The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1854-03-30
THE zAPTI OF THE JEB,ELsToT,p

i fft
the European traveller. The few who have
| extended their wanderings through the north
Oh MesopOtamia towards Assyria and Persia.
| nave generally followed the caravan rorte'
which runs along the plain from Diarbekir
towards Jezrieh and Dosul, passing through
Nisibin and Mardin, towns of Roman celebrity.
however; on our arrival at Diabekir, we.
learned that shorter. though much more
difficult route, lay through RANCE az NOM
tains which run parallel to the ri1hf hsnL 'of
the Tigris, and from the last outlying bul
wark OF the great chains Of Asia Minor and
Armenia. Through these we Accordingly
took our way; and if we suffered from he
toll and difficulty of our journey, we were
amply repaid by the change from the monot.
onous scenery and sitting atmosphere of the
plains to the bracing air and constant variety
| of the mountains.
We had been clambering all day over the
| rugged passes of the Jeb-el-Tour, when to-
wards evening, we gained the summit of a
ridge, which overhung a beautiful valley,
green and cultivated, and in marked contrast
with the savage rocks around. Abdurrach.
man refined up his horse, and pointed ont
the fiat roofs and mud walls Of Achmedi
which we joyfully hailed as our resting
place for the night. But our guide looked
on the scene with far different feelings, and
while our caravan was picking precarieus
story of his life ssss
Ere the days of the renowned Kurdish
chief Beder Khan Bey, Achmedi was a
fourishing Christian village. Secluded in
narrow valley of the Jeb el-Tour and ac.
cessibie only by one or two difficult noun
tain-passes, its inhabitants had enjoyed in
peace the fruits of their industry, whilst the
surrounding country was devastated by the
ineessant feuds of Mussulmans and Chris
fans. the Of dsch
plunderers. But, in an evil hour, Beder
Khan Bey rose TO power, and determination
to the mountain Christians was proclaim
ed. Towns and villages were sacked, whole
districts depopulated, and such of the unfor-
tunate inhabitants as escaped death by the
sword, were doomed to drag on their exist
ence in state of hopeless slavery
But as yet this little valley remained un-
touched, almost unnoticed Abdurraehman's
place. but in consequence of his age and in
tirmitles, much of his authority devolved
upon his son, who naively informed me of
the respect in which he was held by all the
young men of the place, On account of his
prowess in feats of arms, and his skill in the
chase of the panthers and wild-goats which
haunt the surrounding mountains.
1t is to be supposed that these accomplish
ments had won him the heart of the beauti-
iui 0ouSttCi Va tuO may AOi OeA udu pAO-
missed to be his wife. In few days the
marriage was to have taken place, when one
evening, lonely fugitive, galloping for life,
entered the village, and threw himself upon
the hospitality of the kiayah He was in
stantly received and kindly entertained; his
wounds Were dressed by his hosts daughter,
and not until he was thoroughly recovered
was he allowed to proceed on his journey
But the beauty of his nurse had attracted
fhnH Il Y1y.I o,,l cho Al L.
protesrations of affection, he vowed as he
left the roof that had sheltered him, that,
willing or unwilling, she should be his bride
thin three days.
He was favorite and near relative of
Beder Khan Bey, and towards his camp he
Immediately turned his horses head. The
Kurdish forces were absent on some errand
of devastation, but band of dozen bold
spirits was soon collected, and as Safi and
the other damsels of Achmedi were bathing
in the cool and shady waters of the noun
tain stream which skirts the village, they
suddenly swept down, and before the alarm
could be raised, the lOveliest of the maidens
were secured, and beingihurried across the
mountains. But little had the marauders
dreapt of the energy despair could give their
victims. Towards noon having put many mile
between them and the scene Of their exploit,
and thinking themselves secure from pur
| Sull tucy udlLCQ W Icot IlclI .Jdutu SLc6uS.-
!! The arms of their prisoners were unbound;
but scarcely had they found themselves
| free, when, as if by one consent, each mai
| den endeavofed to bury dagger in the
| breast of the nearest Kurd. Many fell, and,
amongst others, the young chieftain; but the
survivors took bloody revenge, and, after
massacreing their captives, hurried away to
| the Kurdish camp.
At this moment Abdurrachman, hot in pur-
l 81. ak III
| bride in the last agonies of death. 1t took
but moment to sever lock of hair wet
| with her blood, and, alone as he was he
| rushed upon the retreating party Many
went down before his sword but at last,
overpOwered by numbers, he fell covered
| with wounds, and was left for dead Days,
| he said, must have passed ere he recovered
/ his senses; but as soon as he could travel, he
| left the friends who had discovered and
nursed him, and returned to Achmedi, to find
1 it smouldering heap of ruins. The Kurds
had swept down to avenge the death of their
comrades, and of the once happy inhabitants
of the valley, not one remained.
| With every tie to home thus severed, he
| left his native mountains, and enlisting in a
| body of irregular cavalry then forming at
| Diarbekir, tried to drown the recollection of
| his SORROWS in the excitement of war and
plunder This was the first time he had re-
turned to the JeD-el-IOur; but, ne Sald,
what is it to me! Aehmedi yonder has risen
again, but there are none of my kindred to
dwell there; and of the happy days of my
youth, the only record that remains is this Z
and he drew from the folds of his zuboOn a
long tress of raven hair, heavy and clotted
with blood.
Such was our Zapti's story, and it is but
| too common one in the mountains of Meso-
potamia and Armenia. The reader will pro-
badly remember the graphic account OF the
prosecutions of the Tiyari, contained IN Mr..
Layards first work on Nineveh Since then,
this unfortunate people have enjoyed com
parative peace and freedom from oppression.
Secluded in their native valleys, which can
only be approached by the most rugged
mountain paths, scarcely practicabl bic even to
the sure footed mules of the country, and
governed solely by their own meleks or chiefs,
tthey mix but little with the rest of the world;
and now that the incursions of the Kurdish
marauders, mar are repressed, they are again re-
turpino TO their homes, carrying with them
lively remembrance of the name and power
&c England, which supported them in exile,
delivered them from their oppressors, and re.
stored them to their native hearfhs.
u Il n