The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-04-27
BY REV. HERBERT ADAMS GIBBONS.

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The entire vilayet of Adam has
been visited during the past five
days by d terrible massacre of Ar
menians. the worst ever known in
the history of the district. The ter
ror has been universal, n the
government is powerless to check
the disorders. Adana. the capital
of the province, has been the storm
centre.
3 Conditions have been unsettled
for some time past, and there has
been animosity between Turks and
Armenians. owing to the political
activity of the latter and their open
purchasing of arms.
Early last Wednesday morning.
while ] was in the market, | noticed
that the Armenians were closing
their shops and hurrying to their
homes. An Armenian and a Turk
had been killed during the night
and the corpses were paraded
through their respective quarters. /,
The sight of the dead infamed the
inhabitants. and crowds at once
began to gather in the streets armed
with sticks. axe and knives. A
few young Armenians assembled in
the centre of the covered market
and began firing revolver shots Into
the air. BY IL o'clock in the morn
ing the crowd had begun to loot
ing of shops.
CowardIy Commander.
The military commander of Adana
was by my side in the market when
h firing commenced. He had not
the courage to endeavor to dispense
the mob. He returned to his resi-
dence and did not venture out for
two days.
William Chambers, field secretary
of the Young Mems Christian AS
sociation. and myself proceeded TO
the Konak and found a bowling mob
demanding arms with which to kill
the Giaours. We then went to the
telegraph office to m the
British consul.
On the steps of the building we
saw three Armenians who had been
massacred. Their bodies had beer
mutilated.
While we We're in the telegraph
office a mob burst into the room
where we were and killed two Ar
menians before our eyes. The un-
fortunates We're supplicating the
protection of the Vail when they
We're struck down.
Barricaded Houses.
We managed to make our way
into the nA~t pan., xrLN,N ne. .z.l.
representations to the Vail. This
official said he could do nothing.
He was afraid of his own life. and
he made no attempt to protect us.
Somehow we managed to get to
the interior of the Konak, where
we remained at the side Of the
government officials for the next
forty-eight hours.
That afternoon the situation
grew distinctly worse. The Armen-
ians withdrew to their quarter of
Adana, which Is situated on "a hill
and converted their houses that
held advantageous positions into
fortresses. Here the fighting went
on for two days, during which the
Armenians succeeded in beating off
their Turkish assailants.
On Wednesday evening Major
Daughty- Wylie. the British Vice
consul at Mersina, arrived at
Adana and established %headquar-
tiers in the house of a dragoman of
a wealthy Greek resident, where
many refugees had been received.
The wife of the British ~vice-consul,
who was brought into Adana under
fire on Thursday, tended personally
many wounded women and chill
dren.
Unrestricted slaughter.
Adana. was n hell. The baxnnrs
were looted and set ON Are. There
WIS continuous and %uncasing shoot
ing and killing In every part Of the
town. and Tres ragged In many
quarters. -
Moslems from the neighborhood
began pouring into the city, and
Notwithstanding our veheme..t pro-
tests. the Vail distributed arms to
these men, alleging that they were
Turkish reserves
Major Daughty- WyIie, ct the