The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-11-13
A Kurdish Romance.

We seem to have narrowly escaped a SEQ
ond edition of the story Of Troy in Kurdls.
tan, says the London Telegraph. The
Helen of this episode was a Miss Kate
Greenfield, of English birth, living with her
mother, who was a widow, al a Persian viii
lage in the Kurdish territory. The Paris
was a Kurdish chief named Aziz, whose
heart, it appears, had become even as roast
meat with the contemplation of the charms
of the infdel maiden. We do not know
how far, if at all, the passion of the Moslem
Apparently the Helen in this case was by
no means a c%onsenting party, but Aziz
the Kurd appears to nave read his Sadi.
who writes in the "Bostan,'' "If thou
DO lover, grasp her skirts; loose not"
One evening in May last, when Miss
pany of her mother, Aziz the Kurd carried
her of. Mrs. Greenfield vigorously and in
dignantly pursued the abduotor on horse
back, but the horses of Kurdistan are fleet.
and site had to bear the distress of seeing
her daughter torn from her and carried into
the hills beyond ~souk-Bolak. With
natural emotion she appealed to the British
consul general at Tabreez, who Immediately
instituted inquiries. 1t was quickly oun
out hat the young lady was at Souk-Bolak;
but those who wore guarding her there
declared it was not a case OF abduction
at all, but shat the Christian maiden had OF
her own accord gone off with Aziz, II for
his sake had embraced the faith of Islam.
Tho British consul demanded that the girl
should be produced at Tabreez, and should
mako a statement to this effect with her
own lips, Aziz and his friends would not
agree to this, and, being supported by the
Turks, they put her under the flag
brought the sublime porte into the
bualneas, and helped greatly to complicnte
it. We do not know ut present what hap
pened during the long interval of negotia.
ton. 1t is said by those who delight to stir
up trouble against Mohammedan nations
that the Turkish women, in whose society
the girl would naturally be, used all sorts
OF methods, including even menaces, to in
duce her to declare herself a Mussulmani.
1t is also reported on the same very dubious
authority that n false Miss Greenfield.
dressed as a Kurdish woman, appeared ill
tho kadi's court before witnesses and made
n public pfotestation of her conversion to
Mohammedanism. Some messages were
also sent iii from Souk-15olnk, stating that
she was not u prisoner nor in any way Co
creed. Still it was not to bs tolerated, of
course, that this should be matter of heat
ish consul general continued to insist upon
seeing her ut Tabreez, until the shah him
self begged that he would conceae so much
to local feeling as to NO himself to Souk-
Bolak and see the young lady there.
BY this time, however, the Turks and
Kurds together were making n re-
Aziz being apparently put quite on
one side. The Persian governinant had
very good reasons for not wishing to wrest
by force from the Kurds a convert to Islam;
but the sultan was more free to act, and,
since the girl had boon placed under the
Turkish flag arrangements were easily made
to a6n0 An Ottoman fOeCH tn S0uk-Ruluk to
keep matters quiet ana lake charge of Miss
Greenfield during the consular inquiry.
Apparently all parties seemed confronted
with this arrangements. The kurds, who
were in arm round tho interesting captive
or convert, have Withdrawn undor guaran-