The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-11-23

Cablegrams on October "a told briefly
of the escape of General Hartford and
his associated of the United states
mission to Armenia when they were
attacked by bands of Turkish nomads
in the desert and mountain regions
of Armenian Turkey Walter s. Hiatt
of the Associated Press was mem
Der of the Hartford party, and has
described the incident in the follow
ing graphic dispatch just received by
mail from Erivan, capital of the Ar
nenian republic.
Erivan, Capital Armenian Republic.
October 20 (By Staff Correspondent of
the Associated Press The attack on
and detention overnight of the Hartford
mission to Armenia by bands of Kurds,
Tartars and Turks is illustrative of the
lawless conditions existing throughout
the Black sea country.
While fraught with extreme danger.
the members of the party were neither
robbed, stripped of their clothes and
turned adrift to make the best of their
way to some friendly city, or even killed
as happens to other caravans, because
of the magic name of America.
It was the mind of Shamil Beg, chief
tain of the nomad band. entrenched
against tn6 AfHehidnS DIT the village OF
Kulp, WHICH saved the lesser members of
the mission from the customary fate of
captured caravans.
Shamil Beg came to the knowledge of
the mission members after this fashion.
For three weeks they had been travelling
from Constantinople, intent on really see
ing the lands of Asia Minor as these lands
have probably not yet been seen by out
siders. They had come up from dusty
A
the shimmering Mesopotamian desert, I'M
til reaching Mardin. the magnificent stone
city set upon a mountain. There the
seven automobiles of the party had been
taken off the flat cars of the Bagdad
railway and after countless adventures
with impossible roads, bridging the I'M
bridged Euphrates and the Tigris. climb
ing and descending the Taurus range of
mountains which gradually climb thrice
their height to the plateaus Of Ararat.
the party crossed the Turkish frontier
into Russian Asia Minor. or Armenia as
is now called parts Of the country.
A few miles out of Kagizman, In the
almost dry bed of the 4Araxes, General
Harbord5s car was stopped by humble
patriarch offering melons carried by his
son and the latter's strangely beautiful
little girl, dressed in a bundle of rags.
Then the missions forward machine met
a wild old man on horseback. who talked
volubly. possibly to disguise his spy
character
VALLEY RICH IN MINERALS
Following the lonely valley, while
billy" Poland, of the commission for
Belgian relief discoursed on its mineral
richness, next the mission rolled around
a gigantic bend of the road to behold the
river bottom covered with cattle and
tents of some nomad tribe. Then Maj
H. W. Clark of Boston declared he heard
shots from the mountain SIDE to the right
At the same time General Harbord's car
was seen to stop and the truck in the
rear began to hasten its speed,
The Hartford car had been stopped by a
much alarmd rifleman dropping to his
knees and starting to FIRE point blank.
The rifleman's gun was showed aside by
q graybeard chieftain when he saw the
American flaw borne by the car. Di-
-ectly the whole bottom was sIarming
With a motley throng of tribesmen
.ressed in sheepskin turhans, ragged
white shirts overmantled by short Jackets
IT dark cloth. armed with long sdu:rrel
rifles and curiously carved knives or
,ho-t swords In the background stood
heir women. all in group.
General Harboro left his machine and
walked over to the chieftain, an ord man
If scrawny beard. who proudly gave his
name as Abdi Beg. When he learned the
party was composed of Americans he
.old a story Of having been driven to-
yether with his Land from their mountai in
homes by the Armenians, saying that
now they Iii ew not what to o; that
winter was coming on and he feared
they would starve. He had appealed in
vain, he said TO the British and theTurks.
and if he t',ouoht the Americars would
come to establish peace he wOLid sacrifice
the sheep of his tribe in rrard feast
of rejoicing. He gladly offered to let pass
the rear srtoirtL lilies and .took a note
which he said he would deliver when
they came.
After a war m,cave-taking Tie autornp-
biles proceeded to higher gr 'und and a
wider valley, when the gliste ing SHOWS
of Ararat came suddenly in full sight.
~ party lad come on Sattath, the
first Cay Of the week, near the place of
tabled flood where the human race had
been preserved by Noah's ark landing un-
til tile waters cleared.
Next the saddened ruins of Kulp were
reached As the party swung through
the picturesque spot, a short halt was
to speak to a startled horde of Mosems,
thronging with their rifles about the
machines, While hundreds of their wom-
en- and children sprang UP in the rear,
staring cllriorsly. They told a brief story
OF having no bread, OF being hunted by
the Armenians. Of having had their homes