The Oskaloosa herald., 1911-01-26
HEIaAips TTuRsDAY. JANUARY 90 1911
AN ARABIA MASSACRE
Graphic Account Of Recent Blood
shed Near Jerusalem.


Under the date of December 20,
1910, Miss Rosa Lee, an instructor in
the Friends School at Ramallah, near
the city of Jerusalem, the school in
which Professor and Mrs. Rosenber-
ger are instructors, writes concerning
the recent storming of the city of
Karak and the massacre of the sol.
diers stationed at that place by the
Bedouins. The letter was written to
DR.. j. w. Morgan of this city, an un.
Gle of Miss Lee.
ION the last day of November,
which fell on Wednesday, party of
American tourists, in charge of an
Englishman, who had been a mission.
airy to the Bedouins, left this city
(Ramallah) for Petri, noted place in
Arabia. They went by Jericho. cross.
ed the Jordan, and by Saturday were
at Karak, a beautiful town east of the
Jordan. Some years ago the English
man was missionary at this place
and he took his people to the mis-,
sionary house, which was then empty
The people had tents and food with
them but they decided it was best to
put up at the house over Sunday.
"On Sunday the guide called upon
tho Governor when he found him
drinking coffee with two of the head
shieks of the town, but he did not
know at that time these same shieks
had deliberately planned the death OF
the Governor and his soldiers, with
whom they were then taking coffee
Near the missionary house was the
home of one of the Turkish officers.
"On Monday morning the American
party was ready to leave the towr
when one of the men in charge of the
animals brought word that the Bed
ouins were storming the town. The
Englishman went to the house of the
Turkish officer and from his uppe.
window could see the Bedouins com
ing from all directions. They soor
heard the firing of guns and tn
screams of women.
Most of the government buildings
We're on high ground and on the ath
err side of the town from the mission
house so they could see these people
storming the place. The Bedouins
got control of the Seria (court house,
where the trials are heard and the
ercords kept. They killed all of tho
soldiers on guard and then burned the
records. They next got control of the
municipal hospital, killed all of the
sick soldiers they found in the beds
and then stole everything they could
carry away.
The Bedouins had orders to xii
all soldiers, all foreign shop-keepers
with the exception of those from one
town with whom they were friendly
but not to harm Christian mission
aries. .. D.. .....
THE trouble arose this way: Eas
of the Jordan and all Central Arabia
is inhabited by the Bedouins, rowing
bands with no fixed homes, who hero
their small flock of sheep and goats
for a living among the hills Al i the
valleys, and who are law unto
themselves. The Turkish govern
ment is trying to bring them into sui
lection. They ordered the soldiers tc
enroll these Bedouin tribes and enlis
their young men for soldiers and thel
compel the tribes to pay taxes.
"Karak is the center of large tri
bal district. The shieks of Karah
told the officers in charge that tho
people could pull up their tents anL
run away so easy that it would be
best to divide the country into dis
tricts and have 1t all entered at ono
time. They said divide it into six
teen districts, send forty soldiers and
two field cannon to each district
They wanted to get their army OF
Karak out into the open country, and
| they did. They gave orders to theil
| tribes to kill all of the soldiers Oh
Sunday night right after supper. Sc
far as we know every one of the six
teen bands of forty each were muir
dered December 4, 1910, except one
band which lost only it's officers. Then
the plan was to go to Karak Monday
morning and wait until the soldiers in
tho Castle came out on the parade
ground at 9:30 a. m, and then attack
them; but they were so elated over
the success of the country they could
not wait until $3.50, but stormed the
town before and tried to take the
Castle. In this they failed. But
they killed, plundered and burned all
day long and into the night. They
came to the mission house and in
sured the Englishman that he was
their friend and that they would not
hurt him or his party.
They were very anxious to get the
Turkish officer who was in the house
next to the mission. The soldiers on
the top of the officers house kept
guard, but at last the house was
forced and the officer fled. The
Bedouins then came to Mr.. Forder
and at the point of the gun demanded
that he deliver the officer. The Eng.
lishman said: I am not hiding the of.
ficer.' They said, You are, for our
men lying on the top Of the house
saw him enter the mission compound.
The Englishman took an oath that he
knew nothing of the officer. The
chief of the Bedouins said: 4 know
Abou Jurius, he will not tell lie.