The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-07-15
A INDUSTRIOUS PLOT.
The Sassoun Massacre Was Care
fully Planned by Turkey.
BODIES SATURATED WITH OIL


Country Before the Uprising of the
Kurds for the Purpose Of Aiding in the
Horrible Work Of Destruction.
LONDON, July 15-writing from Van,
Armenia, under date of July s, tho special
correspondent Of the Associated Press
says:
The Sassoun massacre. 1t would appear,
was one of the most carefully planned
outrages in history. The evidence Of this
Is circumstantial only, but 1t Is alleged to
be none the less conclusive.
During the months Of June, July and
August preceding the Ssssoun massacre
the Kurdish chiefs in the country sur
rouding the Sassoun region, and particu-
larly the districts in the southwark and
southwestward, were apparently unusu-
ally busy in gathering up the scattered
warriors of their tribes for an invasion Of
the Sassoun region.
In July and August enormous quanti-
ties Of petroleum were shipped from Err
zeroum to Moush. This petroleum came
originally from Russia to Erzeroum, and
so great was tho quantity brought over
the mountain roads that 1t was subject
of remark to very many persons. Moush
does not use great quantity of petroleum
herself, nor do her merchants sell much Of
~ w tho Al tHo
villages candles Of sheep fat oil are used
for lights. What Moush wanted with
those countless cans of petroleum was a
mystery.
But the mystery was a mystery no
longer after the Sassoun massacre, for
that petroleum was used to burn the
houses Of the Sassoun villages and to
cremate the bodies of the wretched viii
layers who fell victims to the awful
butchery. In burning the houses the pc.
troleum was thrown upon the woodwork
in generous quantities and set on fire.
with the result that everything that could
burn went up in smoke. In eremating
the dead the bodies were In many cases
placed between layers of wood and built
up into sort of funeral pyre The en-
tire mass was then saturated with petro-
1eaum and set on fire 1t is charged that
living men were crematod in the same
way. But this was G merciful way of
putting the unfortunate creatures to
death in comparison with the tortures In
ficted upon many others.
A few weeks prior to the beginning of
the Sassoun massacrethere was an unusual
demand for horses for the army. This
demand was not confined to the city OF
Moush, nor yet to the province of Bitlis
In the case Of horses owned by Armenians
no pretense was made Of paying for them.
The press gang simply took them wherever
they happened to be found and said no
more about 1t. In many instances horses
were seized as they were carrying loads
through the city streets. The loads were
dumped off into the streets and the horses
taken away. For the owner to protest to
the government was SO much breath
wasted. The horses thus seized, 1t is
claimed, were used by the Turkish troops
in the Sassoun massacre
rhe massing of troops near the Sas-
SCUM region, and particularly at Moush,
was carried on for some time before the
beginning of the massacre, in order that
everything might be In readiness, accord
ing to the program said to have been care
fully made out at Constantinople.
Several weeks after the Sassoun massa-
ere, 1t Is claimed, orders were sent from
the palace at Constantinople for a massa-
ere Of the inhabitants of Modikan, a dis
trict lying to the south and southeast Of
Sassoun, but when it was seen that an in
yestigation of the Sassoun affair was in
evitable the order, 1t is said, was recalled,
and Modikan was not molcsted, except in
the ordinary course of the persecution
general in all parts of Armenia
At about the same time it Is asserted
preparations were being made to massacre
the Inhabitants of Sassoun the Turkish
government tried to induce the Kurds to
massacre the Armenian Inhabitants of
the Nourdouz region, which lies almost
directly south of Lake Van, but the Kurds
refused to have anything to do with the
work. 1t is charitable to suppose that the
refusal of the Kurds was due to feelings OF
humanity, but 1t is more than likely that
they regarded such a course as killing the
goose that lays the golden egg, for II their
Armenian vassals were killed of they
themselves would be reduced to the nc
cessity OF working for living.
In 1893, 1t is added, an attempt was made
by the Turkish government to extermi-
nate the Sassoun people; but on this oc-
caaion the work of determination was en-
trusted to the Kurds, with the result that
the latter got decidedly the worst of it.
After prolonged attack on tho village
of Delvorig, in the center of the Sassoun
region, during which many Kurds were
killed, the attempt was abandoned But
the events of 1894 would seem to show that
it was merely postponed until more
thorough preparation for the complete an
Inhalation of the Sassoun people could be
made
In the city Of Van at this moment there
are 800 young men sworn to give them
selves as a sacrifice to Turkish butohery,
in the hope that the attention of England
may be moro strongly called to the des-
narate Situation af tbaaa ranpla