The Washington times., 1918-10-27
By Aurora MardignninIs


showed them the American flag his door, and ordered
them away. There were many mothers in this party
when joined it who glad their daughters had been
among those who left under Dr. Stapetons protec
tiOn, and they wondered if they still were safe.
Many months later learned the good American bad
veil kept them all safely until the Russians came to Erze
roum and took them under their care.
There almost 49, 900 men, women and children in
the parties that went by way of Erzndn Of these parties
only 500 reached Diyarbekir. All the prettiest and
youngest girls had been stolen by the Knrds or Zapteths
and given to Turks along the way. The girl children
under ten years old had all been either killed. if they
were not strong and pretty, sold to the Turks who
either kept them to raise Mosems for their harems or
sent them to Consannope to be sold the harems of
wealthy Turks there. Many of the younger women who
not stolen dshonOred to DEATH All the grand
mothers and women who i'll had been abandoned at
the roadside killed outright So only the 500 remained
Of the other parties which had numbered $4,000 in
divduals, and who had mostly from the smaller
cities ErzerOum although there many rich fam
ies teachers bankers merchants and professional men
from the city itself among them, only 15O0 left
about 300 men, think
When the different parties recognized each other when
they allowed to camp outside Diyarbekr they re-
joieed greatly and they allowed to their camps
together. They remained outside Dyarbekr eleven days
because all of them had been robbed of their money and
all valuables, they could not brbe the Kamakam to
let them stay inside the city.
Each night while they camped outside Diyar.
beklr Turks came out from the city to steal girls and
soldiers out too to borrow girls and young
for little while. They had food except loaf of
bread for each every other day. sent out by the
Kamaikam, and occasionally something which American
missionaries who staying in the city managed to
smugge out to them by bribng Turkish water carriers
During the night, while hiding in the rocks they
told they to be taken away again in the
ing this time Ourfa their Zapteth guards told them
They had begged the Turkish officers who brought the
orders to their guards to let them stay while longer
because many of them suffering with swollen feet
which had grown painful to bursting, during
their eleven days of rest They asked be allowed
wait until their feet better again. but the Turks
would not grant them this.
So they had started early in the morning, and
with them and before lay the long walk to Ourf
200 miles further toward the Arabian deserts-unless
suffered the harder fate of being stolen again along
the way
For the first time since had been taken from my home
that Easter Sunday morning, many weeks before,
learned when ] joined this party the way to Ourfa
where my people being taken-thoSe who al
lowed to live Soldiers who went out to the refugee
camps from Dyarbekr had told these exes that all who
reached Aleppo, large city the Damascus railway,
to be taken from there to the DereZor district
the southern Euphrates and there put to building mill
tary roads through the deserts
As only few lived to reach there, the strong
women to be used
But always there was hope of delverance So many
Armenans had friends in America and brothers who