The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1878-04-02
CIRCASSIAN FIENDS.
The Inhabitants Of q Village, Eight
Cave by Circassian Gut ThrOats.

v
Hundred Souls I'm all, sufF0catetl I'm u
Cave by Circasslan Gut Thr0ats.
Corr. London Daily News.
About the following, however, most
horrible, abominable and unheard-of
crime, in itself Colossus of savageness,
a whole abyss Of atrocity, / have most
authentic and reliable information,
though, for the sake of humanity, l
should have been glad were it otherwise.
1t appears that the inhabitants of the vii
lage of St. George, eight hundred souls
in all, Greeks entirely, flying before the
Circassians, who had attacked and de-
stroyed their village, managed to hide
themselves in large cave near Kara
Dere. The Circassians, ever thirsting
for Christian blood, were securing the
country in search Of victims, and finally
fell upon and discovered the place of
refuge of these unfortunate people, and
Immediately tried to effect an entrance
into the cave. In this, however, they
were bafled, the entrance to the cave
being well guarded and bravely defend
ed by the refugees. This show Of resist
ance on the part Of the people, and the
fact, perhaps, that three Of their number
were MORALLY wounded by the shots
fired from within, seemed to exasperate
them the more, and after two or three
further attempts to effect an entrance,
but without success, they determined by
any possible means to put Immediately
to death those within. They accord
ingly set to their internal work and by
means Of crowbars they ultimately sue.
ceeded in opening hole on the roof of
the cave, through which without loss Of
time they proceeded to pour large
quantity of birthstone and asphalte, to
which they set fire by firing their guns
through the hole. Asa consequence, the
inside of the cave was in few minutes
filled with smoke 80 dense that the poor
people dropped down one by one, dying
of suffocation, \ and the souls
of 500 martyrs fed almost simultaneously
toward the foot of the throne of thei,
Creator, the Almighty. Out of the SOC
WHO entered the cave only eighteen
were saved, almost by miracle, having
on first entering the cave taken theil
stand at the furthest end of it, and hav.
ing after the Circassians had taken
themselves of, exulting no doubt il, their
abominable work, come out of that i'm
mense grave by dragging themselves
over the dead bodies of their fellow-vil.
layers of yesterday.
Of those who had fled to the noun
tains, the husbands were in utter ignor'
ance as to the fate of their wives, the
wives as to that of their husbands, the
fathers had lost their children, mothers
their daughters. Large numbers Of
young girls were carried off by Circas
slams and Bashi-Bazouks, countless WON
en- were dishonored and afterward tor
tured to death, while parents, seeking in
agony for their children, were seized
despoiled Of their property, and shot in
cold blood. 1t becomes impossible tc
describe at length the atrocious deeds
committed, the murders, the pillage, the
rapes, the massacres, the mutilations, OF
to fix the number of young girls that
were carried off, No less than 5000
carts were laden with plumber and young
girls. Three hundred Of the population
Of VIA are lying about in the streets Of
the town dead and mutilated, presenting
most CHASTITY aspect. Eight hundred
souls who had taken refuge in cave
were burnt alive by the Circassians. The
number of mastered at VIA has moi
been as yet exactly ascertained.