Rocky Ford enterprise., 1894-11-22
TERRIBLE BUTCHERY
Refusal Of Armenians to Pay Taxes Re
suits In the slaugh hter of Thousands by
Turkish Troops. Women Outraged
and Murdered.


silence facts have come out which leave
no doubt that massacre of Christians
has occurred on as important scale
at Batok, Bulgaria, which sent n
thrill Of horror through the civilized
world. The trouble began with the re.
fusal Of the Armenians to pay tax on
the plea, possibly well founded, that
tie frequent Kurdish raids have i'm
poverished them.
In the meantime the governor of
Bitlis reported to the porte that serious
revolts had broken out and obtained
permission to send all obtainable troops
to the scene. Marshal Zeki Pasha. COM
mander of the Fourth army corps, sta
toned at Ezinger, was ordered to pro-
ceed hither i'd direct operations. Be-
fore this imposing army Of regulars
the Aremenians tamely submitted.
Now comes the horrible part of tho
story. The governor Of Bitlis resolved
to make an example in order to pre-
vent repetition of the revolt. He
ordered the troops to fire on the de-
fenseless people. The order was exc
cuted and the soldiers only rested from
their labors when twenty-five villages
were destroyed and thousands Of their
inhabitants killed.
London, Nov. 16.-The chairman of
the Armenian Patriotic association, q.
HagOpian, has sent a letter received
from an Armenian whose name is not
given, because 1t would jeopardize his
life, to the Earl of Kimberley, the sec.
retary of state for foreign affairs.
Mr.. Hagopian says that he does not
doubt the truth of the statements made.
The letter of the Armenian is date.l
Bitlis, October 0. After saying that
the magnate appears to be a second
Nero, the writer continues:
"The so-called rebellion Of the Ar
menians In 1893 was a got-up affair,
for the repression of which the chief
magnate got a decoration.
"This year the Kurds carried OFF
peal for their restoration was refused.
A fight ensued, two Kurds were killed
and three were wounded.
'"The Kurds Immediately carried their
dead before the governor, declaring the
Armenian soldiers had overrun the
land, killing and plundering the Kurds
This furnished a pretext for massing
the troops from far and near. The
troops were commanded by a pasha
and marshal and were hurried to the
district.
''The pasha is said to have hung from
his breast, after reading it to his SOL
diers, 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 Of these things were re-
lated here and there by soldiers, who
took part in the horrible carnage. Some
of them, weeping, claim the Kurds did
more and declare they only obeyed the
orders of others.
"It Is said that one hundred fell to
each of them to dispose of. No COM
passion was shown to age or sex, even
by the regular soldiers, not even when
the victims fell supplicant at their feet
sixteen thousand persons met such
fate as even the darkest ages of
darkened Africa hardly witnessed, for
the women and tender babes might at
least have had a chance for a life of
slavery, while here their womanhood
was but mockery before the cruel lust
that ended its debauch by stabbing wo-
men to death with the bayonet, while
tender babes were impaled with the
same weapon on their dead mothers
breasts, or perhaps seized by the hair
to have their heads Topped off with the
sword.
"In one place 800 or 400 women, af-
ter being forced to serve vile purposes
by the merciless soldiery, were hacked
to pieces by sword and bayonet in the
valley below.
"1n another place some 200 weeping
and wailing women begged for com.
passion, falling at the commanders
feet, but the blood-thirsty wretch, after
ordering their violation, directed his
soldiers to dispatch them in a similar
way.
"1n another place some 60 young
brides and the more attractive girls
were crowded into a church and after
violation were slaughtered, and human
gore was soon flowing from the church
door.
"At another place large company
under the leadership Of their priests,
fell down before them, begging for
compassion, and averring 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
event 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
nuSDandS ana DrOtnerS, XIII us, tOO.,
And they did SO.
"a great effort was made to save one
beauty, but three of four quarreled over
her and she sank down like her sisters.
"But why prolong the sickening tale? ?
There must be a God in Heaven who
will do right in all these matters, or
some OF us would lose faith.
"One or more consuls have been or.
dered away to investigate the matter
II the Christians, instead of the Turks,
reported these things in the city Of
Bitlis and the regions where I have
been touring, the case would be differ
ent. But now we are compelled to be-
lieve it. The magnates are having
papers circulated and are trying to
compel the Christia IS to sign them, ex-
pressing satisfacti--A that Justice has
been dealt to the rebels and thanking
the king and the chief magnates. The |
Christians of Bitlis will not sign, |
though it is said that in some Of the |
outlying districts Christians have sigu-
ed. The circulars have not been Offer
ed to Protestants, and yet the Protest
ants have not been thrust into chains |
Or blackmailed very much, though late
ly things are beginning to look that
way"
Arnfhnr ~ 80 |