Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1860-08-11
THE SYRIAN MASSACRE.

There are accounts from Syria, Of butch
cries more bloody than Historians have hith
erto recorded. The outrages appearto hav,
broken out in the early part Of Junein Has
beiya, town Of 5000 population, situated
lat the foot of Mt. Hermon near the sourc.
of the Jordan, whereit il said tie preach.
ing Of evangelical truth has borne more
fruit than anywhere else in Syria. Of 1000
of the Greek Church and 200 other protes-
tants, thirty-fve escaped death atthe hands
Of their blood thirsty enemies, the Druses.
At first the attack assumed the character Of
. battle bit whep after two days fighting
the christians were about to gain the day
tbs Commander Of the Turkish troops cali
ed them back into large building and dis
armed them, promising to deliver#heln safe
~ to Damascus. But the Turks were treaeh-
erous and the men were massacred in The
presence of their women and children WHO
were confined in rooms overlooking the
horIid scenes. A Beyrout newspaper cor
respondent writes that in one month, the
Druses had burned and pillaged no less
than one hundred and fifty-one Christian
villages, and $4,000 to $4,000 Christian in
habitants of Lebanon, many wealthy and
all strangers to poverty or want, were made
dependent on charity for their daily bread.
Besides those shot in actual warfare 1000
to 900 were hacked to death with knives
and bqyouets. They, by any means in
reach, take the lives Of all the Christian
men and children in their power and rob
their wives of everything Of value. leaving
the women thenisclvessubject to the villainy
Of the TURKS IS s 80 SITE \
The cause Of the persecution Of the
Christians by the Druses is explained to be
that q report was spread among the Dsuses
that the European diplomacy was about to
dfiycaway the Turks from Europe, which
determined the TDruses on exterminaiingl
.he Christians in Syria The Dnscs num-
Der less than The Christians but the com
'licity of the Turks put the latter entirely
It their mercy. The population Of Syria
over million and u halt, of which the
)ruses number less than q hundred thous-
nd and the Christians about a hundred
nd fifty thousand. The Druses are Arabs.
hey are traced to the Eastern confines Of
yria, and settled inLebanon and Anti Leb- !
non within the last nine hundred years
hey are strictly Unitariaas, and take their
anne from Dursi, pupil of Halnsa whom
ley regard as their Messiah. Hamsa pre-
liled upon the Egyptian CaIiph. Hakem, :
represent himself, ike Mahannled, as
rect messenger from Heaven. and preach
and wrote in defense of his new faith :,
th some success. About the year 1920, Il
d., he wrote creed for his followers !,
be kept secret from all but initiated Dru /,
!. The sect was formerly Mahammedan 4
it seeded from that body about the time 8
Ferred to, and have ever since kept up that 4,
Wholesome organization which has now Il
discriminating Christianity from b
ria, and with 1t, dreadful death to thous- "
ds Of good people. At latest accounts 81
Q atrocities were not suppressed, AMI there IL
Is no knowing where they would end O.
lirty-two thousand persons had sought Il
e protection Of European vessels along Ct
q cost. and forty-fiye thousand had taken q
fuge in the mountains and were surround "
by the Druses. England and France "
e united in preparing to quell the revolt, ST
d Spain is assisting n
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