The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1895-09-22
OUTRAGES IN ARMENIA
DETAILS OF THE TERRIBLE
MASS GRE or CHRISTIANS
BY THE TURKS
a LETTER FROM A MISSIONARY

The Particulars Of the Awful Carnage
and Horrible Outrages are Told in
Extracts from let ess from other
Missionaries and Evidence Be
fore the Commission OF iEqairy.-
Girls Sold Into slavery aud Ua60ru
Oh Idren Torn from Their 1Iothers.
Or. Curtis Of this city has just received
letter from his cousin, a missionery
for many years i'm Eastern Turkey not
far from the region of the Sassouu mas
| sacrcs.
| The letter is mainly made up Of eN-
tracts from letters Of other missionaries
to him. giving statements from the re-
fugecs who had escaped. This letter
was kept several months before he found
opportunity to send it out of the country
safely, and then came without signature
or date of place.
He has received no letters from this
country for months.
! His object in not dating the letter
| from any particular place and in not
signing it was that its author might not
be so readily discovered in case it were
opened by the authorities. The details
of the outrages as told in the following
| extracts from letters from Bitlis are
most horrible and revolving and give
true insight into the religious perSecu-
| ton now being practiced in Armenia;
FEB. 8. 1895.
/ TIL ,.nrt 4,,, do vt-r,4o
under the siege that there was little hope
a letter would get outside. After some
telegraphing to COnstantinople Judge
Terrell telegraphed us that an order had
been issued that our mails were not to be
meddIed with. Just two days from
that time the old chief had our impor-
tant registered package that was going
| to MoOSh opened. Whether other out
going letters were opened OF not, we
| had no means of knowing, but of the
| incoming ones more than half were
| opened and passed to us in that condi-
ton. Many papers have been suppressed.
! The chief who was the ring leader in all
the rascality this way got his walking
| ticket the 2Sth ult., and left by the
| Southern route the 31st, some say as
half prisoner, though we are not sure
on this last point. The present incum-
| bent is Omar Bey, a member Of the
| M0osh Commission ordered on as l0cum
| tenens for a while. He had hope of
something better under his hand, but in
not few things he follows the other so
we'll that some natives think he is no
improvement. He has let up on the
| terrible inquisitiOn Of the prisoners, and
| freed a few, among them the chief of
our Protestants, who had been in ~
| days fOr,-nOthing, as no charge what
ever was presented! Those who ad
him and his two fellows in keeping
| the three were members of the Mejliss-
when asked to formulate some charge,
| tried to throw the responsibility on each
other, saying they did not know why he
was brought there and ended off by
saying, we didn't imprison you; who
| didI Now too there is not so much
bribery and we can venture out more
in our correspondence.
We have this, however, that he is still
| pursuing the Armenians, whether in pri-
son or out, to push them to sign not
only papers of allegiance to the sultan
| mot inappropriate IN itself, perhaps), but
| putting dtODE Hlt0 l. Llfk GA g3lfFL Has
been said and written about the ill fatcd
region is false. Some most fauatical
kinds called leading A1msnians, and
end i, urging them to sign, with tUreats
| No little apprehension is had, lest some
thing set rne ball rolling thar may prove
| a serious matter Tor this city also. How
ever. We trust it is only talk, calculated
to frjgnTen the people into signing the
paper. Bgloee the other man iefr, the
situation was pretty serious, espec'a ly
for US, "a you probably gathered from
our misty letters made up Of references
to the Bible In addition to interfering
with oar post, he wss apparently plotting
against Our persons, seeking some devil
darer wh0 might waylay us. II re for
time. when we went into the streets (Our
people heard so much Of it they protested
against our going out at alp, it was with
attendants. AS | needed TO 20 10 the
telegraph offic8 quite often, might have
been seen with an escort Of at least two
men at my heels, while seyeL-3ho0teT
was ii my pocket in case OF an emer
geney The prisoners were being piled
with various t0rtures 10 make them sign
statements TO the effect that the foreign
ers set these affairs going and had filed
the papers with falsehOods.
February 21.-During the short iuter
reguu.d (b8tween the dismissal of the
governor and the arrival Of a deputy
| Gagjsiau ant his two companions asked
why Jaey were confined, since no writs
had been issaed in their case. No one
seems 10 know why they we're impgis-
oued or who hid imprisoned them
Under these circumstances, tney walked
ouC. giving nominal bail for the sake of
Appearances. Suyenty-tgo days they
were thus imprisoned Eleven of
tue u9taOlcs still remain There
seemed to be some relief when the
change III administration took place, but
it was not to last long. 1t is the same
Gune on different key, more seductive
, and therefore more dangerous. The
henchmen Of the departed one still re-
main and seem as active as ever. AS be
fore, attempts are still made to get the
imprisoned n0tableS to sign an address
/ of thanksgiving, denying that anything
has taken place in the mountains, &C
2 cusiDg foreigners of having stirred mat
/ ters 10, etc. The commission at MOosh
= seems to be hamp9red in every way pos
| sible. The government leaves no stone
e unturned to cover its tracks. The for
l eiga lmmissi0aer5 have independent
- bo;