Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1860-08-01
THE CIVIL WAR IN SYRIA.

many MARS nave occurred IN ASIA DetWeel
! the Druses and Christians of Mount Lebanon
bnt the present struggle is unparalleled in tn,
history of these people for its horrible atroci
| ties. Beyrout correspondent of The Lon
| don Daily Ne,cs, in letter dated June 21st
| writes as follows
ssWould that had better news wherewitl
to open my letter; but the latest intelligence
we have here is of the fall of Jahleh, large
Christian town of ten thousand inhabitants
into the hands of those blood thirsty hordes o.
Druses who have invested the town for six
days. The Christians fought bravely, but were
outnumbered and, of the Turkish troops sent
TO assist them, half halted some miles short OF
the place, and the remainder took part against
them. But full details are not known yet.
GAS the Austrian steamer to Trieste was
leaving this on the 10Th June, a boat load OF
men wearing,not blood-stained, but blood sat
urated garments, arrived from Tyre. These
individuals, only thirty-four in number, were
all that remained of the Christian male popu-
iation of HaSbeiya, a village at the foot of
Mount Hermon, which, a week before, could
muster nearly two thousand fighting men.
Ihese poor creatures were the first to bring TO
Beyrout detailed and true accounts of the
bioodthrsty ruffiauism of their Druse enemies,
and OF the fearful treachery of the local Turk
ish authorities. The tale l give you is taken
from the very words of the men themselves, ,ex-
amIned separately by a St-rateArabic scholar.
'sHasbeiya is a beautiful village at the foot
OF Hermon, and close 20 the source of the Jor-
dan. 1t contains, or did before the massacre,
population of 5000 Christian souls, chiefly
of the Greek orthodox church. To Protest
ant Chrfsterdom, Hasbeiya should be place
of the utmost possible interest. for it was here
that the preaching Of evangelical truth had
borne more fruit than anywhere else in Syria.
The Protestants numbered in this village up
ward of 200; they had a native pastor
and a regular church edifice of their
own-the latter having been built chiefly by
their own contributions. OF that Protestant
community. which a fortnight ago was full of
spiritual as we'll as material life, two men now
live to tell the tale of their butchery while of
their 4 900 Greek fellow Christians, but 33
men have survived, and the fate of their wives
and children is wofse than uncertain.
ssThe village was attacked by an overwhelm-
ing body of Druses on Saturday, the I'd June.
The Christians armed to repel them, and for
two days held their own, on the third driving
back the enemy. Hitherto the commander of
the Turkish troops had stood alooi, although
las was the case at Sidon, at Deir-el Kamar,
and at Rasheiya-he had troops enough at his
command to repel and defeat the Druses, had
he so wished. When he saw that the Chris
tians were gaining the day he called them
back, and in the name of the Sultan ordered
them to retire within the seragio "a large
building covering nearly an acre of ground,
and containing residence of the commander,
as we'll as the barrack), and to give up their
arms, as he, the local representative of the
Government, would conduct them safe to Da-
mascus, where they would be better than in
Hasbeiya while the civil war lasted. The
Christians obeyed him, returned, gave up their
arms, which were Immediately packed up and
sent toward Damascus, but with so absurdly
small an escort, that the Druses took posses
sion of both the muskets and the mules that
carried them within an hour of their leaving
the place. The Christians asked again and a
gain to be sent with their families as promis-
ed to Damascus. For nearly a week they were
put off with some preteXt or other, until, on
the sixth day, after their being disarmed dur
ing which time the Turkish soldiers had pre-
vented any OF them from leaving the precincts
of the seraglo), two Druse sheiks of great in
fluence arrived, and had a conference of sew
eral hours with the Turkish commander of the
troops. No sooner was this conference ended
than the Christians observed that the harem,
(wivcs, women, and children), as well as the
property of the commander, was removed from
the seragio, and that the Turkish soldiers also
removed their baggage outside. Suspecting
treachery, many of the Christians tried to es-
cape from the place, but were prevented by
the bayonets of the troops, while their women
and children were ordered, and compelled to
remove to the large upper chambers of the
low. BY this time 1t was known that many
hundreds of armed Druses were close to the
town. The troops had hardly made the afore-
said arrangements when the Druses were ad-
mitted into the seraglio, and rushed like hum
CRY tigers upon the unarmed crowd in the
court yard. No man was spared. In ten min
utes the very stones were inch deep in human
blood. No butchery ever known in history e.
qualed this in ferocity and cowardice. In half
an hour inward of a thousand strong men were
hacked to death. Some few tried again to es
cape. but were driven back by the bayonets of
the Turkish soldiers Irregular troops,not Bashi
Bazouks), and the Druses had their revel of
blood undisturbed; mothers, wives, daughters,
and young children witnessing from above the
massacre of their relatives.
/ could enter into more details, but sicken
at the task. Would to heaven that it were a
fable or dream ? In the slaughter, some few
hid in out-of-the-way chambers-othcrs escap-
ed notice from being heaped over by the dead,
and these by Gods mercy managed in the
night to escape, wandered down to the coast,
where one Ali Bey, Metauli chief, protected
them, and so to Tyre, where they took ship to
Beyrout, and arrived here on Saturday eve-
ming, the 10th June. OF the fate of the women
and children nothing is yet certain, but, from
what is known of the Turkish soldiers, it is
feared that the fate of the former will be one
worse than death. OF the Protestant commu-
nifty, not a man escaped, but more than one of
how they met their fate, exhorting others to
turn to the Savior, and to pray to Him in
their last hours.''
THH patriot John Adams, it is said, was de-
signed for shoemaker, like his father. One
lay Deacon Adams, his parent, gave him some
lppers to cut out by pattern that had