Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-01-23

A thrilling tale Of the atrocious
Turkish massacre at Cesarea, Ar
menia, comes in letter to Miss Sophy
NJ Goodwin, of Madison, from her
cousin, Mrs Henry Wingate, who, with
her husband, is a missionary in Ar
menia. Mrs. Wingate's maiden name
was Jane Smith and she was married
in Madison only two years ago. Her
hubsand was a Minneapolis man, and
the two met in Armenia during their
missionary labOrs and, coming home,
were welded, after which they re-
turned to the levant Mrs Wingate
was born at Marsovan, Turkey, where
her father, Rev. ]. F. Smith, has
been a missionary for more than 80
years. She has a brother in Beloit
college now and her only sister died
three years ago, an indirect allusion to
which circumstance is pathetically
made in the letter. The letter is dated
at Talas, Armenia. 1t was written
Dec. 8. 1t is as follows:
l wish l could fly across the inter-
yening space and settle myself in your
room for a long talk. Prepare your
self for a long letter instead. Where
shall | begin? 1T is a long while
since | received your welcome letter."
That is quite true, but it is too COM
mon beginning to suit me this time.
The foundation of our plans and work
and lives even have been disturbed
and threaten to be utterly destroyed.
m, l.s,ll
rible. 1t isn't ten days since we had
our definite plans and thoughts of
danger were in the abstract, but all at
once the storm of Turkish hatred
broke out and we have learned what
those muchabused adjectives, dread
ful, terrible and frightful, signify. To
be sure we haven't one of us Ameri-
cans been robbed or killed or rem
dered homeless, nor have the lives OF
any Of the missionaries in this cOun-
try been touched, but we can't feel
sure for a moment that we are safe,
and even if we are safe as long as
Turkey has the fear of England be-
fore her eyes how long will that prove
a check? Next to no news reaches us
from the outside world and we don't
know at what moment the political
aspect will take such a turn that the
Turks may lose all care for prudence
and dispatch every last one of us.
This is the horror that confronts our
imaginatiOns, but there is the nearer
and actual horror of seeing friends
and neighbors hacked gashed,
manned, killed, robbed, burnt out and
afflicted as only a race of barbarians
can conceive in their hearts to do. In
the villages every house is swept clean
and nothing is spared but the lives OF
the Nretched Armenians.
The orders are, Sack the villages
and kill in the cities" A whole
province is consigned to one leader OF
savage hOrdeS to maraud, and a GER
tain number OF hours is granted the
fiends in the cities in which to carry
out the orders OF his gracious majesty.
These are the lOng-lOCked-1Or reforms! !.
| wish you could see the situation
with your own eyes. / leeI utterly
inadequate 10 the task Oh seLunS 1.
forth on paper so that 1t VIII convey
the desired impression, but [ teel as
though | must try to get word TO some
one that the tolls are tightening
about us and we may not be able TO
communicate with our friends much
longer. AS long as the massacres
were confined to the six provinces IL
which the reforms were to take place
and we were assured that our Amer
lean friends were uninjured, we didn't
take it very much to heart, thinking
that our work would 30 on undis-
turbed and that theirs would revive
after an interval. l don't know
whether you know just where Talas
is. 1t is five miles or so from Cesarea,
a small town, built on the side hill.
Two of the missionary families have
homes in the highest part of the town,
with large, pleasant grounds, and in
the same enclosure are the girls
boarding school and DR.. Dodd's dis
peasary. | came out here with baby
and the girl three weeks ago, to see
what the change, rest and doctors care
would do for me. Henry used to come
out to see us every two or three days,
but he was in the city most of the
time, with Miss Burrage, who boards
at our home, and two servants. You
know | have been devoted to my bed
for about three months, so we have
had TO have a cook, a woman to wash
and do general Homework and a girl
to take care of baby and wait on me.
Fortunately for our expenses the sal
aries of the three came to less than
ten dollars a month.
Henry had been expecting an out
break in the city and did not think it
best for him to be away much. He
came out for Thanksgiving but went
in again the next morning. | coaXed
him TO come out here that evening but
he returned to the city early the next
morning, and how glad we are now
that he did so. There is little doubt
but that our house would have been
pillaged had he not been there, and
this in spite of the fact that Minister
Terrell had obtained an order for
guard for every American residence
in the land, two weeks before this
event, for all the guard he had during
twenty-fOur hours of the riot was
now and then few soldiers whom he
hailed from the roof, but who
wouldn't stay on guard long because
they wanted to be off and getting
their share OF the plumber. Later he