The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-06-07
TURKS CONTINUE
 THEIR MASSACRE OF ARMENIANS
pr. Mabel Elliott Tells of Atrocities and Firing on
 American Buildings.

New York, June 7-The Turkish nationalist forces in besieging Ma rash, Syria, last January deliberately and continuously fired on the Amer ican college and Near East Relief hospital and orphanage there, accord ing to Dr. Mabel Elliott of Benton Harbor, Mich, who was in charge of the hospital during the three weeks attack.
 The slaughter of men, women and children was horrible, Dr. Elliott said, and the pi1lage of houses .barbaric. In one Armenian church 2,50O persons were ki1led-on1y 22 surviving the at tack on it, she said.
 Of a fleeing column of 5000 Ar menians mostly women and children driven from the besieged city, Dr. Elliott said only 2,2O0 reached their objective, Islahie, but 75 miles away. t'The whole three weeks tof the seige the firing from housetops and windows never ceased she said. tsThe Turks fired many buildings all l over the town, and from our windows we could see columns of smoke rising l first from one part of the city and | then another, every hour of the day and night
 1 The largest Armenian church at | first sheltered some 2,500 Armenians
 of the better class, shop keepers, bus
 mess men and merchants and their families. They had arms, and they
 put up a good fight. But the Turks
 finally fired the church and forced them out. Only g of them escaped | with their lives.
 1 "A communication trench was dag
 from French headquarters, to the
 hospital by which the French wound l ed were brought in to us. They were | all Seneglaese and Moroccans The | Seneglaese blacks suffered frightful-
 ly from the cold. We had 300 cases | frozen feet.
 would gather in the nearest churches l for protection, largely because by be- ing concentrated they were in great.
 CT force, and also because the church | buildings are of stone, and surround ed by high walls, and thus made the /, best means of defense. It wasn'
 possible to live day in private house, as the Turks would fire the house and drive the inha bitants out
 killing. them as they ran for shelter We could see that going on every. | where.
 sThere were about 5000 Armenian:
 who joined the column and tried tc l make the march over the mountain. 1 to Islahie, 75 miles from Marash when the French troops evacuated tt 1 city.
 There was no food for anyone, ana only few carts. Practically every. body had to walk the whole way. 'It was a ghastly. incredible night mare The worst blizzard that Marast
 had ever known caught us. | Most of the fugitives were wom CT | and children. The men stayed be
 hind to fight and cover cur retreat
 'sThey died like flies. Every 5t yards or so someone would drop Y | the snow. There was no use tryins to do anything. It was all anybod,
 could do to keep going.
 we had to cross many streams l which were frozen at first, but tn, ice was broken by the French t-ain
 and artillery, and when we cam, l along we had to wade in the icy wa ter, and then walk on in the snow
 I saw. the French general in com
 mand wading the streams on foot.
 @Out of the 5000 who started onl, 2,200 ever got there.
 1 Mrs. Mabel Power, of North Hero Vt, and Miss Helen Shuitz of Req d
 ing, Pa., who came out with me wen
 to Adana in a French hospital train