Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1867-09-21
THE CRETAN INSURRECTlON

The following letter has been addressed
by the insurrectionary government of Crete
to the consuls of England, France, Russia,
Austria, Prussia, Italy, Greece, Sweden, and
the United States of America:
"AsKYFo DE SPHAKIA, August o.
"Messieurs les Consuls-The Generals
simo of Turkey, Omar Pacha, having failed
in his last expedition, in spite OF his i'm
mense military preparations, his numerous
army the strict blockade which he had in
stituted both by sea and land, and his pro-
mise to tho insurgents, abandoned himself
without restraint to the dictates of a fero-
cious heart. He burned all the villages of
Sphakia, with the exception of Commitato
and Prosjals, which were partly destroyed.
He cut down the trees and set fire to the
bee hives, searched all the caves iE which
the inhabitants had hidden their small pro-
perties, opened the tombs and scattered the
remains of the persons who had been long
inferred, while he cut off the heads and
limbs of corpses recently buried. He sur
rounded caves where women and children,
old men and sick, had taken refuge, and
having induced them to come forth by pro-
misses and protestation, caused them to be
subjected to the most cruel torturcs, and
this at the moment he had assured M.
BoutacoA, the Russian consul, that he had
treated them with lenity. Omar
Pacha also put to death the nun Trajina,
blind from his birth, Cali Papanicola, s.
Vergaki, N. Parlaki, and Jean de Ttivara,
whose bodies he insulted. In the village OF
Colocassia he had an old man, named
Giamoulakey, and a priest, slaughtered
During his return to Hcraclion on the 2Sth
and 30th of last month Rcschid Pacha com.
mitted even greater atrocities against the
defencoless to revenge himself for his defeat
This leader ravaged the property of the
| Christians and burnt the convent of Prcvel
At Metampes he massacred an old man
named Gianacachi Christophoraki and O
| girl, whose bodies he cast into the flames
as well as the monk Gedeon, whose head he
impaled upon the cross surmounting the
church. Other persons whose names We
nave not been able to learn, also fell victim:
to his fury. The Cretan government, while
deploring the brutal and ferocious acts
which enlightenment and civilization con
dcmn, protests in the name of humanity tc
your governments, and implorcs their ait
that the weak and the defcnceless may bt
saved. We embrace at the same time this
opportunity of denying the false statements
| spread by Omar Pacha concerning the pre-
tended submission of Gambia. Far from
such being the case, not child has given il
its submission, not a weapon has been de
| livered up, not signature has ratified any
such proposal and let it be well noted thai
in Sphakia alone he has now been carrying
on war against US for an entire month. Omal
Pacha has attempted to delude his owr
government, and to mislead European opin
ion, but the Christians of Gambia opposed tt
his mendacious words, the rattle of theiI
arms and the report of their muskets, whicl
has not ceased and will not cease to resount
from one extremity of the island to tn,
other until our deliverance and our unioi
with independent Greece. We beg you tt
lay this present communication before you
government"