Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1881-07-14
ABDUL AZiZ'S ASSASSINATION.

ABDUL AZiZ'S ASSASSINATION.
How the Turkish Sultan Met His
F ate--A Chapter of Dark Conspira.
cies.
Constantinople Letter in New York Tribune.
The inner history of the revolution
of 1776, set forth by the recent dis.
coveries, begins with an intrigue be.
tween Hussein Avni Pasha, the grand
vlzler of Turkey, and one of the ladies
OF the harem of Sultan Abdul Aziz,
some seven or eight years ago. AS
usual In such cases, the secret amour
was discovered after some time. Hus-
Seln Avni PaSha was banished, and in
his Punishment received information
OF the execution Cf his lady-love, to-
gether with message from her own
lips to the effect that she died for his
sake. For the blood of this unhappy
woman Hussein Avni Pasha vowed
vengeance upon Sultan Abdul Aziz.
With Oriental patience he concealed
his wrath and hatred. In due time his
friends induced the sultan to receive
him again into favor. He was made
minister of war, and instantly began
to plot against the sultan. Outside
events favored his enterprise. Europe
was pressing demands for the reform
of Turkey; the population of Turkey
was plunged in distress by the financial
impolicy of the government, and the
people attributed all their ills to the
extravaganza of the sultan. Hussein
"A Doc Ch1 oil L.,
from Nouri and Mahmoud Pashas, the
husbands of two of the sultan's nieces,
and the discontented victims of an
economy which had curtailed their lists
of perquisites. Others we gradually
drawn into a scheme for deposiDg Abdul
Aziz, and the purpose was easily accom-
plished.
After the deposition af Abdul Aziz,
some, at least, of the conspirators en-
tered into plot for complete change
of dynasty in the empire. 1t was de-
cided to make bold stroke; to destroy
the new sultan and all the blood royal,
and to place upon the throne sheriff
of Mecca. This man, being of the
lineage of the Prophet Mahomet, would
have quite as much title to the rank of
caliph rs the Turks of the house of
Osman, and would introduce an entire
ly new element into the politics of the
country. In pursuance of this plot all
of the princes were invited, soon after
the accession of Murad ", to dine at
the palace. AT this banquet they were
all to be killed by the conspirators.
All but one of the princes accepted the
invitation. Abdul Hamid, the present
sultan, for some reason absented him.
self from the feast, and, in fact, disap.
peared entirely during several DAYS.
This disappearance prevented the pro-
posed massacre, since the success of
the plot depended upon the entire ex-
tinction of the royal family. A single
prince omitted in the slaughter might
be certain to gain large following as
the legitimate heir to the throne in
case of an attempt to proclaim the
sheriff of Mecca as sultan.
The disappointed conspirators deter
mined to murder Abdul Aziz without
waiting for an opportunity for the full
execution Of their plans. They laid
their plans with great forethonght.
The doubts of the people, and the que
les of the inquest of surgeons were all
anticipated. Professional athletes were
hired to aid in the work, and to over
power the ex-sultan. All weapons
were carefully removed from the apart
ments of the victim. Then Hussein
Avni Pasha, with two of his aides.
took the hired butchers to the palace
where Abdul AZix was confined. Under
pretense of amusing him with exhibit
tions of strength, the athletes drew
near to the ex-sultan. Then they sud-
denly threw themselves upon the poor
old man. A palace servant stopped the
sultan's mouth; one powerful man
seized his arms; another was especially
detailed to make him faint with pain
by wrenching part of the body where
a acomparative slight compression would
unnerve the strongest man. The devil
ish ingenuity of this device prevented
any struggle on the part of the victim.
A fourth man then cut open the veins
of the arms with the little embroidery
scissors borrowed from the woman for
the purpose, and the whole party wait
ed with the helpless lump of clay that
was so lately sultan until he had bled
to death in his place on the sofa. They
accomplished their object without
noise, without inflicting contusions
upon the limbs or the body of their
victim, and without any bespattering
of blood about the room. When Abdul
Aziz was dead, with a great pool of
blood saturating the sofa and stream
ing off upon the floor, the place was
fully ready for the inquest to declare
the murder a suicide.
OF course, such a party could not
enter the palace without attracting at
tention. Some of the women of the
palace knew that the death of the ex-
sultan must have been brought about
by this visit. The pashas therefore
proceeded closely to confine the wives
and the mother of Abdul Aziz. AS to
the younger women, they were divided
out among the conspirators, and para
graph was inserted in the papers which
praised the simple tastes of the new
sultan, shown in this disposal of the
harem of his predecessor. The tell-tale
lips were thus thought to be sealed;
the hired murderers were enormously
rewarded, and the whole crime was
covered up by the unanimous verdict
of the nineteen surgeons.
"The Worst Liar Ever Met"
The Rochester Herald says: Among
the inmates of the County Insane Asy-
lum is a man who is often perfectly