Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-02-16
WAR SWEPT CH|OS
The Historic Aegean Island and
Its Stormy Career.
BATHED IN BLOOD BY TURKS.

Waste by Earthquakes.
The Aegean island of Chios is the
subject of a striking communication
to the National Geographic society
from Ernest Lloyd Harris, a part of
which is issued as the following bulle-
tin:
"Chios, which is separated from the
mainland of Asia Minor by the strait
of Chios, only four and a half miles
wide, has long been a bone of con-
tention between Turk and Greek, and
during the earlier part of the nine
eeenth century it was the scene of
s3me of the bloodiest tragedies known
tc ,istory.
rs early as 700 B. c. it was one of
e liIhest and most important mem
be"s Of the Ionian union. 1t has dis
putcs with Smyrna the honor of being
t.a birthplace of Homer. When the
Io..ian cities rebelled against the Per-
s-a.. yoke C'ios manned and equipped
y lips and sent them to the bat
To Of Lace. T'lis stands for some
tai.g when we take into cOnsidera-
tioa the fact thai ut that time-name-
ly, 49, B. C.-thc population of the
island numbered only 10000 freemen
and 10000 saves.
"Chios las been, in turn, ~Ionian, Per
sian, Athenian, Roman, Italian, Tur-
kish, and finally, in 1913, after a sep
aration of nearly 1890 years, it was
united once more to the parent oun
try, Greece. AS mi may well i'm
agine, a little island of 31S square
miles which has changed masters so
many times necessarily must have
suffered much from the strife which
swept oyer it.
"Twice has this island been visited
by terrible earthquakes. The first was
away back in II A. D., and it was
only through the fostering care of the
Emperor Tiberius that the people were
able to make a fresh start. The sec
ond was in 1881, when the town Of
Kastro was practically laid waste.
Mosques, churches and dwelling houses
disappeared into the bowels of the
earth, engulfng nc less than 5000 peo'
pie. This earthquake visited the whole
island, and many beautiful and his
toric monasteries, some of which con
tanned priceless objects of art, valuable
Libraries and monuments of antiquity,
were completely lost.
"But in spite of all these vicissitude:
Chios has also seen many happy days
Even in the old days of the Ioniar
union it was celebrated on account o:
its commerce and industries, especially
for its native wine and the manufac
ture of beds and sofas. Under Rome
the island was ruled as an insulal
province and enjoyed several hundred
years of almost unbroken peace anG
prosperity.
"Chios' real troubles virtually begar
with the Greek war of independence
Somewhat against the will of the PEG,
pie, the island became involved in this
struggle and was visited Ivy a massacre
which appalled, humanity. In 1922 the
captain pasta appeared before Kastrc
with a powerful fleet and landed ar
army of Moslems, who slaughtered in
the space of two months no less than
10000 Chians, while $4,000 were sold
into slavery. The entire island was
given oyer to pillage, and scarcely a
village, church or convent was spared
the flames.
"These acts of f~erocity did not go I'M
avenged. While the Moslems were raw
aging Chios the islanders of Psara and
Hydra were planning an attempt on
the Turkish fleet, which was lying in
the outer harbor of Kastro, just off the
Genoese citadel. The authors Of this
bold strike were Constantine Canaris
and George Pepines. They arranged
two briggs as fire ships and manned
them with a chosen band of desperate
men.
"The lights hanging at the masts OF
the Turkish ships were so dim that
the Chians were enabled completely tC
surprise the unsuspecting crew al
midnight. The brig commanded by
Canaris Immediately grappled with the
captain pasha's flagship and set it on
fire. Pepine was equally successful,
and another battleship went up in
flames. With shouts of Victory to the
Cross! the old time war cry of ByZan-
tium, the islanders escaped in a launch
which they had in tow without the
loss of a single man. Practically the
whole of the captain pasha's feet was
destroyed, and $500 lives were lost.
'There is an old Greek monastery
about an hours ride from Kastro
which is a grewsome monument of this
period. Its walls and alcoves are faced
with the skeletons of the Chians mas
sacred in this neighborhood.
"One of the chief products of Chios is
gum mastic, an astringent which is
grown in the southern part Of the
island. 1t is used as a gum and also
distilled as a liquid, which is used
throughout the Levant as an appetizer
Immediately before meals. 1t is an in
toxicant if used immoderately.
Zone feature of the scenery of Chios
is the picturesque old windmills which