The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-07-19
THE CIVIL WAR SYRIA


details of the war against the Christians. "
make the following extracts:
, Afidavits made before the u S. Consul at Sdo
, state that "at the time when the Christians,
thelr hight, were seeking refuge in Sidon, fe,
Ieeole' broken spirited fugitives, the report wa
raised that the Christians were coming to tax
; The city, evidently with the intention of re
p9islng them from their place of refuge. The mol
OF soldiers and Moslem citizens coming up from
the lower gate in the road and beneath the trees
the graveyard, were running and shouting beat
ing and shooting Unfortunately all the Christian
they met. This proves the participation of tn
Turkish soldiery in the general massacre.
, Tyre has also been the scene of the greatest ex
citement, though as yet the MOslems have no
risen. The inhabitants however, so great is tn
alarm, throw themselves into the sea- and thos,
who have not fled to Beirut sleep in boats upon thu
sea- The American Vice.Consul has requested
leave of the Consul General at Beirut to abandon
his post and come to Beirut, life is not SAFE anC
no projection is given by the government
An English yacht, containing the family anC
crew OF Mr.. Harvey. its owner, lies off Tyre, anG
mas uohe good service in preventing an outbreak
IL Is allowed to carry cannon and its crew. armed
WIN Wltn revolvers have protected many panicstricker
Christians.
The Consus at Beirut continue to hold daIv
consultations to provide for the safety of the Frank
and the relief of the distressed and persecnted
Christian refugees, who are hunted down like docs
Through their efforts five men-of-war have come tC
city if possible. An English war steamer has beer
sent twice to Sidon and to Tyre. and yesterday a
French gunboat left for Tyre. We have now 8
kusslan and French frigate and an English cor
vette, besides French and English punboat sc
that in Beirut we feel pretty safe
But the inland cities in the utmost danger
damascus, Aleppo, Hum and Hamoth are trem.
bling in the balance, and it is believed that every
killed. ~ VIII o'
The fall of Hasbeyia, an American missionary
stEIbelon, would furnish ample material for book
vi ncIrors. 1t contains large Protestant COM
muhlty and fine church edifice 1t il situated
near the source OF the river Jordan and had spva
raj thousand inhabitants. 1t was for some t;mo
6esieged, but the contest commenced in earnest on
Friday the Sth inst, and continued for three dayv
| The Druses were defeated and driven back and
the town was wholly occupied by the Christians
Then came in Turkish treachery, to give success
| to the Druses. The commander of the Turkish
troops stationed at that place, under pretence of
aiding the Christians, induced them to feien re
treat toward the castle, promising to fire upon the
Druses with his cannon. The Christians did as
they were desired; the commander fired blank car
| tridges only twice, and then ceased.
The retreat became real, and the deceived Chris
| tlans sought refuge in the castle. Upon their ar
rival, the commander required them to deliver
| their arms, which they surrendered to him. He
then allowed them to enter, after compelling acb
one to say, "May God give success to the Sultan
He gave their arms to some muleteers under the
pretence of sending them to Damascus, but soon
after put them in possession of the Druses. The
|
cies of the Druses, who butchered large number
and burned the town, including all the American
church property. Thirty of the Emeers were
Killed, and more than eight hundred Christians
were led out and slaughter like sheep.
| Basheya is another missionary station and con-
tains Protestant community.
Letters from there to the Consul at Damascus
| say that "When the Druses began the attack they
| requested US to deliver our arms to them, which
| we did. Then they gave peace and proclaimed
the same but alas, that peace did not continue for
more than quarter of an hour when they be-
gan to burn the town and fire upon us in the be.
killed the men, cut the children in pieces throw.
! ing them into the fire, violated the women, and
pundered the property. If any reach you,
| they are all that remain. They took the arms OF
| the murdered; we who still alive are at the
seraglio without food, having no homes as the
| town has been burned into ashes, and the Druses
| come every day to the soldiers and demand the
remainder of the women and children to butcher
them.
GAS for the priests, only two of them remain, one
| of whom is blind. AS for the men, none remair
but those who may reach you. We women anC
children look up to heaven and say:-Oh, God
relieve us! Oh, God! have mercy upon us!
"Signed by the residue of the Christians o
! "Basheya-women and children"
information was received the following day tha
| all had been killed.
Beirut, June 16.-About one hundred of the
Hasbelyans arrived here yesterday, with blood
stained garments, and with a bloody history o
their suferings and the fate of their companions.
| Concealed under the dead bodies of more than
twelve hundred of their friends and relatives they
spent long and terrible highland, after the
| tiends who had accomplished this awful tragedy
lett the spot, supposing that none had escaped to
tell the tale these ugtives reached the coast near
! Tyre, and came to Beirut in boats.
1t was a sad story they told; and as they counted
over to our devoted missionaries the names of the
Protestants whom they butchered in cold
blood, the hearts of these piOus men sank within
| them. %
ty were living when the refugees left Hasbeiya and
these were dreadfully wounded, perhaps fatally
| The American church, and all the mission property
was consumed, and those benghted natives who
bad been brought to knowledge of the truth
by the American missionaries and so instructed by
them as to be able to sustain their own pulpit and
schools with native preachers and teachers, were
all cut down.
Hasbeiya contained about six thousand inhabi
tants, and was governed by family of Moslem
Princes of the great Shehaab family. Seventy
Princes of this name also murdered, toge getheI
| with the Moslem Judge, his son, and about thirty
other Mosems, who had incurred the hatred o.
the Druses.
The large district of Merj Ayum, west of Has
beiya, contains a number of Christian villages
and is governed by Metouali Chief known a!
Mohammed Rey. This Chief promised to protect
the Christians of his district from tie Druses pro
yided they would pay him the sum of one hundred
thousand piastres, which they collected and paid
He then coolly informed them that he had received
interfere with them, and they must take care Of
themselves 1t is feared that they have shared the
fate of the Hasbeiyans this.
The priest Basilius in his letter of appeal to the
consuls, says: "Our converts have been plundered
and burnt and property that has remained in the
possession of our order for more than one hundred
and seventv-ive years, has been carried away, and
our monks have been slaughtered like lambs, AND
none have been saved but those whose life is des
tined to be long. These things are pleasing neither
to God nor allowable by the justice of govern
ments."
The Druses of the Lebanon range of mountains
which look down upon the sea one or two de
grees removed from barbarians; but their co-reli
gionists from the Houran are fiends incarnate. A
body OF these wretches while on their march from
their district to the siege of Zaheh stopped at the
village of Kenaku, near Damascus, for refresh
ment. On learning that about one hundred Chris
tian refugees had sought protection of the Shieks
of the village, Sheik Range, the Druse leader, de-
manded them to be brought forth, and the Moslem
Sheik, trembling for his own life, allowed them to
take fifty of the fighting out in front of the
place, and there, in sight of the wives and chill
dren, saw their heads cut off and their bodies mu
tated.
Zahleh, the unconquered, is now the only strong.
hold of the Christians From all the neighborng
villages men, women and children have sought re-
fuge in this mountain city.
Twice have the despairing Christians repulsed
the besiegers, but still they gather in greater mum
bers from every Druse district around that devo
ted city. If the Druses defeated there, thu
Christians all over Lebanon, now disheartened anC
fugitives, will take courage, rally round their stan
dards and attack the Druses every side.
Damascus is now almost in state of siege. Tn
Governor-General is quaking with fear, and it j
believed that should the Druses demand the Chris
tians of the city he would give them up to be
slaughtered before the town.
Another English m n f-War nrpiHnh this morn
ing, making quite large fleet in the harbor.-
But, alasl they merely protect Beirut-they dc
nothing for the country. Every Consul has hi
own policy and his own instructions to carry into
execution.
The English are determined to sustain the Turk
ism Government and to sustain the Druses, howev'
er much it may deplore the enormities perpetrateC
by them. Its spolicy requires that this empire shal
remain in the hands of weak government, in or
der that the British possessions in India may not bt
impered. France and Russia would be willing
to see the country divided. Austria has but LITTLE
influence, and the policy of our American Consu
is to protect all American citizens and to avoid al
interference in the politics of the country othe
than that dictated by humanity for the relief of th
starving and prosecuted Christians.
If the same want of unanimity exists among tn
Ambassadors at Constantinople upon this question
nothing will be done for poor suffering Syria, unit
Congress shall settle this vexed Oriental question
at once and forever.
We are still looking for the Iroquois sloopof
war with much anxiety, for every day brings fresl
combinations and complications, and no one cal
tell how far the bocom of destruction will spread
HADU.
Norm CAROLINA GoLp.-The Charlotte BUueti
of the l4th says:-We were shown yesterday, bl
Capt Orchard the Superintendent OF the Rudisel
| gold mine a splendid specimen OF copper ore
| which was taken from depth of $50 feet below tn
surface The vein is about three feet In width
carr wing a large per centage of copper. The cop