Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-08-14
The hescRe Of Syrian Women and Children
by tngfish


The following letter from Capt Payntsr, Of TIE
English Navy, describes some few Of the horrible
scenes he has recently witnessed In SYRIA, and
gives an account Of the rescue Of . 900 women and
children by English men-of-war
With reference TO the Deir-el- amar the Druses
commenctc on "wednesday the 10Th instant 20
enter the town in large armed bands and began
pillaging the shops and warehouses at in the
afternoon; the troops Joined tue Druses in plum
dering During the night the Drusss Of the Hau-
ran ana the Metualis entered the city from differ
eht directions Early on Thursday morning the
town was set on IRE in several places and a mas
sacre Of every male inhabitant from the helpless
old man to the infant at the breast commenced
and the women who did Tot hy were violated
until Friday.
At : P. m. on Thursday. his Excellency Khoor-
sheed Pasha, Governor General Of SYRIA arrived
out taxing no notice Of the horrors committed by
the troops or Druses p; Ssed on to station called
ltaheen, which overlooked the town He then
| issued an order TO stay the slaugh ter which was
dlsregarded by both the troops and the Druses;
$40 males, IL is stated, now living unburied
amid the ruins Of Deir-el- X amar. and The women
and children who fed from the scene Of siauy h,sr
| was Informed by Mr.. Csnsul-General Moore
were making their escape to the seaside, nesr the
DamOor river, hunted down like wild beasts
| l instantly dispatched Cap; Lambert of the
| siannet, who was about to proceed to Athens and
desired him to signaliZe to the Mohawk, then on
her way from Sidon with the fuyitivps from the
Il
In eInbarking the refugees
| enclose you the reports of Commander Lam
bert and Acting-Consul West, and in doing so
beg leave TO inform you that the service was ner-
formed under great di ficulty and reflected gfea,
credit on all concerned and IL will be gratifying
to you to know that, with the means that YOU ha Z
placed at my disposal, we have saved from the
horrors OF famine, murder, and violation, upward
Of 200 Christian women and children
| In the first trip the Gannet brought up seven
| hundred, the Mohawk four hundred and ffty six;
4 fkaa cd s-Esx
bred and twenty four, and the thi I'd ri upwards
| Of five hundred, in every stage OF misery The
most severely wounded | received on board Of the
| Exmouth, and their wounds were dressed by the
| surgeon Of this ship the renal nder were landed
| and sent to the French hospital The whole OF
| those wounded were shot or sabred flying from
| the town after their husbands and male children
had been slaughtered.
| received every assistance from the boats Of the
| French, Russian, and Turkish ships lying here,
In landing these poor creatures and the FrenC h
Commodore dispatched to the northward vessel
/ IN ORDER 10 rescue any others that NAV have re
manned, but have every reason to believe that
| tue fugitlves from Fable, Hasbeya and Deir-rl-
hamlr have been taken OF from our vessels
| The conduct of Osman Bey really appears In
| ms age without parallel. He first of all in
| duced the Christians TO surrender their arms;
he then crowded the poor creatures In the
| courts Of the Serai. and for eight DAYS kept
them with barely sufficient food TO keep life to-
| getheri and then, when unable to resist fIom
physical debility, he opened the gates and Above
| the Druses TO rush in and massacre them 10 the
number OF 500, men, women and children The
few that escaped owed their preservation to crawl
| ing under the bodies Of the dead and escapipg
| under the cover OF darkness
| On hearing of this butchery. and believing II
| possible that many of the women and Gu ldren
| would escape TO the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon.
| ! immediately dispatched the Mohawk on the
2lst, to those places, with orders TO communicate
with the Vice Consul, and bring of any Of the
fugitiyes. Ii was on the return of the AIohaw X
from these he ed in m
| barking the women in Deir-el- Kamar on board
| the Cannot.