The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-03-29
THIN TNHUMAN TURKS
They Were Far More Brutal Than
Their Kurdish Allies.
ANOTHER CHAPTER OF HORRORS

The sworn Statement of n Kurd Who Was
interviewed by n Trustworthy Corre-
spondent of the London Times-Tho Ter
ribie Death Pit at DjelIyegoozan.
LONDON, March 29--The Times pub
fishes long report on tho Armenian
atrocities written by competent and
trustworthy man who made personal
Investigation on the spot. This report was
written in January, but only arrived in
London yesterday. The writer says he is
convinced that both in 1898 and 1894 the
Turkish government gave both oral and
written orders to the Kurds to attack tho
Armenlans, promising them tho booty and
relieving them of tho responsibility for
tho consequences In the first attacks
made upon them tho Armenians defeated
the Kurds. Undoubtedly but for Turkish
help the Kurds would have been unablet to
have gained permanent victory The
Kurds in tho earlier skirmishes did not
harm women and children. Even when
melted by the Turks they did little in
comparison with the latter.
The account proceeds to confirm the pit
Incident and the report of the governor of
Bitlis reading at DJellyegoozan the sui
tan's flrman ordering the Kurds to destroy
the disaffected villages, sparing nothing,
for their sultan and prophet. This oc
Cured about the middle of August, and
the massacre which followed beggars all
description. Tho occidentals Of the nine
tenth century cannot comprehend it.
Youths were bound, covered with brush
wood and burned alive. Others were
hacked to pieces At Shenig "a house filed
with fifty men, women and children was
set on fire and all were cremated. The Of
a A1..t.. 49, 49,, WN9F1e.
from which tho latter shrank. A young
priest at Dalvorig persuaded seventy OF
his followers to yield. They were ordered
to dig u trench, and when enough earth
had been thrown up all were hacked to
pieces and cast into the trench. Priests
suffered horrible deaths. One WAS thrown
into the air and allowed to fall on num-
Der Of bayonets that had been stuck up
right into the ground.
A correspondent investigating the cir
cumstances of the atrocities perpetrated In
Armenia recently telegraphed another YER
sion of the story concerning tho death pit
at Djellyegoozan. He said that the refugees
on Mount Andok were inveigled back to
the village on the assurance that the au-
thoritles desired the re.establishment of
peace in the district. Hearing this Priest
Ohanncs went with about 800 persons to
the camp, where they were well received.
They were asked to ROMAN few hours in
the camp. Meanwhile soldiers were busy
digging big pit behind the house Of
village elder, a man named Bedo.
About o'clock in the evening Priest
Ohannes was taken, and the cross and the
gospel were flung at his feet, and he was
ordered by the Turkish officer to trample
on them. He refused, and the officer or
dered the soldiers to gouge out his eyes.
Then they gave him pocket handkerchief
and comma nded him to dance. Next Ar
nenians were distributed among the SOL
diers and killed with bayonets and flung
into the pit dead or dying. The only two
Armenians who escaped were o merchant
named Avak and Pia Ohan Zoroyan, the
latter getting away after he had received
twelve bayonet wounds.
The correspondent attached great i'm
portance to the statement of Kurd "who
killed many innocent women and children
In Sassoun," and with whom he lex
changed daggers" The correspondent
took this mans deposition before respect
able non-Armenian witnesses, and from
this deposition he photographed the follow
ing blood ourdling extracts:
"The Turkish soldiers took little children
by the feet and dashed them against stones.
| ] saw an Armenian priest. Soldiers tor
| tured him, squeezing his neck, gouglng
out his eyes and tearing Of his flesh with
| pincers. We hate that; we only stab or
bayonet or cut off heads. We dislike need.
| less pain. saw Turkish sergeant bind
an old Armenian head downwards to two
or three branches and slowly cut him
through with an AK.
"Armenians who implored protection
and surrendered were butchered at night
/ saw 1t done. Tho soldiers stood in
double line of three on each side. The
Armenians We're marched in, their hands
tied, and they were then bayoneted and
flung into the pit. Not all were dead when
thrown in tho pit. saw soldiers take a
woman and stand around her joking and
making bets us to the sex of her unborn
child. She was then cut open and the
money was paid to the scoundrel who had
guessed rightly.
"The Kurds killed people with bullets
and daggers, but the soldiers delighted in
torture. They put some to death with
scissors, cutting them and opening veins
in the neck. Others were sawed, others
had the tongue cut out, eyes gouged out,
and several fingers cut off before death. ]
saw men and women thus mutilated, and
they lay about the camp for two hours be.
fore they were killed.