he wanted to deal with the government. Following my instructions, our men replied that they did not recognize the government that it was their enemy, and that if he refused to negotiate with them and dared to betray them, he would not remain alive, nor would they surrender alive. It appears that he spoke with the government, and afterwards he softened his position and entered into negotiations. His initial offer was rejected; he started with 5,000 lira. After several meetings, the negotiations had been settled in broad terms, with only the final details remaining to be worked out in Constantinople. We suspected, and rightly so, that everything was being done in agreement with the government. We therefore considered it more appropriate to move the center of the negotiations to Plovdiv. From there, a Bulgarian missionary representative would travel to Constantinople, while the negotiations would then be conducted directly with the cheta in Razlog. As the cheta had grown tired and the negotiations had dragged on for too long, and since the Vrhovists, supported by our own government, were conducting searches with strong detachments, we decided to settle for 14,000 lira.

The money was brought by Sandanski, Krsto Asenov and Sava Mihailov - in gold, in lira coins. They brought it to my room. I secretly returned from Trnovo for a few days. We divided the money into small amounts and entrusted them temporarily to various friends for safekeeping. One portion was left in Kostenec Bath with relatives and acquaintances, and another in Vraca. The people guarded the money as if it were sacred, though there was also fear hanging over them. They proved to be trustworthy. I had entrusted 3,000 lira to the poet Strashimirov, 1,000 to Biolchev, and 2,000 lira to a doctor who was living with relatives. Strashimirov’s wife, Stefka, guarded the money as if it were sacred - they returned it all. We did not even think to give them anything as a token of appreciation or a reward; that is how honorably they safeguarded it.

The money was not taken from the people who were keeping it all at once, but gradually, as it was needed and spent. Delchev was called back from the interior, and a committee was formed, consisting of Delchev, N. Maleshevski, Tushe Deli Ivanov and Stefanov, I believe. They were tasked with making decisions and overseeing matters concerning the money, specifically the portion designated for spending in Bulgaria. A portion was allocated for the interior and distributed among the various districts. Most of the money was spent here. None of the direct participants took any reward for themselves, nor did their lives, marked by hardship and deprivation, change in any way as a result, or show any noticeable improvement. In general, the money spent here greatly helped strengthen the Organization. For the most part, the funds were used here in the struggle against Vrhovism.