The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-05-12
TERRIBLE MASSACRE
IN ASIATIC TURKEY
Slaughter by Moslem Fanatics Con-
tinue in Asia-Minor.

tinue in Asia-NIinor.
Tarsus, Asiatic Turkey, May IL
All former massacres of Armenians
by fanatical Mohammedans pale
compared to the slaughter of the
men, women and children now 60
| ing on in the name of race and re-
| ligion. According to reports re-
ceived from the surrounding coun-
try the horrible butchery is still
going on to the applause of the Mos
lem hosts.
Villages like Osmanieh, Bazsche,
Hamadieh, Kara, Kristian, Keoy and
Kozolook were actually wiped out
Each of these places had popula-
tions of from five hundred to six
hundred people. Other towns with
very much larger population, in
some cases four thousand or five
thousand people, suffered severely.
In one town of four thousand
people there are less than one hun
dred left, nearly all women and
children.
1t was the same thing with the
hundreds of shiftliks, or farms, that
dot this wide and fertile plain. The
slaughter was unsparing; even
Greeks and Syrians were struck
down with the Armenians. Entire
families were burned to death in
their homes. Hundreds OF girls
and women were maltreated and
carried off to the harems, where the
women were separated from the men.
Tbn Apypnnion nf IA
village of Kozolook was put to death
under the following circumstances:
Word that the Mohammedans were
killing Armenians reached Kozolook
before the actual attack on the
: place, and when the first consider
able party of Mohammedans arrived
/, they found the Armenians well arm
! ed and in good positions standing
on their defense. The Mohammed-
ans did not feel strong enough to
/. attack, so they gathered reinforce
ments until there was more than
1000 of them, well armed, surround
ing the village.
The Governor of the district prom
ised, at this stage of the proceedings,
, to protect the Armenians, if they
= would give up their arms. This the
Armenians decided to do after a
, long parley. Then, under pretense
of taking them to a place of safety,
they were led out from the village
under escort to an open field. Here
the men were ruthlessly killed and
the women subjected to maltreat-
ments until there were more than
were forced to marry Turks.
| Young Turks around Tarsus are
trading Armenian girls among each
, other for horses and modern repeat
ing rifles.
The entire ten days seem to have
been an insensate orgy in the name
of race and religion. In the mas
sacre of fourteen years ago there
was no such desire to kill women
and children as has been evidenced
in the last ten days.
There have been numerous in
stances of the numbering of women
and children with deliberation, and
there are other instances where wo-
men were brought out one by one
and shot down, the bystanders clap
ton.
The local authorities are giving
four cents day for each refugee in
Tarsus. There are about 1000 ref
ugees here, and this sum does not
suffice The government allotment
is being supplemented from funds
of the American mission. The local
officials say they are soon going to
discontinue their contributions, and
if this is done there will be a famine.
The yard of the American Mission
House looks like prison pen. When
the captain of French man-of-war
at Mersina came up to Tarsus with
number of officers on a visit he
called at the Mission House.
This is terrible" he said.
"Where do all these people sleep?"
The men wander around all night,
J trying to keep warm. The women
, and children sleep at night on the
, floors of the school rooms. Very
few of them have beds. In the day
time the men take their turn, usu-
ally curling up in the sunshine out
side