The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1876-10-14
Destroy Ing over One Thousand Per.
sons Ina u Church.
LFrom The london Timos.

Destroy Ing over One Thousand Per.
sons la II Church,
From the London Tines
The next part Of the report deals
with tho case of Barak-"the most
fearful tragedy that happened during
the whole lnsurrectiOu."
The Medjlis of Tartar Bazarjil, hear.
ing that preparations for revolt were
going on in this village, ordered
Achmet Agha of Despat to attack il,
ana this individual, having joined his
forces withEthose Of Mohammed Agha
Of Dorkova, proceeded to carry GU
these orders. On arriving at the viii
luge he summoned the inhabitants To
give up their arms, which, ms they
mlstrusted him, they refused to do it,
and n desultory fight succeeded, which
lasted two days, hardly any loss be-
ing inflicted on either side.
On the 9th OF May the inhabitants,
seeing that things Were gong badly
with them, and that no MD came from
without, had u parley with Achmet,
who solomnly swoge that il they only
gave up their arms not hair OF their
heads should be touched. "A certain
rumber Of the inhabitants, luckily for
them, took advantage OF this parley TO
make their escape.
The villagers believed Achmet's oath
and surrendered their arms, but this
demand was followed by one for all
the money in the village, which, of
course had also to be acceded to. No
sooner was the money given up than
the Bashi- Ba2onks set upon the people
and slaughtered them like sheep.
A large number of people, probably
about one thousand or twelve hundred,
took refuge in the church and church,
yard, the latter being surrounded by a
wall. The church itself is solid
building, and resisted all the attempts
of the Bashi- Bazouks to burn IL from
the outside; they consequently fired
in through the windows, and, getting
upon the roof, tore OIL the tiles and
threw burning pieces Of wood and
rags dipped in petroleum among the
mass of unhappy human beings in
side. AT last the door was forced in,
the massacre completed, and the inside
Of the church burnt. Hardly any
escaped out OF these fatal walls.
The only survivor / could find was
one old woman, who alone remained
out of u family of seven. When the
door was broken in and she was ex.
pooting immediate death, Turk took
her by the band, and saying, "Come,
old woman, sm not going 10 hurt
you,n led her away and saved her life.
The spectacle which the church and
churchyard presented must be seen 10
be described hardly Il corpse has been
buried; where man fell there he now
lies, aud 1t Is will difficulty that one
picks ones way to the door of the
church, the entrance of which IL barred
by u CHASTITY corpse stretched across
the threshold. visited this valley Of
the shadow of death on the 3lst OF
July, more than two months and II
half after the massacre, tut still the
stencil was so overpowering that one
could hardly force ones way into tho
churchyard.
In the streets Mt every step lay.hu-
man remains, rOttipg and sweltering
in the summer sun-here "A skull OF an
old woman, with the grey hair still at
tached to it; there the false tress OF
some unhappy girl, slashed in half by
Il yataghan, the head which II adorned
having probably been carried of to be
devourod by some of the dogs, who up
to this have been the only scayengers.
Just outside the village / counted more
than sixty skulls In d little hollow, and
it was evident from their appearance
that nearly all Of them had been sew
cred from the bodies by axes and yata-
ghans. From the remains Of female
wearing apparel scattered about, II IL
plain that many of the persons here
massacred were women.
IL is to be feared, also, that some Of
the richer villagers We're subjected to
cruel tortures before being put to
death, in hopes that they would reveal
the existence of hidden treasure. Thus
Petro Triandaphyllos and Pope Necio
were roasted, and Stoyah Stoychon
had his ears, nose, hands aud feet cut
of. Enough, / think, has been said
to show that Achmet Agha and his
men belongs the distinction of having
committed, perhaps, the most heinous
crime that has stained the history of
the present century, Nina Sahib alone,
should say, having rivGled their deeds.
AZ regards the number of killed. have
before stated that about five thousand
is my estimate. am aware that
others place It higher, but he this as 1t
may, whether The lain are to be
counted 10y hundreds or hy thousands
does not lessen IN lhr east the crimi-
nalily of TIE slayers. The intention
was to exterminHte all except those
few girls probably about eighty)whom
they carried of to satisfy their usts.
Those that escaped owed their safety
to their own good fortune, and not TO
the tender merciea Of their nelghbors,
-
Information.
Mrs. Celia Ann Aargant Spearl, for
merly Mathewsl from Claiborne par
ish, Louisiana, and u daughter of Will
liam aud Martha Mathews, desires in
formation concerning her cousin, Celia
Ann Nancr Wiliems, formerly Har-
nom, who came from Arkansas TO
Texas about eight or ten years ago, aud
lived first at or near Crockett, but has
been and was living IN Parker county
when last heard from. Any informa-
tion at this place will be thankfully re-.
ceived. -[Weatheriord News,