The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-10-20
BUTCHEnY OF ARMENlANS.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN KILLED
IN COLD BLOOD BY TURKS.
Ten Thousand Bodies Counted i'm One
Small TerritOry-A Tale of Horror
Not Surpassed i'm History.

NEW 1ork, oct. 9.-Burial alive of |
babies in trenches with the bodies of |
their mothers. who had been slaugh-
tered or allowed to perish from ex-
posure, was practiced by the Turks in
their work of exterminating the Ar
menlans, 1t was declared here today
by the Rev. Henry H. Riggs, mis-
sionary Of the American Board of
commissioners for Foreign Missions
to Harput, Turkey, who recently came
back to this country. A trench was
dug beside camp of Armenian wo-
men, he said. and as they met death
the survivors were forced to drag
their bodies to it and bury them.
The gendarmes said they could not
take care Of the babies that were left
oehind so many of those were buried
with their mothers" DR.. Riggs said.
when l visited this camp L fire.
quently saw Turks wandering about
among the Armenians picking out
pretty girls and little children to take
away to their homes. Some mothers
told us that they had themselves
thrown their babies into Euphrates
river rather than allow them to be
taken to Moslem homes. Many more
threw themselves into the river to es-
cape bondage of shame worse than
death.
About fifteen miles from Harput is
lake hidden from sight with many
ravines about it. We were told that
the Armenian eXiles were being killed
and left in these ravines. Two Amer
leans investigated and brought back
photographs and actual facts. They
saw In twenty mile ride 10000 hu-
man bodies. most of them killed by
bayonct. With a few exceptions they
were women and children and the
mangled condition Of their bodies
showed the horrible fate that has been
theirs"
The story of the deportation of the
Armenians of Harput is one of per
tidy, violence and murder" DR..
Riggs went on, adding, "It is nearer to
the truth to say the Turkish govern
ment undertook the extinction of the
Armenian population" After the is
sue Of an edict for all Armenians to
go to Mesopotamia, he said, there
came the arrest of all the men of
standing.
They were sent out on the road TIED
together in groups Of two to five" he
said, driven and beaten by the gend-
armes. OF the first party of 500, one
young man survived to tell the story
OF what happened. The party was
taken into a ravine and ordered to sit
down. he told me. Then the gend-
armes climbed up on the surrounding
rocks and fired with their rifles into
the crowd of bound prisoners as long
as they showed signs of life.
THE man who told me the STORY
succeeded in getting his knife and cut
ting himself loose. AS he made his
dash for liberty he was followed by
volley Of shots but got away unscath-
ed. All other men of that and similar
parties were ruthlessly butchered.
THE women and children were
then started on the road toward Mes
opotamia in companies of two or
three thousand. By indirect routes
they were forced to wander about un-
til the summer heat and disease vast
ed away the majority. No transpor-
tation was provided. + saw one old
man. who had travelled 200 miles.
start out to go the remaining 25O|
miles carrying on his back his pack
OF quilts and clothes and on top of
that his aged, palsied wife, who could
not walk.
often the routes chosen took the
people over waterless deserts where
thousands perished from thirst. II
passed through such q region where
thousands of bleached skeletons each
side the way told the story of a water
less journey across the plains in Au-
gust.
THE people who passed through |
Harput from the north usually spent |
two or three days in camp within
sight of my hOme Tho Sight, u,o .o,,
there can never be forgotten. They
were absolutely without shelter, day
or night. from heat or cold. The air
was unspeakably foul from dead
bodies lying near AS we approach
ed the women and children came
around us like hungry wolves, all re-
straint lost in the one desire for a
piece Of bread