Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1895-12-20
CRUELTIEs OF THE TURKS.
Returned Missionaries Tell of shock
ing Bsrbsrittes.

ana mary -. Ely nave Just feturns
ed home after long period Of
missionary labor in Eastern Tur-
key, under the direction OF the
American Board of Missions, says
late dispatch from Buffalo, NY.
Their absence covered a space of
twenty eight years, and as soon
AS affairs in the disturbed districts
have quieted down they will re.
turn to Turkey.
The Misses Ely were stationed
at Bitlis, about thirty-fve miles
from Moosh, where the most hor-
rible of the atrocities occurred.
At Bitis there was no wholesale
numbering, but many prominent
Armenian merchants were thrown
into jail on false accusations, and
some less illustrious victims never
saw the light of day again after
they had once entered the prison
walls-they were secretly made
awav with.
The Vail, or provincial Cover
nor, Of Bitlis at that time was
Tabsin Pasha, who is known
among the missionaries as THE
Fiend." He it was who made
the threat that he would SOW the
place where the city of Bitlis was
with grain. According to the
Misses Ely the Armenians were
imprisoned because they would
not sign paper saying that the
English Consul and the American
missionaries had melted the Ar
meulans to rebel.
Speaking of the Sassoum mas
sacres, a large part of which oc-
cured near Moosh, Miss Mary
Ely said: The massacre was un-
doubtedy planned by the Porte. |
The immediate provocation came
about AS follows: The Kurds were
in the habit of raiding the focks
of the Armenians. The Armeni-
ans, impoverished by repeated
acts of robbery, banded together
for tie purpose of recovering
their tiocks from the Kurds. When
the two parties met, of course,
there was fighting. Two Moslems
were killed and several Christians.
Then the Kurds mutilated the
bodies of their slain countrymen.
After that the corpses were carried
to the quarters of the provincial
government of Bitlis and, shown
to Vail Tahsin. See what the
Christians are doing to u.s. they
exclaimed to the vail"
Miss Ely said that after the first
collision a series of retaliatory
conflicts took place. That Was
year ago last August. Soon after
ward Tahsin Pasha went in per.
son to Galignzan and ordered the
massac of the Armenian Christ
ians. He wore, suspended by a
cord about his neck, an imperial
edict from the Porte commanding
him to "chastise' the Christians.
This WAS read to the Turkish
soldiers who had been massed at
that place from all that part of
Asia Minor.
"Before the reading was COM
pleted," continued Miss Ely, las
if unable to delay the diabolical
deed, Tahsin Pasha gave the order
to 'smite' the Christians. Then
followed a scene almost too awful
to describe. So terrible were the
orders given by the officers that
some of the better ones among
the common soldiers begged that
they be not compelled to carry |
them out. Others actually re-
fused to execute such barbarous
commands, and were told that if
they did not obey orders they
would be shot from the cannon's
mouth. Some of the good soldiers,
however, protected Armenian
chill iren, hiding them in fields of
grain and among the rocks in the
mountains
The returned missionaries say |
it was hard to pick specific in-
stances out Of such an inferno of
cruelty, but mentioned the follow
ing: The soldiers would toss
children up into air and catch
them on their bayonets when they
came down. At other times they
would stand number of children
in a row, each Turk would take
child by the hair, and they would