The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1860-10-04
PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
Terrible sssr,-The s,ria. M-a--aere-


writing from Beyrout, says:
Unfortunately, our prospects get darker every
day, for each hour brings either news Of fresh
atrocities committed by the Druses or more decided
proofs that the acts Of the latter are cOnnived at
by the Turkish Government. 1t il now ascertain
ed, and IL nominal list OF them has been made,
that up TO last night the Druses have burned and
pillaged no less than one hundred and ~dfty-one
Christian Villages since the 18th Uf May last.
while no less than from 5000 to 50 900 Chris
tan inhabitants of LebanOn-many of whom
were a month ago wealthy men. others in quite
easy circumstances, and all strangers to anything
like poverty OF want-are homeless beggars, de-
pending on actual charity for their daily bread
Over and above the number Of Christians shot in
actual warfare, between 900 and 5000 have
been butehered-hacke 10 death would be the
filter terIn-as no butcher ever used in his calling
half the cruelty Of these bIOOdthirsty miscreants
in cold blood by the Druses. And, besides
this, more than 1000 widows, who, until this
Druse campaign, were happy wives and mothers.
have lost their husbands, brothers, fathers, and
all male relatives, even 20 the infants at the breast;
and sixteen hundred children are now orphans.
All these figures have been carefully compared
with others, and weighed in the balance Of Eng
lish opinion, before given As facts. And after
converting, comparing, and digesting all ] hear,
after bringing my own four years experience in
Syria To bear upon the subject, i am bound To
say that i have considerably understated the case.
Moreover fifty millions sterling would not pay for
the towns, villages, hamlets and silk factories de-
stoyed throughout the mOuntaiD-all the prop
erty of the Christians. There Is besides a fearful
list of converts, churches ana nunneries belong
ing to the same people, all of which have been
piundered and then destroyed by the Druses. In
short, what commenced as a civil war between
the two sects can no longer be called by that
name. For the last twenty days ii has been moth
ing less than n wholesale massacre of Christians
By the Druses, and n wantOn destruction Of all
property belonging to the former by the latter.
To give you some idea what these Druses are, |
will enumerate 4 few instances of their frightful
barbarity, all Of which / have heard from the un-
fortunate sufferers themselves, now refugees
from Lebanon. One poor woman knew both
her husband and herself well, at D~eirel-Kamar,
where they were wealthy peOple-tOld me that
when the Druses attacked the town the second
time Il should mention that 1t had surrendered,
and all the inhabitants had given up their arms
some twenty-fOur hours previously to the Druses,
and had been promised protection by their shieks,)
her husband was hacked To pieces before her eyes
by the large knives of the Druses, who then de-
clared that they must kill all the male children
in the house. Inc mother tried to hide her two
sons, one fifteen, and the other nine years old.
The Druses, however, found them out and as she
begged and prayed for their lives, and endeavor-
ed To cover them IN a corner with her person, the
Druses hacked at the lads over her shoulder, and
glshed them until they both dropped down appa-
rently ~lifeless. The Druses then made of, and
the woman, thinking her two boys dead, remained
IN a sort Of stupOr for two hours, so far as she
tAC1EllE ~ - sic sd- lOu<ENb " AT /
ing the eldest lad call her in a faint voice, trying
to assure her that he was not yet dead. On this
he'felt the heart of the youngest boy and found
his heart beating. She got some water, and aE-
ter giving 1t to both her children-so far as she
could GEE them to drink it-started into town To
see whether she could procure assistance to get
her and her boys Sway. She got as far the Sc
raglio, or government house, but she found some
i've hundred Christians, who had taken refuge,
were being cut to pieces by the Druses, who had
nvfra 70 .uFar Oh. yr..sp.-u aE tLn I,Il !
ing by the Turkish soldiers of the garrison, these
latter helping the b~utchery, and beingsO far worse
than the Drusss that they abused in the most in
famous manner all the women. Seeing no help
could be obtained here, the poor woman turned
% hy, when she came across an old Druse who had
formerly been a farm servant of her husband.
After "A great deal of entreaty on her part. the
man consented To- protect her and her children
Down to the SEA coast, which was about four
hours journey, on condition of an order on her
a wealthy man in BeyrOut, for 10, 900
To this she agreed, and they returned
together 10 her house. She had not been absent
more than an hour, but she found her two chill
iren cut into pieces, joint By joint, 50 limb and
severed Ito use her wOrds) ''as butchers
tut up ~sheep"-heads, legs, arms, and bodies
being hacked up into a ~shapeless mass of bloody
flesh and reeking bones. Some other poor wO-
then joined her, and together they made their
way to n mulberry plantation outside the town,
where they passed the night. At daybreak they
we're discovered by u party Of Druses, who. after
them 20 find whether they had any
money on their persons, and taking away what
little they possessed, told them they might 90
where they liked. Four OF the poor creatures had
babies, ali under n year old. Of these infants,
TWO were girls and two were boys: the former
hey did not touch, but the latter they said might
row up To be men, and bear arms against the
Druses they therefore took the poor little crca-
ures, and before their mothers eyes, tore them
~ tue middle, and limb by limb. exactly, to
lse the poor woman's own expression, las you
ear up a fowl that is tD be- cooked with pilau."
all this was done, not in the heat Of
hut deliberately, in cold blood. And
have heard of eleven other exactly similar cases
G child destruction by the Druses. in nine of
Ehieh ] implicitly believe. having every reason
do 40. Dier-el kamar contained, q month ago.
population Of 8 900 souls. of which about 4 900
men and lads, $500 women and girls, and
70 children under ten years old. Of the men. %
lot more than $50 have escaped of the women
nd girls. about 1000 have reached BeyrOut;
nd of the young children, less than 900 are
live Don't forget, too. that this fiendish mas
acre was perpetrated upon u population which
wenty four days previously had surrendered To
he Druses. had been promised protection 10y
hem, and were disarmed previously To their muir
er.