Chapter IX: Part 9

I received your very kind letter about a week ago, for which I
thank you very much, and I read it with great pleasure. But we
do not get the boys' letters regularly. It is nearly two months
since the disaster occurred, and in that time I have received
but one letter. The other day an Armenian handed me a letter
that was torn into nearly a hundred pieces. I put all the pieces
together and read it. It was also from the boys, and I read and was
very glad. Now I will try to give you a little information about
us. The first Monday I did not go to the market, for from Saturday
I got somehow suspicious that there was something impending over
the city, and I did not let father go either. My brother was to
accompany those who were going to bring up a bride for my brother's
partner in business. While my brother was at the wedding house,
they sent him on an errand to go and get a few policemen to
accompany them as protection in bringing the bride. Just at the
moment when my brother was on his way to the station-house, he
sees there was confusion in the market; then he drops the matter
of bringing a policeman, but goes to the market and closes the
shop, and then turns towards home in a hurry. While on his way,
some men fired at him several times, but fortunately he was not
hurt. He comes as far as to one of our neighbors, and there drops
down exhausted. They came and brought me the news that he was
there. Then I plucked up all the courage I could, and went and
brought him home. An hour or so after, the Turks came and besieged
that same quarter and killed about thirty persons. On Tuesday,
very early in the morning, we left everything, house, property,
and goods, and just to save our lives we fled to the new church,
and I don't know what became of the rest. We remained there in the
church until Friday; after that we came out of the church, being
a little assured of safety, and have been living on the provision
that the government allowed us, but that also ceased a few days
since. When we came back home again we did not find a single
thing; they had swept off everything. We brought a matting from
some place, and six of us sleep in one bed. Some sleep on hay. May
you never have to endure such hardships. This incident seems worse
than the earthquake or the cholera, or the fire. May the good Lord
preserve us from things worse than these. Our life is not worth
the living. We don't know the exact number of the killed. Malatia
is altogether a ruin. It is a worse ruin than the city of Anni,
and even worse than Sassoun. It is beyond conception, one cannot
keep account of it. May the Lord write it down in his own account
book, so that he should take the account in the day of judgment.

Please excuse all my shortcomings, because I am out of myself. Our
love to all the friends over there.

Yours truly,

P.S. Please tell the boys to know the value of money, and not
waste neither their time nor their money in vain. For we have no
one to look for but to God in heaven, and after Him to them on
earth. For the value of a son is known in the time of adversity,
when he helps his elders or parents. Let them not yet send any
money, for there are no brokers left where we can change it.

THE CITY OF SIVAS AND THE ATROCITIES.

Sivas is the seat of the vilayet or province of Sivas. The Governor-General of that province resides there. The population is about 30,000; one-third are Christian Armenians, and there are many Armenian Christian towns and villages round about, so that, if the Armenians are not more numerous than the Mohammedans, they equal them in number. Sivas is a missionary station, and during the atrocities, the Protestant Armenian pastor also was killed. His name was Garabet-Kilitjiam, one of the most gifted ministers of the gospel, my personal friend and successor. After I resigned my pastorate at Talas, Cesarea, he succeeded me. He was offered the choice of accepting Mohammedanism, but refused it, and then he was martyred.

In the city and province of Sivas during the recent atrocities about 10,000 Armenians were killed, and many villages and towns were plundered and destroyed.

The following is a press dispatch:--

London, Nov. 16, 1895.--The representative of the United Press
at Constantinople reports, under the date of November 15th, that
at six o'clock, on the evening of November 14th, M. A. Jewett,
United States consul at Sivas, sent a telegram to United States
Minister Terrell informing him that in the disturbances which had
taken place at Sivas, eight hundred Armenians and ten Turks had
been killed, and that, according to official reports, a large
body of Kurds were then approaching the town. Mr. Jewett gave
no details of the disorders, but the discrepancy in the figures
shows that the Turkish allegations that the Armenians were the
aggressors are absolutely untrue, and that the Armenians were
deliberately massacred.

From a private letter from Sivas, Nov. 21, 1895.

"The air was full of wild rumors--but we could get at nothing that
seemed to have any substantial truthful basis. Dr. Jewett--our
consul--was on the alert. He interviewed the Governor-General,--and
asked for protection for us, for the U.S.A. vice-consul, for our
schools, and for the American Consulate. These were cheerfully
promised, and the next day, Tuesday, November 12th, at midday, like
a cyclone, Sivas was smitten, as I wrote you last week. Mr. P. and
I had steadfastly refused to believe that such violence could
take place in our city, and we were totally unprepared for the
shock. Our walls had been taken down,--that is, our front wall
had been,--a distance of 125 feet. Our girls' school-building had
been cut off seven and a half feet on the southwest corner, and
both our schools and our dwellings were in an entirely unprotected
state. The day of the terrible disaster, the city water was cut
off from our street, and for several days the heat was unusual
for this time of the year. The dead were buried on Thursday,
under the direction of the government, in the Armenian graveyard,
a priest of the Gregorian faith being present to offer a prayer.

"Our good native pastor was in the market to attend to the
interests of his people, when, at a given signal, a tribe of
mountaineers, known as Karsluks suddenly fell upon the Armenians
with clubs, and were soon followed by Circassians and local
Mussulmen, with knives and pistols; quickly and lastly the
police force and regular soldiers joined in with their Martini
rifles. It was a combined onslaught of four other races against
the Armenians. It has been declared that the Armenians were in
armed revolt against the government, and this was done to put
down the revolution. When the attack was made against them, we
fail to find that there was any armed resistance, so far as we
can learn. If the Armenians were premeditating an armed attack
upon the Mussulmen, we never could find it out, but that proves
nothing here or there, as missionaries are well known not to
sympathize with revolutionists.

"Badveli Garabed died a martyr; his life being offered him three
times if he would deny Christ. He bore noble testimony before
many witnesses, then fell in their presence, sealing his faith
and testimony with his blood.

"Yours affectionately,"

Further Information about Sivas by the Missionaries who wrote to their friends Nov. 12, 1895.

"The cyclone which struck on the 12th reached Marsovan on the
15th. Don't be deceived by any of the silly government statements
which attribute all these massacres to the Armenians. It was
a deliberate plan on the part of the government to punish the
Armenians. The Sultan was irritated because he was forced to give
them reforms, so he has had 7,000 Armenians killed to show his
power since he signed the scheme of reform.

"The killing was permitted to go on here all last week; forty-six
were killed Saturday, November 16; sixteen on Sunday, and many
more on the following day. The total number killed is about 1,200
Armenians and ten Turks.

"It is a fact that the Kaimakam of Gurun telegraphed to the Vali
at Sivas, saying in effect that there is not an Armenian left at
Gurun. The Armenians at Sivas made no resistance, but at Gurun
they tried to defend themselves from the butchery, and suffered
the worse for it.

"In order to have an excuse for attacking the Armenians at Sivas,
the government smashed the windows of Turkish shops and charged
it to the Armenians. Food is scarce, and everything was carried
off from the Armenian shops. There will be terrible suffering
all over this country."

Another letter from Sivas, according to the Constantinople correspondent, gives many details which all go to show that the whole movement against the Armenians is directly traceable to the head of the Turkish government, who proclaimed that his great desire was to keep always in view, "The safeguard of the rights of the people, and the maintenance of public confidence."

"What cruel mockery; Trebizond, Erzeroum, Bitlis, Marash,
Harpoot and how many more towns rise up and point the finger
of everlasting scorn and indignation to fix on Abdul Hamid
Khan the stigma of everlasting infamy! The deliberate murder
of thousands of innocent and industrious men, the exposure of
ten times that number of women and children and aged persons to
absolute degradation and destitution, will justify the name of
Kanukiar--the Bloodletter--which has been applied to the head
authority of the Empire."

The Riot in Sivas.

"Last week, Monday, November 11, was one of the loveliest days
Sivas ever had. Although there were many rumors of trouble afloat,
we could get at nothing which seemed to have any greater foundation
than the fear that something might happen.

"I went unattended to the boys' school. On my way to school
that afternoon, I met a group of excited soldiers. They said
nothing to me, but their strangely excited manner impressed me
as being out of the usual order. When I began my class work,
the boys, instead of answering my questions, broke forth with
inquiries. They wanted to know if the soldiers were going to
shoot them, and if they were going to be killed. That was the
rumor afloat. I hushed them up as best I could, and told them it
was not right to speak of such things. I succeeded in quieting
the children, but went home full of anxiety.

"The next day, Tuesday, a large gang of Turkish workmen gathered in
our street to continue the public work of building up some walls
which had been torn down at the Vali's orders, for the purpose
of widening the street. Armenian carpenters were employed on our
building. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred until the workmen's
'bread time,' about 11 o'clock, was finished.

"Then all the Osmanli (Turkish) gang suddenly raised a hue and
cry; each one grabbed a pick or club, anything he could lay his
hands on, and a wild rush was made for the market-place. The air
was filled with yells of the furious men, who rushed along madly.

"The Protestant pastor remained at home on the day before,
but on Tuesday was in a shop when the signal for the raid was
given. A perfect cyclone of marauders rushed in and clubbed the
unsuspecting men in the stores to death before they could offer
any resistance. After the outbreak there was not a single Armenian
place of business left in the market.

"No list of the dead was made out, and none could be. The victims
were all buried in an immense trench in the Armenian burying-ground
two days afterwards. There were between seven and eight hundred
bodies thus buried."

MARSOVAN AND THE ATROCITIES THERE.

Marsovan has 25,000 population, 10,000 being Armenians, and the remainder Mohammedans. Marsovan is one of the greatest stations of the American missionaries. Anatolia College is there; a theological seminary for young men; and a seminary for girls. The writer was the pastor of the Evangelical Armenian church there till he was banished, for the reasons stated in the sketch of him. After this the Turks burned the girls' school; they tried to burn the boys' college building also, but did not succeed. Finally they several times massacred the Armenian Christians, and forced many to accept Mohammedanism.

I have not been able to get exact information about the number of the martyred Christians in Marsovan, but it is believed that in that missionary station about 1,000 were massacred altogether. The richest men among the congregation were murdered, and so thoroughly plundered that their children are left wholly destitute; and the lives of the missionaries are in danger.

CESAREA (KAISERIEH).

The writer is well acquainted with this city, as he was the pastor at Talas, only three miles away, for years. It has about 50,000 population, one-third being Christians; a few hundred Greeks only, but more than 15,000 Armenians. The richest and ablest Armenians live in that city, or in Constantinople, and came from there; its people are the leaders of the Armenian nation, both in business and intellect. For the story of its foundation, see "The Haigazian Dynasty," under King Aram. It is a typical Armenian city; and has several great Armenian churches, with flourishing schools. There is a beautiful evangelical church also, and it is a great missionary station, with several American missionaries, and several missionary schools, both for boys and for girls.

The Rev. Dr. Avedis Yeretzian, one of the greatest of scholars, teachers, and preachers, and my personal friend, was martyred in that city during the recent atrocities. He was shot dead in his own house by a Mohammedan mob, then his wife was shot, then his son, and the remainder of his children were captured by the mob. About 3,000 Armenians were killed and wounded there, besides the loss of property. The Mohammedan population of the city is very savage; side by side in the same city, the Christians are rich, refined, intelligent, and the Mohammedans poor, lazy, sensual, and cruel. I give here two letters from Cesarea.

A Private Letter from a Girl.

Cesarea, Turkey, Dec. 31, 1895.

My Dear Brother:--

Before the massacre, everybody was in fear; several families
would gather in one house to protect themselves, and all the
Armenian stores were closed for twenty days; but as the government
guaranteed that there would be no danger, and told everybody to
attend to their business, and open their shops, they did so. It
was the 16th of November, on Saturday, that all opened their shops
again, and the transaction of business commenced in full force. At
2 p. m., at the doors of the market, bugles sounded, and several
hundred bashi-bazook [irregular soldiers] were at the doors of the
bazaar, every one of them having in his hands stilettos, swords,
yataghans, guns, revolvers, hammers, axes, hatchets, sickles,
poniards, daggers, and heavy sticks with twenty or thirty nails
fastened to them. Then they blew horns, the signal to start the
massacre. Cries were heard, "First kill, cut, and butcher the
Giavours; the property already belongs to us; cut, cut, kill, don't
care for plundering at present." Then they rushed into the market
and slaughtered all they met. Oh! you can imagine what became of
those who fell into the hands of those brutes. Alas! alas! how
unspeakable! They butchered them like cattle; cut their heads
off like onions. Some tried to run, but could not, others tried
to escape, but were brought back and killed. The bazaar was
full of dead bodies. People hid themselves among the goods,
and in the cellars, and were saved; ten or fifteen days after,
people were found there in a starving condition, not having dared
to come out. They killed in Avsharaghus factory thirty-eight men;
in Kayanjilar everybody was slain. After the massacre was over, the
governor, Ferick Pasha, sent soldiers around, and they discovered
many people hiding, and took them back to the government house
(seray), examined their pockets for revolvers and knives, and
not finding any, the governor sent them to their homes.

They plundered the bazaar of all its goods, and then, oh, my
Lord! they rushed upon the houses and upon the women's Turkish
baths.... I cannot describe this; when I think of it, my whole
body trembles. The people in the baths were killed and wounded,
and they carried away the young girls; every one was killed that
they came in contact with. The houses were plundered of all their
contents, and buildings were torn down, and houses full of people
were burned. Oh, how terrible! What I say you cannot imagine to be
so; you may think it is a dream, because your eyes have not seen
nor your ears heard the screams, wailings, weeping, shrieks, and
groaning; that even our forefathers have not heard, but of which
our ears are full day and night. My brother was in the bazaar,
but fortunately he had occupied a private room, where he was safe.

Some of the kidnapped girls were brought back by the government,
but most of them were wounded, and half dead from fright. Thank
God, we are safe, but we are not better than those girls. We are
in Mr. Wingate's house, where many lives were saved. He carried
beds and clothing to the people, who were stripped of all. A
few Mussulmans also protected in their homes some Armenians;
for example, James Imuroglov, Gojaki Ogloo.

Yeretzian Avedis Effendi's house is ruined, himself, his son,
and wife are killed, and the rest, five of them, are carried
away. Our block and their block is ruined. They butchered Avjinury,
Yuzukji, Dirnhitza and carried away her three daughters, but
later on brought two of them back. I mentioned them, as you
know. They also butchered Yuzikji Apraham and his wife Gaga Haji,
Gemerlkli Ohanness, Mustaamelji Gobra, Terrzi Artin, Erzurumli,
servant boy. Avedis Ago and his daughter were carried away. Gussi
Hamimon's mother is low. Oh, pity the intolerable many, many, I
cannot write by my pen, or describe with my tongue the terrible
sufferings. O Lord, have mercy upon us! To my knowledge there
were five hundred killed, six hundred wounded; many are dying from
their wounds and fright. Eight hundred houses are plundered, and
the tenants flocked to the churches. I cannot write one hundredth
part of what happened.

We are lost, lost, ruined, no work, no business, every one of us
looking for safety. Happy, happy be you that are in America and
have nothing to fear. They say to me, you ought to be with your
brother in America now. If the way was opened, everybody would
like to go.

If you are not in good circumstances there, you must feel satisfied
and give the thanks to God always. We also have to thank God that
we are still living. It is one month now that we have not been able
to go out in the streets. O Lord, help us, Oh! what shall we come
to? Oh, my dear brother, if you can help us in any way please do
so; make lectures, get some help; everybody is dying of hunger. I
cannot write any longer; we leave all to your conscience. I do
not write this letter only to you, but to all. Do whatever you can
for us, we are in a terrible condition. I thank you, my brother,
for the money that you sent to me, thank you very much.

We send our best regards to every one of you. I wrote this
letter with the tears in my eyes. We beg of you to write us good
letters. Vaham, the little boy, is in good health. We are all
well including

Your sister,

Letter from Cesarea.

Cesarea, Nov. 20, 1895.--While the Armenians were engaged
in their business, as usual, the Turkish mob fell upon them,
killing 600 defenseless men and wounding 1,000 more. The mob
divided into four parts. The first part plundered the stores,
the second looted the houses, the third secured the maidens and
young brides, while the fourth, fiends incarnate, attacked the
public baths. These human devils killed six naked women in the
presence of the others, snatching their babies from their arms and
bayoneting the mothers. The shrieks and agonizing cries of these
poor creatures made no impression upon the minds of the savage
Turks, who laughed at their death agonies. They then took some
of the young girls, who were with their mothers at the bath,
and dragged them naked, by their feet, through the streets,
followed by a jeering and hooting mob.

The Turks who attacked the houses then killed them and fired the
houses. The cries of the women, mingled with the hoarse shouts of
the Turks, can never be forgotten. The men who survived the sword
were discovered, taken to the magistrate and searched, but no arms
were found in their possession, not even a knife. When released,
and allowed to return to their homes, they were confronted by a
most ghastly picture. Some found their wives dead, others horribly
mutilated; daughters were bleeding. My hand almost fails me to
write the awful particulars. It took three or four days to remove
the bodies of the dead with forty carts. Add to this the want,
the desolation. Oh, my God, for how long, how long! Where are
those Christian powers who saved African slaves? Where are those
Christians who advocated brotherly love and mercy, sending their
missionaries to teach us? Are they deaf to our piercing cry?

AINTAB AND ITS HORRORS.

The writer is well acquainted with Aintab, and some of his best friends live there, if they have not been killed. It has about 40,000 population, one-third of it being Armenian. There are great scholars among them. Central Turkey College is there. It is an American college, but most of the professors are native Armenians, graduates of Yale College. There is also a woman's American College and a hospital. The Evangelical Armenians are the strongest; they have three large churches. They are considered to be the richest Evangelical Armenians in Turkey. But hundreds of them were killed, wounded and plundered; in all about 4,000 of the Armenian population were killed.

A Letter from Aintab, November 23, 1895.

Aintab has had its baptism of blood and fire, and we sit in grief
among ruins. We had been hoping that the many things which seemed
to combine for our security would save our city from the fury
of the storm which is desolating so many places about us. Our
Christian community is large (about one-fourth of the whole
population), and the Christians, as a class, are exceptionally
intelligent and influential; the leading Moslems of the city
are intelligent and able men, and have shown themselves to a
degree tolerant and even friendly to Christians; the governor
has seemed disposed, beyond most Turkish officials, to respect
the rights of Christians. There is a considerable number of
foreign residents sure to be witnesses of any violence done to
Christians. The college and hospital have for years commanded a
powerful influence in the city; the hospital especially has the
good-will of all classes; the college, its students and teachers
were no doubt regarded by many with much suspicion on account of
the latent antagonisms inevitably existing between progressive and
conservative ideas, but personal relations were, so far as I know,
always friendly. Another thing in our favor has been the fact that
the Christians of Aintab have given very little countenance to the
ultra-revolutionists, who have no doubt provoked trouble in some
places. Relying upon all these things, we had for nearly three
weeks been hearing reports of fighting and massacre at Zeitoon,
Marash, and Oorfa, and other places, with comparatively little
anxiety for ourselves. It is true we were frequently hearing of
fearful threats and warnings of what the Moslems were preparing
to do in Aintab, but we had got hardened to that sort of thing,
and regarded it as largely the invention of cowardly roughs to
terrify those whom they did not dare attack. The most alarming
thing in the situation was that the government was disarming the
Christians, and at the same time giving out rifles and ammunition
to Moslems. This, however, was attributed to an exaggerated fear
of a Christian rising, of which they profess to have information.

Meantime the Moslems liable to military service were called out
and equipped and hurried off toward Zeitoon, where it was reported
that the Christians were in rebellion. This, no doubt, was the
occasion of intense irritation, and both the soldiers and their
friends were saying, "If we must fight Christians we will begin
with those close at hand." Under these circumstances the native
Christians became very anxious, and made such preparations for
defense as circumstances permitted, at the same time keeping as
quiet as possible, and avoiding all controversy and altercations
with the Moslems. The government increased the police force in the
city, and held a considerable force of troops at the barracks near
the town, and the governor and principal men seemed to be making
much effort to quiet the people. Several considerable tumults
had occurred and been promptly suppressed without bloodshed;
so day after day dragged on, each hour increasing the hope that
we should tide over the crisis.

Saturday morning, November 16, more than three weeks after the
first riot in Marash, at about half past seven, just as we were
rising from breakfast, our people came in with white faces saying,
"The day of judgment has come in the city." We hastened to the
door, and sure enough the mob was at work; all the west and
south part of the city seemed to be in an uproar; crowds of
people rushing in every direction, roofs covered with excited
men, women, and children; the strange mingling of cries of fear,
anger, and defiance, with occasional gun and pistol shots, made
an exhibition of the most fearful tumult and confusion.

Already troops were hurrying forward, and soon a company of some
sixty soldiers were stationed in front of the Girls' Seminary,
with pickets out to cover the approaches to the hospital and
college. Dr. Shepherd and Mr. Sanders mounted their horses
and hastened to the hospital and seminary, where they remained
until the rioting ceased. The college is about half a mile west
of the seminary and hospital, and commands a full view of these
buildings, and of the whole west end of the city, where most of
the rioting occurred.

What we, who were looking on, saw from this point was the narrow
streets densely crowded with intensely excited people, now and then
a rush made upon some house or gate, the rally of defenders on the
roofs, among whom women were often foremost, using stones, clubs,
and sometimes guns and pistols as best they could. Sometimes the
attack is beaten off, and the assailants withdraw to organize a
new assault, sometimes a gate or wall is broken down, and then the
noise of conflict subsides and the work of massacre and plunder
begins. Later on, long lines of people moving off to their homes
laden with plunder, and later still the flames and smoke rising
from the burning houses.

What we heard was the indescribable roar of the mob, pierced by
the sharp reports of pistols and guns, with now and then shrieks
of agony and fear, and shouts of defiance or command, and over all,
and most horrible of all, the loud shrill "Zullghat," (wedding cry)
very like the cry of our northern loons prolonged and sharpened,
raised by Turkish women crowded on their roofs and cheering on
their men to attack. The massacre and pillage began in the markets,
and in those parts of the city where Christians' houses, surrounded
by Moslem neighbors, offered easy points of attack; these places
having been looted, the mob moved on towards what are known as the
Christian quarters of the town. There the resistance became more
obstinate; in two of these quarters the old street gates were still
in use, by shutting which, the district enclosed becomes a small
fortified community capable of making a strong resistance to an
organized mob. The assailants were at last beaten off and arrested.

Under such general conditions the storm of mob violence raged
on without much abatement till the middle of the afternoon, when
the tumult gradually subsided, and night at last brought quiet,
except in the vicinity of burning houses, where the uproar went
on till near midnight. By morning, arrangements seemed to have
been made which gave us hope that order would be maintained;
the guard for our mission premises had been increased, and the
soldiers posted at intervals around the Christian quarters of the
city. Very early in the morning of the 17th, crowds, evidently
eager to share the plunder, were seen hurrying towards the city
from every direction. The soldiers met and turned them back, and
even beat some of them and chased them off. They soon returned,
however, increased in numbers, and being joined by friends from
the city, became very turbulent. About noon we saw through our
glass an officer, apparently a captain, ride forward into a mob,
and address them at some length; we could not hear what he said,
but immediately, without any show of opposition from any one, the
whole crowd came pell-mell with the soldiers into the city. This
was at the southwest corner of the town, and immediately under
our eyes. At the same time much the same thing was occurring at
the northwest corner; then for an hour chaos was let loose again,
and the horrors of the previous day were repeated, only that this
time the Christians were prepared, and, being in a strong position,
were generally able to beat off their assailants. At one point
of the line of defense were a few Moslem houses, and we were
delighted to learn that the men heartily and bravely joined in
the defense with their neighbors; the gallantry of this act was
somewhat marred, however, by the demand which they made the next
day for a large sum of money for their service; these men actually
demanded and received about $5 apiece for this neighborly help.

When it became apparent that the mob could not force their way
into the places held by the besieged, the soldiers, perhaps having
received new orders, resumed a show of activity, fired a few shots
into the air, and drove the mob out of the city and dispersed
them; this is the last serious fighting that has occurred up to
the present time, though local tumults have broken out frequently,
several houses have been pillaged and burned, and two Christians
at least were shot while being conducted through the streets by
soldiers. Strict military rule is now established, and special
care is taken to safeguard the lives of property of foreigners. We
are kept under very close restriction, and not allowed to visit
the city except for special objects, and then under a strong
guard. The amount of damage we can only estimate; as nearly as
we can judge, the figures will be about 200 killed, 400 wounded,
nearly all the Christian shops and 250 houses pillaged, and a
considerable number burned. Some 1,000 men who in the first panic
took refuge in khans and mosques are still held as prisoners,
for purposes which we can only surmise.

P.S. Dec. 17. Quiet has for the most part been maintained under
strict military rule. No Christian can yet venture out without
armed escort, and there are not wanting signs that there is waiting
and even expectation of another signal from above. The government,
however, seems to be trying to restore order and confidence. We
are glad to say that we have heard of no cases of special violence
or abuse offered to women.

The above-named prisoners have been gradually released, till
now there are only some six of the principal Christians still in
confinement. The number of killed just now must be set down at
over 400; the butchery in the markets where the first attacks
began far exceeded our belief. A great number of bodies were
thrown together into some distilleries, and these buildings
set on fire and burned to the ground, thus removing for a time
much of the terrible evidence of the extent of the massacre. The
attack being made in the morning and beginning in the markets, it
happened that the killed are about wholly from the "bread-winners"
among the Christians. As a result, there are now in Aintab more
than 4,000 people dependent on charity for daily bread, and most
of those to whom they would naturally look for aid are utterly
impoverished; the outlook for the winter is simply appalling. We
appeal for aid speedily in the name of humanity.

THE CITY OF BIRIJIK AND THE ATROCITIES.

The city of Birijik is on the shores of the Euphrates; it has a beautiful appearance from the other side of the river. The Mohammedan population there are very wild and ignorant.

The Massacre at Birijik (Province of Aleppo).

Birijik had about 300 Christian houses, or say about 1,000
souls, in the midst of the Mussulman population of about 9,000
souls. After the massacre at Oorfa on the 27th of October, 1895,
the authorities at Birijik told the Armenians that the Muslims
were afraid of them, and that therefore they (the Armenians) must
surrender to the government any arms that they possessed. This
was done, the most rigid search being instituted to assure the
authorities that nothing whatever in the way of arms remained in
the hands of the Armenians. This disarmament caused no little
anxiety to the Armenians, since the Muslim population was very
generally armed, and was constantly adding to its arms. In fact,
during the months of November and December the Christians have
kept within their houses because the danger of appearing upon
the streets was very great.

Troops were called out by the government to protect the
people. Since the soldiers had come to protect the Christians,
the Christians were required to furnish animals for them to carry
their goods. Then they were required to furnish them beds and
carpets to make them more comfortable. Finally they were required
to furnish the soldiers with food, and they were reduced to a
state bordering on destitution by these increasing demands.

The end came on the first of January, 1896, when the news of
the massacre of several thousands of Christians at Oorfa by the
soldiers appointed to guard them incited the troops at Birijik
to imitate this crime. The assault on the Christian houses
commenced at about nine o'clock in the morning and continued until
night-fall. The soldiers were aided by the Muslims of the city in
the terrible work. The object at first seemed to be mainly plunder,
but after the plunder had been secured the soldiers seemed to
make a systematic search for men, to kill those who were unwilling
to accept Mohammedanism. The cruelty used to force men to become
Muslims was terrible. In one case the soldiers found some twenty
people, men, women, and children, who had taken refuge in a sort
of cave. They dragged them out and killed all the men and boys,
because they would not become Muslims. After cutting down one
old man who had thus refused, they put live coals upon his body,
and as he was writhing in torture, they held a Bible before him,
and asked him mockingly to read them some of the promises in
which he had trusted. Others were thrown into the river while
still alive, after having been cruelly wounded. The women and
children of this party were loaded up like goods upon the backs
of porters and carried off to the houses of Muslims. Christian
girls were eagerly sought after, and much quarreling occurred
over the question of their division among their captors. Every
Christian house except two, claimed to be owned by Turks, was
plundered. Ninety-six men are known to have been killed, or about
half of the adult Christian men. The others have become Mussulmans
to save their lives, so that there is not a single Christian left
in Birijik to-day. The Armenian Church has been made into a mosque,
and the Protestant Church into a Medresse Seminary.--[Dr. Dillon.

OORFA AND ITS ATROCITIES.

Oorfa, the old Ur of the Chaldees, where Abraham, the old patriarch of the Bible, was born, was called Edessa in the time of Christ. I have told the story of King Abgar and his conversion in the historical part of this book. It had about 50,000 population, about 20,000 of whom were Armenians before the massacres. Out of that number 8,000 were slaughtered, according to Mr. Fitzmaurice, the British vice-consul who returned from Oorfa to Constantinople on March 21. The Evangelical Armenian pastor, the Rev. Hagop Abuhayatian, was also martyred. I knew him personally. He was educated in Germany, a man of great ability; a great scholar, and a great and forcible preacher.

A Letter from Oorfa, Jan. 28, 1896.

Dear Friend:--

Your only remaining brother sends you a letter, but no letters
can begin to explain the sad state of this city. The massacre of
Dec. 28 and 29 has left all homes except Catholics and Syrians
entirety empty of any comforts. Many families have not one bed
even; all cooking utensils, clothing, bedding, carpets, etc.,
were taken. Most have a little zakhere left, though some have
not that. We are feeding about 175 of the most needy, and more
will come to us every week. The loss by death is between 4,000
and 5,000. Our pastor, the Rev. Hagop Abouhayatian, Dr. Kivorc,
and brother Harotoun, Sarkis Varjebed Chubukian and brother and
son, Garabed Roumian, Habbourjou Avedis and brother Sarkis, old
sexton Garabed and other sexton Bogos, Majar Kivorc and brother
Bogos and Berber Monofa and two sons, Eskejiyan Marderos, Zarman
Roomian's three eons, are some of the dead. In all, our Protestant
dead are 115. Some of our people perished in the Gregorian Church,
where 1,500 or 2,000 went for refuge Saturday night, and on Sunday
were murdered or burned, very few escaping. It was the most awful
of all the terrible events of those two days.

Thank God, two hundred and forty were saved by coming to me; sixty
of them were men. I could not keep the men in my house or yard,
because it was forbidden by the guards, but I hid them elsewhere,
and fed them for three or four days. The government carefully
protected me, and killed as many of my friends as possible. We
have our house and all the schoolrooms full of the wounded and
the most forlorn.

Our Oorfa redeefs leave to-morrow; we have new soldiers now for
guard of the city, and Christians especially. Oorfa redeefs have
been poor guards, and but for them the awful work would not have
been accomplished. The pastor of Severek, the Rev. Marderos,
was killed. The Rev. Vartan remains alive in Adayaman. Both in
Severek and Adayaman the number of the killed was very great. In
Birijik about two hundred were killed, and all remaining have
become Moslems; they have been circumcised.

In Aintab about three hundred were killed, 847 shops plundered
and 417 houses.

During our first disturbance, six to seven hundred shops here
were plundered, and about 175 houses. Then the Christians used
arms to defend themselves. Since then all arms have been taken by
the government from the Christians, and the leaders were forced
to sign a paper stating the city as "in peace and harmony, thanks
to the rulers," etc.; twenty-five signed it, and now almost all
of these have been killed. Our pastor signed for Protestants.

Only two of the Gregorian priests remain, and they are wounded. The
bishop is alive, but feeble, and does not work publicly now. Their
state is very sad. We desire your prayers, and the aid of all
who can give us help by money at this time.

Sincerely your friend,

P.S. Your brother asks you to send a letter to him by me.

DIARBEKIR AND ITS STORY.

Diarbekir (see the historical part for its foundation) has about 40,000 population. Nearly half of them are Christians, but not all of them are Armenians. There are Chaldeans also. The Armenian population numbered about 12,000, of which 5,000 were killed during the recent atrocities.

A Letter from Diarbekir, Nov. 20, 1895.

My Dear Sir:--

After salutation, I offer my thanks to God that after great
dangers and tribulation we have reached the present time. God's
will be done. How can I describe the horrors in our city to
you? Can any pen or any language tell them? No, but I shall try
to write at least a very short description of them. But who knows
if this letter will reach you, because of the letters we write,
very few reach you, and very few of your letters reach us, since
the government has control of the mail, and it is the government
that persecutes us. Our age is a peculiar age. God look at our
misery and save us.

How happy were those who were martyred on Nov. 1, and have gone to
their reward. The atrocities which happened here on November 1, 2,
3, cannot be matched in the history of the civilized world. I do
not think they can be in that of heathen lands, where the people
are barbarous.

When I write these lines to you, I hardly know what I am writing;
the darkness of Egypt covers all around me. The former millionaires
in the city have nothing and are begging bread. Nov. 1 was a black
day for the Armenians. Many were separated from their loved ones,
even parents from their children. Many merchants and rich people
were so thoroughly plundered and stripped that they are literally
left naked and hungry, and numbers have been put to unspeakable
tortures by the Turks and Kurds. Nov. 1 was Friday; it was about
noon when the Mohammedans came out from their mosques. The native
Turks, the Kurds who were brought from outside, and the soldiers
all united, swords, pistols, guns, axes, and clubs in their hands,
fell upon the Armenians in the market place or business place,
cut them to pieces, and plundered what they had. If they had
been all killed by bullets it would have been a sudden death, and
easier. But they cut them to pieces bit by bit with their axes,
and made holes in the bodies with their swords.

When they were killing the Armenians, they were repeating the
following words, "Bring testimony to prophet Mohammed. Our Sultan
ordered us to kill these heathen dogs, the Armenians." The governor
of the city, and all other officials, with the commander of the
soldiers, during the time of the atrocities were sitting near
the great mosque, and while listening to the cries and screams of
the martyred Armenians, they were laughing and joking with great
pleasure, and ordering the soldiers to carry the most valuable
things to their houses.

After they had killed everybody, and plundered everything in the
business place, they turned to the residences where Armenians
lived, and began to burn and kill. Some of the soldiers went to
the tops of the minarets or high towers, and began to shoot the
Armenians from there. What a pitiful scene was the condition
of the Armenian ladies, who were running from house to house,
from street to street, and were shot dead, and their children
left orphans. During the three days' massacre 4,000 Armenians
were killed, and the burning of the houses and stores continued
twenty-four hours. From the gate of the mosque to the place
where they make saddles, and from the twin caravansary to the new
caravansary, from Sheik Uatad to Melik Ahmed, all the buildings,
1,400 stores, were burnt and turned to ashes. There are other
stores also which were not burnt, but everything was taken from
them. The stores where goldsmiths worked every article is taken
from.

When the Armenians go among the ruins to see if they can find
any article, they are forbidden; and if some one manages to
find anything, the Mohammedans take it from him, cursing him,
and calling him a heathen dog at the same time.

When we come to the residences near your house, from the house of
Darakji to the covered place of Sheytan aglou, all are destroyed;
from Alo-Pasha bath to the Jemil Pasha Palace, all destroyed. But
the church of the Patrees is not destroyed. St. Sarkis's church
was plundered and afterwards burned. Before the church was burnt,
they killed the priests, and unspeakable violations took place in
the church. In that quarter half of the population were killed,
and the other half, who survive, are naked, barefooted, hungry,
and are begging bread.

Now the government pretends to give bread to the hungry, but
nothing is given, and those who have a little give to the others
who have nothing; but after a few days nothing will be left to
eat. Thank the Lord, the Kurds went out of the city. But it is
twenty days now since the massacre took place, and nobody dares
to go out to the streets.

We have no stores, no money, nothing to eat. Though my personal
house was not robbed, but I have ten orphans whose fathers and
mothers were killed; I am taking care of them. We have a little;
we shall eat that, and see what the Lord will provide.

From the Rev. Dr. Tomy's house to the church of the Evangelical
people all the houses were burned. Hovhanness's loss is about
$1,000. Those who hid themselves in Konsol Khan and in the church
of the Patrees escaped death. But every one who escaped was left
hungry and thirsty from twelve to fifteen days in their places
of confinement, because they were afraid of going out.

All the suburban towns and villages were totally destroyed. In
Sevorag both the Armenian church and the Evangelical Armenian
church were destroyed, and only from fifty to one hundred persons
were left alive. The monastery of Argen was destroyed, and the
teachers and all the inmates were killed.

They burnt the church of Ali-Punar and killed the priest. From
that place only five or ten persons were left alive. Your brother
at Kitibel with all his family are killed, and both the churches
are burned. They forced the ministers to accept the Mohammedan
religion; on refusal all three were killed, the Rev. Abosh, the
Rev. Khidershap, and the priest. All who were left alive at Kitibel
are only about forty persons. Afram's brother Kisho with all his
family were killed. At Renjil nobody is left. At Kara Bash only
fifty persons are left alive. The village of Satou is entirely
out of existence. In all this province all the towns and villages
are destroyed, and the people are killed, except the village of
Haziro, which is not destroyed, and the reason is that a Turk,
Sevdim Beg, did not permit the Kurds and the Turks to destroy it.

What will become of us hereafter we do not know. We are still
in danger, but we trust first in God, then in such friends as
you. My personal damage is $5,000 and now is the time to show us
sympathy and help us.

If you cannot do it yourself personally, can you not tell the
people of the United States of America to help us and relieve
our suffering?

Sincerely yours,

TREBIZOND AND ITS ATROCITIES.

Trebizond is built on the shores of the Black Sea, and is a part of Armenia. The population is estimated at 40,000; only 10,000 are Christians; perhaps about half of them are Armenians, and nearly half of the Armenians were killed and wounded during the recent savageries. Mr. Chelton, who was going to Armenia to organize consulates, was in Trebizond, saw the massacre of Christians, and reported to the government at Washington:--

"Trebizond, Oct. 9, 1895.--Many Armenians were killed here in
conflicts yesterday with Turks. No attempt was made to stop the
massacre of the Armenians. The Turks were armed, and the number of
troops present here is small. It is even stated that soldiers took
part in the slaughter, and in the pillage which accompanied it."

"London, Oct. 17, 1895.--The 'Daily News' publishes a dispatch
from Constantinople giving a description by an eye-witness of
the rioting at Trebizond. He says that four separate Moslem mobs
surrounded the Armenian quarters at eleven o'clock on the morning
of Oct. 8, and then began to pillage the shops. Being opposed,
they fired on the Armenians, and soon a general massacre began.

"Soldiers joined the mob in firing on the Armenians and in
pillaging the shops and houses. The scene continued until 4
o'clock in the afternoon, when nothing was left to pillage and
nobody remained to be killed. The mob then began to disperse. The
better class of Turks did their best to protect the lives of the
Armenians. They sheltered the women and children and many men
in their houses. The mob attacked only the orthodox Armenians,
leaving Catholics alone."

An Armenian Massacre. Money Cabled to London by the Local Relief Association, Dec. 31, 1895.

"Recent letters telling of the massacres in various Armenian
cities contain information that helps to explain many points in
the awful outbreak of so-called Mohammedan fanaticism. A letter
from Trebizond says:--

"'Bahri Pasha, governor of Van, started to come to Constantinople,
and it was learned that he was bringing with him four of
the fairest young maidens of Sassoun, who had been spared
in the massacre, to make an acceptable present of them to his
Sultan. This aroused the Armenian people of Trebizond to a frenzy,
and it was impossible to restrain the young men, the more daring
of whom fired upon Bahri Pasha, wounding him. But he carried out
his mission to Constantinople, and was honored with the highest
decoration and appointed governor of Adana.

"'Afterward the pasha of Trebizond, calling twelve of the leading
men of the city, demanded that they should hand over the young
men who attacked the governor, and gave them just a few hours
in which to carry out his orders. The next day they answered him
that the government had no means of finding the men out.

"'When the mails had arrived, and the people went toward the
postoffice, the trumpet was sounded three times, and both the
soldiers and the mob rushed upon the people. It is impossible
to describe the horror of the scene--the roar of the murderers,
like that of wild beasts, the shrieks of the women in the houses
from whose arms their husbands and sons were torn and murdered
before their eyes, and universal tumult, added to the sighs and
groans of the dying. And this we know is only one, and not even
the most terrible of the massacres.'"

BAIBURT.

"Constantinople, Oct. 28, 1895.--Another massacre of Armenians,
accompanied by the outraging of women, is reported to have
occurred recently in the districts of Baiburt, between Erzeroum
and Trebizond. According to the news received here, a mob of
about 500 Mussulmans and Lazes, the greater majority of whom
were armed with Martini-Henry rifles, made an attack upon the
Armenians inhabiting several villages of that vicinity, and set
fire to their houses and schools. As the Armenians fled in terror
from their dwellings they were shot down as they ran, and a number
of men and women who were captured by the rioters, it is added,
were fastened to stakes and burned alive.

"The Armenian women who fell into the hands of the mob, it is
asserted, were outraged and brutally mutilated. It is also stated
that the churches were desecrated and pillaged, the cattle, and
all the portable property of any value belonging to the Armenians
being carried off by the marauders. During the disturbance
150 Armenians are reported to have been killed. The surviving
villages applied for protection to the governor of Baiburt, who,
after hearing their complaint, sent three policemen to the scene
of the massacre after the slaughter was ended.

"The Turkish officials, it is claimed, know the ringleaders of
the outbreak in the Baiburt district; but apparently no steps
have been taken to arrest them."

Another Letter from Baiburt.

"The Armenian bishop's vicar was killed, the teachers in the
schools and many other men and women were massacred. Women jumped
into open wells to escape worse deaths; the villages round about
were laid waste.

"Following this was the Erzinghan massacre. On Friday, the 25th
of October, 1895, the Moslems finished their noon hour of prayer
by pouring out of the mosques and attacking the Armenians in the
market, who, taken by surprise, were shot and cut down to the
number of 500; their shops being all plundered."

(Signed) An American Missionary.

ERZEROUM.