Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-08-14

eVu youths armed with pistols OF
hand grenades. manned eighty barrI-
eaded houses, connected by trenches
aud mud walls
Made Powder lmpromptu.
Ammunition was scarce but Prof
Menassian Enendi head Of the nor
mai school and a graduate OF Yale
sheffield school of Science. cleverly
transformed such chemicals as were
at hand and manufactured smokeless
and black powder. while mechanics
turned brass cartridge shells. The
Armenian laboratories soon were is
suing 2,000 CARTRIDGES daily, besides
hand grenades. Before the end of
the siege they made three brass NOR
tars effective al ,000 yards. Menas-
slams boys band heartened the fight-
ers with continual music. Women
and children carried ammunition and
food ana water. Fourteen-N ear-old
Neville USHER and his recently organ
lied boys scouts did heroic service i'm
eNtnguishiug fires. reporting and
carrying sick and wounded and en-
forcing sanitary regulations among
1900 Armenian refugees, who We're
now Oyercruwding the mission.
Jevdett, now throwing off tho
mask Of friendship. he had worn. for
he had known Dr. Gssher from child
hood, threatened bombardment i'm
case a single shot We're fired from
Armenian trenches near but outside
the mission. Or. USHER answered
that the missionaries could bear NO
responsibility for acts of individuals
beyond their control Meantime, the
American missionaries were caring
for Turkish as wen as Armenian sick
and wounded and as the only pracu-
cal administrators in Van, had ORGAN.
lied sanitation. soup Kitchens and
distribution of bread for the 10000
refugees who flocked or We're driven
into Van from the villages. The Ar
menians organized a city government,
with mayor, courts and police ana
kept better order.
Missionaries Work Hard.
An the American missionaries
worked ceaselessly and effectively.
Miss Caroline Silman organized and
took charge of a hospital annex for
cases Of measles. Miss Gertrude
Rogers and Miss Elizabeth USHER
helped Miss Bond superintendent of
the hospital, where there We're always
$50 patients for fifty-patient capa-
city. Mr.. Yarrow discharged a null
ttude of administrative duties, assist
ed bv Mrs. Yarrow and Mrs. J. G..
Raynolds. the veteran of the station,
having lived there forV-iour years
without slackening energy or enthus-
iasm. Besides these there We're, ais
sharcrs of the dangers and tolls Of
the siege the eight children of the
Usshers and Yarrows and Miss
Knapp, a visitor from the Bitlis mis-
sion.
In spite of day and night lombard
ment from the imposing Fortress
Rock, an Isolated crag rising sheer
from the flat plain Immediately ad-
Joining the old town, the handful OF
Armenians remaining there, cut OIL
from their fellows by the intervening
Turkish gardens, shortly captured
SOME of the fortified government
buildings i'm their midst, Thirteen
thousand cannon balls or shells were
thrown from the fortress into the OLD
town. but mainly fell harmlessly in
to mud walls, only three lives being
lost from the cannonade there
Governor Butchers Citizens.
At tho end of two weeks runner
from Ardetch, the second town of the
vilayte. brought news that the gov
ernor had butchered all the male ana
many of the female inhabitants ana
he alone had escaped TO tell the story
He had passed night under heap
of corpses. he declared, and his story
excited the Armenians to new Jury
Provisions and ammunition were
running low when the end came WIN
dramatic suddenness. on May 10
and 1G all the vessels in the harbor
sailed across the AXE Of Van with
families of Turks and, to mask the
coming Turkish retreat, more iur-
ious cannonade was begun; the Am
erican mission at last became inc
target. In two days, half a hundred
shells fell in the compound, one niue
Armenian girl being killed. Alto
gether 10000 shells or cannon balls
had been fired into the Armenian
garden or residence city At sunset
Nav 1G the large barracks from when
an unobstructed fire had been trained
on the American mission, disgorBeu
its Garrison. who were seen to ride
away across the farther hills. The
Armenians rushed the last positions
Of the Turks including the barracks,
ana set them Attire killing most OF
the feeble remnant of the garrlsons
Wild Night Follows.
Theer followed a wild night OF
frenzed rejoicing and incendiarism.
The old town and the Turkish garden
civ went up in smoke Hair OF Van
one Of the prettiest cities of Asia, be-
came ruin. To make matters worse
Aram. appointed temporary governor
allowed the cutting of shade trees mi
the Turkish quarter, partly Tor spl'e
,,,l ra rtlts IN raise revenues.
The splenddly equipped turkish
hospital was plundered of its invalu- |
able medicines before the missionaries
whose medical supplies were nearly
exhausted. reach it. They eNtin- !
euished three incendary fires start
ed in the hospital
The Armenians claimed to nave
had ample proyocation for reprisals'
The Kurds having committed name
less atrocities and the Turks having
executed 100 Armenian prisoners, OF
whom so were sick or wounded pc,
fore they retired shooting besides an
the Armenian conscripts In their
ranks, The Turks left their own
sick and wounded in terrible straits |
were rescued alive by tile
Americans. The survivors declared
thew had had neither food nor water