BULGAR MASSACRE.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 April 1916, Page 6

BULGAR MASSACRE.

INHUMAN OUTRAGE. DESERTER'S STORY. tG. AVard Price in London Daily Telegraph). Salonika, February ]. A good-looking fellow in a sinister sort of way— squarely built, with a swarthy face, black'moustache, alert, quick eyes, and big musculat hands—ho was a Bulgarian deserter who had called by appointment to see me; There ,vere many things lie related now that it would have been particularly interesting to have known that afternoon, when the" French, encircled on three side?, as a result of their determined attempt to push on to the rescue of the Serbians, were holding off the Bnlgar attack only by means of a vigorour riftV fire which, among the ''rockv walls of those precipitous hills, sounded like a full-dress infantry battle instead of an affair of one division on our side and of two on that of the enemy. R u t, clear as this Bulgarian corporal's story was of what happened from tin attackers' point of view, he had more vivid things to tell. One, which you could see had left so deep an impression on his mind that all the rest remained as a memory' of little interest, was the massacre of the Serbian prisoners at Prilep a few days before the fight for the C'erna bridges began. Tiia't massacre had taken place before his eyes, and, though the average Bulgarian is not by any means of a sentimental .type, his way of narrating it showed that'the giitn recollection was still strong upon him. "A few days before the-fighting round Drcnovo (for the Raissiec 'and Vozarci bridges) Began," he said, "250 men belonging to mv polk, or regiment, which is No. :>O, and consists )f men recruited from the Banks of the Danube, were sent to help pull the guns up into the mountains along the Babuna Pass." DIGGING THE GRAVE. "We were at work on this." he ,rcnt on, "wh,;n word came that Prilep was taken, so that there was "o need to go on with the march through the mountains, and the guns could be Drought' back to enter Prilep by road. We came down into the pass, and were- just approaching Prilep, being in view of the barracks in the plain outside the town, when we saw a working party of about forty men, with picks and shovels, approaching. We were halted at the time, and when they began to dig a big pit, which was clearly meant to be used as a grave, we asked them what so big" a grave was needed for. 'There are a few dead in the town,' they answered, and went on with their work. About 5 o'cloek in the afternoon, while we still waited for orders where .0 take our guns, we saw coming out of the' town towards us a long, straggling procession of Serbian soldier prisoners, about 300, surrounded by a strong escort of infantry. They were of all ages, some young boys of 15, some old men, bowed of back, with grey in their beards, hungrylooking, ragged, bearing the marks of their long fight in the pass. They shambled along, evidently without any idea as to «vhat their fate was to be, till they came close to where this newlydug pit lay open. There the command to halt was given, and they stood or sat, surrounded by their guards, for about an hour.

"At the end of that time another body of men could he seen coming out of the town. They were Bulgarian wivalry, about eighty of them, with a captain in command. At a deliberate walk- they came on towards the throng of prisoners and guards at the pit-side. A PITIABLE SIGHT. "The cavalry captain rode up to the miserable throng. 'Each man will bind the eyes of his neighbour,' he shouted in Serbian. They did so. Tt took a long' time, and was a pitiable sight. Some young boys were crying. Many of the men shouted defiance at the guards, who looked expectantly on, and at the cavalry, whose swords' were drawn ready for the butchery. They blindfolded each other with strips torn from their waistcloths, or whatever else they had. 'Xow kneel down,' came the harsh order, and one by one the victims crouched on the ground. The captain turned again to his troopers. 'Start work,' was the order he gave. The infantry guards, still keeping a circle to drive back any who might try to flee, drew ofl' a little to give more room, and, passing through the intervals of their line, the Bulgar cavalry rode in among the kneeling throng of prisoners at a canter. With yells of cruel delight I hey pushed to and fro. slashing and thrusting at the unarmed victims. Some of the Serbians tried to seize the dripping sabre blades in their hands. ' An arm slashed off at the shoulder wonM fall from their bodies. Others, tearing off the bandages that blindfolded them, attempted to unhorse the executioners, gripping them oy the boot to throw them out of the saddle. But even the 300, though 'brave, could do nothing agaisst eighty armed men. '

I "I could see the living trying to save themselves, crawling undei the little heaps of dead. Others rushed towards the line of infantry, surrounding them, ,as if to break through to safety, hut fJio foot soldiers, intoxicated by the sight of the deliberate bloodshed going 'on before their eyes, ran to meet them with their bayonets, and thrust tliein thiwgh and through again with savage cries. "We an. doing this in charity,' shouted ?ome of the Bulgarians. 'YVe have no bread to feed you, so if we snared you it would be to die of hunger.' The massacre went on for half an hour. At the end of that time there .vas little left to Kill, and the troopers were tired of cutting and thrusting. A few of them dismounted, and, sword in hand, walked here and there among the bleeding groups of dead, pricking them to see if any still lived. Some, though badly wounded, were still alive, but the Bulgarian cininin did not give time for them all oo t>e finished off, and at his orders the whole pile of murdered prisoners, whether breathing or extinct, were pushed by ihe infantry into the irrave. dug earlier in the afternoon, and earth shovelled at once on top of them. "All night after I could not sleep.'' said the deserter.