Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-09-20
BULGARIAN HORRORS.
terrible Story of Reckless and Wanton
Butchery - The Bodies DevOured bv
DOgs-Scenes of DesolatiOn

A Terrible Story of Reckless and wanton
Butchery = The Bodies Devoured by
Dogs-Scenes of Deso1ation.
The special commissioner of the
London News, writes from Tatar Ba
zardjik, under date of August Q, as
| follows:
,Batak is situated about thirty miles
south of Tatar Bazardjik as the crow
tiles, high up in a spur Of the Balkans.
that here sweeps around to the south
from the main range. The road was
only steep mountain path, that in
places might have tried the agility of a
goat After three hours climbing byt
paths SO steep that we were obliged to
dlsmount and walk half the time with
out then seeming quite safe from roll
ing down into some abyss, mounting
hlgher and higher until we seemed to
nave got among the clouds, we at last
emerged from a thick wood into de-
ll:gntful little valley that spread out
rlcn carpet OF verdure before our eyes.
a little stream came murmuring down
through 1t, upon which there was built
immature saw mill.
The village consisted of 900 houses
and about 5000 inhabitants. AS we
approached, our attention was directed
to some dogs on a slope overlooking the
town. We turned aside from the road
and passing over the debris of two or
three walls and through several gar
dens, urged our horses up the ascent
toward the dogs. They barked at us
In an angry manner and then ran off
into the adjoining fields [ observed
nothing peculiar as we mounted until
my horse stumbled. When looking
down perceived he had stepped on
human skull partly hid among the
grass. 1t was quite dry and hard, and
might, to all appearances, have been
there for two or three years, so well
had the dogs done their work. A few
steps further there was another, and
beside it part of skeleton, likewise
white and dry. Aswe assembled, bones,
skeletons and skulls became more fire.
quent, but here they had not been
picked SO clean, for there were frag
ments of half dry, half putrid flesh
still clinging to them. Atlast we came
to kind of little plateau or shelf on
the hillside, where the ground was
nearly level, with the exception of a
little indentation where the head of q
hollow broke through. We rode to-
ward this with the intention of crossing
1t, but all suddenly drew rein with an
exclamation of horror, for right before
us, almost beneath our horses feet, was
q hlght that made us shudder. It was
a heap of skulls, intermingled with
bones from all parts of the human
body, skeletons nearly entire rotting
clothing, human hair and putrld flesh
lying there in one foul heap, around
which the grass was growing luxuri-
emily. 1t emitted sickening odor,
like that of dead horse, and it was
here the dogs had been seeking hasty
repast when our untimely approach in
! corrupted them.
In the midct of this heap I could dis
tipguish one slight skeleton form still
enclosed IN a chemise, the skull wrap
ped about with colored handkerchief,
and the bony ankles encased in the en-
broldered footless stockings worn by
the Bulgarian girls. We looked about
us. The ground was strewed with
bones in every direction, where the
dogs had carried them off to gnaw
them at their leisure. At the distance
Of a hundred yards beneath us lay the
| town. r=t. f5
There was not roof left, not whole
wall standing; all was a mass of ruins,
from which arose as we listened low
plaintive wall, like the "keening" of
the Irish over their dead, that filled the
little valley and gave it voice. We
looked again at the heap of skulls and
| skeletons before us, and we observed
that they were all small, and that the
articles of clothing intermingled with
them and lying about were all parts of
women's apparel. These, then, were all
women and girls. From my saddle I
counted about hundred skulls, not in
Guiding those that were hidden beneath
the others In the CHASTITY heap, nor
those that were scattered far and wide
through the fields The skulls were
nearly all separated from the rest of
the bones, the skeletons were nearly all
headless. These women had all been
beheaded. We descended into the
town. Within the shattered walls of
the first house we came to was woman
sitting on a heap of rubbish, rocking
herself to and fro, walling kind of mo-
notonous chant, half sung, half sobbed,
that was not without wild discordant
melody. In her lap she held babe,
and another child sat beside her pa
tiently and silently, and looked at us as
we passed with wondering eyes. She
pail no attention to us; but we bent
our ear to hear what she was saying,
and our interpreter said it was as fol
lows: My home, my home; my poor
home, my sweet home, my husband,
my husband, my poor husband, my
dear husband; my home, my sweet
home" and SO on, repeating the same
words over and over again thousand
times. In the next house were two,
engaged in the same way; one old, the
other young, repeating words nearly
Identical, II had home and now I
have none; [ had husband and now I
am widow; | had son ard now I
have none; | had five children and now
[ have one" while rocking themselves
to- and fro, beating their heads and
wringing their hands. These were