Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1919-04-25


Of the American Committee for Relief
in tho Near East, under the direction
Of the state chairman, James ]. Spill
headquarters In New York the story
Of . wealthy Armenian woman who
has rust arrived In this country after
unspeakable sufferings during which
her hair turned white, she said, in a
single - hours and which she finally
escaped by her own heroism and that
Of Armenian soldiers. who rescued her
and her son and other Armenians from
Q Turkish prison.
The story, as related to Alice v.
williams, the author, follows:
Before May 1915 the Harpootlians
were q wealthy and well known family
In the city Of Mamouret- Ul-Aziz, Tur-
key. They had owned twenty-five per
cent Of the land in that district. Mr..
II. Harpootlian had been a prosperous
merchant and had made frequent Wis.
its to the United States on business.
MRS. Harpootlian's brother had held
the ONCE Of mayor Of the city, and had
also been governor for several terms.
in spite Of the fact that Armenians
are not usually allowed to hold Off
cial positions In Turkey.
But In 1914 when the war broke
out threatening clouds began to rise
on the horizon. and gathered with In
creasing ominousness until on May
End, 1915 the storm burst.
Now Mrs. Harpootlian-a. white
haired woman-sat before me with 4
beautiful little boy Of three and 4
half years ca her knee. Her eyes
were full Of sadness and her face was
lined. At first sight l took her for
the boys grandmother. In reality she
was only forty-two years old.
Suffering-not age-had deeply
marked her face and had whitened
her hair In a single night.
Three times she tainted in the
course OF her recital. Only the sense
of the need OF her countrymen sup
ported her.
"It all seemed to happen at once, ;"
said Mrs. Harpootlian. with hardly
any notice the Turks ordered US to
leave our houses and gather in a GER
tain place. Here we found all the
other Armenian inhabitants OF Ma
mouret Ul-Aziz gathered.
My husband and and our six chill
dren, were driven in a crowd of our
friends and relatives from the city.
II did not take us long to find out that
our guards and guides were worse
than none at all.
At the end of three days we arrived
on the shores of the Euphrates River
in Izoly. Here we were halted, at
first to our intense relief. but little did
we know what was before u.s."
They separated the men from the
women and children, and tied them
together In groups of four. Ny hus
band and my two oldest sons, Hagop
aged twenty-three, and Harovtun aged
twenty-one, they took, and tied them
with the rest.
I chung to my husband, l implored
the guards by every plea knew to
save my dear ones. 1 offered them all
the money l hadcI promised them
more,-I offered to sign over to them
all my property In Harpoot,-but they
were deaf and blind to all my pray
ers. They drew me aside with the
other women.
They kept US apart: and then they
did-unspeakable things ........!
when they had done their worst
they hacked them to death. Ny son.
Hagop, was one.
81 was expecting to be a mother
again very soon. In my torment and
distraction, fell down by the way
side and gave birth TO this little boy
that. you see here In my arms.
never thought that he would live.
The guards themselves left him and
me for dead by the wayside. But God
gave him to me for a comfort and
strength, care though he was TO me.
For three days stayed by the way.
side. I struggled back to life for my
baby's sake, and taking him up with
me. tried to drag myself back to my
native town. We both were preserved
somehow, and reached Mamouret-Ul.
Asis. Hare I was thrown into the