The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-01-13

| fine hole for me to look through How
| L reJOlced TO see the Dragging police
officer, who was directing the attack,
Idle! Three times during the night they
returned, and each time went back car
rying their dead with them. None of
us spoke word. We all remained at
our posts without food and without
| drink. We saw them kill the neigh
bors. They even set fire to the near
by houses in the hope of reaching ours.
But, for time at least, God was with
us and the houses would not burn.
Though none of us said word of it
during all that night and the next
| morning, we all seemed to know what
| was to be done. 1 have often wond-
cred how the same idea came into the
| minds OF all three of my boys, though
there had been no plans for this cir
cumStanCe beforehand. Meanwhile we
all worked with a will, repulsing each
attack at Is was made, and killing
should say at least ten soldiers and
Woundlng as many more. Turks are
brave. They never fear death When
was not watching / was distributing
the ammunition in three little piles be-
hind each of my boys. / also watched
for an attack on the back door 1t
never came. We had but to open the
wooden shutter for moment when
ever the soldiers tried to enter the door
and let the bombs fall The noise was
so great as completely to deafen me. /
remember wondering why the last
made so little noise. There was a deep
pit dug in front of the house where the
bombs had fallen.
1T was just at sunset on Thursday
when the last attack was made | had
not thought of the time when our am
munitlon would give out, but the boys
had They did not tell me, perhaps
thinking that | would oppose them. l
was trying to count the dead from the
last bomb when l heard a different and
a nearer report in the room. My first
born, Serkis, had shot himself in the
temple. Then | saw to my horror that
all of the ammunition was gone [
heard the blows of the soldiers raining
upon the door, as [ ran to pick UP my
dying son. | had not noticed that Ha-
gop had taken the pistol from his hand
until another shot in the room took my
eyes from Serkis. Hagop lay at my
feet. He died Immediately. None of
us said word. The blows came thick
er and thicker upon the door below,
but 1t was strong. I saw little Mardi-
ros take the pistol out of Hagop's hand,
anu L uiu uOt Try TO stop nam. He
looked straight at me and smiled as he
pressed the barrel against his temple.
did not seem to hear the sound of
the shot that killed him, for there was
a great crashing noice made by the
falling in of the door. l heard them
below with loud hurrahs and
curses. Serkis' head was in my lap. AS |
| heard them searching downstairs, l |
put out all my strength and drew my
other dead babies to me, and, leaning
my back against the wall, pillowed !
their heads in my lap. l was smooth |
ing their hair with my fingers when |
the soldiers entered the room. 1t was !
nearly dark, and one held a lighted |
torch. Five or six of them came, but |
somehow they all stopped as soon as |
they saw us. They stood there for |
some time looking at me, saying moth |
ing, and l spoke not to them, but | |
smoothed the hair of my boys. Then |
one said, Leave the old she-dog alone |
with her dead puppies And they went |
away"
We all sat for some minutes in sill |
ence after the story was told. The des- |
olate mother had the same clear look
in her eyes, wherein was never a tear. |
She scarcely breathed a sigh. but the |
Interpreter was breathing softly.-i
1 suppose, over this fine re-
monument of his degenerate
race. And surely such one should |
leaven multitude despised!