The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-06-13
TURKEY IS GETTING lUGLY
WILL TRY TO STARvE OUT SOME
INDEPENDENT POOR TRIBES
FOR TANES.
THEY ARE VERrrABLE EEGGARS
AND CAN NOT FAY TANES.
But Turkey Seems Bent on Showing De-
tance to Those Governments Who
Are Interfering in Her Armenian
Control-Turkey Will Get
Her Deserts.

Djulfa, Russia, May 7.-(COpyrighted,
1873, by the Associated Press. from the
special correspondence of the Associated
Press in Armenia)-The Turkish govern
ment, it is claimed, has just taken the
preliminary steps in what may result in
Il massacre of HISTORIAN Christians in
the mountains if Kurdstan. 1t is re-
ported that the government has given
orders not to serve the Independent tribes
of Nostrians in the Monayin region, i'm
mediately west of Caviar, which may be
described as lying about midway between
Moslu and Lake Van, about so miles
west of the Prussan frontier.
The orders, it is stated, are that on
food supplies shall be allowed to enter
the territory of the independent tribes,
and measures are said to have been taken
| to enforce these orders to the letter.
This action is taken as means of COM
! pelling the independent tribes to submit
| to the Turkish government and it is re-
| garded as the first serious attempt the
Turks have taken to eXtort taxes from the
indeDendent tribes.
From the earliest times in the history
| of the Ottoman empire, these tribes have
been Independent of Turkish rule They
have paid no taxes and they have ac-
knowledged no allegiance to the Turkish
government. The present course of the
government is taken in some quarters as
| an indication that the sultan has set on
| foot a systematic persecution of Chris
! tians in all parts of the empire. The
sultan has plenty of opportunity for know
ing that the Independent NostOrians are
| too poor to pay taxes, and that many of
them make a living by going down into
| the villages of their less wretchedly poor
fellow cOuntrymen and begging. These
poor creatures, according to the story,
are to be starved because they will not
share with the sultan of Turkey the scrap
! of bread, the refuse bits of meat and the
/ odds ana er"ls which they obtain by beg
! ging.
| Their homes are in the wild and bleak
| wilderness of mountain passes and mar
| row rocky valleys where nothing will grow
except a tuft of broom corn here and
| there in the crevices of the rocks on the
mountain sides and few stalks of millet
in a casual square yard or so of soil of
| the valleys. 1t is not difficult to fore
cast the probable result of the starvation
of this race Of beggars, should the report
| turn out to be correct. Driven desperate
by hunger, the people will endeavor tc
obtain food from Caviar and other ont
side districts and there will be fights with
the Turkish troops, the villages will pos
sbly be attacked and some of the wretch
ed people will be killed, and no man car
prophesy where the prosecution. viii
end. / have just returned from a hpC
| journey to the Kurdish mountains fdS the
purpose of investigating the report tha
| IA villages had been attacked and devas
tated by raid of Kurds last week.
| The original rumor had it that thu
Kurds had massacred many Christians
and had carried off women and girls t.
the mountains. After riding day AM
night to reach the scene of the raid,
at length arrived at the Merguiver val
ley. which here lies like the bottom o
a boat underneath covered from base t.
summit with almost unbroken eXpanse o
snow.
1t was in this valley that the raid tool
place. | found that band of Kurd
from the mountains had raided IA village
in this valley, but the raid was directe
against other Kurds and moi. agains
Christians. There were few Nestoria
Christians living in the valley, but the
were not molested in any way. AS thl
was not race or religious raid it wi
probably have little interest outside OF tn
valley. / regret to say that Mr.. Patton
British consul general in Persia, is in dis
favor with the gentlemen who are cor
Quoting the Armenian revolutionar
movement. In spite of the fact that NJ
Patton has been collecting evidence to
= the use of the British government, the Al
: menians look upon him as a spy. -
The close of the Caravan route to va
. has rendered more acute the suheri1l
in the valley near Van. The only hop
q of relief is now cut OF.