The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-12-22
Compelled to Dig Own
Graves, Lie Down in Them
and Are Shot.
MANY MAKING ESCAPE
DIE OF DEsTITUTION
Slav Member Austro-Hun'
garian Chamber Deputies
Makes Expose.

of the Associated Press).-COmpelled
to dig their own graves, drowned.
burned alive. hanged, or shot down
with machine guns. the Serbians of
Herzegovina, Bosnia, lsturia and Dal-
malta were the victims Of Austro-
Hungarian atrocities, surprising the
human imaginations, recently declared
DR.. Tresic Pavicic, Slav member of
the Austro- Hungarian chamber Of
deputies. Narratives of Serbians made
prisoners In Austrian jails and fort
resses were related in detail before
the Austrian parliament by the Slav
deputy.
According to DIR. Pavicic, those out
RACES were practiced upon the civilian
population, old men, women and chill
dren, when orders were given by Gen.
eral POtiorek. described as the auto
crat OF Bosnia, to remove all the Ser
bians from the frontier districts.
hsresd to Dig Own Graves.
The inhabitants Of the village of
Svice. young and old, were all led away
and on arrival at Mount Rudo, were
compelled to dig their own graves and
to lie down each in his own. Many
women. the deputy said. lay down in
their graves with children in their
arms and the soldiers then shot them
one after another, the living putting
earth over the dead until their own
turn came
The ordinary method Of executing
these civilians who should have been
interned, said the Slav deputy, was to
hang them, but instead the whole
Serbo- Montenegrin frontier had been
transformed into desert. Eighty
two persons, he said, were hanged
without trial at Zubac, 103 at Trebinjo,
the names of victims and the dates
and localities of the outrages
Stricken by Insanity.
OF those who were not executed, he
declared, the very young and the aged
died of destitution. 1t was the vigor-
Gus, competent and courageous who
were arrested, falsely accused. con-
demned, tortured snd executed. The
deputy was informed, he said, that 5000
persons had been arrested in Dalma-
tia, Isturia and Carniola. DR.. Pavicic
was one OF those arrested. herded with
hrigands, insulted by Hungarian SOL
diecs and beaten with rifle butts. Many
Of his fellow prisoners lost their rea :
son and he saw one hurl himself from
a train under the wheels OF another
which was passing. Thousands OF
Serbians. he declared, were taken fol
internment to Mostar, Herzegovina, II
Doboj. Bosnia and to Arad. Hungary
Upon these .unfortunates their Jail.
ers inflicted peculiar punishments, &C
cording to the narratives Of two sur
vivors related by DIR. Pavicic. One O.
these jailers at Mostar was character
ized in the speech as a "ferociou.
beast" who beat his prisoners with !;
hooked baton of iron which he callet
..Kromprinz." A priest, named ITCHY
afterward died at Arad, Hungary. a
the result Of the tortures this jailer in
flicted.
Victims Of Typhus.
II those gathered at Mostar survived
they were transferred later to Ara
where thousands of living skeleton
were congregated from Bosnia an
Herzegovina" said the deputy. Fam
ished, naked. half dead from the blow
of rifles and bayonet thrusts they wer
driven to the easements Of the Ara
fortress, In it's subterranean corri
doris they died in masses from typhu
'.As the days became colder" sal
DIR. Pavicic, "they took clothing frol
the dead to clothe the naked. Th
number of deaths at Arad is estimate
at between 5000 and 1000.
"At Doboj things were worse. Alon
with Serbian and Montenegrin pri.
oners came crowds Of civilian old me-
women and children driven from hon
and 70. ced to travel in open catt
trucks. Hunger was found to be Il
simplest and cheapest means of sent
ing these people to another worl
Often the mother would be dead wht
her little child shook her to ask f
bread. Trustworthy figures show tn
more than 5000 innocent victims m
dooth in thnao MA COS