The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-05-27
An Uprising Predicted When the Rev
Secures Food for the Fighters.
TURKS STILL TERRORIZING
NO LET-UP IN PERSECUTION OF THE,
SULTAN'S CHRISTIAN SUBJECTS.
Results of n British officials Investi-
Tales Of Torture and Outrage.

ScSldlcl IITCSS III Armenia. tCODNrlglteQ)
KARS, Russia, Apri! 20.-Durng the past
three weeks have had unusual opportunity
for obtaining additional confirmation of the
facts contained in my announcement of the
impending uprising of the Armenians in
Turkey next month. L have Travelled many
miles up and down and across the border
in search of certain facts, and as a result /
have had the satisfaction OF actually seeing
and handling some of the rifles now being
smuggled across the Turkish frontier by the
agents of the revolutionary party. More
over, the plans of the party have been fully
explained to me by some of the most active
and intelligent of the leaders Of the eastern
wing Of the movement, and 1 am now en-
tirely satisfied that unless unforeseen and
uncomfortable circumstances arise the up
rising will take place announced The
exact date for the uprising has not yet been
fixed, owing, for the most part, TO the fact
that the extreme section of the revolution
airy party is not ready for active operations.
Whether or not the central section will wait
for the eastern wing longer than the month
Of May 1 do not know, nor has the matter
actually been decided. L led to believe
that the eastern wing cannot be ready for
hostilities in May, and possibly not before
the first of July.
The eastern wing has been and is having a
hard time of 1t. owing TO circumstances over
which the leaders have no control. In the
nrst place, the mountain passes leading TO
Van have been blocked with snow for
months, so that only special messengers
following the regular routes of travel could
get through, and, therefore, II was impossi-
bic 10 forward guns and ammunition from
Russia and Persia to the districts about
Lake Van. There are guns now on the bor-
der awaiting transportation into Armenia
In the second place, the Armenians in the
eastern end of Turkey are in a condition
bordering starvation. 1t is obvious that
people in this condition cannot fight On
this point leading executive officer OF the
revolutionary party said to me three days
ago. IF men have nothing in their stomachs
what can they do? We must first feed them
before we can expect them to fight When
we can get food enough on hand TO last
them two months then shall show the
world now Armenians can fight"
THE PEOPLE DESTITUTE.
1t is this question of food thar the revo-
lutionary leaders will find most difficult of
solution; for the problem ss4S-uucI:rrr.s gums
INTO fNrrnenia VIII De solved with the coming
spring, which is now just beginning to be
felt in the lower valleys. 1t is plain that
if no food is TO be had people cannot be
fed, no matter how much money they may
have and it is fact that in the eastern
part Of Armenia food is SO scarce that the
well-to-do and rich people have no more
than they actually need. Few crops were
many of ,ash tb IN OWING 10 the fact that
thrown into prison by the Turks under
charges of revolutionary conspiracy Then
the cattle were stolen by the Kurds and
what the poor people had left i'm the way of
provisions or property WAS seized by the
government officials for taxes. Even the
cOmmonest household utensils were taken
by the tax gatherers, so that the people
were left destitute. Those who were able to
do fled to Russia and Persia. taking with
them only the robes which covered their
persons. Hundreds of them died on the road
old women and young children were the
most numerous, but in many cases strong
men broke down under the strain of hunger
and despair
There will be no crops planted in eastern
Armenia this spring, for the country every
where is suffering from reign of terror.
The presence of the commission of inquiry
at Mosh and the Indignation of the Chris
tian powers of Europe have had absolutely
no effect on the conduct of either the Turks
or the KurdS in eastern Turkey. i am just
in receipt of trustworthy advices from n
nQl-Armenian source at Van to the effect
that a massacre is looked for at any
moment.
II is a fact which the British government
can verify by consulting the report of Mr..
Patton. an official of the British consulate
at Tebriz. Persia, that in several cases the
Turkish officials in the devastated district
of Armenia tried hard TO save the Armen-
ians from death and their property from
destruction, but when they protested
against the murderous raids of the troops
the officers read to them the orders of the
Sultan, and so nothing could be done MIR.
Patton has lately returned to TebriZ from
an investigating tour among the Armenian
refugees along the border. between Persia
na Tqrky ba lake re Nan and Mg Mosg
but not one from Sassoun, There are no
Sassoun survivors in Ouramia. Salinas, Dill
man Khoi TebriZ, any other place in
Persia and so very few in Russia that they
are most difficult to find. This absence of
from other districts of eastern Armenia sug-
gests the dreadful possibility that few of
those wretched people escaped the mas
sacre.
MP. PATON'S INVESTIGATION.
The Investigation of Mr.. Patton along the
Persian border confirms now the facts in
a general way which ] have incidentally
obtained during the past eight weeks. He
has collected many heartrending stories of
persecution, robbery, outrage and murder,
with names dates and places, and as rea-
sonable proof that the refugees who gave
testimony TO him told the truth it may be
said that in a general way the facts OBJ
| tained in different places are practically
| the same. The events of the massacre
were so horrible that even the chronic ex-
aggeration OF the Armenian mind fails to
| add ANYTHING TO them. Mr.. Patton
| companied on this tour OF investigation
| by DR. Wright, an American missionary,
stationed at Salinas. These gentlemen took
/, the testimony from several witnesses to
| the effect that when the Turkish soldiers
| and Kurds appeared at certain village
| they killed some OF the villagers who
| dared 10 protest against the outrages, and
many of the dead men were cut up and
thrown into a kettle and boiled in a man
ner like so much beef. The boiled pieces
were then given 10 the villagers for food.
The wretched creatures were compelled TO
| eat their friends 10 the last mouthful.
In anothert village a party of kurdS
found a child asleep in cradle They
| overturned the cradle and smothered the
| child Then they dissected the body and
roasted pieces of il before the fire. AS a
climax they compelled members of the fam
| lily. including the chids mother TO eat the
roasted pieces. But these are only casual
| incidents picked out at random from the
| mass of testimony taken by Mr.. Patton and
DIR. Wright. the details of which will be
| found in Mr. Paton's report III t is ever
! made public. SO much that is horrible in
the way of torture and outrage is scat
| tered through this testimony that the re-
| port may not be made public The refl-
| gees who tell these stories are for the most
part ready to return to Armenia 10 wreak
! vengeance upon their prosecutors soon
| as they are supplied with ammunition,
arms and food by the revolutionary army.
and as already stated, the only thing
| lacking is food. The weapons / have seen
| are known in Russia as soldatskie'' guns,
| that is. the guns issued to the soidl.rs OF