The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1896-02-06
NOT SO BAD As EXPECTED.
Official Report of Massacres
of ArmenianS.
But it Was Bad Enough, Even at its
Best-Armenians Were Skillful in
Evading Their Prosecutors. or
More Would Have Been Killed
Plfn of the Powers to Settle the
Trouble.

London, Jan. 2S.-Blue-books have
been issued containing all the official
dispatches relative to Armenia be-
tween July "a. 1894. and October I6,
1895. and the reports OF the consular
delegates attached to the Sassoun COM
mission.
The report gives the history OF the
Armenian agitation for several years.
and records the obstacles thrown in the
way Of the commission by the Turkish
delegates. II also acquits the Ar
menians of the charge brought against
them of burning their own property to
incite an outbreak among their people
adding that the facts ELECTED failed to
prove that the Armenians were in re-
volt, but show that the agitator Murad
instigated several Armenian outrages
ON kurds. The latter then retaliated,
and the Armenians fled To their vii
| lagos.
The conflicts between the Armenians
and Kurds followed, and the govern
ment did nothing to arrive at a peace
| full settlement or to protect women and
children
The report shows that the number of
killed has been grossly exaggerated.
| but the report admits that owing to
| the absence of registration 1t is impos-
| sible even approximately to fix the
number of victims. There is, however,
| appended to the report a tabulated list
/
/ Six villages mentioned show a total OF
265 victims. These villages were all
burned and the inhabitants scattered.
| The British delegate Shipley. in a
memorandum attached to the joint re-
port from the evidence gathered by
Consul Hampson during his tour, esti-
mates the
TOTAL NUMBER OF VICTIMS
in the Sassoun district, including
deaths from starvation, at about 300
One of the worst cases of cold-bloodeo
cruelty, Delegate Shipley says, was tbs
murder of prisoners in the camp al
Ghelleguzan, under a promise of saf'
conduct. But the number of those So
murdered was only forty or fifty, anC
not hundreds. as has been stated.
| Delegate Shlpley, while he admits
that there We're violations of women
asserts that the alleged wholesal,
butchery of women was not confirmed
He points out that while an agitation
subVersive of the Ottoman authority
has existed among the Armenians il
Turkey and abroad, which has exas
perated the Turkish Government, i
must be admitted that the Govern
ment had failed in its authority of af
fording protection to all classes of 1t
subjects. He complains of the suppress
sion of evidence before the commission
of Turkish officials as not calculated t
advance the interests of the truth.
The report of the consular delegat
records that the protest made by tn
delegates against the intimidation o
witnesses and the suppression of evi
dence by Government agents and thei
attempts to remedy this state of thing
were always fruitless, so that the elu
cidation of the truth was very difficult
Especially on the question of the viola
ton of women did the commission dis
play the greatest repugnance at dis
A..Iw g. Il
witnesses were heard. The commission
refused to hear more.
Mr.. Shipley further declares that tn
| Arm enianS We're
HUNTED LIKE WILD BEASTS,
and If the slaughter was not greater
1t was solely owing to the vastness c
the mountain ranges, which facilitate
the escape of the Armenians. He wa
convinced that the Turks aimed at tn
complete determination of the Armen
ans in the Ghelleguzan and Talori dis
| tricts. He says that the story of tor
ture OF the priest at Ghelleguzan seem
to have some foundation, but the a
legged flaying of an Armenian by Tewfi
is extremely doubtful.
Without desiring to appear partial {
the Armenians Mr.. Shipley emphasize
) the fact that they were exposed to tn
rapacity of government officials and t
the exactions of the Kurds. who woul
nave pul htu lHelT uouSeS anu SlOle
their cattle unless they had paid the
. demands.
Consul Hampson also attaches a r,
port of the inadequacy of and the oil
! stacles to the distribution of relief
Among the official dispatches is or
from c. NJ. Hallward, the British vic,
. ! | consul at Van. written in Novemb
1894 which describes a horrible butcl
! cry by the Kurds at Sassoun whe
{ men were burned alive, q GhelleguZa
? priest was tossed on bayonets, and sil
1 ty girls were driven to the church an
I the soldiers then ordered to dispose
) them as they liked and then to mass;
ere them. Mr.. Shipley doubts tn
{ story.