The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-08-31
Scenes Of BlOodshed in the Turkish
Capital.
GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE RIOT
ING BY EYE WITNESS.

New York. August 29.-The Herald
prints the following account of the rec
emit Armenian rising:
Constantinople, Thursday, August 81,
1896, Cos P. MA prearranged Arme-
anian outbreak occurred simultaneously
in several places yesterday. Early in
the day rich Armenian, having had
previous warning, had quilted the
capital, and every embassy was warned
by letters from the Armenian com mittee.
At Samatia many hundreds of Arme-
mans gathered and fred on the police,
who endeavored to dispense them. A
free fight ensued in which 90 persons
were killed.
At the custom house of STEAMBOAT $50
Armenian Hamals the harbor porters of
Constantinople, created "a disturbance.
One killed a policeman with chain
hook, another fired shot in the mir. A
Mussulman crowd collecting killed the
Hama" and free fight resulted, in
which ten Armenians were killed and
IN any Mussulmans were wounded
THE FIGHTING WAS GENERAL.
At Millethan, where the Armenians
congregate, Mussulman porter was kill
led and shots were fired upon the quar-
antine guard. Thereupon NJ ussulmans
and Greeks, joining hands here as else
where, attacked the Armenlans. Several
Armenians rushed away to the Galata
| custom house, firing pistols to attract
custom house had fortunately director
VINO had been apprised of the previous
| occurrence in STEAMBOAT and had sum-
moned the police and working with
| the quay authorities, blocked the Ar
menian employees inside tho depot.s
Meantime the Turkish shop keepers
of Millsthan attacked the Armenian
crowd, whom 60 were killed.
| At Galata, at the Serial Guard, a bonn b
was thrown from house, and IL sol
oilers were killed and wounded. The
American consul says that Othor bombs
were thrown.
THE ATTACK ON THE OTTOMAN
All this had been prearranged to dis
| traot tho attention of the police from thu
principal aim, which was the attach
upon the Ottoman bank. About moor
$50 Armenians collected in front of the
bank, as If for business purposes. A
number entered the bank, carrying what
appeared to be largo bags of money, but
which were in reality bomb s. They be-
gan firing and throwing bonn bs. Out
side an armed crowd, pressing forward,
attaked tho military guard and killed
two soldiers and wounded one offer of
the bank. The Iorters, replying, killed
| two Armenians.
The scene at the bank was indesorib-
able-Sir Edgar Vincent. the governor OF
| the bank. and the officials, escaping
| though the roof, 159 remaining az hos
| tages of the Armenians, who, holding
back, firing and throwing bombs from
indoors, killed one man, who was talk
! ing with Blunt Pacha. When the sol
diers and police surrounded the bank the
street around the institution was piled
with dead and wounded.
STORY OF AN ENGLISH HOSTAGE.
Following is nm account of what hap
pened inside from an English hostage:
| "When the Armenians entered the
Ottoman bank one of them whistled
and all the rest spread, and, as if the
affair had been planned with the
connivanoe of the Armenian employees,
they seized the whole building in three
minutes. Then they declared they
would do no harm to the employees MOI
| take money, but they said unless the
Sultan granted their petition within 6
| hours they would blow up all with dyna.
mite. They declared that the attack on
the bank had been planned because al
nationalities were interested in it And
that they had informed all the foreign
ambassadors.
| The firing and bomb throwing was
! continuous until IL at night, when
| Maximoff the Russian dragoman, with
Director Auboyneau, arrived from the
palace with officers. offering the insur.
gents their lives and safe transport tc
Europe. Maxine bitterly upbraided
the insurgents, telling them they had
lost all European sympathy. Tho con.
sultation lasted until half an hour past
midnight, when the insurgents surren.
dered. They were taken on board Sil
Edward Vincent's yacht.
| A packet of dynamite weighing II
kilogrammes was found in the bank this
| morning.
FIRING FROM THE WINDOWS.
All night and this morning the Arme
mans have been promiscuously firing
from windows. and q mob, armed with
sticks, have been killing and woundina
| Armenians. No other natlonalities were
molested.
Numerous ChfGS dro etlll passing, car.
rying the dead and wounded.
| The dead are estimated at rom five
| to tour hundred.
Further details of the situation here
show a horrible condition of affairs.
Secretary Herbert of the embassy states
that he saw one of the municipal scayen.
gers carts heaped up with the bodies OF
Armenians. Upon the top of the load
was the body of a porter, whose head
was horribly battered, but still alive.
Mr.. Herbert noticed that The skulls OF
most of the victims were cleft or hat.
tered. The italian ambassador who wit.
messed the killing of number of Arme.
mans by Turks, appealed to the officer
of passing patrol to interfere on behalf
of the Armenians.
The appeal, however, was Ruthless.
The officer refused the ambassadors re.
quest, saying. lit is the people >, and
proceeded on the way. The Sultan on
hearing that the guardships had landed
body of men, begged Herbert to with
draw them, but this the latter declined
to do until the rioting ceased. The
American college ann bible house are
guarded by troops and the college was
visited by United States Minister Terrell,
who wished to know whether or not the
Occupants were safe. The minister s