Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-02-24
WIP|MG OUT THE ARMEN|ANs
Description of Their Deportation
in Letter from kOnia.
About Railway Ccntcr-Givcn No
Water and Less Tkan Loaf Of
bread n Week Each.

( konia n city of 5000 inhabitants, is
perhaps the most important railway sta
tion in western Turkey. 1t was at Eonia
that many OF the Armenians. driven from
their homes in central and eastern Turkey.
We're supposed TO take tho trains for their
des,ina tons further south. From 20.Nl
to 30,0C0 of these eXileS were encamped
about the place for weeks at n time. with
little or no water and with bread served
at tho rate of loaf week for each per-
inf he was lucky enough 10 get it.
In konia is a hospital mainta ined by
foreign money though not under any mis-
sionary society. This hospital has done
effective relief work for the unfortunate
thousands. so far as its resources permit
ted. The American Board OF Commits
soncrs for foreign missions has lately
received the following letter from a mem
Dor of this hospitals staff which adds il =
evidence as 10 Turkish cruelty and Ar
menian agony:
soon after the great depor, alton that
preceded the arrival of the new Vail. Miss
C.. and drove out to Kachin Han, the
first station on the railroad iowa rds Ereg-
II, Just t. follow up the crowd, as p large
number had been driven off on foot with
the expectation Of taking the railroad
later ON. \aChin Han Is about three
hours from here by carriage and even so
near to Koua as this we found about 100
people. SIT ing and lying about the station
in utter restitution. They had been there
three days: most Of them had eaten up all
the provisions they had and looked bag
gard and emaciated. verita bic famine
victims such as one sees in pictures &C.
curing i'm India,
THE train from Kona came along
pie dragged themselves to the cars and
endeavorcd to got ON, but were pushed
back by the sendarmes. partly because
they had no tickets and partly because
there was no room: so the poor people
turned back bitterly and hopelesslv to
where they had been sitting or lying about
tho station.
There is a village an hour or two away
from the station and Turkish baker
had driven to the station with bread for
sale. but as there was no money to buy.
the grown people looked at it from a dis
lance while the little Gaunt children drew
near to stare at it wistfully. ! bought
enough to give each person there a loaf
and many declared that it was the first
food they had had for three days Some
of the people were intelligent and educat-
ed-thcir suffcrings were even create
than those OF the villagers who were more
accustomed to hardship. Two women.
desperately sick. had puny babies tug
cling away At the breast and getting moth
ing, their pathetic cries mingled with the
groans Of the mothers in physical and
mental anguish.
"A few miles further on We found a
! little heap Of clods that had been appar-
emily been piled together and then scat
tered, and near it bundle or rags full
OF a childs bones-the skull, with scalp
still clinging to it was lying a yard or
two away-evidenly there had been hasty
burial and the dogs had come and torn
the grave to pieces and devoured the body.
That same day we found another dead
body by the roadsde-an old woman wrap
ped in a torn quilt. also a woman about
~ wears old sitting alone by the road,
miles away from city or village, almost
puseess. with feet bare and swollen,
and evidently craZed from terror and OK
posure, muttering something about rs
who were coming to cut her throat, about
her people who had left her behind and
so forth.
"a little further on, living beside an
empty Wayslde stable. found an old
woman. half naked, pulseless, muttering
IN low dolirium and with only few hours
to live. We lifted her into the old stable.
covered her with an old quilt that We
! found near her and drove back to the
city, weighed down with the thought OF
the awful suffering that is going on all
over IN" country, especially to the south