The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-05-27
BUT FOOD is VERY SCARCE.
Hungry Men Hesitate 10 Enter on
Campaign Without Supplies.
The Atrocities Fully as Bad as Reported
"A Mother Compelled to Eat Part
of Her Murdered Baby-The sultan
Ordered These Crimes-Yet England
menia. Do Nothing.


three weeks | have had unusual oppor-
tunities for obtaining additional contirma-
ton OF the facts contained in my an
nOuncement of the impending uprising OF
the Armenians in Turkey next month. /
have travelled many miles up and down
and across the border in search OF certain
facts, and as a result l have had the sat
isfaction OF actually seeing and handling
some Of the rifles now being smuggied
across the Turkish frontier by the agents
OF the revolutionary party. Moreover,
the plans of the party have been fully
explained 10 me by some of the most ac-
tive and intelligent of the leaders of the
eastern wing of the movement, and am
now entirely satified that, unless unfore-
seen circumstances arise, the uprising
Will take place as announced.
The exact date OF the uprising has not
yet been fixed, owing for the most part
TO the fact that the extreme section of the
revolutionary party is not ready for ac-
tive operations. Whether or not the CEN
tral section will wait for the eastern wing
longer than the month of May | do not
know, nor has the matter actually been
decided. | am asked TO believe that the
eastern wing cannot be ready for hostih-
ties in May. and possibly not before the
lst of July The eastern wing has been
having a hard time of ii, owing TO circum-
stances over which the leaders have no
control In the first place. the mountain
passes leading TO Van have been covered
by snow for months. so that only special
messengers following the regular routes
OF travel could get through, and there
fore il was impossible TO follow with the
guns and ammunition from Russia and
Persia to the district about Lake Van.
There are now guns on the border await
ing the transportation into Armenia. In
the second place the Armenians in the
l.s..-
bordering on starvation. II is obvious that
people in this condition cannot fight. On
this point a leading executive of the rev.
olutionary party said TO me three days
ago: "if men have nothing in their
stomachs what will they do? We must
first feed them before we can expect them
TO fight. When we can get food enough
on hand 10 last them two months then
We shall show the world how Armenians
can fight" 1t is this question OF food that
revolutionary leaders viii find more diff
ficut of solution. The problem of SNUG
Cling guns into Armenia will be solved
with the coming spring, which is now
just beginning TO be felt in the lower val
leys. 1t is plain that if no food Is TO be
had the people cannot be fed. TO mater
how much money they may have. and II
Is a fact that in the eastern portion of
Armenia food is so scarce that the we'll
to-do and rich people have no more lood
than they eCtua.ly need.
Few crops were grown last summer.
owing to the fact that many of the farm
ers and cultivators were thrown into pIis-
on by the Turks. under charges of con-
spiracy. Then the cattle We're stolen by
the Kurds. and what the poor people had
left in the way of provisions or property
was seized by the government officials.
There will be no crops planted in Fast
ern Armenia this spring, for the country
everywhere is suffering from a reign of
terror.
The efforts OF the commission OF inquiry
at Moosh and of the Christian powers of
Europe have had absolutely no effect up
on the conduct OF either Turks or kurds
in Eastern Turkey. | am just in receipt
OF Trustworthy advices from a non-f r
menian source at Van to the effect ;hat
a massacre is look ID sor Mt any moment
II II a fact which the BTitish government
car verify by consulting the report of
Mr.. Patton. an official Of the British con-
sulate at Tebratz, persll. that in several
cases the Turkish otil lcias in the devas-
tated district of Armenia tried hard TO
save the Armenians from death and their
property from destruction, but when they
protested against The iaurderous raids OF
the troops the officers read TO them the
orcers of the sultan. an so nothing could
be dcne.
Mr.. Patton has lately returned to Te-
bratz from an investigating ;our amo1g
the Armenian refugees along the border
between Persia and Turkey lie found
plenty OF refugees from the Lake Van
and Noosh districts. but not one from the
Sasscun. There are no Sassoun srrviv.
ors in Ourmanua, Salmis, Di'iman, Khoi.
Tehratz or any Other place in Persia and
SO very few in Russia that they are very
difficult TO find This absence Of Sassouns
among so many refugees from other dis
tricts OF Eastern Armenia suggests a
dreadful possibility that few OF these peo-
PIE escaped the massacre. The investi-
cation OF Mr. Patton along the Persian
border has confirmed in general way the
facts which I have incidentally obtained
during the past eight weeks The events
OF the massacre were SO horrible that
even the chronic exaggeration Of the Ar
menian mind fails TO add anything 70
them Mr. Patton was accompanied on
this tour OF investigation by Dr, Wright,
an American missionary stationed AT Sal
mis- These gentlemen took testimony TO
the effect that when the Turkish soldiers
and Kurds appeared AT a certain village
they collected some of the villa gers who
dared to protest against the outrages.
and many OF the dead men were cut up
and thrown into a kettle and boiled like
50 much beef. These boiled pieces were
then given 10 the villagers for food. The
vretched creatures were compelled TO eat
their friends 10 the last mouthful. In
another village a party OF Kuris found a
child asleep in a cradle. They overturned
the cradle and snothered the child. Then
they dissected the body and roasted
nieces OF II before the fire. AS climax
they compelled the members OF the fam
ily. including the child's mother. 20 eat
the roasted pieces.
The refugees who tell these stories are
for the most part ready 10 return TO Ar
rnenia % wreak vengeance on their per
zecutors as soon As they ars supplied with