Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-08-04
Correspondence Of tho London Daily News.
The nInssacrcs In Syria.
BFYROUT, July /, lBG


BEyRoUT, July l, 1860.
Until last evening had hopes that this
mail would take home more cheering news
respecting this unhappy province Unfortu-
nately, our prospects get darker every day, for
each hour brings either news of fresh afro
cities committed by the Druses or more decid-
ed proofs that the acts Of the latter are con-
niyed at by the Turkish Government II is
now ascertained, and nominal list of them
has been made, thatu 10 last night the Dru-
scs have burned and pillaged no less than one
hundred and fifty one Christian villages
since the 29th of May last, while no less than
from $4,000 TO $4,000 Christian inhabitants
Of Lebanon-many Of whom were month
ago wealthy men, Others in quite easy cir
cumstances and all strangers to anything
like poverty or want-are homeless beggars,
depending on actual charity for theirs daily
bread. Over and above the number Of Chris
tians shot in actual warfare between 1000
and 5000 have been utchered-hacked to
death would be the filter term-as no butch
er ever used in his calling half the cruelty
Of these blOodthirsty miscreants-in cold
blood by the Drnses. And, besides this,
more than 5000 widows, who, until this
Druse campaign, were happy wives and
mothers have lost their husbands, brothers.
fathers, and all male relatives, even TO the
male infants ut the breast; and sixteen hun
dred children are now orphans. All these
figures have been very carefully compared
with others, and weighed in the balance Of
English local, opinion, before given as facts.
And after cOnyersing, comparing, and di-
years experience in Syria to bear upon the
subject, lam bound TO say that have con-
siderably understated the case. Moreover
fifty millions sterling would not pay for the
towns, villages hamlets, and silk factories
destroyed throughout the mOuntain-all the
property of the Christians. There is besides
feariully long list of converts, churches,
and nunneries belonging to the same people,
all of which have been plundered 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 it has been nothing
less than a wholesale massacre Of Christians
by the Druses, and a wanton destruction Of
all property belonging to the former by the
latter To give you some idea what these
Druses are, l will enumerate a few instances
of their frightful barbarity, all Of which
have heard from he unfortunate sufferers
themselves, now refugees from Lebanon
One poor woman know both her husband
and herself well at Deir-el-Kamar, where
they were wealthy people-told me that
when the DruSes attacked the town the sec
ond time ! should mention that it had sur
rendered, and all the inhabitants had given
up their arms some "a hours previously TO
the Druses, and had been promised prOtec-
ton by their sheiks, her husband was hacked
to pieces before her eyes by the large knives
of the Druses, who then declared that they
must kill all male children in the house.
The mother tried to hide her two sons, one
fifteen the other nine years old. The Druses,
however found them out and she begged
and prayed for their lives, and endeavOred to
cover them in a corner with her person, but
the Druses hacked at the lads over her shOul-
der and gashed them until they both dropped
down apparently lifeleSs The Druses then
made OIL, and the woman, thinking her two
boys dead, remained in n sort of stupor for
two hours, so far as she could calculate. At
last she was reused by hearing the eldest lad
call her in a faint voice, trying to assure her
that he was not yet dead. On this she felt
the body of the youngest boy, and found his
heart beating. She got some water, and
after giving it to both her children-so far
as she could get them TO drink it-started
into the town to see whether she could pro-
cure assistance to get her and her boys away
She got as far as the seragliO, or government
house, but there she found that some 500
Christians, who had taken refuge, were b&
ing cut to pieces by the Druses, who had
been invited to enter the precincts of the
building by the Turkish soldiers of the gar
risOn these latter helping in the butchery,
and being so far worse than the Druses that
thoy abused in the most infamous manner all
the women. Seeing no help could be obtained
here the poor woman turned to fly, when
she came across an old Druse, who had foT-
merly been farm servant of her husband
After great deal Of entreaty on her part,
tue man consented to protect her and her
children down to the sea coast, about four
hours journey, on condition of receiving an
order on her brother; a wealthy man in Bey-
rout, for 10000 piastres. To this she agreed,
and they returned together to her house
She had not been absent more than an hour,
but she found her two children cut into
pieces, joint by joint climb and trunk sew
ered' Ito use her words, 'ias butchers cut
up sheep'-heads, legs, arms, and bodies be-
ing hacked up into shapeless mass of bloody
flesh and reeking bones. Some other poor
women then joined her, and together they
made their way to mulberry plantation out
side the town, where they passed the night.
At daybreak they were discovered by party
Of Druses, who, after stripping them to find
| whether they had any money on their per-
sons, and taking away what little they pos
/ sessed, told them they might go where they
! liked. Four Of the poor creatures had ba-
/ bies, all under a year old. OF these infants,
two were girls and two boys the former they
| did not touch, but the latter they said might
! grow up to be men, and bear arms against
| the Druses; they therefore took the poor
little creatures, and before their mothers eyes
tore them up the middle, and limb by limb
'exactly," to use the poor wOman's own ex-
preston, ''as you tear up fowl that is TO be
cooked with pillau." Remember, all this
was done, not in the heat of fighting but de-
liberately, in cold blood And have heard
of eleven other exactly similar cases of child
destruction by the Druses, in nine of which
implicitly believe, having every reason tc
do so. Deir-el-Kamar contained, a month
ago, a population Of 5000 souls, of which
about 4, 600 were men and lads, $500 women
and girls, and 500 children under ten year.
old. Of the men, not more than $50 have
escaped Of the women and girls, about 2,
600 have reached Beyrout; and of the young
children, less than two hundred are alive
Don't forget, too that this fendish massacre
was perpetrated upon a population whicl
twenty-four days previously had SURRENDERED
to the Druses, had been promised protection
by them, and were disarmed previously t
their murder
The Late Meteor.
Prof. Bond, of Harvard Observatory, give
the fnllnwinr as an outline of the path Of th