The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1920-09-27
"Anaenca! An1erica!!" the Millions Cry
in Sad Armenia. Land of Stalking Death
Melville Chatter, home from
Near East. Tells Narrowing
Story of Human Misery
There-Beetles and Straw
for Food.
"TRoUcH1NG by herself in :

mTRoUcH1NG by herself in a
~ corner. a little scven-year-
old girl was cracking something be-
tween two stones" says Melville
Chatter in an article, 1.-THE Land OF
Stalking Death" in the National
Geographic Magazine, describing
conditions in Armenia. Il looked
closer and found the child was cat
ing the marrow from a bone"
"Where did she get it2" asked
the interpreter who accompanied
"Yonder in the grave yard" he
replied, after questioning the girl.
This child, according to Mr..
Chatter, was subsisting solely on a
small dole of rice furnished daily
by the Near East Relief represent
atives in her nativ~ city, lgdir.
There was not sufficient food in the
town to even give one meal day
to all OF the children and shortly
after they had received this bare
pittance of food all were searching
for any bit on which they might
chew to appease their hunger. They
picked up beetles, straws, and one
a piece of 4 horses hoof, says Mr..
Chatter.
Root and Grass Diet.
Conditions at Igdir are horrible
almost beyond belief. People live
chiefly on roots and grass, but oc-
casionally the diet is varied by the
killing Of a dog or cat. Workers
sent out by Near East Relief, the
former Committee for Armenian
and Syrian Relief, who are furnish
ing the only sustenance to these
people, told Mr.. Chatter that it was
impossible to remove at once the
bodies of those who had died from
starvation, and when they were
taken out for burial, an arm or a
leg of the body had been eaten by
the famished survivors.
Mr.. Chatter tells of visit to the
burying ground when graves were
torn open and bodies exhumed by
the famished inhabitants. 1--WE had
taken a short cut" he says, to
ward where our car waited and by
chance we were skirting the GENE
terry. Our guide pointed thither
and said:
"It is not a pleasant sight. You
must understand that the Turks
left this country so bare that there
were not even spades. Graves must
be dug with any available thing,
even with human bones. If the
dead has a relative strong enough
to carry weiGht-big stones arc
placed on the grave; but if not.
he shrugged significantly.
II asked, hardly knowing how to
frame my question. Exactly what
exactly whom do you meanS
Men Stalk Dogs.
AZ mean. he answered, the
pariah dogs by day and under
cover of night-weil. come and see
for yourselves.
81 will never forget that terrible
acre OF carth-thc iow-boulder-
heaped mounds, and those others,
the unprotected graves, now re-
vcaled as empty, scooped-out holes
whose Drinks were strewn about
with remnants OF torn-off gar
mcnts. among which lay blackened
scmblances OF humanity. AS we
turned away the apparition OF a
great, yellow pariah dog, paving
among the graves, drew from us q
volley Of stones. Then as he skunk
off, a skcleton-like man sprang up
from behind the wall (under cover
of which he had been stalking his
prey) and, Draining the beast with
a club, disappeared, carrying its
carcass with him.
"Our farewells and thanks to the
american Committees manager
6n.,-,.J -, .rjI.ee nrorssd;oo and