San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-07-17

From the Associated Press Correspond
emit in Armenia.
VAN, July 1.-THE prison OF
Van, where the Armenian prison
ers are confined, Is located under
the shadow of the city wall, and at
a point where the ground is so low
as to receive the drainage Of the
filth of the city. Like the other
buildings of the city, 1t is built OF
sun dried brick laid In the mud.
The prison is only a one-story
building, and with no provision
for keeping it dry. The inner prison
consists of ak long narrow rooms,
three on each side of a common
passage way into which they open.
Each room is about twelve feet
wide, and thirty to forty feet long,
has two windows at the outer end,
and two small windows and a door
at the inner end, opening into the
passage way. During the last win
ter from thirty to forty men were
crowded into each OF these rooms,
sleeping on the floor, a row along
each wall, so that If their feet were
a little more than usually extend
ed the rows would interfere with
each other. Sometimes there were
twenty-five men in each room, al
lowing about eighteen inches for
each person. The five small cells
mentioned are damp, dark and en-
tirely unwarmed in winter. A
prisoner, Karkakeen Parahestscan
by name, was kept in one OF these
cellars for fourteen consecutive
months, with foot letters all the
time, and with foot and
neck letters during much OF
the time. After that he
was removed to one OF the inner
cells which are even worse and
where he now Is. He was logged
on an average Of once a day. Apart
from the actual butchery of Sas.
sun the most painful feature of
Armenian situation is the position
of the Armenian women. One
cannot investigate this phase OF
the subject without feelings OF rage
and horror over the insults and
outrages to which these poor Great
ures are subjected. After the most
careful present inquiry the cores
pondent is able to state that In
hundreds of villages in Armenia
there Is hardly one women, old or
young, who is not from time to
time made the victim OF the pas
sions of the Kurds and Turks. In
all the villages Of Armenia the
Christian women, both old and
young, are absolutely at the mercy
of their Kurdish and Turkish men.
This is not the case in the larger
cities of Van, Bitlis, Moush and
Erzoum, because in these cities the
large Armenia population is In 1T.
self a protection to the women.
Moreover, this state OF things is
said to be perfectly well-known
to the Turkish government. In
very many cases the number OF
Young Armenian women in a viii
lage has a great deal to do with
the price paid for the tax privilege.
When the public sale is made
of the tax privilege, 1t is
no uncommon thing for the auc-
tioneer to call out in the market
place so that all may hear that so
many girls are available in the
village. When man has pur-
chased the tax privilege Of a vii
lage he considers that he has also
bought and paid for the women OF
the village and any attempt on the
part of the husbands, brothers or
fathers to resent this in terpreta-
ton is looked upon as high treason,
punishable with death. Ii the Ar
menian men object to the treat
ment of their women they are
beaten and driven from the vii
lagos and in many cases killed.
The tax farmer Is able to make ex-
ira profit out of his village by rent
ing out to his friends among the
Turks and Kurds the privilege OF
such women as he does not want
for himself, and Kurds who cannot
afford to pay for this privilege con-
tent themselves with taking the
women by force when the owner OF
the village is not present. The
women who suffer the most are the