The Washington herald., 1918-10-23


oneted by the Turks and thrown into
the Euphrates. and how men and
women were stripped naked. tied to-
gether in hundreds, shot, and then
hurled into the river. In a loop of the
river near ErzinEhan. she said. the
thousands Of dead bodies created such
a barrage that the Euphrstes changed
its course for about a hundred
yards
4. 5. Consul Tells OF CrseitIe..
1t is absurd for the Turkish govern
ment TO assert thai Il ever seriously
intended to "deport the Armenians to
new homes.' the Treatment which
was given the conveys clearly shows
that eNternlns ton was the real our
pose OF Enver and Talaat. How many
eNiled to the south under these re-
volting conditions ever reached their
destinations The experiences of a
single caravan show how completely
this plan OF deportation developed
into one Of annihilation. The de-
tails in question were furnished
me directly bv the American consul
at Aleppo. and are now on file in the
State Department at Washington. On
the first OF June a convoy of 5000
Armenians. mostly women. girls. and
children, left Harpoot Following the
usual custom the government pro-
vided them an escort Of seventy gen
darmes. under the command OF a
Turkish leader. a Bey. In accordance
with the common experience these
gendarmes proved to be not their pro-
tectors, but their tormentors and
their eNecutioners. Hardly had they
got well started on the road when
--- Bey took 40 Ilras fI'nm the
caravan. on the plea that he was
Keeping II safely until their arrival
~ Malatia. no sooner had ne robbed
them Of the only thing that might
. have provided them with food than
ne ran away. leaving them ell to the
tender mercies OF the gendarmes.
All the way to Ras-ul-Ain. the first
station on the Bagdad line. the exist
ence Of these wretched travellers was
one prolonged horror. The Cendarr1es
went ahead informing the half-sav-
age tribes Of the mountains that sew
eral thousand Armenian women and
girls were approaching. The Arabs
and kurds began to carry off the
girls, the mountaineers fell upon them
repeatedly. violating and killing the
women, and the Cendarmes themselves
a'AAA'A HI AlNF DEkN= ADng On the
few men who accompanied the con-
Voy were killed. The women had sue
ceeded in secretnK money from their
prosecutors, keeping it in their mouths
and hair; with this they would buy
horses. only to have them repeatedly
stolen by the Kurdish tribesmen. III
nally the Rendarmes. having robbed
and beaten and violated and killed
their charges for thirteen days. ahan-
doned them altogether. Two days
afterward the Eurds went through
the party and rounded up all the
males who still remained alive They
found about l5n. their ages VARYING
from II to % years. and these they
promptly took away and butchered TO
, the last man. But that same day an
other convoy from Sivas Joined this
one from Harpoot. increasing the
numbers OF the whole caravan to
1>.Orn people
Chieftnin Orders OutrnEe..
Another Kurdish Bey now took
command. and To him. as to all men
placed in the same position. the op-
Iortunity was regarded merely as one
Tor pulaEe. outrage. and murder This
chieftain summoned all his followers
. A'hAA NNN mountains dllO lnNllGQ lnern
10 work their complete will upon this
great mass OF Armenians Dav after
day and night after night the nrettiest
girls were carried away: sometimes
they returned in a pitiable condi-
tion that told the full story OF their
sunerinGs. Any stragglers, those who
were so old and infirm and sick that
they could not keep up with the
marchers. were promptly killed.
Whenever they reached a Turkish
village all the local Vagabonds were
permitted 10 prey upon the Armenian
girls. When the diminishing band
reached the Euphrates they saw the
bodies of 20 men floating upon the
surface. BY this time they mad all
been so repeatedly robbed that they
had practically nothing left except a
few ragged clothes. and even U.ese
the kurds now took. the consequence
being that the whole convoy marched
for five days completely naked under
the scorching desert sun. For another
five days theY did not have a morseI
Of bread or a drop OF water Hun
dreds fell dead on the way" the re-
port reads. their tongues were turned
10 charcoal. and when, at the end
OF five days, they reached a fountain.
the whole convoy naturally rushed to-
ward it. But here the policemen
barred the way and forehade them TO
take a single drop OF water. Their
purpose was to sell II at from one