The National tribune., 1909-06-17
THE ARMENIAN MAssAoREs.
A Thrilling Picture of the Horrors OF
Those Events.

| Those Events.
| At the time of the outbreak of the
Turkish atrocities the comrades Of the
Grand Army Club of Baltimore were
deeply exercised over the dangers te
which were exposed Comrade Samuel
Jessup, for 80 years Presbyterian min
lister at Sidon, and Bishop Thos. David
son Christie, of Tarsus Comrade JessuI
was a member of the 9Th Pa. Reserves
and Comrade Christie Orderly-Sergeant
in the 1st MINI. Battery. Thru Past
Chief John R. King the
club wrote letter to the State Depart
ment, calling attention to the circum-
stances of these comrades, and received
very gratifying reply. Comrade
Christie writes to Comrade King as fol-
lows:
Dear Friends: Friendship was never
before so sweet and precious to my wife
and myself as it is now. Your letters
have refreshed and strengthened us and
our people. / thank you in their be-
half as well as our own. q Cor. 1:3-5.)
Thank God for the sympathy that binds
Christian hearts to each other all over
the world, We still have these 4,O00
poor, trembling refugees on our hands.
They have absolutely nothing but the
clothes they stood in on that black Fiji
day, for when they saw their neighbors
shot down they dropped everything but
their children and fed to the school.
This haste saved all but about hum
dred of the Christians of Tarsus. Their
gratitude is most touching. If the
American College, they say, had never
up to this time done anything for hu-
manity. and if hereafter it should never
do anything, the work it has done our
ing these weeks is worth all the eX-
pense that it has cost 1t is true that
if the school had not protected them
very few of the men would have been
saved. The murderers and piunderers
did not dare enter our gate. We give
out for bread four cents day. we give
clothing to the naked; we have qullts
made as fast as possible to cover the
women and children at night; we teno
the sick and the SO wounded ana give
medicine. In all this our teachers ana
advanced students help. and they take
care to keep the premises clean. SICK
ness Is on the increase. Five or SIX,
mostly children, die each day-measles,
dysentery, fevers. Weeping and wall
ing are scarcely ever silent. 1t is hard
to sleep at night for the crying of the
sick and hungry children. Eight hum
dred houses, almost all that belonged
to the Armenians in the city, were
burned on that 18th OF April, SO tney
have no place to go. We have put up
about so tents. Women and children
are in them, and in all the rooms OF
the school except my wife's bedroom.
The men walk around in the yard all
night, and curl up in the sun or slip
into q room for a nap in the daytime.
All look gaunt and haggard. Poor fei-
lows! Such a regiment would pull down
a Falstaff. But they are happy to have
escaped with their lives, for this has
been the very worst massacre In Turk
fsh history. The accounts that come
to us from the villages are simply ap-
palling. For example. If you see the
story of Sal Getchid, which 1 have sent
to some American papers, you Will get
some idea Of these horrible barbaritles.
We have lost six students, home for the
Easter holidays. In three instances the
whole family has gone with them.
Twenty-Five pastors coming to the an
nual meeting at Adana were caught on
the roads and slaughtered. With them
went six delegates. 1t Is fearful bloW
to our mission, two missionaries, Hehry
Maurer and our beloved son-in-law,
Rogers. Twenty thousand Armenians
Adana and Aleppo. Towns, villages.
farms thoroly wiped out by pillage and
fire. A thousand young girls carried
off to harems. Many Christians per-
yerted by fear of instant death to Is
lam The survivors stand bereft OF
over s50,000,0O0 worth of property. We
do not feel secure even yet. Be sure
of this. that the missionaries will hang
on here by their eyebrows to protect
these poor survivors. If we should go
the bottom would fall out of every
thing. 1t does not please us to see
America so solicitous about our per-
sonal safety. Our great and influential
Government ought to feel more respoh-
sibility for the safety of these Oriental
Christians, exposed to the danger of
repetition of the horrors that we have
now passed thru. oh, for Cromwell
at the head of affairs and Milton to
be his Foreign Secretary! An English
officer on their cruiser at Mersine said
cynicalIy: We are here to watch the
Germans, and they are here to watch
u.s. Shame on the so-called Christian
Nations! The Turks care little for the
IL foreign ships now on our coast. The
French school in Adana, week after
the massacre, was burned on the very
evening of the day on which the Cap
tain of the French cruiser paid visit
to the Adana Governor. As some of you
already know. / was in Adana (30 miles
from Tarsus) when the massacre took
place there. 1t was impossible to get
away, even to bring home the body of
our dear Rogers. After three days OF
terrible suspense regarding Tarsus ]
reached here on the 18th, to find how
nobly my wife and the six ladies and
Prof. liner had held the fort. Massa-
ere, pillage and burning had filled all
the 18th. Four thousand people have
been with us ever since the morning of
that fatal day. Mary had been two
days a widow before she knew it from
my lips. She has borne her sorrow as
we expected the darling Christian lassie
would. She occupied herself until her
departure for America in making
into the world here every day. (By the
way, all the boys are named Christie
and the girls Christine; there are about
80 Of them altogether.) The other
friends went when Mary did, so my
wife and are here now alone. How
long the present state of affairs will
continue no one can tell. There are
some signs that at least a few Of the
criminals will be punished. A court
martial is sitting in Adana. If this is
done there will be some hope for the
country. Would that we might believe
that this was the last event of this kind
that shall ever take place In this blood
stained land. How thankful we are for
the money that is now coming in from
generous England and America. May
the Master richly bless all who are
sympathizing with us and our people
and praying for us and helping us. ]
write In great haste, feeling sure you