The San Francisco call., 1896-02-16
Inhabitants of the Besieged City
Capture Provisions by
Strategy.
AFFAIRS IN THE INTERIOR.
According to Government Figures,
Nearly Forty Thousand Persons
Are Massacred.
Correspondence Of The United Press.l

CONSTANTINOPLE, TURKEY, Jan. 81,
Thirteen thousand armed men are said to
be in Zeitoun and it is surrounded by 35, 900
soldiers stationed at five points. But these
latter, by reason of being insutfic iently
clothed and fed, are dying at the rate of
forty a day. Special trains from Mersin
and Adapa have been loaded with bread
to be forwarded. Many of the inhabitants
of the besieged city have donned the
clothes of those they have captured, and
come and go at their leisure few OF
them met camel train of seventy animals
conveying bread to the Turkish troops.
Accosting them as brothers and expressing
their sense OF grateful satisfaction over the
trouble they had been taking in order to
feed the suffering troops, they led them
straight into their city.
1t is generally supposed in Adana (where
nothing is yet known of mediation) that
some sort of an armistice has been agreed
upon till March /.
The following letter dated January 9
from a city outside of the six provinces IN
the interior gives good idea of the pres
ent state of affairs in many parts of the
interior:
II wish to speak only of the present con.
ly hopeless outlook for the future as long
IS this Government is in power. 1t is now
nearly six weeks since the massacre and
the professions of the Government of sor-
row for the unfortunate event have had
time to prove sincere or false. The officials
seem exceedingly friendly toward for
eigners and accede to all their reasonable
requests. Their cordiality in the matter
0f ~ 1s1f
villages was marked. The Americans say
that when called upon in reference to any
| business the officials receive them gra-
ciously and promise hearty aid. They are
also assured that there is no possibility of
a repetition of such wickedness
''The one thing, however, which mars
our confidence in these assurances is the
fact that all officials from the Governor
down were equally loud in their assur-
ances previous to November 80. Before
that day we believed them; we thought
that the authorities really intended to
keep quiet, and since that day we can onlv
say that we have no longer any confidence
in the word of any Turk as to security of
life and property.
'The only effective means of preventing
a recurrence of this massacre, the stern
and swift punishment of all concerned as
far as ascertainable, is wholly neglected.
| Those Armenians who lodged complaints
at first are afraid to follow up their testi-
mony, because of the threats against them
selves which they fear.
"If the Government was in earnest thew
could assure protection to witnesses, but
that they evidently do not intend to do. L
know OF case of one young girl who was
carried away and some days later was
brought back to her house. The name of
the abductor is known to her parents. In
formation was given and he was arrested,
but was Immediately released on some al
legged technicality. The Turkish estimate
of Turkish violence in the province of
Harpoot and some of the adjacent villages
which has been obtained through trans
lation of list prepared in Turkish by
local Moslem in high extra Government
position gives the total number killed at
80, ,294 and the number of destitute at 95,-
TO-"
CONSTANTINOPLE, TURKEY, Feb. Is.
Rev. George P. Knapp, one of the Amer
ican missionaries, stationed at Bitlis, who
is accused by the Porte of having encour-
aged seditious movements among the Ar
menians, will receive safe conduct to Con-
stantinople.
The authorities have issued an order
prohibiting the circulation in Turkey of
the English papers of February IL.
]