THE ARMENIAN ATROCITIES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 110, 9 May 1895, Page 5

THE ARMENIAN ATROCITIES.

STORIES OF DIABOLICAL

OUTRAGES

■ •» • London, March 22. . The newspapers are filled with Cha most blood-curdling stories about alleged atrocities by the Turkish troops towards the Armenians. The following are fair samples of tfie horrors with which: the British public are regaled :—The " Daily Telegraph's " special commissioner in Armenia is still telegraphing; stories, so horrible that details are suppressed. Here are tho outlines of some of the outrages at Sas&oun, related by eye witnesses :— < -

"I knew Shaken, and witnessed her death. She, with 30 other women, had climbed upon the high rocks. She eaid, • We eb.aH be outraged if we live, let us therefore die.' She then threw herself down from the rocks. The others followed her example." Another woman, also named Shaken, snatched a sword and defended herself resolutely ; she, too, perished. . . ..•'•■

Another witness : "I saw n pregnant woman butchered, tho soldiers yelling-with laughter while the mother writhed on the ground. I aleo saw children lifted by the hair and their throats cut, the heads being flung on one side and the bodies on another. When-we fled to the oak scrub the mothers, fearing the tell-tale', cries of the children, gagged them. Many were smothered in this way. I saw one pretty girl marched along the lines of soldiers and ordered to choose her lover. She choose the ugliesb man, and pretending to whisper something she snatched his bayonet and killed herself."

According to another story, 50 of the prettieeb girls were kept for distribution among officers and Kurds. All -the others were put into the church and dishonoured for three days there by tho eoldier9, then butchered on the threshold, the blood flowing in streams.

The story of a woman named Anow:— " I was seized and taken to the Kurdish tents by Keikieu Emir, who gave me to his son. I was dishonoured and broughb to Diarbekir Plain. I whs told to deny bho faith. I pretended to do bo, because the Kurds told me stories of the terrible fate of tbe other women, and I had seen with my own eyes one thing thab made mo shiver. It was when we women were all before the Church of Ghellyegoozah. The soldiers caughb a young woman, and noticed that she could not walk quickly like us. They saw she was pregnanb. One soldier, laughing, said the child waa a boy, others said a girl. They then exclaimed, 'Let us see.' Then the women screamed, and- ran to us for protection, seizing our aprons, sleeves and hands. We.were all afraid to help her. A soldier palled her from vis, and as she stood, killed her. She fell to the ground." The witness related the particulars of the dreadful story. This woman escaped dressed as a man in Kurdish clothes.

Reuters Agency has received the following communication from a correspondent at Kara :—

, 'An Armenian refugee haa jusb arrived here after many dangers and privations since his escape from Snseoun. Ilia name is. Marto, lie is a shepherd, 20 years of age, and though belonging to a race naturally disposed to be taciturn to strangers, he spoke of the horrors of Sasaoun with such an angry light in his eye?, and all the time so simply and straightforwardly, that no listener could fail to be impressed by his narrative. I givo his words as they fell from his lips, after.l had told him I wished to know just what happened under his own eyes. He eaid : — "• My name is Marto. lam 'the; eon of Stepan. Our family is called Alelko. The name of our village, is Axhbi. In the district there were nlso the villages of Khtan, Hating and (Juebrash. .My village, Axhbi, corieisced of 70' houses. Now there remains not a ("ingle man, nob a single house. All is destroyed.; the people are all.killed save 3 families; My family consisted of 9 members. My father was the chief man in the village. There wero in all ,4 men in our family. My father was the mdafe courageous, and was at the; head of the fighting, By the order of tlie Vail Kei; madkan, Sassoun wna attacked by a very great number of Kurds. Tho Kurds assailed us like wolves, bub they could nob conquer iis.- It was nob only we mon who took part! in the fighting. All the women, even the old ones—my own mother, for example — tucked up their clothes, armed themselves with dagger?, and helped ua to fight the Kurds. Tho battle lasted 21 days ; we beab, and we were beaten. But we showed no sign of defeat or intention to retire from the battle. When we had succeeded in killing some of bho Kurds, Yali Pucha and Vali Kaimad,kan sent many regular troops. How many there were I do nob know ; perhaps 6000, perhaps 20,000; but one thing is very certain, there remained no place without eo:ne soldiers. Tliey placed cannon, and began to fire. We had never before heard of cannon, nor had we seen them. At their sound the women fainted, and the sheila spread everywhere terror, death and destruction. The troops showed no mercy to anybody—not oven to the children, not even to tho bid men. The (shells as theyburat mowed down all before them, as grass before- a scythe. We fled, and began to seek refuge in our rocks and caverns.; bub the cannon continued to sweep away everything—stores and men The flames and smoke of our burning homes reached us in our cavern*. Tho commanders of.the Hamadieh (irregular cavalry) pitched. their tents on some of tho heights, and with field glasses in their hands, they observed the sides of the mountains, and if they perceived near our destroyed houses or behind a stone the head of a man, they orrlerod the cavalry to go there, and the soldiery cub to pieces a!l they found there, without distinction of ago >r sex. The heads of the victims were brought as trophies to the commanders. Those of us who found refuge in carerns could leavo them only during tbe night, when tho men wenb with all kinds of pre-. cautions to get glgU a sort of wheat. " 'The Kurds committed terrible atrocities/ They found no" pleasure in killing grown men. They hunted for childre7>, throw them on the ground and plunged daggers into their bodies. After bhia they threw the bodies up in tho air, and turned the dagger in their bodies, then cost them ugainsta stone sayinc, " Had you grown up you would have fought; with us. Bettor go into hell" ' (djiakniiam). Then they trampled the bodies under foot. The Kurds hunted me to kill me, because they knew thab I was neither lazy nor sleopy in killing them. We decided, I and my two companions, to fly to Russia. We fled from Saseoun and reached the forest. Entering it, we heard a heavy aud heartrending sigh. Going to the spot from which (he eound proceeded, we found Miro, from Khtan, a'courageous Sassoun man, from whose mouth flowed blood. He was wounded in the breast. We took Miro and carried him secretly, bub when we reached the field where tho glgl grew, the Kurds saw ua and pursued. Then each of us gave a kiss to our dying compatriot, and fled. The Kurds took Miro, dragged him into a eheepfold, and set fire to ib ; all was consumed.

"My uncle was killed in the fighting. The obher members of our family took refuge in a cavern. The place was bo difficult to reach that we had to draw up the women and children one by one, by means of ropes. My comoanion Aveti had .five uncles, of whom Kha=o and Khacho were killed : in the family Kkro three men were killed, the uncle of Krpeh, Avo, was also "killed.". If yon wish,l can name one by one all the persons killed, and tell you how many cattle were driven away. After many daya of flight, we came

to the village of Iztz, and then to Edhu-. tape. We were six, and we all 'were strange clothing, We had coats of Moosh and hats of Mposh ; if we' had worn our Sa3soun .Aba (overcoat) and.,qur Sassoun hats, the Kurds would have recognised us, and we should havo been killed. , ■ .•.' .

Many persons "think'that these storie3 are pure inventions, and that the Armenians have all along been the aggressors. ,-■:.--