The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-11
THE ARMENIAN HORRORS.
DETAILS OF THE MAssACREs BY
THE TURKS AND KURDs.

Men. Women and Children shot. Bay
Oneted, Cut Down and Tortured.
FerOcity That Did Not spare IN
born Bnbes-The Slaughter Pit at
GaIigazan-WOmen PIundered of
Their Clothing and Left Mixed.
suGerings of Young and Old Hid
ing in the Mountains and woods.
Islam or Instant Death the Choice
Given.
From the New York Sun
The following account Of atrocities
committed by Turkish soldiers and Kurds
in Armenia is contained in letter re-
ceived by an Armenian living in this
city:
one cold, rainy day in April.
1895. two poorly dressed men came to our
door begging an opportunity to get warm.
on talking with them I found that they
were both from the province of sassoun.
one of them stated that he came from
Central Dalvorig village, and named
twenty-five villages which were situated
at distances varying from half an hour
to three hours from Central Dalvorig. 1
say were, for he affirmed that a tract of
country fully twenty hours in length is
now in utter ruin. He gave the following
account of his experience: His family
numbered twelve. OF these six had been
killed-his wife, a son years of age. and
little girl, his brother, and a daughter
years Old and a son aged 10 Of the latter
The children tried to fee but being
greatly reduced by hunger were unable to
escape from the soldiers pursuing them.
brother, Shemo, still survives, and
with his wife and children has found re-
fuge at monastery He stated that the
Bakrantsee Kurds attacked the Dalvorig
villages last fail, and for six days were
repulsed by the villagers. Then about 200
soldiers put on the Kurdish dress, and
having government arms, soon gained
ground. After some days the number of
soldiers increased, becoming like the
leaves OF the trees for multitude" The
evening of the wonderful meteor, Aug
%, a very dreadful warfare was going on
in all parts of the province. Finding that
resistance was worse than useless, the
narrator fed to the shelter of a thicket
and often at night changed his position
For more than a month he was thus con-
cealed subsisting on roots and leaves
From cover he witnessed many heart
rending scenes.
He saw scouts as they daily went forth
to reconnOiter the ground and hunt for any
poor creatures who might be hidden among
the brush. and saw four women fall vic
tins to them in the retreat whittier they
had fled to escape from the enemy. He
further stated that he saw a group of
three brothers. while hidden behind some
trees, surprised by soldiers and brutaly
murdered. They We're boys about 3, and
10 wears of age. Their anguished mother,
native Hodwink, utterly powerless to
rescue her children. witnessed the awful
deed from her place of concealment and
after the soldiers had gone, went to the
spot and buried them The body of the
boy aged Z had been so mutilated that
she was obliged to collect the pieces in a
bag before she could bury them. He af-
frmed that he repeatedly heard women
say, 'Wewill be a sacrifice for our nation,
but we cannot deny our faith
The man with him was also from Dali
vorig. He said his brother and a nephew
were killed in the massacre. The accounts
these men gave of searching for the bodies
of their friends and finding them mangled
and in some cases nearly devoured by
wolves were most distressing. Both men
spoke of the cruelty OF Tahsin Pasha, the
governor general of Bitlis, and told how
he ordered brush wood to be piled before
houses and set on fire, and churches to
be torn down. and in person spurred on
LnS sOluleIS 10 awful ueeuS.
A man from Galigozal- said that he had
an uncle and three cousins killed in the
massacre. All were shot and one was mu-
tiated with the sword. Another nephew,
So years of age, was burned in a house
from which he could not escape. He, his
wife, and two children remained for five
weeks in the hiding places afforded by the
rocks and holes of a mountain side. on
seeing soldiers approach one day he near
ly strangled his little daughter, years Of
age, in trying to suppress her cries for
food, lest the soldiers should hear them.
She died few days afterward from the
effects of this treatment. His niece was
betrothed to a young man from Semal,
who, with three others from the same
house, came to Galigozan when Tahsn
Pasha called on them to surrender and
promised them safety. On appearing there
the whole company were told that they
must either embrace Islam or meet in
slant death. The four men, with over for
~ others, were there pitilessly slaugh-
tered and thrown into the pit which had
been dug. In the awful struggle it is
probable some were buried alive, for we
have been told many times that groans
We're heard from the pit for more than a
day after.
A man from Spughawk, a village near
DalYorig, gave me an account of the sad
fate of his family. A Kurdish sheik with
1'5O0 followers, came and the terrified peo-
10 escape many were killed. Afterward
soldiers came, and, with the Kurds, sur
rounded the village, plundered and burned
1t. Its fine church. built of hewn stone
laid in lime, and having an arched roof
was RACED to the ground. His brother
Arakil was shot and then pierced with
twelve bayonet wounds. His nephew was
Killed with the bayonet, and a niece who
was about to be married was decapitated.
child 10 years of age was bayoneted, and
another years of age was shot and his
body mangled with the bayonet. A woman
~ years of age was shot and her body
mangled with the bayonet. A woman and
her two sons were discovered by soldiers.
Inc soldiers first attacked the woman,
infieting dangerous, though, as it proved,
not fatal wounds, and then killed her two
sons After the departure of the. soldiers
the mother, with one hand, the fingers of
the other having been mangled, scraped
shallow holes in the ground with sharp
stones, and then, dragging the bodies of
her sons thither. covered them with earth
and stones
A man from Galigozan said his family
HM - lH III