Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1876-11-09
MORE HoRRID CRUELT!ES.
Destroying Over One Thousand Persons In
Church..The Massacre of the Inhabit
ants of Batak.

Destroying Over One Thousand Persons In
Church..The Massacre Of the Inhablt
ants of Batak.
A report on the war in Bulgaria deals
with the case of Batak--the most fearful
tragedy that happened during the whole
insurrection.
The mediliss of Tartar Bazariik, hear
ing that preparations for revolt were
going on in this village, ordered Achmet
Agha of Dospat to attack it, and this in
dividual, having joined his forces with
those of Mohammed Agha of Dorkova,
proceeded to carry out these orders. On
arriving at the village he summoned the
inhabitants to give up their arms,
which, ss they mistrusted him, they re-
fused to do, and desultory fight sue
ceeded, which lasted two days, hardly
any loss being inflicted on either side.
On the ninth of May the Inhabitants,
seeing that things were going badly
with them, and that no aid came from
without, had parley with Achmet, who
solemnly swore that if they only gave
up their arms not hair of their heads
should be touched. A certain number
of the inhabitants, luckily for them,
took advantage of this parley to make
their escape.
The villagers believed Ashmet's oath
and surrendered their arms, but this de-
mand was followed by one for all the
money in the village, which, OF course,
had also to be ac.eded to. No sooner
was the n1oney oiyen up than the Bashi-
Bazouks get upon the people and
slaughtered them like sheep. A large
number of people, probably about J, 200
or /, 200, took refuge in the church and
churchyard, the latter being surrounded
by a wall. The church itself is solid
building, and re- listed all the attempts
of the Bashi Bazouks to burn it from
the outside; they consequently fired In
through the windows, and, getting upon
the roof, tore off the tiles and threw
burning pieces of wood and rags dipped
in petroleum among the mass of un-
happy human beings inside. At last
the door was forced in, the massacre
completed, and the inside OF the church
burnt. Hardly any escaped out OF these
fatal waels.
The only survivor I could find was
! one old woman, who alone remained ont
of a family of seven. When the door
was broken in and she was expecting
immediate death, a Turk took her by
the hand, and saying, "Come, old
woman, am not going to hurt you,
led her away and saved her life. The
spectacle which the church and church
ward present must be seen to be de-
scribed; hardly a corpse has been
buried; where man fell there he now
es, and it is with difficulty that one
picks ones way to the door of the
church, the entrance OF which is barred
by gbastly corpse stretched across the
threshold. visited this valley Of the
shadow of death on the thirty first OF
July, more than two months and a halt
after the massacre, but still the stencil
was 80 overpowerirg that one could
hardly force ones way into the church
yard.
In the streets at every step lay human
remains, rotting and swelteripg in the
summer sun-here q skull of an old
woman, with the gray hair still attached
to it; there the false tress OF some un
happy girl, slashed in half by yata-
CHAN, the head which it adorned having
been probably carried off to be devoured
by some of the dogs, who up to this
time have been the only scavengers.
Just outside the village counted more
than sixty skulls in little hollow, and
it was evident from their appearance
that nearly all of them had been severed
from the bodies by axes and yataghans.
From the remains of female wearing
apparel scattered about, it is plain thai
many of the persons here massacred
were women.
1t is to be feared, also. that some oi
the richer villagers were subjected to
cruel tortures before being put to death,
in hopes that they would reveal the ex'
istence of hidden treasure. Thus Petro
Triandaphyllos and Pope Necio were
roasted, and Stoyan Stoychcff had hii
ears, nose, hands, and feet cut OF
Enough, I think, has been said to show
that to Achmet Agha and his men be-
longs the distinction of having commit
ted, perhaps, the most heinous crime
that has stained the history of the pres
ent century, Nina Sahib alone, I should
say, having rivaled their deeds. AS re
CARDS the number of killed, five thou
sand is my estimate. I am aware tha
others place it higher, but be this as il
| ..- ~ a&bor tho oloip ora IN ha cOUnt