Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-12-19

heu cross society mas decided to &C
cept the duty of distributing relief
funds for the Armenian sufferers.
" by An Eye-witness.
Boston, Dec. 17.-Letters at hand
from correspondents at Harpoot, East
ern Turkey, give a detailed account OF
the scene and incidents attending
the recent massacre Of Armenians
there as we'll as of the massacre itself.
1.-The first excitement over" says the
writer. Turkish atrocities were dying
out and tranquility was pretty well
restored, when the Dersim Kurds be-
gan to plumber the villages right and
left, and six of which were In the i'm
mediate vicinity Of Harpoot, the near
est n being within two hours of the
city. The whole city was tossed with
apprehension and were expecting at
tack. Some said the Kurds had gov
eminent sanction, others that the
Turks In the city were In league with
them. The Kurds while plundering
the villages were heard to say: We
are going to Harpoot.' The Turks in
the city said: The Kurds are coming
here to plumber the Christian quarter
One Agha, when appealed to to use
means for defence OF the city, said:
why should we protect the Giaours?
Let them be killed
1.-The governor OF Malatia tele-
graphed here that 1000 Kurds had
come there and that he could not cope
with them. That threw the RESPONSE
bility upon the Harpoot government,
The leading men of Arabkir went to
tho pnynpnnr nd aCtyn1 for npntnafinn
They We're treated with contempt.
These disturbances could not have
happened If strong orders had been
sent to the governor generals to pre-
serve order at any cost. The terror
and distress in the devastated villages
can scarcely be pictured. Those who
escaped with their lives have been
stripped of everything else with win
ter just at their doors, The whole
thing vas definitely planned and ar
ranged. The Christians had given up
their arms and cast themselves on
the protection Of the government. No
Christian fred on the a%ssailants. The
missionaries took refuge in the girls
school until that was attacked and
the mission house of Rev. o. =. Allen
and wife was burned and the school
set or fire. Then they gathered in the
yard, prepared to die. DR.. Barnum
spoke to the military commander and
he sent soldiers, but only two re-
NAMED to protect the missionaries
and they demanded money or they
would so away as their comrades had
| done. The missionaries decided to go
into the college building. AS they
left the school yard a Turk fired upon
them from across the yard twice.
first Mt Mr.. Allen and then at Rev. @,
Frank Gates. but he was n very bad
marksman and no one was hit. They
are now protected"
Islam or Death.
Constantinople, Dec. Il. Reports
from the interior OF Turkey say the
Armenians are offered the choice of
islam or death. At Marash an Armen,
ian who was ordained an Anglican
clergyman, refused the choice. and
was killed by slow torture. At Khar'
poot two protestants preached and
were murdered for the same cause,
At Achme fifty-two persons died as
| martyrs to their religion. At OuZoon
a large number of ArmenIans were
| captured and led to a neighboring
| Turkish village. where they were or
| dered to change their faith. Fifty OF
| them rushed into the Euphrates and
| were drowned. the Turks shooting
them while they were in the water,
| At Hob e~ighty-tive were killed. This
day the British vice consul at Van de,
scribes the condition of the Armeni'
ans there as being too appalling for
words. Thousands of women and
girls are wandering through the snow
piled in the streets without shelter OF
food and barefoot. their ravishers only
having left them n chemise, and some
OF them only a cloth to cover their ma,
| kedness. An eyewitness Of the bar
barity OF the massacre at Kaisarich
on Nov. 80 says that men and women
were literally hacked to pieces to the
number Of several hundred. Some OF
the Turks say that a thousand were
killed. Saturday afternoon several
thousand fierce fellows came from the