Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-06-10
By Turkey for Depressing the Chris
tianS in Asia Minor.
The HISTORIANS to be Starved Into
Submission or Forced to Rebel.
They Have Always Been mde-
pendent-FOurteen Villages De-
Suffering From Famine
Near Van-A Peculiar Story.
Copyrieht 1895.

may result in a massacre OF HISTORIAN
Christians in the mountains OF Kurdis-
! tan. 1t is asserted that the govern
ment has given orders TO starVe the
Independent tribes of HISTORIANS IN Jhe
mountain region Immediately west Oh
Caviar. which may be described as ly-
! ing about midway between Mosoul ana
Lake Van. about fifty miles west OF the
Persian frontier. The orders 1t IS
stated. are that no food supplies Of any
kind shall be allowed to enter the ter
ritory of the Independent. tribes, ana
measures are said to have been taken
to enforce these orders to the letter.
This action is apparently taken as
means of compelling the independent
tribes to submit to- the Turkish govern
ment. and is regarded as the first serl-
ous attempt that the Turks have maze
to
EXTORT TAXES
from the independent tribes. From the
earliest times in the history OF the
Ottoman empire these tribes nave
been independent of Turkish rule.
They have paid no taxes, and they
| have Acknowledged no allegiance 10 uhe
! Turkish government. The present
course of the government is taken, IN
/ some quarters. as an indication tnaJ
the Sultan has set on foot a systematic
nersecution of Christians in all parts
Of the empire. The Sultan has plenty
of opportunity for knowing that the IN
( dependent HISTORIANS are
TOO POOR TO PAY TAXES,
i lIN1T0
by going down into the villages OF their
less wretchedly poor fellow-country-
men. and begging. These poor Great
ures according to the story, are to be
starved because they will not share with
the Sultan of Turkey the scraps OF
bread. the refuse of meat and the ODDS
and ends which they obtain by begging.
Their homes are in a wild and bleak
wilderness of mountain peaks anu
! n ,rrow. rocky valleys, where notnlng
viii grow except a tuft OF broom corn
here and there in the crevices OF the
rocks on the mountain sides and a Few
stalks of millet In a casual square
ward or SO of soil i'm the valleys.
Tt is not difficult to forecast the PROD
able result OF the starvation OF Jhls
RACE OF bEGOANo
should the report turn out to be cor
rect. Made desperate by hunger the
neopIe will endeavOr to obtain food
/ from Caviar and other outside districts,
and there will be fights with the Turk
fsh troops. the villages will possibly
he attacked and some of the wretched
people will be killed and no man can
nronhesv where the persecution will
end.
have just returned from rapid
Journey to the Kurdish mountains Ior
| the purpose of investigating the report
that fourteen villages had been at
lacked and devastated by a raid OF
Kurds last week. The original rumor
had it that the Kurds had massacred
many Christians, and had carried on
women and girls to the mountains.
After riding day and night to reach thN
scene of the raid l at length arrived 40
} the Merguiver valley, which lies IKE
/ the bottom of q boat underneath huge
mountains covered from base to sum
nit with almost unbrOken eXpanses Of
snow. 1t was i'm this valley that the
raid took place. ! found that band OF
Kurds from the mountains had indeed
RAIDED FOURTEEN VILLAGES
| i'm this valley; but, the raid was dl-
rected against other Kurds. and not
against Christians. There were a few
HISTORIAN Christians living in the val
/ lev. but they were not m0lestcd in any
wav. AS this was not a race or re-
feious raid. it will probably have lit
tie interest outside of the Merguver
Valley.
T regret to say that Mr. Patton, the
British Consulate General In Iebrlz
| Persia. is very much in disiavor with
/ the gentlemen who are conducting the
/ Armenian revolutionary movements
/ In spite of the fact that Mr.. Patton has
been collecting evidence Of the Sas-
SCUM and Moorish massacres for the
uso of the British government, the Ar
menians look upon him as a spy. They
NAV go to the length OF doing him bod
/ lily harm.
The closing of the caravan routes TO
Van has rendered more acute the suf-
foring from famine i'm the devastated
districts near Van. The only hope OF
relief lis now cut OFT.
AS to the fondness Of the Kurd for
raiding villages.
A CURIOUS STORY
is told. A certain mountain Kurd was
ouilawed by the predecessor Of the
present Governor of Ouroumia. a
short time ago this Kurd called on the
Governor and said that he desired to
have the decree of outlawry revoked,
so that he might become law-abiding
citizen. lie further asserted that he
was constantly prosecuted by the son
of the Governor who outlawed him.
The present Governor heard this petit
ton. and said that he would grant it
on condition that the Kurd destroyed
the villages which were the property Of
the persecuting son of the former Gov
ernor. I'm the dead of night the Gov
ernor awoke. His conscience smote
him. Within half an hour, a messen-
ger from the Governor was galloping
furiously through the night bearing a
message to the Kurd to stay his hand.
The message said that if the villages
were destroyed it would mean the de-
struction not only Of the Kurd. but Of
the Governor himself The Kurd had
ALREADY BEGUN HIS WORK.
and was hard at it when the mud
/ stained messenger reached him on