The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-03-24
HATRED OF TURK
story Of the Slaughter of 1921. when
Men Were Put to Death and ONE
Carried on tn slavery.
San Francisco Chronicle.

juries may be forgiven; others leave be-
hind them Il running sore which never
heals. Such a wrong is the massacre of
Scio. Over against the seaboard of Asia
Minor. within seven miles of the beach
on which the surf breaks and in full
sight of the old Pagus range, with the
town of Smyrna nesting at it's base. the
island of Scio. or Chios, wooes the west
ern breeze with her oils and wines. Like
most of the Aegean islands. il was born
of fire and sulphur and lava. but after
a time generous nature swathed the rugged
rocks of the southern extremity with a
covering of alluvium. on which the citron
blooms and the lentisk lends its fragrant
bark to the knife. so that the gum mastic
which the girls of the Orient love shall
flow. In the clefts of the foothills the dark
foliage of the olive shields the flock from
the MONDAY heat. and on the slopes vine
clad terraces yield the Chan wine, which
was the favorite tipple of the heroes who
sat down before Troy. II was of just such
an island that an enthusiast like Moore
could sing "Oh if there be an Elysiun on
earth, it is this, it is this
From the remotest antiquity a'race of
landscape. The men were tall, sinewy,
brave, tralne0 10 nanule tnelr small craft
in the stormy seas when the hurricane
blows; they led quiet lives. at peace with all
the world, and kept out of wars when war
was everywhere else. Nowhere, even in
Lesbos. were such BEAUTIFUL girls raised.
They were taller than the Greeks gener-
ally. with exquisitely rounded forms. 1.-the
shapes, flashing black eyes and ripping
hair, which hung loose over their Shout
1orc IJaroIAt,. till -, H.. H.
their charms reached the ears of the Per-
slams and inspired them with an ungovern-
able passion to possess themselves of such
bowling beauties; they crossed over from
the main land, seized the most lovely yir-
gins and carried them off TO the King.
Little accidents of this kind. however.
did not check the growth of the island
race. For a thousand years Scio was the
happieSt of the gems of the Eastern sea.
Its chief city. basking on the eastern beach.
with its face TO the rising sun, was rich
and quiet when the cutters of the other
cities of that region flowed periodically with
blood: When the time came that the Turk
swooped doWn upon IL, the people ac-
quiesced. let the Moslem set up his
mosques and went on chanting AVE
Maria" as deVOutly as ever. Chance IA
vored it. 1t was made the demesne of the
Sultana dowager. and a wild rage for
chewing gum having broken out in the Sc
that the precious article could be best man.
ufactured from the gum mastic of Chios.
Thus the owners of lentisk groves grew
rich.
THE WARS IN CHIOS.
In the times of the later crusades the
Genoese wrested Chios cut of the hands
of the Turks. held it for a couple of CEN
turtles and left their marks all over the
island in the shape of converts, churches,
colleges. hospitals. libraries and palaces.
Then the Turks reconquered it. But the
softness of the air mitigated the ferocity
of the temper of the Moslem; the crescent
foated over the castle of Scio, but the
Christians cultivated their fields without
molestation. and at the beginning of this
century they numbered 90.000 of the hundred
and odd thousand of the inhabitants. When
the Greek war of independence broke out
the Chians did not at first see that they
were called upon TO take part. They read
the papers in their quiet, easy-going way
and kept their passions well under control.
But when news came that Greek blood was
and locked up the governor In the castle
without doing him any harm. He dis
patched a swift messenger to CONSTANT
nople TO say that he had fallen into the
hands of the Philistines and that he was
send.
The missive reached the hand of Kara
ALI. the c%apondan pasha. or lord high ad-
miral, who was just then starting from
the Golden Horn with his fleet to chastise
the Greek rebels. 1t occurred TO the capon-
dan pasha that it might be a good idea to
drop in at Scio on the way: He brought
his feet to an anchor in the roads and
landed 1900 troops. chiefly janissaries.
These were Joined by robbers and adven-
turers from Smyrna, who were ferried
across the narrow strait.
The islanders We're taken by surprise:
They had no military organization and
were unrrepared to hight they offered
did not propose to dispute the Sultan's au-
thority. The capondan pasha pointed to
the castle where the governor had been
imprisoned and quickly observed that he
proposed to give Scio a lesson. He let loose
his soldiers. bidding them treat the island
like a captured city which had been given
GREEKS MAssACRED.
The Turks went about the work deliber-
ately. They took two months to accomplish
it. They began by hanging the archbishop.
the heads of the clergy and the principal
citizens; their bodies were thrown into the
sea and fioated round the Turkish ships
until they were eaten by fish. The capital
city, a score or more of flourishing villages
and the splendid churches and converts
built by the Genoese were then burned to
the ground. The people were penned up i'm
corralS, the males being separated from the
females. The former were killed to a man:
the latter, after a judicious selection had
been made by the Turkish army and navy
officers, were sent to C~onstantinople to be
disposed of in the slave market. Gordon
says that the men who were slaughtered
numbered 2o,OO0 and that $4,000 girls and chill
dren were sold as slaves. Certain il is that
the price of comedy young women declined
30 per cent. in the slave markets of the
Levant during the year 1s22, which was the
year of the massacre.
Several thousand Chians, men and vom-
en-. took refuge in the clefts of the hills.
and eluded pursuit. OF these manly starved
TO death; others were taken off at night in
boats by SympathiZers from other islands.
Quite a number were bought or ransomed
by citizens of Smyrna. OF those who ex-
patriated themselves the bulk wandered
through the Mediterranean cities in a state
or restitution. and for many years Chan
beSgars infested the streets of Genoa.
were women whose countenances showed
remains of marvellous beauty, destroyed by
hunger, cold and privation.
Gordon says that there was a time at
the close of 1922 when of the $4,000 Chris
tian Inhabitants of Scio in 1871, only 1900
remained. This appears to be an Xagger-
alton, but there is no question but 50 far
as. in them lay the work of ~depopulation
which the Turks understood was thoroughly
done.
At the appalling news the blood Of Greece
trotted through the veins of European
statesmen was slightly stirred. Remon-
strances couched in decorous diplomatic
phrase were addressed to Constantinople.
Meanwhile a secret council OF Greek lead
ers resolved TO strike back. The Turkish
fleet lay at its anchorage in the roads of
Scio. the officers toasting their dark-eyed
captives in goblets of Chan wIne, md Try
ing to divert their griefs With song and
there crept out Of the northern larkness
| two small Crock hriVg btf fitted ~ fire.