The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1895-02-21
MARCH OF BLOOD.
An Eye Witness Describes the
Horror of Mooshir Pasha's
Devastations.
OVER $500 ARMENIANs KILLED
Villagers, Forced From the
Mountains by Hunger,
Fought Bavely.

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 81 THE first descrip
tion by am eye witness of Mooshil
Pasha's March of Blood, - as it has be.
come known, has just been received by
The Republic from Moosh, Asia Minor.
The account is written by q native of
the Sasoon district, and has been sent
by secret messenger through the terri
tory of the sultan to insure it's arrival;
Mooshir Pasha, the military governor
OF the City of Err, started by order of
the sultan into the Sasoon district last
September. Innumerable burned vii
lagos and $500 lives was the price of
this official visit. The dispatch received
reads:
Over 1900 Bodies Counted.
"Moosh, Asia Minor, Feb. 2, 1885,
The number of our dead countrymen i'm
the four towns visited by Mooshir Pasha
will not be short of 1900. This liz from
the bodies counted and known to have
perished. We cannot tell how many
others there may be. The first town
entered by Mooshir was Shinik. It
contains four villages-Shinik, Mezra,
Kookjook and Dophy When our peo-
pie here heard Of the arrival of the
pasha, Father Johannis, with 40 of the
leading townsmen went to meet him, to
beseech him to have mercy upon them.
They were surrounded by soldiers long
before they could get to Mooshir Pasha,
and every one was killed. Their bodies
were put into the church and burned.
The soldiers proceeded to burn the vii
lagos.
Fled no Best They Could.
"The number of killed from Shinik
proper numbered 623, and 2l7 from the
rest Of the villages. Those who es-
capped are now in the villages sur
rounding this town, but the villagers
are themselves very poor and many go
hungry.
'tMooshir Pasha left Shinik to 90 to
the next town in the Sassoon district.
This town is Alyon, and has Ia villages.
The people heard of his coming and
they had "a companies of 400 men. be-
sides % cannon. They knew that it was
useless to appeal to him, so they fed to
the village of Clio, because of it's rocks
and steppes. and there they could better
escape him. They stayed i'm the noun
tains for almost 20 days, and when
there was no food left they fed as best
they could.
Fought vallantIy.
"Gah- Gazan was next, and because |
the town has "a villages around it,
Mooshir brought Kurd, Ahmied and
lrregulars numbering 5000 The town
was deserted, for the people, with all /
the food they could carry, had fed to
the mountains. They stayed in their
businesses for 30 days, and at last made
, terrible rush down the mountain sides
and attacked the tyrarts, instead of
waiting to be killed. Patriot Virtan was
ike god, and killed 10 men. with his
own sword before he fell dead. Father
Bedras was o soldier, too, and encour-
lged his children, and, when mt last he
vas killed his body was cut in pieces
md given to the dogs"
Thirteen Hundred Mt Aloag.
"Aloag was the last town that the
'loodthirsty tyrants visited, and this
'lace contains seven villages. Virem,
Chaden, Mooravar, Enkik, Kalaxaz.
1horoop and Daviderig. The people
lad for the most part made their escape,
rat when Moorshir and his soldiers
vent their way, 1900 bodies were found
ven here.
Many more were burned but their
lumber cannot be known. s
Left Where They Were Butchered.
"All bodies were leftwhere they were
utchered, and those who travel this
istrict must risk their lives through |.
he pestilential odors that go up from 90
lany dead. All who escaped from the
assoon district came to the villages of J
ne plains of Moosh, hungry and desti-
ute and broken hearted; they look for
ope and help, and sympathy from the
lvilized world to whom the news of I
leir terrible lot NAV come" Lii