The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1895-12-19

LONDON, Dec. 16.-The represents
tive in Constan tinople Of the United
Press telegraphing under Saturdays
date, says that advices from the inte-
rior showed that forced conversions
from Christianity to Mohammedanism
are occurring everywhere. Women
and children whose husbands and
fathers have been killed and whose
homes have been destroyed, have,
rather than lead life of vagabond-
age. accepted Islamism, whereupon
they were housed and fed by Turks
The sincerity of these conveY-
sions may be judged from what has
occurred in Kaisara In this place
many women whose protectors had
fallen in the massacres were offered
their choice between embracing the
tenets of the Koran or being either
hacked to pieces or meeting the worss
fate Of being kidnapped. Ostensibly
the women accepted Isls mism and thus
rendered their lives and perhaps their
honor secure.
It is now known that perhaps one
thousand persons were killed in the
massacre in Kaisara. The fury of the
Kurds was not satisfied with the death
of its victims, but vented itself upon
the inanimate bodies. The mutiliation
of the corpses was frightful, and in
many cases was of nature that can
not be described.
In Harpoot, 60 Christians fed to q
church in the vain hope that it's walls
would furnish them a shelter against
those who were crying for the blood Of
Armenians They were permitted for
. time to believe themselves secure,
but suddenly the church was sur
rounded by great number of
Kurds. The doors were then blown
in, and the Christians thought that
they would be massacred within the
sacred structure. Their captors took
them one at time outside the church,
and there, needless of the pitiable
cries for mercy from the women and
children, killed them, either by shoot
ing or stabbing them. The first vic
tim was the Protestant pastor Of the
church, who, as he was dragged out,
bade the others, if they had to die, to
die as Christians. He met his death
like martyr. Some of the refugees,
in very agony of terror, offered to
abiure their faith and accept Islaism,
thinking thus to save their lives. The
offers availed them nothing, for their
Unsuitable enemies, after accepting
them, dragged the converts out and
killed them one by one.
The Armenian church has been
turned into a mosque and the Protest.
ant church into stable.
In Kaisara the soldiers Joined in
the looting that accompanied the mas
sacres.
Van and Trebizond are rapidly fill.
ing with refugees from the pillaged
villages adjacent to those cities Hun
dreds Of women, almost completely ex
hausted from fear and lack of food
have reached Van and Trebizond.
Their condition is most deplorable, they
have been robbed of everything they
possessed. Large numbers of them
were barefooted, and the only cover.
ing they had for their bodies were thin
chemises, which furnished no protec
tion against the inclement weather.
There is no doubt that many of those
who escaped death at the hands
of the Kurds will die from
the effects of the exposure
they have undergone, while many 9th.
ers will fall victims of starvation. The
promptest aid that can reach the suf
ferers from foreign countries will not
| avail to prevent an enormous death
list from these causes, but unless aid
is promptly furnished from some
quarter the deaths from famine will
reach an appalling number.