TURKISH ATROCITIES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 565, 21 July 1909, Page 7

TURKISH ATROCITIES.

[/ ~. ASIA MINOR: OUTBREAK. •: THIRTEEN PERSONS EXECUTED. . (By. Teleurapli.—Press Association.—Oopyrlirlit.) Constantinople, Julv 19. Thirteen more porsons have boeli hanged at Constantinople), including • Zeki Pasha, former Commandant of • tho Army Corps at Erzeroum. : '~. . A sheikh, two colonels, ,jjnd> some soldiers were also among, the thirteen! - THE WAY OF THE TURK. , During tho Reactionary coup in April, which coincided with the massaores. in Asia Minoi", there: was a mutiny of-.soldiers at; Erzeroum, who acclaimed the Sultan and threatened the' Constitutional .party. The following story; of the Adana massacres is told by an. Armenian doctor belonging to. Adana, who lost all- his property in the disordors, The story was written.by/him in' Constantinople.' y, 'After the first massacres at Adana there was >a quietness for about ten days.. As a part ; of the city was' saved, and as some' Armenian houses were not burnt, and plundered, people had begun to take care of each, other and treat ■ the wounded. 'April 25, though sunny, was the;darkest' day that ever blotted the pages of history. A service was being , held in tho Protestant' Church. . j

Gunshots in the, Stroets. During ' the prayer meeting which followed tho sermon, gunshots were heard in the streets. Men, women, and children, the sick,: old, and wounded, all began to run for dear life; but .wherever they, went they met the same , fate. Hundreds' Were'-shot f do\vm Bbfortf'lhs: could run into' the other street. Soon the flames and smoke began to go up in huge columns; the great, Armenian Schoolwas being burnt. There were 700 wounded in this building;-.'all' of'them were burnt alive, and those who could move and come out were shot down beforo tho door. The flames began from three different places in the Armenian quarters. The great/old Armenian Church, was;full-of people, and the flames took possession of it also.- The soldiers were more cruel ithan the flames, for as the crowd ran out to save, their lives those who came first served- to prepare a pavement with their bodies for thoso who came next. Those'who could get away by chance' ran to the. Jesuit building, and were packed as close as possible; but soon this building also was seized by flames, with, its -French flag and all. " - ;' '■-, - -..' ■'

A Human Shambles, .' : } '..'At this time an order- was issued that- tho people be allowed to ,go 'to the: Government centre; and thousands. of women; ohildren, men, sick, old, and wounded, were carried in rows between tho soldiers, who searched them one by one, and took-everything of, value that they had With them. The soldiers did not wait .to' take off the gold bracelots from the hands of women; that ,was too lopg an affair; tney simply cut'off the hands from the wrists and took the' bracelets. It was a scene of a- flock whose shepherd was killed—weeping, crying, . wailing, "some calling the names Of their dear ones, others searching .. for ; their\ fathers and children'; some, having lost all, walking as though dazed,.6ome.praying to God for mercy—the rich and the; poor,' young, and old—all'.equal.' . . ' I take, this story; from one who is by, me now, who carao yesterday from Adana, having lost brothers, ■ house, furniture, clothes, ana all. We dressed her, and she cries and crics, and tells the story which is to be told from generation' to generation. When these thou-, sands were carried to a garden near the Gov-: ernment plaoe, they were'left there: in the open -air on the ground for. two days and nights, hungry and naked; There wero yoimg ladies and girls who belonged to fainihes of great wealthj.. They had only' stockings on their feet, which got so .dirtv and wet that they were obliged to throw them away. Meanwhile, she says: "We seemed to be witnossing. the burning of Eome." -- .Alter, two days the people were allowed to go home, after cheering the Sultan (Hamid. II) ajad . shouting. "Padishahm ohoto Yasha'" (Long live my Sultan), and passing/under the sword of tho great conquerors, the Islams. But what home! Where? To the field of ashes. '..AH tho market,' all tho Armenian houses, were burnt down; not a cornor, liot a rag,-not a: piece of bread..

"1 walked over dead and mutilated bodies, and recognised many as thoso of our friends and .neighbours. I saw women without arms, without, legs. I saw smashed .heads; walked over them. We rail towards the station, and were taken into the cotton factories of Mr. Tripani, .the. dragoman of tho English Consul. There wete at. least 10-12,000 people'. ' The children wanted to lie down, from'weakness, fear,. and hunger, but there was no place. Pieces .of-, bread were thrown to us, and all rushed to snatch up some pieces. The wounded wailed for a drop of water.in.vain." \ Butchery In the Mountains.

"■ In up account of the slaughter at Kozolook, an Armenian Tillage in the mountains to the north of Tarsus, the following sentenoes. occur:— .■ i. \ v..' ■. Scenes of ninrdcr and outrage were enacted such' as the history of the world .has seldom if ever recorded. Kozolook was plundered, then reduced to ashes. Tlio fate that befell the young girls must be left untold." A bride of two months besought her young husband to kill her, which he did, and was almost immediately slain by. the savages. .- ■ Dor Saliak', the' good priest, of the village, with his son, a junior in the college (homo for the Easter holidays), witli fort.v-sqven other men aiid women, were killed by-the sword at 0110 spot, and their bodies burned; one woman, wounded and burned, managed to escapo, and is now here with us.: After; weeks of effort on the part of Dr. Christie, nearly all tlio survivors have at last been brought in from their hiding places in the Turkish • villages.. There nro about two hundred of these refugees, and they look more'like ghosts than men and women.

"It must be recorded for, the honour of human naturo that a fow of tho Turks in tlio villages did all they could to. protect the Christians; indeed, if this had not been the ease, not a survivor would hare reached us. I give hero the result of my effort for some weeks to get the statistics of the massacre at Kozolook. , Eight-one men were killed, nine, teen .women, arid thirty-eight children, a total of 138; fifty-five were burned after being killed or wounded. . Four women and five children wore brought in to us wounded; tlie.v will recover. There are' thirty-one widows, .102 orphans (50 boys, 62 girls).' Sixty-eight houses, two ohuroliM, and two sohoola wore pillaged md burned."