Evening star., 1909-05-03
Miss Webb's Account.

| Miss Webb's Account.
| Our friends came TO school as usual
Wednesday. April II Although VIC
heard that there was a good deal of un-
| rest in the city. we went on with our
preparations for school entertainment,
which was to be held the next day.
| Soon firing began in the city. and pc
| fore noon things were in such disturbed
| condition that we were afraid to send
| the day scholars shome. The girls were
| too excited to study. as there d con-
stant sound of firing.
| Eve ourselves tried to so OH with our
| annual meeting. but the reading of the
| reports was interrupted by the screaming
| in the streets and the shooting.
| MIR. Chambers attempted to go to the.
government buildings for d guard. lie
| found it impossible TO get through the
mob and was forced to return.
| Two of our Turkish children were
present. We thought it would be pos
sible to send word of our danger by a
| Turk who Lad come 10 take them home.
the governor were written but there was
| City in Flames
'As night came on fires began TO fare
up in all directions. We were fearful
that the rioters would break into the
school buildings.
| Finally, about o'clock, there came
knock at the gate, and in walked the
English consul. You imagine re-
! lief at sight of him. He had heard of
the disturbances and had come from Mer-
| sina to investigate.
THE consul is Maj. Daugh;y-wylie.
He could stay only moment. but, he left
| three of his own guard of Turkish sol
diers to take care Of us.
.All through the night We actually
| seemed to be in a state of siege. The
three. soldiers kept firing their Martins.
| and the fire was returned from the min
| aret houses nearby
| I'm the morning our guard discovered
i-whether it was a new discovery or not
/ / do rot know-that the men in he minaret
1 houses. whose fire they had been return
ing. were Turkish soldiers. and thvt others
who had been firing upon us were friends
whom we knew by name.
| after good deal of parleying the
firing on our building stopped for the time
being. Finally. in spite of the fact that
the consul had said they must remain
until he returned the guard insisted that
! they should leave. We urged them to
stay. but they climbed the wall and ran
| away.
In the meantime the fires about the
city had increased. and the sound of
shooting could be heard from every point.
| AT last the consul passed. He was able
| to spare only one man, but thought that
this one would be more useful than the
other three.
Soon after the consul left us fires
broke out in the adjacent streets. I'm
less something was done speedily our
school building must be destroyed.
/ 1--WE had hung Turkish fiags on all sides
of the building. This did not stop the
thousands engaged in the riots from fir
| ing their weapons. although apparently
! they were not directed against us.
Rogers and Maurer Shot.
If our building burned, the Chambers
| house must burn also. Then where could
we go for safety? Our only safety
| seemed to be to check the flames.
| I'VE women and girls carried water
| while the men cut down the shed and
| an old house in the corner of our ward.
a shed on the opposite side of the street
was also torn down, and we thought
| in this way that the progress of the
/ fire could be stayed.
| "Abollt this time we wcrn Mortified To
learn that Mr.. Rogers and Mr.. Maurer had
been shot. 1t seemed that they had been
| lighting the fire, and were not with
the other men cutting down the sheds.
They were brought into our dining
| room. Mr.. Maurer already was dead,
| and Mr.. Rogers only lived a few min
utes. The Rev. Stephen r. Trowbridge,
| who was near them at the time cs-
| capped. although a bullet took off his hat
| "A new misfortune overlook us Our
| guard of one man disappeared Things
| looked pretty dark.
| Il came to my ROOM where the girls
1 were seated quietly waiting. For me to
tell them what had happened would only
| cause a panic. SO / said: We have done
all we can. Now let us pray
Before ! had finished PRAYING the
| buglc of the consufS guard and the
| Turkish officials with whom he was pa
| trolling sounded in the street Infortu
1 nately he could not spare guard for us
1 hut promised to send one Immediately.
| Gir1e in Grava no--an
1T was terrible situation: women and
girls practically alone in the building: a
murderous. bloodthirsty mob outside.
with knife and bullet for the Armenians
and the torch for their homes To add TO
the misery. there were the dead on the
floor below, and the widow of one of
1 them, Mrs. Rogers. with her infant, ten
| weeks old, to comfort.
| THE flames we had been fighting finally
/ died out, but fires could be seen in all
parts of the city. The sound of shooting
/! was constant.
| THE British consul had promised MS a
| guard. but the afternoon and evening
passed and none came. We could not un-
derstand> it. The following day we
| been shot in the arm.
| That night young rlen from the Gre
| Sorian ana Protestant communities pa
trolled the streets around our buildiur
/ "A great crowd. composed of soldiers
| Zabties. Bashibazooks and abble bent ON
| pluOdering, had gathered at the rear of
| our house for an attack Our only de-
| pendence was self-appointed guard of
| young ArmenianS.
A "A steady fire was kept up on both
| sides That on the part of our young
| men was intended only 10 frighten the
| crowd and, If possible. To drive it away
/ Our Armenians called to those below.
we are brothers: don't fire. and asked
/ them TO send one man to confer with a
| representative of our side.
Mob Demands Arms.
'This was agreed to. hut in place of
one man. hundreds started to come They
demanded that We give up our arms, but.
with that angry mob. this meant certain
death.
| FINALLY MIR. Trowbridge talked with
them from window. This, too failed
THE greatest danger. OF course was
for the girls. We decided 10 take them
to Mr.. Chambers house.
Seemingly without fear. they marched
out i'm order. two and two across the
street 10 the house of Miss Wallace, the
English nurse. then through a hole i'm
the wall, which had been opened for emer-