MARTYRDOM OF SERBIA

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 70, 15 December 1917, Page 10

MARTYRDOM OF SERBIA

MASSACRE AND TORTURE

A TERRIBLE INDICTMENT

[The following terrible indictment of the Touton-Bulgar enemy in Serbia should steel our determination to pursue to the end our purpose in bringing these vandals of .Europe to defeat and fitting punishment.] There recently came into the possession of the Serbian authorities a belated letter, written by a Serbian patriot who narrowly escaped hanging by the Bulgarians. He describes in some detail the insurrections in Serbia in April last, the fate which they met, and the unspeakable cruelties that were visited upon the insurrectionists by' the Bulgarians. His letter—the original is at present in the Serbian archives and can be seen at any time — is written with his own blood from his hiding place in the Serbian mountains, and is addressed to his friend, a Serbian captain serving with the Salonika forces. The captain fell into captivity not long after the receipt of the missive, but succeeded in smuggling it out by means ,of a Serbian sentry. The following extracts are from the letter in question:— Here I am in a mountain which is, actually, my sad residence. 1 escaped on April 25 from the Bulgarian prison where I was' incarcerated with twenty comrades after having been surrounded and captured in the revolt near . There were 25,000 of us insurgents, and we fought with a German division that defeated us and drove us to flight. Then we had been attacked by two Bulgarian divisions armed with cannon aril machine-guns. I was taken, put in prison, ind condemned to be hanged, but, during the night, my friend arrived with a band in Prokuplie, killed the sentinels and rescued me. In consequence I was able to reach tho mountain. There are more than 5000 of us insurgents. Nearly all of the other mountains are filled with insurgents. The Bulgarians had summoned all the male population between the ages of sixteen and sixty-five in order to incorporate them in the army and send them immediately to the front. At the same time they had gathered together all the young people between thirteen and sixteen, and sent them to Constantinople. It was this vandal process that provokerj the revolt. The unfortunate mothers, exasperated by the cries of their children as they were carried off by force, attacked the Bulgarians with stones. The Bulgarians replied with gibbets to which they hanged women and children. Finally the people, exhausted and revolting, threw themselves upon the Bulgarian tyrants. Men and women carried off arms and ammunition, first to Prokuplie, then to Leskovatz, 'Lebane, Vrania, Vlassotintze, Zayetchav, Rniajevatz, Pojarevatz, and the villages.

Cermans Defeated by Insurgonis. It was agreed that the insurgents of Zayetchar and its suburbs should inarch on Nish, that the rest of us, from Prokuplie, Leskovatz, and Vrania, should do the same, .and, reunited, should take possession of the city. Unfortunately those from Zayetchar wore late; we got ahead of them and had, alone, to withstand an attack from a German division. Wo beat them and captured two batteries and 800 soldiers. The battle took place near Gitoradja and Bosnik. Then we captured Lebane, Leskovatz, and Prokuplie, and afterwards attacked Nish, carrying the depots and half of tho city. jffieainvhilo two Bulgarian divisions arrived, and a bloody battle developed. Wo should have been able to defeat the Bulgarians, as wo had defeated the Germans, , if they had not used a cowardly strategy to prevent us from atacking them ; they forced the women and children to march in front of their ranks. "Unable to fire upon our own people, wo withdrew as far as Korvingrad, where a new battle began and where the Hungarians attacked iis from behind. AVe made an opening and took refuge in the mountains. Since J was almost dead from fatigue I was taken prisoner, and, with a dozen other insurgents, was condemned to bo hanged. While the gibbet wns_ being prepared we were incarcerated in the prison of Prokuplio, but one of our hands killed tho garrison, and rescued us. So here I am in the mountains of . It may be thai, when you read these lines I shall no longer be among the living, but the insurrection cannot be put down so easily, for. the Bulgarians nre proceeding systematically to exterminate our nation. On April 25 they placed aboard trains at Belotintze "8000 children between the ages of twelve and fifteen, bound for Constantinople. Many of tho children jumped from Hie cars along tbe way, and found death in that manner. The Bulgarians gathered the entire population for the purpose of vaccinating everyone. But, instead of injecting serum against cholera or smallpox, thevy inoculated them with contagous diseases. One of the doctors admitted this to those who had fled to the mountains with their children.

Official Hung by the Tongue, The Bulgarians have raised gibbets on the bridge of Leskovatz, at Belotintze, Vlassotintze,. Lebane, Nish, Kniajevatz, and at other places, nnd on them have hanged people, -women and children, compelling the others to help them in their terrible tortures. • A registrar of a municipality named Jordon was hung up at Easter by the tongue, and suffered atrocious agonies in consequence. I have neither time nor space to describe ray misfortune, but I can iell you briefly that if you do not come by the month of September it will not be worth while coming at all. It will be too late. The hanging of twelve Serbian soldiers captured on the Salonika front was a sad sight. Their sentence was read to them, including the words: ''Because you have abandoned your flag and your' Bulgarian brothersyou cannot longer be loyal Bulgarian subjects." So our soldiers who are fighting on the Salonika front should bo told that they had better kill themselves than allow themselves to bo captured, for these savages hang their prisoners of war after having tortured them. There, my dear , is a faint picture of all that is going on in our unfortunate Serbia. No power could ever stifle the Serbian insurrection,' which is spreading about the entire country. There are even among us Bulgarians who have fled from their own Army. Now, adieu, dear . I am certain that we shall never see each other again, but I am sure that this letter will sorvo to recall to you our life of other days, which we shall never relive together. Sorrowful days have come for our dear Serbia, and a dark future is ahead. My hand trembles and my heart beats more strongly as I listen to the weeping and the cries of our women and children in the forest. —Renter.