The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-15

Van. Armenia, May "a IF7rom the
special correspondent of the Associ-
ated Press. 1.-The Sassoun massacre. 1t
would appear. was one OF the most
carefully planned ouUages in history.
The evidence of this is circumstantist
only, but it is alleged to be none the
/ less conclusive.
During the months OF June, July and
August preceding the Sassoun massa-
ere. the Kurdish chiefs IN the country
surrounding the SassoUn region. and
particularly the districts in the south
ward and southwestward, were appar-
emily unusually busy in gathering Up
the scattered warriors OF their tribes
fer an invasion OF the Sassoun region.
Countless Cars of Petroleum.
In July and August enormous guam
titles Of petroleum was shipped from
Russia to ErzerOum. and so great was
the quantity brought over the m0ur.'
tain roads that il was a subject of T.
mark to very many persons. For a tiny
it looked rs though nothing went OWE
the roads between ErZerOum an,
Moush but petroleum. Now it is a fac
Moush does not use a great quantity OF
petroleum herself, nor do her mer-
ing country In the villages candles OF
sheep-fat oil are used for the lights.
What NIOush wanted with those count
less cans Of petroleum was q mystery.
But the mystey was no longer a mys-
terry after the SaSSOun massacre, for
the petroleum was used 10 burn the
houses of the SassOun villages and to
cremate the bodies of the wretched VII
layers who fell victims to the awful
butcheTy. In burning the houses the
petroleum was thrown upon the wood
work IN generous quantities and set on
fire.
CrematinS the Dead.
In cremating the dead the bodies
were IN many cases placed between
layers of wood and built up into a
sort OF funeral pile. The entire mass
was then saturated with petroleum and
set on fire. 1t is charged that living
men were cremateG III the same way.
but this was z merciful way OF putting
the unfortunate creatures to death in
comparison with torrures inflicted upon
many others.
The nassing of troops near the Sas1
SCUM region and particularly at MOoshN
was carried on for some time before
the beginning OF the massacre, in
order that everything might be in
readiness, accOr ding to the programme
said to have been carefully made out
at COnstantinOple.
Several weeks after the SaSsOun mas
sacre, it is claimed. orders were sent
from the palace a ConstantinOple for
the massacre of the inhabitants Of
SfOdikan, a. district lying TO the south
and southeast of SaSSOun, but when it
was seen that an investigation of the
massacre at Sassoun was inevitable.
the order, it is said. was recalled and
MOdikan was not mOleSted except in
the ordinary course of the persecution
general in all parts Of Armenia.
Ready For Butchery.
In the CITY of Van at this moment
there are 500 young men sworn to give
themselves as sacrifice TO Turkish
butchery in the hope that the attention
OF England may be more strongly
called to the desperate situation OF
their people.
The ATmenians cannot accept any
such scheme of reform which does not
have for its fundamental principles the
absolute control of European pow
ers. Unless Europe controls the
sacre Of 10000 Christians in the citss-
of Van within three months. The Ar
menians themselves viii bring this
about rather than be cast adrift by
their fellow Christians of the west
There is no language quite adequate
to a description of the real condition
of Armenia at present Men ara
beaten. robbed and murdered and wo-
men are ravlshed by Kurds and Turk
ish soldiers Woe and want and des-
pair and death stalk abroad in &shis
beautiful land, that was once a e0art
of the garden of Eden.
The inhabitants of Van are living on
the brink OF a massacre from day to
day.