The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1860-07-20
Correspondence ofthc Boston Erening 1ra~ii6S.
HIGHLY IMPORTANT FROM SYRIA.

HIGHLY IMPORTANT FROM SYRIA.
Il 1trribie CioH IVur.-Sixty Villages Burn
: Wholesale Butchery of Men, Women nm,
; Ch!drep.-The American Missionaries Snfe-
Turkish Completely.
BEIRUT. Syria. juno G, 1869.
Syria ia now the sc.nce Of on. Of the mos
eanguinary conflicts cver.enaci.l in this land
which has ever been tire but field of In. oil,
world-and Mount Lebanonis now one vas
funeral pile
Druses aud Dharistans, numbering hurJr.a
i OF tn"ns"nd', ar" now engaged in wh"!esnl,
:; murder nrsOn,and rillngr. in which fundisl
work they are aidedby forks. M"slr,n Arabs
anu ;he people known us the Aetawalcs.
From my window Ia l. week | counted from
twenty to thirty burning villnurs upon ,h,
| mountain n few miles from Beirut from " hence
lhe ihsh9t ninSk-try may casi v lie seen and
tie v"!!eyshtnr.I. one after another in rnriI
succrsson.s "a they echo through the valleys
HE d! ing and the dead are brought daily mtc
Tho town in large numbers. and the widows aud
."" orphans niny hc seen IN great crowds weep
ING and wn'.',," about the streets
The hnrbarity of this war was truly shock
ing. Men. women and children are ov.,,nk.,
! white irciug for refuge and without arms and
rn'hi-ssly slaughtered while praying for quar-.
The Christians have thus far suffered most
; ttrr'hiy. Their Villages have been burned
4 q
! been hrutnIly murdered while .he D,us.s who
| ARE better warriors ard far more cnurnpr..,,s
are assist ed 10y the Turks, h"sl-r.Is and Meta.
| wallis. aud up to this time have provcI sue
! ccssfuIv
| lhis hl"n'ly war. which is waced "u both
sues ns II war hf rNic'innaii"n, has lis oriri,.
! III religious and political causes. The Chris
tIans and Druses nate c"ch other will, n deadly
! hatred on account Of the tiifArrnc. in their
religious fnsili-anJ the CHRISTMAS iln,. il,,
| Druses with special hatred, because the
DruSrs ar IN II great ,rany of the Irlnunta in
Christian districts cudel chief. and rules over
| the Christian or Marnuit" and Greek Catholic
! villages. The mere Immediate causes uf tho.
Wal may he traced 10 tie bloody t..,,ds exist
| ing bertw"cn Dru..: and Chr:stinn tribes. Last
| Summer nj BAIT Mnri uqa.i.r.l arose which
! threatened To r'ec.I.itate IL war; in whirh the
+, Marnni'e Christians were victorious, having
rrpu'sed Ii" d. uses kiliin. fnr,y or more, Will.
/ th"i own l"s> was less thaa one third Of that
nu'nh'r. Although peace WIS tirn .lr?lnre.l
the Druscs have since assassinatcd every Chris
ta'n who raiiie IN their way, with an evident.
dele, mnh1!on to make 1 e nilini,rr Of the
Murpnitc's loss equal to that Of the Dru>c>
En's aroused the Christmas and ~ exaspcrat;l
,iem tina, they made IN n'tavk upon 81 !r"i
DrEs" villages. AT first they were -uc,:S SsSli.!
! h", relying ni'"n il,er nn.d',c,s. they htsl.c.
ted I" appoint leaders or Ia form nny Ran for
tile cniri'aisn. consequently the Druscs rall.,
under thrir warrior chiefs nnl burned 4rrrv
hnr"nite and Greek Chris.inn village within
their reach. Thss PrrvincinI authorities Ph.-
t" be rebels. a& the G"v.rnor.e sneral nro
crr'led with AL lM pvaiInbls force 70 ,h. n,,,n-
tains. and bought hisessanon TO bear upon the
Oh. iStians, cheek ing them every turn while
the T'ruses, aided l,y the s"l.lirry carried on
their work of pilinSe AMI murder in Il mann er
shameful even to II North American lndiun.
h"hes having been burned, their crops destroy.
ed and in scme cases ih"iH-tani'ies but"h"r",I,
the Christians are rnllyiug for the fnrlorn
hope; Tor they feel that the Druses. titus aided
will en,lerror 20 cx;crn,nate them. This,
however, will not be an easy matter as the
Maro"ita Greeks and Greek Catholics number
about two u, ndre'l nnl fifty thousand. aud it.
as they hope mud daily tx lect. til. European
powers will come I" their aid. tir.y may not
only De saved, hut greatly improve lsir con-
dIi"n. by beius placed under ,ttA rule Of
la E"rors"n rri ee who may be gIAsesl <"ver the
The American missionaries in Mount. Lehnn
on have been greatly exposed. but ns yet ha We
suferr'! only for The want CT p,uvisions
Upon the hreAging OUT "f the war. Mr. Co
sui Johnson yx1t guards for their protection.
mud in Sone cnsrs provisions. Some of the
faIaiAes|"f the Mission have come down 10
Beiru4 binder an escort furnished by the Consul,
hHu uTe Nhhy No dHngcr
personal t" the A,n"cicans in Mount Lebanon
is nppr-hended. rs they are well known and
we'll protected. lint their work ia etopped l,v
the war, their houses becomes the asy ;ulns for
The w"unded anI the G.nrfnl: in fact, they
are crowded out by the pe"I'ie who seek their
protection for, wherever the American flag il
seen waving on th. housetop the peunl. flock
IL erent numbers for admission. ~
The humanity shown iy the Amcricansfsin
Beirut To the woup9ed. the homeless. aud the
starving refngsesfram mountains will long
be remembered by the natives OF, the cn,fn,ry
The sAmeric"" Mission prernises are crowded
day AMI nighL by women aud children CRYING
Tor bread. which they receive with comfort
and consolation from the American missioua-
rics.
One Of the largest of the Christian towcs.
Deirel K"nii. IL now in a state Of seiy., and
great suffering is produced by the want uf>pro-
visfena:
Since writing tho above. news has been re.
eeived that De,rrl Kenir is Turkish town.
and Is g"rrisoned by Turkish troops unlike the
other Christian towns which are yoyerne ed-
either by Christian az Druse feudnl chiefs-and
in'licHtss TINT the Turks ure determined To
erish the Christian power in Mt. Lebanon.-
In thus attacking Turkish town. the Dru.es
become rebels, hut he Governur General for
gets his assumed consistency. and r1owel III.
Druses to, burn largs portion of the place
before he inter fered.
Information has also been received this even.
ing that the Christians in the North Of Lehsn.
oi8are raliying. and have repuls-d tie Drus-s
with g'eak ks.nughte'. .-rhis yet requires con.
trmation,4a il is GENERALLY frlievsI tl,at1 the
Christians Have baco,pes dishenrtensd2 hS.Eths
.nn'on ohthe Turks with: the Drusss, and are.
giving uP4helr arms. :. N
Il has been estimated at the British GSnsd.
late that about sixty viIlages have been Bbtn:
ed. 1t is believed that She Eu,opesllspS~sss
W i'll now interfere in behalf OF the GbrEfj ssim
of.SyrIa,s and relieve them from thy ypprkish
yoke. HipJL
RogIa OF Tue Pr NcE OF wALEa-The Lon
don Times. speaking Of the intended visit of the