Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-09-23

L
me. and we were very happy. After
awhile we had a little baby.
Gin the year 1914. when the war
tied by an order from the Turkislr
government. They. demanded all
firearms from Armenians. all Weap-
ons, even swords. The failure to-
comply was the death penalty. ~.
did mot a satisfy ge them nei A few days
later orders were issued for the I'M
prisonment of every Armenian man.
My husband my two brothers-in-law,
my father-in-law, my first cousins,
all my male relatives were taken aiken
were old and bed-ridden. They were
dragged from their couches to the
bastile.
husband came home: Rather, we
he had to be carried on a mule. All
his finger nails had been torn out
by the roots. The soles of his feet
were burned off. Thus had the Turks
tortured every man. yelling lg, at at
is your Christ? Why doesn't He
save your Some of them died in
prison.
Zone month later. every man was
seized again. We were told they
were needed to build roads for the
dragged away, beaten by the Turks
as they went. Every day we sent
meals to the men. One day the meals
were sent back to me. was told
my husband was not at the prison
Her Husband Shot
"Twenty-four hours later I heard
what had happened. The men were
taken to the banks of a river. lined
UP and shot, every, one. MY nus
Turk who had worked in our house
hold was there. and saw him die.
He told me about it. He recognized
my husband. he said, after the shoot
ing, and went to him: My husband
raised up on one elbow: re was was
that moment a Turk passed down the
line armed with sword. He hacked
every body as he passed, dead or
not. My husbands head was sliced
off as he was about to speak HIS
Another month passed. Then or
ders were issued for deportation of
all women We went to the gov
ernor we begged and cried on our
knees to be allowed to remain. We
tore our clothes, we told him he
had taken our men, to let us stay
or we die. '~, -s-.' 80 T.
eft was useless. We were told
that If we refused to go we would
be killed. When we knew that, I
dressed my three brothers-in-law,
young boys of fifteen or sixteen, in
for the wealthiest and most influ-
entail women to be taken first. l
was one Of these.
1.-THE soldiers came to my door.
was on the step Come, they
tested. L asked them to let me get
some clothes. at least to go and
get my baby. They would not wait.
They seized me and dragged me
away. My little baby was lying on
the bed in the back room. l could
not see him. 1 could not even tell
him goodbye. .t,.,.
"I struggled to be free. I tried
beat me and said, Why, not come?
You are all going to die, anyway!
Not single Armenian is to. be left
alive! 1t is the orders of the Ger
man kaiser!' All I could do was to
cry to a woman. who was not taken
to go back and ask my next-door
neighbor, a Turkish woman to whom
had been kind, to look after my
little baby. 1 did not know then
whether the message was ever de-
livered.
Babies Left to Die
$50 we began our march-400 wom-
en-, many of them burdened with
children, walking barefoot beside 400
Turkish soldiers, the jandarma, who
rode horseback. AS day after day
passed, many women were worn out.
The children were worn out, too. A
mother would carry her child until
the burden was too great. She. would
kiss it goodbye and leave it to die.
Some mothers had three or four chill
dren. They would carry one a block,
then run back for another. But. 1t
was too much for them.
"The jandarma were cruel They
took all our clothes except one long
garment for every woman, like a
nightshirt They took our, shoes,
they tore the jewels from our fingers,
the rings from our ears; They
refused to leave the children, they
would cut off the babies heads.
$50 we went over heavy mountain
paths, rocky and hard. On every
side we passed corpses.-here a
or foot. Many dead babies strewed
the roadside. We were never out of
sight of them.
Finally. a halt was called TWEEN
ty of the best looking women among
the four hundred were singled out
We're Wy ehe gong ri BE- t Me tod We
harems. Another girl, the daughter
of minister and myself, ran back
into the crowd to hide CURSE es. We
preferred death to the Turks.
Among the jandarma was Turk
a guest frequently at our house, who
had eaten our bread and salt. He
sought US out He told us that I'M
less we went with, the Turks, he
three, boys, my brothers-in-law, we
had dressed in women's clothes and
who was with US.
ITO save the boys, we agreed to
60 There were twenty of US all
under eighteen and the boys. The
were to become the wives of Turks
and embrace the Mohammedan re-
!ligion, but we went for the sake of
There they refused to let let the Boys Boys
go further. They were going to
shoot them, they said we begged
and Mon,d Plg 9sf a. The The captain said he
the, third would have to die or 90
back, he said. The Turk who had.
been our. friend in the past agreed
TO take him back. I consented to go
On, Out my eyes We're turned to the
rear.
Saw the Sword FAN
up a mountain trail we went l
looked bavk. At the rivers edge, L
saw the boy with his hands clasped
about the Turks waist. evidently
begging for life. l saw the Turks
saw my brother-in-law slain. l
screamed and fell from the horse.
"They put me back, and swore to
kill the other boys, too, if 1 did not
get quiet and go on with them.
There was nothing else to do. L
went.