The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-01-07
LETTERS FROM ARMENIA.

The following interesting letters have recently been received by persons in thls city. and relate personal exper- fences in the horrible atrocities perpe- trated. The most interesting extcacrs from the letters follow. the first one ! being from an American missionary in Harpoot and the other translation of a letter written by one of the Bible women of Harpoot. At the request of the recipients of the letters the names of themselves and the senders are with held:
 Harpoot, Turkey. Dec. 1, lS95.~-Re- ports from the outstations come ill very slowly. From the places south of the mountains we only hear the general | news of plunder, fire and massacre 1 with no further particulars, except that no place has escaped. Of Arabkir, too, 1 we only hear that the struggle was fearful, and that but sixty Christian | houses remain, but we believe this last to be greatly exaggerated, Egin at last accounts was safe, having bought her redemption with l725 liras Ca Turk ish lira equals $44W.
 | We are thankful to hear from Mala- tia that the pastor and his assistant, l together With the Bible women and teacher of the girls school, are safe, | although 5000 Christians and 300 Turks perished in the four days struggle Off the villages on our plain every day we hear new and dreadful news In Oozoonoba, when the attack was first made ten men were taken out of the village and offered Islam, or the sword. On this one of the good Protest ant sisters took her children and said | Tt is evident what we are coming to- let us go to the river" Others joined her, and over fifty threw themselves in 1 to the Euphrates to escape from the cruel enemy. ....
 In Schone, a few days after the will 1 lage had been plundered, they returned again and gathered all the men in the church and then brought them out one 1 by one and asked them to renounce their faith. All who would not accept were killed, among them the good pas | tor, after he had been tortured. After wards those who accepted Islam were compelled to tie ropes to the feet of the slain and drag them out of the vil- lage. One of our dear, good Bible wo- men has written the story of Haboosi, and I enclose a copy of her lettter. | In Hoh all who would not change their faith were killed. Afterwards be- tween fifty and sixty of them were 1 led out of the village and made to kneel. Then the Turks said We know that you have not become Mo- hammedans in heart" and cut off their | heads.
 In Ladum, where there are no Prot estants, it is estimated that l50 were killed and 100 wounded One of the | leading Turks of the village married two young Armenian women to his son, and gave two others to an Ar menian who had become a Mohamme- dan. Three of these women have hus- bands in America. Many, many women and girls have been carried off by the Koords and Turks, among them some of our own dear girls.
 These are only samples of what we hear.
 Thousands will die this winter of starvation and exposure. In some of l the villages the people are gathering the dry grape leaves for food, and others are pulling up the wheat which was sown this fall, and. are eating that"
 Judge Tirrell seems to be exerting himself for us, and at present we seem safe and we'll protected. But we do not venture out Of our quarters of the city yet"
 The letter states that besides several of the mission buildings at Harpoot the Gregorian church and school also were burned.
 Harpoot, Nov 29 1S95.-Glory to God, I am alive, but filled with trouble. Before this I wrote to you with joy you bringing bad tidings about our whole plain and this city, of which you have already heard.
 ! You know that it is autumn and all the villagers are very busy in outdoor l work until December 1, when such work ceases and they are at work in their homes. November ', Thursday, at the hour of nine, the Turks and Koords attacked the town of Schone, an hour from our village, and the next day at the same hour they attacked our vil- lage, Haboosi, and they began to mas sacre, plunder and burn. We, without making any resistance, left Haboosi intending to flee to neighborine Kooridsh village, thinking that perhaps theiy would pity us in our misery and not kill us. But alas; we had hardly left our village when our Turkish neighbors in great numbers with naked swords fell upon us and began to kill us as butcher stays the lambs and kids, or as the reaper cuts down the grain. On the plain were many dead bodies, and the cries of children, girls and women filled the air. The husband left his wife, the child it's mother, the father his son, and looking at his own safety fled hither and thither.
 Those who remained in the village trusted for safety in the church, think. ing this was strong and the Turks could not enter. But what an awful sight, The Turks. seeing that they could not force the door set the church on fire. The crowd inside see ing that they could not get out threw themselves from the lofty roof to the ground. A mother who had gone to the ! n fS,i. fo4,y ,rritb bo, fn,,,,