Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-08-24
The CircassianS in Turkey.

the ClrcaSSlan immigrant in Turkey in
Europe, the following circumstance,
Which occurred in 1874, when [ was
stopping at the Bulgarian village of
DJeVerll, near Burgas, may possibly
| be OF interest. | fear / must preface
my story with a few remarks about
these same CircaSsianS, but I 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
casslan emigration to Turkey set in
| about fifteen years ago, and has flowed
ever since. They are physically
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
lty; but they must not be pictured as
the Bill Sykes stamp of ruffian. Quite
the contrary; they are very gentleman
| ly highwaymen. They bring up their
| OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES daughters for sale
| to Turkish haremS, and these girls
look forward to joining 2 harem as an
| entry into life somewhat as English
| young ladies do to looming 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 dispute of this
nature in a Circassian village only
ten miles from DieYerli, where [ was
stopping, that gave rise to the report
on July p, 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 thai ON
arriving at the village the Circassian
chief seized the Zaptiehs, logged them
and sent them back to the authorities.
1t was also reported that 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. / 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 flOgged 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 a most
| clever linguiSt, has lived some years
on his farm in that part of the cOun-
try, and has the ear and confidence
of all the Turkish officials. No
doubt the numbers reported were
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 I can speak
most positively from experience of the
country that Circassian village is
terror its neighbors, be they Turk or
Christian. The present crisis may be
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 rectified in the new cOnstitu-
ton said to be forthcoming. The con-
troll Of the Circassian population is
one of the crT9vact oJlpCtinnc for tho