Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-10-04

police arc searching the houses Of the
Armenians FOR weapons, and not find
Ing any, they ire taking the best and
most honorable men and imprisoning
them: some of them they are exiting,
and others they are torturing with red
not irons to make them reveal the sup
posediy concealed weapons. Four
weeks ago they exiled fifteen men
ana their families, sending them 10 the
desert c!ty OF -. three days Jour
ney south Of here.
The Gendarmery Department seems
to have full control of affairs and the
Mutessarif upholds them The are
now holding about 100 of the best
citizens Of the city in prison, and to-
day the gendaImerie chief called tho
Armenian bishop and told him that
unless the Armenians deliver their arms
and the revolutionists among them,
mat he has orders TO exile the entire
Armenian population of -, as they
did the people Of -. We know how
the latter were treated, for hundreds
OF them have been dragged through
- on their way TO the desert whittier
they have been exiled. These poor
cNiles were mostly women, children
ana old men, and they were dubbed
and beaten and dashed along as though
they had been wild animals, and their
women and girls were daily criminally
outraged, both BY their guards and
the ruftians OF every village through
which they passed. as the former al
lowed the latter to enter the camp Of
the eXiles at night, and even distri-
buted the girls among the villagers
Tor the night. These poor victims OF
their oppressors' lust and hate might
better have died by the bullet in their
mountain home than be dragged about
the country In this way. About 1000
or them have passed through -, all
more dead than alive; many hundreds
nave died from starvation and abuse
along the roadside, and nearly all are
dying OF starvation. thirst. OF being
Kidnapped by the Anaza Arabs in the
desert where they have been taken
we know how they are being treated
because our - eNiles are in the same
place, and one young Armenian doctor
who was there making medical ex-
aminations of soldiers for the govern
ment, has returned and told us
IN EVERY DIRECTION
ARE SIGNS OF MUREER
The forced exodus from OF
the last part of the population took
place on June /. 1915 All the viii
lagos. as we'll as three quarters OF the
town. had already been evacuated An
escort OF fifteen gendarmes followed
the third convoy. which included 1000
10 5.63o persons. The project of The
city had wished them pleasant jour
ncy. But at few hours distance
from the town, the caravan was sur
rounded by bands of the - and by
mob OF Turkish peasants armed with
guns axes and clubs They first began
plunderinC the deported, searching
carefully even the very young chill
dren. The cendarmes sold TO the Turk
ish peasants what they could no. carry
away with them. After having taken
even the food of those unhappy people,
the massacre OF the males began, in
Guiding two priests. one of whom vas
ninety. In six or seven days all men
below fifteen had been murdered It
was tho beginning of the end. People
on horseback raised the wells of tho
women. and carried off the pretty ones
ON the way we constantly met mur-
dered men and youths. all covered with
blood. There were also women and
girls Killed near their husbands or sons
On the heights OF the mountains and
in the depths of the valleys numbers
of old men and babies were lying on
the ground During the night The
caravan was not allowed to stop in the
villages; they all had to sleep on the
ground. exposed to the understandable
harbarism "f the Turkish bands and
peasants. The poor people found them
selves in the necessity of eating grass.