The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1894-11-24
TURKISH oUTRAGBs.
A Story of Fiendish Atrocities Upon
Armenians.

A Story of Flend1Sh AtrocltleS upon
Armenians.
LONDON, Nov. 16.-Details of the at
tack made upon Armenian villages few
weeks ago were made public in London to-
day and reveal story of fiendish atrocity
upon helpless people which is difficult to
believe. The story is told by an Armenian
whose name is not revealed because it
would jeopardize his life. The truthful
ness of the writer is, however, vouehed for
by G. Hagopian, chairman of the Armen
ian Patriotic Association, who sent the
letter of the Armenian to the Earl of Kim
berly, British secretary of state for foreign
affairs, accompanied by note from MIR.
Hagopian, in which he says:
Il have no reason to doubt the anthem
ITCHY of the details They will be borne
out by fuller official reports, which have
been or which will soon be received from
the British agents in Armenia. The events
reported are the re-enactment of the Bull
garian atrocities, with all their most sick
ening details of fiendish lust and atrocious
cruelty on unarmed Christians and defense
less, innocent women and children, DELHI
erately planned and ruthlessly executed
under orders received from Constantine
pie. =
Hagopian concludes by saying that the
time has come to abolish in toto the existing
administration of Armenia and replace it by
another regime approved by Great Britain
and the other signatories of the treaty of
Berlin and worked under their immediate
supervision.
THE ARMENIAN LETTER.
The letter of the Armenian thus prefaced
is dated Berlin, Oct 9. After saying that
the chief magnate appears to be second
Nero the writer continues:
This year the Kurds carried off Arme-
man oxen, and the Armenians' appeal for
their restoration was refused. A fight en-
sued, in which two Kurds were killed and
three were wounded
1.-THE Kurds Immediately carried their
dead before the governor, declaring that
the Armenian soldiers had overrun their
lands, killing and plundering the Kurds.
This furnished pretext for massing the
troops from far and near. The troops were
commanded by pasha and a marshal and
were hurried to the district
THE pasha is said to have hung from
his breast after reading it to his soldiers an
order from Constantinople to cut the Ar
menians up root and branch, and adjuring
them to do so if they loved their king and
government.
Nearly all these things were related
here and there by soldiers who took part in
the horrible carnage. No compassion was
shown to age or sex even by the rugular
soldiery.
''Six to ten thousand persons met such
fate as even the darkest ages of darkened
Africa hardly witness, for there women and
tender babes might at least have had
chance of life of slavery, while here
womanhood and innoceney were but a
mockery before the cruel lust that ended
its debauch by stabbing women to death
with the bayonet, while tender babes were
impaled with the same weapon on their
dead mothers breast, or perhaps, seized
by the hair to have their heads Topped off
with the sword.
ATROCITIES UPON WOMEN.
In one place 300 or 400 women, after
being forced to serve vile purposes by the
merciless soldiery, were hacked to pieces
by sword and bayonet in the valley below
In another place some 200 weeping
and wailing women begged for compassion,
falling at the commanders feet, but the
blood-thirsty wretch, after ordering their
violation, directed his soldiers to dispatch
them in similar way.
.'In another place some sixty young
brides were crowded into a church and after
violation were slaughtered, and human gore
was seen flowing from the church door.
AT another place, still, a large COM
pany, under the lead of their priest, fell
down before them, begging for compassion
and averring that they had nothing to do
with the culprits But all to no purpose
All were called to another place, and the
proposal was made to several of the more
attractive women to change their faith, in
which case their lives were to be spared.
They said Why should we deny Christ?
We are no more than these, pointing to
the mangled forms of their husbands and
brothers; kill u.s. too, and they did so.
TRYING TO HUSH UP THE AFFAIR.
Zone or nore eonsuls have been ordered
that way to investigate the matter Ifthe
Christians instead of the Turks reported
these things in the city of Bitlis and the
region where l have been touring, the case
would be different But now we are com
PEELED to sbelieve it. Che magnates are
having papers circulated, and are trying to
compel the Christians TO sign them, ex-
pressing satisfaction that Justice has been
dealt to the rebels and thanking the King
and the chief magnate himself. The
Christians of Bills will not sign, though
it is said that in some of the outlying dis
tricts some of the Christians have signed.
Another letter says that some of the
regular soldiers themselves admit that they
killed 100 persons each in fiendish man
ner and that rape was followed by the bay
onet Twenty or thirty Armenian villages,
it would seem, have been wholly destroyed,
and some persons were burned to death
with kerosene in their own houses.
THE STORY VERIFIED.
A dispatch to the Standard from Varna, /
Bulgaria, says that despite the Turkish
governments silence, facts have oozed out
which leave no doubt that a massacre of
Christians has occurred on as an important
a scale as the butchery at Batak, Bulgaria,
which sent thrill of horror through the
civilized world. The troubles began with
the Armenians' refusal to pay taxes. The
Governor Of Bitlis, Asiatic Turkey, reported
to the port that serious revolt had broken
out, and obtained permission to send all
1hininah he tr.,or,e 20 liz sonr,n