The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-08-24
The Circassians in Turkey.

the Circassian immigrant in Turkey in
Europe, the following circumstance,
which occurred in 1874, when / was
stopping at the Bulgarian village of
Djeverli, near Burgas, may possibly
be of interest. fear l must preface
my story with few remarks about
these same Circassians, but l will en-
deavor to be as brief as possible in
order not to trespass too much on your
valuable space. The great tide of Cir
cassian emigration to Turkey set in
about fifteen years ago, and has flowed |
ever since. They are physically a
most splendid race of men, and when
they have their own way are very
pleasant companions. They pride them
selves on their skill in robbery, although
they declare they are not to be COM
pared to their forefathers in that quail
ity; but they must not be pictured as
the Bill Sykes stamp of rutfian. Quite
the contrary; they are very gentleman
ly highwaymen. They bring up their
generally-handsome daughters for sale
to Turkish harems, and these girls
look forward to joining a harem as an
entry into life somewhat as English
young ladies do to "coming out"
They frequently obtain great influence
over their husbands, and, as they are
very patriotic, they are always ready
to further the interests of their race.
There cannot be a doubt that these
Circassian girls find their way into the
harems, and that they are sold. When
the Circassians settled in Turkey they
brought with them their slaves-that
is, the descendants of Tartars and 9TH
ers, who, from being conquered in
battle, became, according to custom,
hereditary slaves. No objection was
raised by the Turkish authorities to
the settlement of these slaves under
their masters on Turkish soil, but
after time the slaves, discovering
that they possessed a legal right to
freedom, began to give trouble to their
masters. 1t was Il dispute of this
nature i'll a Circassian village only
ten miles from Djeyerli, where | was
stopping, that gave rise to the report
on July %, 1874, that five Zaptiehs
(Turkish mounted police had gone to
see justice carried out in favor Of the
slaves according to declared Turkish
law in the District Court, but that on
arriving at the village the Circassian
chief seized the Zaptiehs, fogged them
and sent them back to the authorities.
1t was also reported that a regiment of
Turkish cavalry was to proceed to the
village the next day to enforce order,
and that the Circassians would oppose
them with 1000 hOrsemen. l started
at once to see the skirmish, and Mr..
Charles Brophy, British Vice-Consul
at Burgas, kindly accompanied me, but
we learnt that the Turkish regiment
had been there the night before, and
thinking that discretion was the better
part of valor, it retired for "instruc-
tiOns.' We afterward heard that the
Circassians quickly assembled in larger
force and changed their position: that
they were encountered by a force of
regular troops and called upon to sur
render, or tie troops would charge.
"They replied, Come onr The
troops charged, and forty Turks were
Immediately placed hOrs de combat.
The Circassians affected retreat, and
through interest at high quarters the
whole affair was allowed to drop. Now
this story must be taken for what it is
worth. but we heard it from the Cir
cassian chief who logged the Zaptiehs,
we heard it from Djavid Pasha, the
Governor-General at Slivonia, and
from many other Turks, Bulgarians
and Circassians in the immediate
neighborhood. Mr.. Brophy is most
clever llnguiSt, has lived some years
on his farm i'll that part of the coun-
try, and has the ear and confidence
of all the Turkish officials. No
doubt the numbers reported We're
greatly exaggerated, but that the
main facts were true | have little
doubt, although they never appeared
in any of the Constantinople newspa-
pers in consequence of an evident de-
sire to hush up the whole affair. 1t
must be borne in mind that Turks,
Bulgarians and Circassians do not mix
in one village; but each village has a
nationality of its own, and | can speak
most positively from experience of the
country that a Circassian village is a
terror its neighbors, be they Turk or
Christian. The present crisis may be
a turning point in Turkish history,
and all true friends of the country
should not hesitate to expose faults
where they exist, in the hope that they
may be rectitied in the new constitu-
ton said to be forthcoming. The con-
troll of the Circassian population is
one of the gravest questions for the
welfare of the country which the Gov
eminent will have to consider; for the
daring and lawless character of this
race, coupled with their great family
influence, makes them enemies to all
progress. Happily, they are for the
most part settled only in the neigh
boring district of the Balkan; but if
they could be transferred to Asia Mi
nor | feel sure there would be general
rejoicing among the Turkish and Bull
garian inhabitants of Roumela. No
one can doubt that terrible atrocities
have been committed in this as in 9TH
er civil wars; but l firmly believe
from my knowledge of the people
that the Christian is as bad in this re-
spect as the Turk; and the attempts
of the enthusiasts, either from sec
tartan or party motives, to establish a
case of Mohammedan u.s. Christian"
will inevitably multiply greatly the hor-
rors that are already too numerous
Cor. London Times.
The Christadelphians.