The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-27

gagement of fifty hours the latter were forced to give up their arms, Some 200 soldiers escaped, but the KalmNkam, the colonel of the regiment, some sen- darmes and 400 soldiers are held cap tive, The Marash government sent an army composed altogether of "Radiffs" Geserves) and Bashl Bazooks toward Heitoun. These attacked and destroy ed Christian villages in that neighbor- hood, burning over 200 homes
 People fled in such haste that par cnts beeame separated from their little children, and many of these must have perished, Destruction and death are daily on the increase. Famine seems likely to unite with war to exterminate this people
 More recent information confirms the report that the rebel zeitounlis have taken the government of Anderoon,
 "The Kaimakam denied last week that he had received any order to pro- t5ot us On Monday he came to our house, accompanied by Q considerable number of soldiers, and informed us that telegram had just come from the vali, expressing his readiness to protect us, provided we would make formal request and state what We wanted, Ac- cordingly, the next day we submitted to him paper to the following effect:
 "Tn reply to his eXcellency the vali's telegram, read to us yesterday and in quiriuE what we desired in the matter of our being protected, we beg to say; That, first of all and above all for our personal protection and safety, as we'll as for the safety of the people in this district In general, we demand that the bands of robbers and raiders who have sacked the Christian villages around us should be arrested and dealt with &C., cording to law. Until this is done there can be no peace or safety for us, or for the community; indeed, the increasing danger arises from the fact that for the past twenty days or more those who assault travellers and helpless will lagers and seize their property have taken courage and increased largely in number because none of them has been arrested or punished, notwithstanding the fact that the government has been several times petitioned to this end,
 Until these who in this way openly violate the law are put down, we deem it necessary for the protection of our own persons and property that force of Zabtiehs be stationed day and night around our premises. We leave it to the government to determine how strong a force may be needed, because the number required by the circum- stances of the day may be insufficient I to Fp1I ;nc
 "'We also ask that the rule forbid ding persons conveying weapons from entering the town be strictly and i'm partially enforced
 This was signed by two British sub- jects and three American citizens.
 "On the night following the giving of this paper four Zabtiehs were sent to us, and remained in our yard all night. Since then, however, none have come
 Since writing the above a second letter has come in from Zeitoun, writ ten by the priest who represents the community
 According to this letter, it appears that Turkish army of some 800 Bashi Bazooks and a few regular soldiers. | dltdChSQ anu QeStiOSeu SOiilt CilIlSildH villages in the neighborhood of Zeitoun I This was on Sunday, october 27. The following Monday morning the Zeitoun- lis opened hostilities, and after two | days fighting, as already described l overcame the soldiers. The situation at the time of writing, ten days ago. was that about five hours from Zeitoun an army of 5000 had been massed and the number was daily increasing Ar mics are also closing in on the other side of the town, with the evident pur- pose of sweeping the zeitounlis out of existence.
 "Thousands of men, women and chil- dren from the Geoksoon and Alabash villages have poured into Zeitoun and are suffering for lack of food. The writers beg that something may be done to save the innocent-at least the innocent children. It is reported here in Hadjln that an imperial tirade has been issued to the effect that Zeitoun must be annihilated."
 The following account has been re- ceived by the Constantnople corre- | spondent of the United Press from all Armenian priest a zeitoun, under date of October 21;
 "On Sunday morning, the 18th, the regular soldiers and the Bashi Ba2ooks (bad mem, about 800, attacked Ala bash, an Armenian village, and the battle lasted four hours with much loss of life.
 "The next day We besieged the castle of Zeitoun, and after a hand-to-hand fight, which lasted increasingly for sixty hours, day and night, and in spite of the cannon and pouring out of blood, the garrison surrendered October IS, at a. m.) the fort with all the munitions of war We treated the gar rison and the government officers with humanity. To-day we have sent some of the prisoners away.
 "At the present moment the govern ment is on the point of collecting a large army of regulars and Bashi Ba- cooks, which increases daily. They are being concentrated on the banks of Djaltnl, four hours from Zeitoun. It becomes evident that an army will be collected to repeat the Sassoon horrors. |