Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1860-10-16

Horrors of the Druse Massacres.
May God grant may never again see such q
sight as witnessed three days ago at Der-el-
Kamar and such would be the prayer of any
man who has been in that town since the mas
sacre. Although the place was under the spe-
cial government of the Sultan, no effort what
ever has been made to bury the dead, even at
this date of two months and half after the
tragedy What has been done to hasten the
disappearance of human bodies has been effect
ed by the dogs, and wolves, and jackals of the
surrounding districts. 1t was fearful scene
Here stood, ninety days ago, a thriving town of
so, 900 souls and upwhrds, and when the trou--
bles in Lebanon broke out, nearly two thousand
Christians from various places had sought refuge
in the place. Where are now those images of
God2 Where are the comfortable homes, the
thriving trades, the rich silk crops the produce
of grapes and of olives, the hundreds of working
silk looms that this population possessed a.
Where are the wives and daughters of these tra-
ders and landowners; where the happy ohil-
dren, the hearty welcome which all strangers
received, the wealth 10 dress and jewels with
which the matrons were adorned? fi il
The men OF the piace-aEe and some of the
women too, for counted no less than dozen in
one spot-the men are here, these corrupting
luoooCo VI PutA oAu uIlS arc F6udQS OF
them their houses are all burnt or pulled down;
their property all pundered or destroyed their
women beggars in the streets Of Beyrout; their
male children hacked to pieces by the knives of
the Druses. Amongst so many horrors it was
difficult to select one place Ihofe fearful than an
other, but the maronite church and the Torkisl
Governors divan, or receiving room, exceeded
all could have believed possible The former
is surrounded by a small courtyard, the door of
which was shut. When we opened it the stencil
was something hardly to be conceived.
On the pavement in front of the chnrch, to
which q large portion of the inhabitants had ev-
identity fled for shelter, the dead bodies lay lit
orally heaped in dozens, one upon another as
they had been murdered and flung down. The
steps up to the church are white, and down
them was broad, purple mark of twenty or
thirty feet long, from the interior of the altar
rails out far beyond the door, which told but
too plainly the tale of murder. The body of the
Church is about the size of the Lock Chapel, in \
the HarrOw-rOad, the court-road is broader
but about half its length. But in no part aof
that church, on no inch of that court could any
man, put he his steps ever so nicely, walk with
out putting his foot on some part or other of a
dead mans body.
The skeletons are with few exceptions, per-
fectly naked, for every survivor OF the massacre
tudt L nave quCotOuod-dud uOIo lOdu d b uun-
dred have related the same tale to various par
ties in Beyrout-say so cold-blooded were the
Druses in their murderous work that, before
butchering man whose clothes were all good,
they first made him undress himself, and then
hacked him to pieces with their long knives
thus preserving his garments uncut and unstain-
ed with blood. For some reason or other.
however, they appear not to have taken the
Maronite priests clothes, as observed many of
the corpses still clad in the black, coarse gown
of the monks. The church and court yard were
strewn with torn church books and broken
church ornaments; but here, as everywhere
else, all that could be turned into the slightest
use, even to the wooden lintels Of the doors and
the frames of the windows. had been taken a.
way by the marauding hordes of murderers.
But even more than by the sight of the Ma
ronite church was | astonished and sickened on
going into the Turkish Governors room in tie
far interior of the Serai. Here the great slaugh-
ter seems to have taken place. Here-two and
a half months after these murders-the ground
of the room was still discolored and fat with
human blood. Here still lay about fragments of
torn dresses and clothing bearing witness to
many fearful deeds of blood. And here below
the large window of the room, lay heap upon
heap, and pile upon pile, of corrupting human
bodies, seething mass of advanced putrefac-
ton. Here, too, were torn mass books ard
gospels in numbers, and also many pages of q
well-printed edition of "Fenelon's Life" in
French, showing that in this, the government
house, no doubt some of the better educated
Christian community had sought refuge, but
had found a grave. My very soul sickened at
all had seen, and | left the town sooner than
| otherwise would, had remained to see every
thing that bore witness to the bloodthirstiness
OF the Druses, or the iniquitous treachery of
the Turks. On both may the sentence come of
'sWhoso sheddeth mans blood, by man shall his
blood be she'd"