The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-11-17
Excesses That VIII Cause Horror
I'm All Civilized Lands Committed
by Order of a Commander.
WOMEN SHOWN NO MERCY
OUTRAGED BY THEIR
CAPTORs AND THEN PUT TO DEATH.
Babes Pinned with Bayonets to Their
Mothers Breasts-Turkish Account of
the Observation-Disclosures Blamed.

American Patriotic Association. G. Hago-
plan. has sent the following letter, received
from an American, whose name is not
given because it would jeopardize his life,
to the Earl of Kimberley. the Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs The letter is
accompanied by one from Hagopian. in
which he says:
81 have no reason to doubt the authen-
ticity of the details. They will be borne
out by Official reports which have been or
which will soon be received from the Brit
ish agents in Armenia. The events reported
are the re-enactment of the Bulgarian
atrocities with all their most sickening de-
tails of fiendish lust and atrocious cruelty
on unarmed Christians and defenseless, in
nocent women and children, deliberately
planned and ruthlessly executed under
ders received from Constantinople." Ha-
gopian concludes by saying that the time
has come to abolish in toto the existing ad-
ministration 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
ORIGIN OF THE MASSACRE.
The letter of the Armenian. thus prefaced.
is dated Bitlis, Oct. 9. After saying that
the chief magnate appears to be second
Nero, the writer continues: '"rhe so-called
rebellion of the Armenians in 1893 was a
got-up affair, for the repression of which
the chief magnate got decoration. This
year the Kurds carried off Armenian OK
en- and the Armenians' appeal for their
restoration was refused. A fight ensued.
and two Kurds were killed AMI three were
wounded. The Kurds Immediately carried
their dead before the Governor, declaring
that the Armenian soldiers had overrun the
land, killing and plundering Kurds. This
furnished pretext for massing the troops
from far and near. The troops were COM
marded by a pasha and marshal and
were hurried to the district. The pasha is
said to have hung from his breast after
reading 1T to his soldiers, an order from
Constantinople to cut the Armenians up,
root and branch, and adjuring them to do
so if they loved their king and government.
Nearly all those things were related here
and there by soldiers who took part in the
horrible carnage. Some of them, weeping
claim that the Kurds did more. and declare
that they only obeyed the orders of 9TH
ers. 1t is said that one hundred fell to
each Of them to dispose Of No compassion
was shown to age or sex, even by the reg
ular soldiery, not even when the victims
fell suppliant at their feet
UNPARALLELED ATROCITIES.
''Six to ten thousand persons met such a
fate as even the darkest ages of darkened
Africa hardly witnessed, for there women
and tender babes might at least have had
q chance of a life Of slavery, while here
'xomanhood and innocence 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.
''In one place three hundred or four hun
dred women, they being forced to serve
vile purposes by the merciless soldiery.
were hacked to pieces by sword and bayonet
in the valley below.
I'm another place, some two hundred
weeping and wailing women begged for
feet, but the bloodthirsty wretch. after or
dering their violation. directed his soldiers
to dispatch them in similar way.
'Tn another place some sixty young brides
and the more attractive girls were crowded
into a church and, after violation, were
slaughtered, and human gore was seen
flowing from the church door,
PREFERRED DEATH.
"At another place still large company.
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 pro-
posal was made to several of the more at
tractive 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 mankled forms of their husbands and
brothers; kill u.s. too and they did so.
great effort was made. to save one beauty.
but three or four quarreled over her. and
she sank down like her sisters. But why
prolong the sickening tale? There must be
God in heaven who will do right in all
these matters. or some of us would lose
faith
apne OF more consuIs have been ordered