Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-06-06
TURK NATIONALIST
 AIMED FIRE: UPON
 AMERICAN COLLEGE
Americans Tell Story of At tack Upon the Armen-
 IanS

New York, June 5.-Thc Turkish nationalist forces in bcsieging Marash, Syria, last January deliberately and continuously fired on the American college and Near East Relief hospi- tai and orphanage there, according to pr. Mabel Elliott, of Benton Harbor, Mich, who was in charge of the hos pital during the three weeks attack.
 Dr. Elliott, who has now returned to this country. with Mrs. Mabel Pow CT, of North Hero, Vt.. Miss Helen Shultz, of Reading, Pa, and Miss Minnie Dougherty. of Holyoke, Mass. told an eyewitness story of the at tack, directed against the Armenian population
 The slaughter of men, women and children was horrible, she said, and the pillage of houses barbaric. In one Armenian church 2,50G persons were kilied-only 22 surviving the attack 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 2,200 reached their objective, 1slahie, but 75 miles away
 "The whole three weeks of the seize the firing from housetops and windows never ceased' she said. "The Turks fred many buildings all over the town, and from our windows we could see columns of smoke rising first from one part of the city and and then another, every hour of the day and night.
 "The largest Armenian church at first sheltered some 2,500 Armenians of the better class, shop keepers, bus i mess men and merchants and their families. They had arms, and they ! put up good fight. But the Turks finally fired the church and forced them out. Only 22 of them escaped with their lives.
 "A communication trench was dug from French headquarters to the hos pital by which the French wounded were brought in to us. They were all ISeneglaese and Moroccans. The Sen egalese blacks suffered frightfullv from the cold. We had 900 cases of wounded and frozen feet-mostly all frozen feet.
 "All over town, the Armenians would gather in the nearest churches for protection, largely bedause by be- ing concentrated they were in great CT force, and also because the chhrch buildings are of stone, and surround ed by high walls, and thus made the best means of defense. It wasn't pos sible to live day in a private house as the Turks would fire the house and drive the inhabitants out, killing them as they ran for shelter. We could cn hot "There were about 5000 Armen- to make the march over the noun tains to Islahie, 75 miles from Ma rash, when the French troops evacu- ated the city.
 "There was no food for anyone and only few carts. Practically everybody had to walk the whole way "lt was ghastly, incredible night mare. The worst blizzard that Ma
 rash had ever known caught us. Most of the fugitives were women
 and children. The men stayed be-
 hind to fight and cover our retreat "They died like flies Every 5( yards or so someone would drop ir
 the snow. There was no trying te
 do anything. It was all anybod,
 could do to keep going.
 l We had to cross many streams
 which were frozen at first, but the ict
 was broken by the French trains ant
 artillery, and when we came along
 we had to wade in the icy water, ant
 then walk on in the snow. I say
 the French general in command wad
 ing the streams on foot.
 "Out of the 5000 who started onl,
 2,200 ever got there.
 "Mrs. Mabel Power, of North Hero
 Vt., and Miss Helen Shultz, of Read
 ing, Pa., who came out with me wen J to Adana in a French hospital train