The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1915-10-04
Armenians Victims of FrighfuI Afrocities

and children. with loads and bundles
on their backs. were collected In q
short cross street near the consulate.
and when a hundred or so had been
gathered. they were driven past the
consulate on the road toward - in
the heat and dust by gendarmes with
liked bayonets. They were held out
| side the city until a group OF about
1000 were collected. then sent on.
Three such groups. making about
5000. were sent from here during the
| hrst three days. and smaller groups
from - and the vicinity sent later
amounted. to about 1000 more. The
weeping and wailing OF the women and
children were most 'heartrending.
Some Of these people were from veal
thy and refined circles. Some were
accustomed to luxury and ease. There
were clergymen. merchants, bankers.
. lawyers. mechanics. tailors, and men
from every walk OF life. The COVER
nor-general told me they were allowed
to make arrangements for carriages,
but nobody seemed to be making any
arrangements. l know of one wealthy
merchant, however, who paid 1t. Is
($66.00) for a carriage to take himself
and wife to -, and when he arrived
at the station where they were being
collected. at -, about ten minutes
from the city. they we're commanded
by the gendarmes to leave the car
] rage, which was sent back to the city
village about two hours
from -. Is inhabited by Gre
gorian and Catholic Armenians and
Turks. A wealthy and influential
Armeniln. together with his two sons.
according to a reliable witness, were
placed enc behind the other and shot
through. Forty-five men and women
were taken a short distance from the
village into a valley. The women
were first outraged by the officers OF
the gendarmerie, and then turned
over TO the gendarmes TO dispose OF.
According to this witness a child was
killed by beating its brains out on a
rock. The men were all killed. ana
not single person survived from this
group OF forty-five.
The plan to save the children by
placing them in schools or orphan
ages in --. under the care OF a
committee organized ana supported
by the Greek Archbishop. OF which
the Vail was president and the Arch
bishop vice president, with three Mo-
hammedan and three Christian MEM
bers, has been abandoned. and the
girls are now being give nexclusively
to Mohammedan families and thus
scattered.
CIubbed and Beaten.
June Is, 1915.
| wish to inform you OF conditions
here. They are very bad and daily
getting worse. suppose
told you OF the horrible things taking
place u. Just such a reign
of terror has begun in this city also.
Daily the police are searching the
houses of the Armenians for weapons
and not finding any. they are taking
the best and most honorable men and
, imprisoning them: some of them they
are exiting. and others they are tor
turing with red hot irons to make
them reveal the supposedly con-
cealed weapons. Four weeks ago
they exiled fifteen men and their
families. sending them to the desert
city Of -. three days journey
south Of here.
! The Gendarmery Department seems
10 have fun control OF affairs and the
/ Mutessarif upholds them They are
now holding about a hundred OF the
best citizens OF the city in prison, and
today the gendarmerie chief called
3 the Armenian Bishop and told MIN
that unless the Armenians deliver
their arms and the revolutionists
among them. that he has orders TO
exile the entire Armenian population
1 Of --. as they did the people OF
-. We know how the later
were treated. for hundreds of them
have been dragged through
on their way TO the desert whittier
i they have been exiled. These poor
exiles were mostly women. children
and 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 ruffians OF every vii
lage. through which they passed, as
the former allowed the latter TO enter
the camp OF the exiles at night ana
even distributed the girls among the
villagers for the night These poor
victims OF their oppressors' lust ana
hate might better have died by tae
bullet in their mountain home than
be dragged about the country In this
way. About two thousand OF them
have passed through . ali
more dead than alive: many hun
dreds have died OF starvation aid
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 --- exiles
are I'm the same place. and one young
Armenian doctor. who was there
making medical examinations OF sol
diers for the government. has re-
turned and told vs..
Thousands oeported.
May II. 1915.
. Since the first days Of April cara.
vans came from -- and environ
ments going towards the south IN the
steppeE Of Mesopotamia. Talking only
Of those that crossed our city. the
number OF the deporsed rises 10 500
D persons -s . - and