The herald., 1895-07-18
FOUL DEEDS BY FOUL TURKS
Armenian Outrages Loom Up
Worse Every Day
THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN
Defiled and Brutalized Beyond Belief by
Nasty Tyrants
Auctioncd Off by the Tax Gatherer to the
Highest Bidder Among the Kurds
and Turks
Associated Press Special Wire.

Aosocidtcu fEess SDeclal W1Ie.
VAN, June 3.-The prison of Van,
where the Armenian prisoners are con-
fined, is located under the shadow of the
city wall and at point where the ground
is so low as to receive the drainage of
| the rest of the city. Like the other build
ings of the city. it is built of sun-drled
bricks laid in the mud. The prison is
only one-story building and with no
provision for keeping it dry.
The inner prison consists of six long,
narrow rooms, three on each side of a
common passageway into which they
open. Each room is about twelve feet
wide and from thirty to forty long, has
two windows at the outer end and two
smaller win dows and door at the inner
end opening into the passage. During
the past winter from thirty to forty men
were crowded into each of these 70 oms.
sleeping on the floor. row along each
wall. SO that if their feet were a little
more than ordinarily extended the two
rows would interfere with each other.
Sometimes there were twenty-five men in
| each row, allowing only about eighteen
| inches for each person.
| Five of the small cells mentioned are
| damp. dark and entirely unwarmed for
winter. prisoner. Karakeen Pagheshte
Khan by name. was kept in one of these
cells fourteen consecutive months With
| foot fetters all the time and with hanu
and neck fetters much of the time. After
ward he was removed to one of the inner
cells, which are even worse, and where he
now is. He was fogged on an average
of once day.
Apart from the actual butchery of
Sassoun, the most painful feature of the
10 ho of = !,
Armenian women. One cannot inyesti-
gate this phase of the subject without
feelings of rage and horror over the in
suit and Outrages TO which these poor
creatures are subjected. After the most
careful personal inquiry the correspond
villages IN Armenia there is hardly one
woman, old or young, who is not from
time to time made the victim of the pas
sion of the Kurds and Turks. In all the
villages of Armenia the Christian wo-
men, both old and young, are absolutely
ish neighpo1s. This is not the case in
the larger cities of Van, Bitlis, Moush
end EIzeroum, because in these cities the
large Armenian population is itself
protection to the women. but In the vii
lagos where the Armenians are in the
minority protection is not possible, and
the women are at the beck and call Of
any Turk or kurd who happens to take
fancy to them. Moreover. this state
Of Things is said to be well known to the
Turkish ,vernment.
It is the custom Of the government to
sell to the highest bidder the tax privi-
leges of the various villages, the purchas-
er having the right to collect all Of the
taxes from the people. In many cases
the number OF young Armenian women
in village has great deal to do with
the price paid for the tax privilege.
When the public sale is made of the tax
privilege it is no uncommon thing for the
auctioneer to call out in the market place,
so that all may hear. that so many girls
are available in the village. When a man
has purchased the tax privilege of vii
lage he considers that he has also bought
and paid for the women nf the village,
and any attempt on the part of the hus-
bands, brothers or fathers to resent this
Interpretation Of the law is looked upon
as high treason, punishable with death.
If the Armenian men object to this treat