In judging of such acts as the intervention of Russia, we have no
standard but success, and the greater or less fitness of one of the
participants to rule; but from the point of view from which I must
look at it, the conduct of Russia seems to me as the most base, cruel,
and politically dishonorable which I have ever known, being, as it
was, practised on a wretched people, co-religionary, whose sufferings
had been extreme, and which, being offered a tangible and not
inconsiderable concession in return for its efforts, was only induced
to refuse it from faith in Russian promises of better things.
A'ali Pasha landed on the 4th of October, and on the 13th Captain
Murray reported to his Government: "The insurgents have thrown away a
golden opportunity in the advent of A'ali Pasha, for I believe, short
of annexation, they might have anything they asked for. Whether the
concessions would be temporary or not, is a matter of opinion; but his
mission has completely failed." This was clear to all, and in December
following, the highest Christian functionary of the Turkish Government
in the island said to me: "We have got to come to the principality
with a Christian prince, and that before it is too late to gain even
that--we have nothing to hope for from arms."
Yet in a desultory way fighting went on. Omar Pasha went home in
disgrace on the 11th of November, but left for his successor, Hussein
Avni, a plan for paralyzing the insurrection, by lines of block-houses
running across the island and cutting it into three principal parts,
each of which was then to be subdued in turn. But if the Cretans had
been weakened by the withdrawal of the most of the volunteers, the
Turks were enfeebled by sickness and extreme dejection, and the war was
languidly carried on, the Turks maintaining themselves within their
fortified lines and now and then making a sortie on some bold party
of insurgents, the principal affair of the winter being an attack on
Zurba, on the 13th of December, which was, like all the previous ones
on the village, repulsed with disaster. And under such auspices--the
insurrection, less disputed on its ground than at any previous period,
holding posts within sight of Canéa; the hospitals of the island filled
with sick troops (at and about Canéa alone were an average of 3,000
in the hospital, with unexampled mortality from hospital gangrene and
fevers, and the funerals ranging from ten to twenty per day); supplies
very low, and the troops only paid three months' pay for the last
twenty--the year 1867 went out and the third year of the insurrection
came in. And all through the spring and summer this state of things
continued, neither the Government nor the insurrection capable of
making the feeble effort necessary to extinguish the forces of the
other. We in the Turkish lines suffered almost as much as if we were
in a besieged town, for supplies from the interior were cut off, and
they came not by sea; meat was very dear and poor, vegetables rare and
sometimes unattainable, so that I was shut up in my house for three
months with a scorbutic malady. What the unfavored must have suffered
may be conceived. Despondency and gloom were dominant in all official
circles. Building of block-houses went on slowly, but there were not
troops enough left in the island to garrison all that were planned,
while on the other hand the Hellenic Government gave only assistance
enough to keep the insurgents from surrendering, and the Greeks from
revolution, which would have been the most probable result of the
open abandonment of the insurrection. In August of this year, I had
unmistakable proof of the reality of the insurrection, having witnessed
a skirmish between Zurba and Lakus, and narrowly escaped being taken
prisoner near Theriso, with some of my colleagues and several officers
of the men-of-war in port, Mr. Dickson and a portion of our excursion
party having been actually captured by Hadji Mikhalis' forces within an
hour's walk of Canéa.
This season brought no change in the military position, there being
a gradual weakening of the army until only about 5,000 regulars were
disposable for field operation, and a total of less than 17,000 were
reported to me by Turkish officers as the effective remaining from 82
battalions of Turkish troops, which with 22,000 Egyptians were the
regular forces employed since the commencement of the insurrection, and
of which only 10,000 of the latter had been since sent home otherwise
than as sick or wounded.
In September of 1868 I left Crete under medical orders, and with the
impression, generally felt in Crete, that the Hellenic Government
was about abandoning the insurrection. On arriving at Athens, where
I determined to wait the result, I found the Cretan committee so
far convinced of the bad faith of the Bulgaris government that they
meditated resignation _en masse_ as an appeal to the people, and to
discharge themselves of all responsibility for the impending collapse
of the revolt. The Minister of Foreign Affairs soon after waited on
me at my house to beg me to use my influence with the committee to
persuade them to hold on, assuring me in the most earnest manner that
the Government had no intention of withdrawing its support from the
Cretans, and that it intended organizing an expedition on a most
effective scale to reassure and reanimate the movement; and that it had
the intention of directing this organization officially to ensure its
efficiency.
Meanwhile the Provisional Government of the island had made an earnest
appeal to Coroneos to return and assume the command-in-chief of the
insurrection, and he had prepared a plan by which he was confident of
keeping up the war through another winter by a judicious employment of
Cretan forces. His plan was accepted by the committee, but, on being
laid before the Government, was rejected under the pretence that the
sum demanded (£10,000) was beyond its means, and it proceeded without
reference to the committee to organize at more than double the expense
an expedition under the old Mainote palikari, Petropoulaki, in so open
and undisguised a manner that, with most other friends of the Cretans,
I was convinced that it was meant to give Turkey an opportunity to
_brusquer les choses_ by (what Greece had hitherto avoided) _open_
violation of international law.
Every subsequent movement of the Government confirmed me in this
opinion. The bands paraded the streets openly with the Cretan flag;
were furnished with artillery from the national arsenal; and embarked
in two detachments for Crete, unmolested by any of the Turkish ships,
though all the world knew when and where they were going; on landing
they sent back the artillery, and not only made no offensive movement,
but did not even defend themselves; the smaller detachment being cut
to pieces in a few days, the other, fleeing in disorder to the plain
of Askyfó, made overtures at once for surrender, carrying with them
in their defection most of the Cretans of the western provinces.
There still remained in the eastern provinces a strong nucleus of
insurrection undismayed even by this apparent disaster, and capable of
rallying 5,000 men. In compliance, however, with what has always seemed
to me a preconcerted plan between the Porte and Bulgaris, Hobart Pasha,
the new English commander of the Turkish fleet, waylaid the _Ennosis_
blockade-runner in Greek waters on her return from Crete, and pursued
her into the port of Syra, where he blockaded her with the whole
squadron, leaving the coast of Crete utterly unguarded, though there
were still three good steamers at the disposal of the committee. But
in the new excitement of this patent outrage on international law the
Bulgaris government found its opportunity to withdraw all support from
Crete, and, while public opinion was diverted to the not slight chances
of war with Turkey, further supplies to the insurrection were cut off
and it collapsed almost without notice.
In all this shaping of events there was no disguising the control of
the Russian Government. The insurrection became a menace to bring on
the Eastern question, for which Russia was not yet ready, and which
she could not permit to be brought on under Hellenic auspices. The
moment could not have been more auspiciously chosen for Greece to carry
on a war with the Ottoman empire, and public opinion in Greece was
unanimous in favor of this emergency rather than abandoning Crete, be
the risks and event what they might. The Turkish army was already fully
occupied--a further levy of troops would have been perilous, and Joseph
Karam waited at Athens the signal to arouse the Lebanon. The Greeks
had little money, but the Turks had comparatively less, for their army
and navy had not been paid, were discouraged and mutinous, and the
treasury was empty. Egypt was hostile, the Principalities ready to
revolt. My own opinion then was, and is still, that if Greece had gone
to war she had a reasonable chance of victory--not without disasters
or great sacrifices, but her history has shown that she is capable of
enduring both the one and the other; and if Russia had been friendly
to her in this crisis, success would have been _most_ probable. The
Bulgaris administration, its object gained in the suppression of the
insurrection, was in its turn overthrown by the popular indignation
at the discovered trick, but when the diplomatic flurry had passed,
and tranquillity had returned to the Ægean, we had only to see drift
over to the shores of their kindred land the débris of one of the best
justified and best deserving revolts against misgoverning tyranny which
modern history has recorded. All was quiet in Crete.
THE YEAR AFTER THE WAR.
The last year of the war I had left Crete on a leave of absence of two
months, which was extended indefinitely by Mr. Washburn, then Secretary
of State, on account of the health of my family; but in April my wife,
broken by the hardships of our Cretan life and sick-bed watching; and
dejected greatly by the loss of a cause in which she had the most
passionate sympathy, and by the misery of the unhappy Cretans around
us, became insane and ended her life.
Simultaneously, Mr. Fish, now become Secretary of State, removed me
from the consulate at the request of the Turkish Government, and in
June I went to Crete to hand over the consular effects to my successor,
and, on the petition of the Cretan chiefs still remaining in Athens, to
obtain, if possible, some mitigation of the measures which prevented
them from repatriating themselves. I found the island as I had left it,
in peace indeed, but the peace of destruction and paralysis. Roads were
being made, and block-houses being constructed, but no houses being
rebuilt, and the roads were all military. The new Governor-General
seemed amiable, just, and good-willed, but in Turkish disorganization
the best will does not go far. The subordinates of the local
administration were the spies, the traitors, and "loyal" people of the
war, with rancors to vent and revenges to take. There was nothing to
rob the people of, but there remained prisons and persecutions.
I found, naturally enough, all my efforts with the Governor useless,
and that the condition of things made return unsafe for any one who
had taken a prominent part in the war; and so, despairing of finding
any opening, I was about to return to Athens without awaiting my
successor, but before going decided to make that visit to Omalos and
Samaria which the insurrection had stopped and the state of hostilities
ever since had rendered impracticable from the Turkish posts.
Even when peace had been restored and not a recusant fugitive remained
in the mountain hiding-places, the local authorities could with
difficulty reconcile themselves to the idea of my going there; and it
was only after the failure of several petty intrigues to prevent my
getting away, that they determined to pass to the other extreme and do
handsomely what they could not avoid doing. I set out in the dawn of
a July day with an officer of the mounted police, a chosen and trusty
man, with one private of the same force and my own cavass. The private
rode a hundred yards ahead _en vidette_ against any attack on the
official dignity by unknowing peasant or unheeding patrol or straggler
of the faithful, and discharged his duty on the road to my complete
satisfaction, no countermarching troops daring to hold the narrow
way to the detriment of the consular dignity. The lawlessness of the
Turkish administration in Crete has kept alive, more than in most of
the Christian provinces of the Ottoman Empire, the power of and respect
for foreign officials. Just as much as the unjust Governor dreads the
inspecting eye and the exposing blue-book, so much the Rayah hopes from
them, and honors the Effendi as the Turk curses the Ghiaour; and so in
Crete the extreme of official deference is kept up, corresponding to
the degree of official oppression hitherto obtaining.
So, when my _avant-courrier_ announced to the awkward squad of
Anatolian infantry, ragged, sullen, that the "Consolos Bey" demanded
the road, a savage frown of unwelcome gleamed through the disciplinary
respect; while the shouting, chattering groups of Christian peasants
ambling along on the mules and donkeys, with their little loads of
fowls or oil for the market at Canéa, were generally arrested by the
summons of the guard, and drew up respectfully at the roadside, the
most respectful dismounting until I had passed.
The road for ten or twelve miles runs westward over a level plain, the
ancient bed of the Iardanos, by whose banks we know, from Homer, that
the Cydonians dwelt. The fact that the Iardanos (now called Platanos,
from the immense plane-trees growing on its banks) now empties into the
sea ten miles from Canéa, has puzzled geographers to reconcile Cydonia
with Canéa; but, on arriving at the point where the river debouches
into and cuts across the plain, it will be seen that the new channel to
the sea has been cut through the hills by the action of the river, and
that the ancient course was evidently eastward through the still marshy
plain into the bay of Suda, passing close to the position of Canéa.
The roads in Crete are marked with historical associations of all
ages, as the Appian Way with recollections of the great dead. The
town that we pass, near the mouth of the Platanos, was the ancient
Pergamos, whither Lycurgus, to evade the possibility of his laws
being revoked, banished himself, where he died, and was buried. The
town which we enter as we cross the Platanos at the ford is Alikianu,
the scene of that atrocious and perfidious massacre of which I have
told the story. It is a town of half ruinedd villas--some, of the
Venetian days--buried in orange-trees, and so surrounded with olive
groves that but little of it can be seen from the river. The road we
must follow only skirts it, following the river, until it rises on a
ridge of mountains, zigzag and undulating, up to Lakus. The Lakiotes
are accounted among the bravest of the Cretans; and though military
science, flank movements, and artillery made their town untenable in
the late insurrection, it is still a formidable position. The village
itself lies along under the summit ridge of the chain of hills which
form a buttress to the Asprovouna, stretching north, with steep
approaches from every side. It used to be a prosperous village, one
of the largest in the island, but now its straggling houses were in
ruins, two or three only having the roofs replaced, others having only
a canopy of boughs laid over one end of the space enclosed by the
blackened walls, enough to keep the dews off while the inhabitants
slept, for rain never falls here through the summer months. All bespoke
utter exhaustion and extreme poverty. The jaded, listless look of the
people, the demoralization of war and exile, most of them having been
of the refugees in Greece, the ravage and misery of all surroundings,
made a picture which never has passed from my memory.
In the first capture by Mustapha Pasha, Lakus was taken by surprise
and a flank movement of the Turkish irregulars, the Lakiotes having
only time to secure their most valuable and portable goods and bury
the church-bell, retiring up the mountain slopes beyond, firing a few
shots of defiance as they went. When A'ali Pasha arrived in Crete, he
ordered the reconstruction of the church of Lakus, demolished by the
Turks at the capture of the village, and the primates were ordered to
find the bell. Declining to know its whereabouts, they were thrown into
prison, to lie until they did, a few days of which treatment produced
the desired effect, and the bell was hung over the reconstructed
church. That afternoon notes of compulsory joy sounded from the belfry,
and the insurgents from the ridge of Zourba opposite came down to the
brink of the ravine to ask who had betrayed the bell. Their submitted
townsmen replied by an avowal of the _modus operandi_ of getting at
the required knowledge; and the "patriots" replied, "Ring away. We
will come and ring it to-night." And agreeably to promise, a band of
insurgents came across the ravine at midnight, carried off the bell,
and, hanging it on a tree near Zourba, rang the night out. The Turkish
guard, which occupied the block-house in the village, scarcely thought
it worth while to risk the defence of the bell, if indeed they knew of
its danger.
At Lakus I had made my plans to breakfast and pass the noon-heat,
but I had reckoned without my hosts, for, on "pitching my tent" and
sending out my cavass to find a lamb to roast, I found evidence of the
inroads of civilization--I could not get one for less than three pounds
sterling--about fifteen times the usual price, and a sure attempt at
swindle based on my supposed necessities. Fortunately my escort had
amply provided themselves, and we had bread and cheese, caviar and
coffee, to stay our appetites until we should reach Omalos, where
were a garrison and an army butcher. So I ate my modicum of what they
gave me, smoked my cigarette, and tried to doze, while the chattering
villagers, holding themselves aloof in reminiscent dread of the Moslem,
mingled their hum with that of the bees from the hives near us. My
"tent" was an ancient mulberry-tree above, and a Persian carpet
beneath; and, though I tried to sleep away the time, I did nothing
but listen to the story my cavass, Hadji Houssein, was telling his
companions of the adventure we had had the year before in the valley
below, and which, lest he have not given the true version, I will tell
as it happened.
In the bottom of the valley at our feet lies the village of Meskla,
built along the banks of the Platanos, where it is a pure, cold,
rushing mountain brook, of which, in any other part of the world,
the eddies would have been alive with trout, but in which now there
are only, as in all other Cretan rivers, eels. A party of official
personages in Canéa, including her Britannic Majesty's consul, myself,
the American ditto, with the captain and officers of the English and
French gunboats on the station, and an English colonel in the Turkish
army, had made a picnic party to Meskla, in August of the last year of
the war. The Turkish troops held Lakus and Omalos and the western bank
of the Platanos down to the plain; but the insurgents still remained
in possession of all the northern spurs of the Asprovouna, from Lakus
east for twenty miles, including Zourba; and, while we drank toasts
and ate our roast-lamb under the plane-trees by the river, a perpetual
peppering of rifles was going on from the hill-tops on each side of the
valley above. Was it fighting, or was it fun? I began to climb one of
the nearest spurs on the Turkish side of the ravine to see, and, not
to be suspected of both sides, took my way to the picket of Turkish
irregulars, which, sheltered by a group of trees on the summit, was
firing across the valley in a desultory way. As I showed myself in
one of the windings of the path to the patriots at Zourba, I saw the
smoke-puff of a rifle on the edge of a ravine, and the ball glanced
along the rocks within three feet, spattering the lead over me in a
most convincing way. I naturally made a flank movement, which shortly
degenerated into the retrograde of a satisfied curiosity.
The incident had a side interest to the whole party, for it showed us
that the road we proposed to take might be dangerous, the more as we
had a Turkish officer and his two attendants in uniform in our company.
We had purposed following the river up still higher, and then crossing
the ridge to Theriso.
Consulting one of the submitted Meskliotes, who waited his chance for
the _débris_ of the picnic, we were informed that it would be very
far from safe to follow our proposed route, which was exposed in its
whole line to the chance of shots from the main mountain ridge; but
he offered to guide us by a road running along the side of the ridge
furthest from the insurgents, and where he could warn any outposts of
them that we were coming. This road was a fair sample of those which
existed in Crete before the war, a mere bridle-path scratched in the
slope of a huge landslide, which rose above us two or three hundred
feet, and descended three or four times that distance into the bed of
the Platanos. Part of it was too dizzy and dangerous to ride, and we
led our beasts hesitating and hobbling along. We were soon amongst
the outposts of the insurgents, as we had unmistakable evidence on
arriving at Theriso, where we found a detachment of a dozen or more
rough, motley-looking fellows, armed with all kinds of guns, and clad
in all ways except well. They looked askance at our fez-wearing colonel
and his two cavalrymen, but from respect for the consular presences
respected _their_ persons. We drank with them at the spring, exchanged
identifications, and pursued our way down the celebrated ravine, the
scene of two terrible disasters to the Turkish army during different
insurrections. Nothing can be more uncomfortable, in a military point
of view, than one of these Cretan ravines. Cut in the limestone rock
by the glacier torrents of ages, zigzag in their courses, and shut
between abrupt ridges, with no road but an unsatisfactory bridle-path,
the troop which is incautious enough to enter without crowning the
heights on each side as it advances is certain to be hemmed in, and to
be severely treated by a comparatively small foe or exterminated by a
large one.
We had delayed too long, and, as we entered the most precipitous
portion of the ravine, the red sunlight on the eastern cliffs told us
that the sun, long shut from direct view, was sinking; and in our haste
we missed the way, and fell into a vineyard-path, out of any line of
travel. Immediately we heard voices hailing us from the hill-tops, to
which we paid no attention, thinking them the cries of shepherd-boys,
and continued until we found ourselves in a maze of vineyards, and
the path and sun gone at the same instant. Now the hailing began with
bullets. The uniforms of our Turkish escort demanded explanation, and
as our guides had left us at Theriso we were helpless. To go back and
explain was to be a better mark, and to march ahead, anywhere, was
our only chance. Unfortunately, Hadji, who carried my hunting rifle,
considered it his military duty to return the fire, and in a few
moments, other pickets coming in, we had about forty sharpshooters
popping away at us in the twilight. Our further passage was shut by
an abrupt hillside, along which we must make a movement by the flank
toward the road we had lost, and directly across the line of fire.
The sound of the bullets suggested getting to cover, and as all path
had now disappeared we dismounted and led our beasts at random, no
one knowing where we were going or should go, and only aiming to turn
the point of the ridge above us, to get out of the fire, which was
increasing, and the pinging of Enfield bullets over our heads was a
wonderful inducer of celerity. It was a veritable _sauve qui peut_.
I saw men of war ducking and dodging at every flash and whistle in a
way that indicated small faith in the doctrine of chances, according
to which a thousand shots must be fired for one to hit. We found, at
length, where the ridge broke down, a maze of huge rocks, affording
shelter, but beyond was a deep declivity, down which in the dark we
could see nothing; further on again was the river, along which the road
led. We could hear the shouts and occasional shots of a detachment
running down the road to intercept us, and another coming along the
ridge above us. My mule was dead-beat, and could scarcely put one
leg before another, and few others were better off. A short council
showed two minds in the party--one to lie still to be taken, with the
chance of a shot first; the other to push on for the road before the
insurgents reached it. The only danger of any moment was to Colonel
Borthwick and his Turks, who would be prizes of war, and to me the
chance of a fever from lying out all night. The majority, nine, voted
with me to go on, and, abandoning mules and horses, we plunged, without
measuring our steps, down the slope, falling, slipping, tripping over
rocks, in bogs, through overtopping swamp-grass, bushes (for the
hillside was a bed of springs), pushing to strike the road before the
insurgents should head us off, so as to be able to choose our moment
for parleying. I knew if I could get there first, saving the chance,
that all would be well; if a rash boy of fourteen saw me first, I might
be stopped by a bullet before any explanation would avail.
Tired, muddy, reeking with perspiration, bruised on the stones,
exhausted with haste and trepidation, we won the race, and halted
behind a little roadside chapel to gather the state of things. Above,
we heard voices of a colloquy, and knew that the remainder of the party
were in safe custody, and our road was quiet. A short walk brought
us to the outpost of the Turkish army, a village garrisoned by a
couple of companies of regulars and a few Albanians. The commandant,
a major, was outranked by Borthwick, who ordered him at once to send
out a detachment to rescue Consul Dickson and his companions. The poor
major protested and remonstrated, but in vain. "It was dangerous,"
he said; but the colonel insisted, he ordered out a detachment, and
then called for pipes and coffee, after which, under a heavy escort,
we started for Canéa. Borthwick obtained a battalion of the regulars
in garrison, and started next morning at early dawn to rescue our
friends; but no persuasion could induce the Turkish commander to enter
the ravines. He posted his troops along the overlooking ridge and
waited in ambush. I have it on Borthwick's word that, while the troops
were lying concealed, under orders to keep the most profound silence,
a hare started up at the end of the line, and the Turkish commander
instantly ordered the first company to their feet, and to make ready,
and was about to give the order to fire when a hound of the battalion
anticipated the volley by catching the poor beast and despatching him
on the spot.
Meanwhile, Dickson and his companions were in the hospitable hands of
a party of Hadji Michali's men, and at about eight A.M. came down
the road into view of the ambush, escorted by a guard of honor of
insurgents, none the worse for their adventure, and bringing back our
beasts and baggage; but nothing would induce the Turkish officer to go
the mile separating him from the insurgent outpost which had fired on
us.
While Hadji told his story to his admiring companions (he was an
excellent _raconteur_, and put the whole of his barbaric soul into the
narration, though his respect for the Effendi kept his voice low and
quieted a little his camp manner), one or the other of the three made
my cigarettes and brought me fire, and only when the sun began to sink
from the meridian did we move on.
As we passed the blockhouse, I found that the General-in-Chief had
preceded me, and given orders that the honors due to a consular
personage--the same as those paid to a superior officer in their own
army--should be carefully observed, and so we had the whole garrison
of each blockhouse on the way out at the "Present arms!" The road
not only zigzags going from Lakus to the plain of Omalos, but makes
such ascents and descents as well accounted for the fruitlessness of
so many attempts to enter the plain, which is a sort of portico to
Samaria. But now a fair artillery road followed the ridges up to the
very plain, and blockhouses covered with their fire every point where
an ambush could be made, and those little glens, famous in Cretan
tradition for extermination of Turkish detachments, will never again
help native heroism against organized conquest. We passed, in one of
the wildest gorges through which the road passes, a blockhouse perched
high on a hill-top like an eyrie, a peripatetic atom on the parapet
of which caught my eye, as a wild goat might have done amongst the
cliffs around. As we came into sight, looking again, I saw the garrison
swarming down the hillside amongst the rocks like ants, wondered what
they were at, and rode on, when at another turn the officer said, "They
salute, Effendi!" I looked around, and, only on his indication, saw
drawn up in rank, hundreds of feet above me, a line of animalcules,
which, by good eyesight, I could perceive was the whole garrison
presenting arms, and they so continued presenting until, after turn
upon turn of the road, they disappeared from view definitively, when I
suppose they swarmed back to their fastness.
We passed through the ravine of Phokes, where Hadji Michali once caught
a small detachment which incautiously attempted to penetrate to Omalos.
I had heard the story of the fight, told at the time by an Albanian who
was in it, in a brief but graphic way. The Christians waited invisible,
he said, till the troops were in the bottom of the ravine, and then
began to fire from many directions. The troops stopped, made a show
of resistance, and then broke and made for the blockhouse at Lakus;
"and those who couldn't run well never got there," he interjected
laconically. He frankly admitted that he was so far in advance that
he saw very little actual fighting, and made no halt, nor did any
others, Mussulman or Christian, till they arrived at the door of the
blockhouse, which he was surprised at their shutting in time to keep
out the Christians.
It was well into the afternoon when we entered the plain of Omalos,
evidently a filled-up crater, its level about five thousand feet above
the sea. The snows and rains of winter and spring flood it, and as no
stream runs from it the waters disappear by a Katavothron--a gloomy
Acherontic recess--into whose crooked recesses the eye cannot pierce,
and down whose depths is heard a perpetual cavernous roaring of water.
In the plain was no vestige of human habitation visible, except the
tents of a battalion of regulars, and a two-story blockhouse on a
spur of hill which projected into the plain. We rode into the camp,
and were received with emphasis by the Pasha, who, with true Eastern
diplomacy, expressed unbounded, surprise at my visit, "so entirely
unexpected;" and, learning the result of my attempts at feeding in
Lakus, called to the mess-boy to bring me the remains of the breakfast,
apologizing abundantly, and informing me that I should be expected to
dine with him and the commander of the post at eight. The residual
breakfast, supplemented by a plate of kibaubs, the mutton-chop of the
East, despatched; the ceremonial pipes and coffee finished, and the
more than usually complimentary speeches said, the shadows meanwhile
falling longer on the plain; I accepted the Pasha's offer of a fresh
horse, and rode across to the famous descent into the glen of Samaria,
the Xyloscala, so-called from a zigzag colossal staircase made with
fir-trunks, and formerly the only means of descent into the glen. There
was a detachment of troops building a blockhouse to command the upper
part of the glen, and the commander kept me salaaming, coffee-taking,
etc., until I saw that the sunlight was getting too red to give me time
to explore the ravine, and I contented myself with a look from the
brink down into the blue depths.
I doubt if, in the range of habitual travel, there is another such
scene. It was as if the mountains had gaped to their very bases. In
front of me were bare stony peaks 7,000 to 8,000 feet high, whose
precipitous slopes plunged down unbrokenly, the pines venturing to
show themselves in increasing number as the slope ascended, and ended
in a narrow gorge. At the side, the rock rose like the aiguilles
of Chamouny, cloven and guttered, with the snow still lying in its
clefts, and broad fields of it on the opposite eastern peaks. I looked
down through the pines and cedars that clung in the crevices of the
rocks below me, and the bottom of the glen looked blue and faint in
their interstices. The Xyloscala, destroyed by the insurgents at the
beginning of the insurrection, was replaced by a laborious zigzag road,
which sidled off under crags, and came back along slopes, blasted out
of rock, and buttressed up with pines, seeming to me, where I stood, as
if it finally launched off into mid-air, and would only help another
Dædalus into the mystery of the labyrinth of pines and rock gorges
below.
As I watched, the flame of the sunlight crept up the peaks across the
glen, the purple-blue shadow following it up, changing the snow-fields
from rosy to blue, and the peaks of pale-gray rock to russet, as the
day died away. The chill of night reminded me to put my overcoat on. We
rode back across the plain in the twilight, accompanied by the building
gang, whose polyglot murmur was as cheerful and full of mirth as though
they were peasants going home from the vintage.
Nothing can surpass the good-humor and patience of the Turkish soldier.
Brutal and barbarous they doubtless were when their fanaticism and the
rage of battle united to excite them, but in camp and in peace I have
found them always models of the purely physical man.
Our dinner was luxurious, and in the true Eastern manner. The Pasha,
the Bey commanding the place, and his aide-de-camp made four with me,
and one dish, placed in the middle of the table, served our fingers
or spoons according as the viand was dressed, each one of the four
scrupulously adhering to his quadrant of the copper circle. The dinner
was almost interminable; it was dark and cold when the end did come.
The soldiers, gathered round their camp some half a mile away, had
eaten their suppers and were at ease, the shouting of their merriment
coming to us occasionally above the general hum. Presently we saw them
taking fir-branches, and, each lighting one at the nearest campfire,
come running to us at full speed, making a long madcap procession of
torch-bearers, the pitchy fir giving out an immense flame; and, making
for the headquarters, followed by the battalion band playing, they
threw their branches in a pile on a level space before the Pasha's
tent, and then, turning to the right and left, sat down in a semicircle
open towards us. A detachment was told off to keep up the fire, and a
sort of glee club, accompanied by rude instruments, drums beaten by the
hand, and a kind of flute and mandolin, commenced singing at the top of
their voices the plaintive monotonous songs which all who have been in
the East know.
This was the overture to a terpsichorean and dramatic entertainment
most unique and amusing. The programme opened with a dance of Zebeques,
the barbarous race who occupy the country behind Smyrna. They are
wrapped in a sash from the armpits to the hips, with a sort of baggy
knee-breeches, and bearing long knives thrust crosswise through their
sashes. They formed a circle, and began a movement which seemed like a
dance of men in armor, half stage-stride and half hop. The music struck
up an appropriate air, and the dancers, joining in the song, circled
slowly two or three times in the same staid and deliberate manner,
then, drawing their knives, brandished them in time, quickening their
pace, and hurrying around quicker and quicker as the song grew more
excited, when they finally came to a climax of fury, rushing in on
each other at the centre of the circle as if to cut each other down.
But the raised knives were arrested by the opposing empty hands; and,
the paroxysm passed, the song died down to its lower tone and moderate
time, and the dance began a new movement, each dancer thrusting his
knife into the ground at the centre, and then repeated the quickening
circles; this time, rushing, at the climax, on their knives and drawing
them from the earth, they threw themselves on an imaginary enemy
outside the circle, and, having hypothetically demolished him, returned
to their gyrations, varying the finale by lifting one of the company
into the air on their hands, and dropping him simultaneously with their
voices. This lasted half an hour.
After an intermission, in which the soldiers, unawed by the presence of
the Pasha, laughed and joked and shouted to their content, a soldier
entered the circle dressed as an Egyptian dancing woman. He was one
of the tallest men in the regiment, capitally travestied, and all who
have seen the dance of the Almah can imagine the bursts of laughter
with which his grave, precise imitation of one of them was received
by the circle. I have never seen anything more exquisitely ludicrous.
His figure seemed lithe as a willow-wand, and he twisted and bent,
and bowed and doubled, with the peculiar expression of physique which
seemed impossible to any other than the slender Egyptian girl.
Roars of applause followed this performance, and the next was a
pantomime--"The Honey-Stealers." Two men enter dressed as peasants, one
carrying a gun on his back, and begin groping about as in the dark, run
against each other, stumble and fall, and finally, by much listening,
find a box, which had been placed to represent the hive. The thief lays
down his gun to be more free in his motions, and a soldier runs into
the circle and carries it off. Enter presently a third honey-seeker,
blacked to represent a negro or some diabolical personage, it was
impossible to say which, and, stumbling on the other two, an affray
ensues, in the course of which the bees get disturbed, and come out
in swarms, the luckless black getting the lion's share of the stings.
At this moment an alarm is given, and the gunner misses his gun, upon
which he falls on the black as the thief, and between the stings and
the blows the intruder expires, the play ending with the efforts of
the two living to carry out and dispose of the one dead, interfered
with greatly by a spasmodic life remaining in the members, which
refuse to lie as they are put. But this finally subsiding, the body is
satisfactorily disposed of, and the pantomime gives way, amid the most
uproarious laughter and applause, to a Circassian dance. The dancers
were few, and the dance tame, and, not meeting any appreciation, gave
way to a repetition of the Zebeque saltations, of which they seemed
never disposed to tire.
The entertainment lasted till eleven o'clock, when, each soldier taking
a branch of fir, the actors and audience raced off like a demoniac
festival breaking up, the band following with a blare of trumpets and
bang of drums, and we were left to our dignity and the dying embers
of the theatre fire. Although in July, the night was so intensely
cold that, sharing the Pasha's tent, and with all the covering he
could spare me, in addition to my own Persian carpet over instead of
under me, I was almost too cold to sleep, and the morning found me
well disposed to put my blood in motion by vigorous exercise. Coffee
served, we rode over to the Xyloscala, and, after more coffee-and-pipe
compliments, we began the descent of the new zigzag road. It was so
steep that no loaded beast could mount it, and it took me two hours'
walk to get to the bottom, where the road straightens and follows the
river, here a dancing, gurgling stream, rushing amongst boulders and
over ridges, under overhanging pines, as though there were no tropics
and the land had not had rain for two months. The whole gorge was
filled with the balsamic odors of firs and pine, which covered the
slopes wherever the rock would give them place; and above that, bare
splintery cliffs overhung the gorge, so that it seemed that a stone
would fall three thousand feet if thrown from the summit. A few Turkish
soldiers, lazily felling or trimming pines for the blockhouses, were
the only signs of humanity we saw. Above, in the pines, we heard the
partridge's note, as the mother called to her young brood to follow
her. The gorge widened to a glen; the slopes receded slightly, and
then, after another hour of walking, we came to a sharp turn in its
course, where the high mountains walled up the glen to the east with a
sheer slope of five or six thousand feet from the peaks to the brook
bed, and the rocks on each side shut in like the lintels of a doorway.
Here is the little village of Samaria, so long the refuge of the women
and children of this section of Crete, and where, so long as arms and
food lasted, a few resolute men might have defended them against all
comers. I doubt if in the known world there is such another fortress.
No artillery could crown those heights, no athletes descend the slopes;
while the only access from below is through the river-bed, in one place
only ten feet wide, and above which the cliffs rise perpendicularly
over a thousand feet; the strata in some places matching each other, so
that it seems to have been a cloven gorge--the yawn of some earthquake,
which suggested closing again at a future day--and for two hours down
from the glen there is no escaping from the river course, except by
goat-paths, and these such as no goat would care needlessly to travel.
Pashley has described the village of Samaria, and its magnificent
cypresses and little chapel, as they are now. No destruction, no
sacrilege, has entered there; and perhaps this is the only church in
Crete, outside the Turkish lines of permanent occupation, which has not
been desecrated. The roof of the chapel is made of tiles, which must
date from the early Byzantine Empire.
The river below here, the St. Roumeli, is a rapid perennial stream,
which at times of flood shuts off all travel by the road. Lower down
is a tiny village of the same name as the river, in a gorge into which
only an hour's sunlight can enter during the day--damp, chilly, and
aguish--the residence of a half-dozen families of goat-herds. Pashley
identifies a site near the mouth of the river as that of Tarrha, the
scene of Apollo's loves with Acacallis, who, if bred in this glen, must
have been of that icy temperament which should have best suited the
professional flirt of Olympus.
To travellers who care to visit Samaria, I would give the hint to leave
their horses at Omalos, and have a boat to meet them at the mouth of
the St. Roumeli, as the ascent is long and painful, even by the new
road, which, since I saw it the torrents may have demolished. They may
thus visit the Port Phœnix of St. Paul, which lies a few miles to the
eastward, and landing at Suia, west of St. Roumeli, have their horses
come down by the pass of Krustogherako, and so return by way of St.
Irene--a very wild pass of the Selinos mountains--to Canéa.
We had made no such provision, and so we were obliged to toil back in
the intense heat of the July sun beating down into the gorge, and,
arriving past noon, to be refreshed by sherbet and coffee by the
hospitable commander of the station at Xyloscala, the snow of the
sherbet being brought from the opposite cliff two hundred yards away,
but an hour's climb to get to it. The commander was a more intelligent
man than it is usual for Turkish officers to be, and he related how
during the insurrection he had led a detachment round to the top of the
opposing cliffs, and how when they got there they were like the twenty
thousand men of the King of France, and had to come back by the way
they went.
However, they have now a blockhouse at the Xyloscala, another at
Samaria in sight and signalling of it, and a third at St. Roumeli, so
that, for the future, there need be no doubt as to who holds the Heart
of Crete.
The night's discomforts had been too great to allow me to spend another
in Omalos, so, after a slight detour to look at the immense wild
pear-trees which grow on the plains, we rode directly back to Canéa,
accompanied by the Pasha. Meeting the priest of Lakus by the way, I
gave the village a vicarious berating for having in such an ungrateful
manner refused hospitality to a man who had been their advocate and
friend so long, and whom they had obliged to go back to their enemies
and his for a dinner. He seemed much ashamed, and the day after I
received a profound apology from the primates pleading ignorance of my
personality.
I improved the acquaintance with the Pasha (Mehmet Ali, "the Prussian,"
so-called from his race, though he was brought up from boyhood as a
Mussulman), whom I found more intelligent and liberal than any Turkish
official I had met with, except A'ali and Server Effendi, to introduce
the condition of the chiefs of the insurrection remaining in exile,
many of them old and worn out, afflicted with the nostalgia which
mountain people know so well, and ready to submit unreservedly to the
government. A nominal amnesty had been granted, relieving all from
any political prosecution, but not from the civil suits for damages,
etc., which might be brought against the chiefs who had taken sheep or
cattle or destroyed any property. Two or three of the chiefs who had
returned had already been thrown into prison on suits of this kind, and
as the complainants were always adherents of the government through
the war, and all the minor officials were of that class whose loyalty
had been beyond question from the beginning, a civil suit had pretty
much the same color as a political persecution. This state of things
effectually prevented the return of any of the prominent personages of
the insurrection, who, living in exile, were reasons of the strongest
against the restoration of tranquillity, and made a convenient
appliance for agitation and renewed strife on any disturbance of the
political atmosphere of Europe.
My only interest was the restoration of the island to such peace as was
possible, and this Mehmet Ali comprehended, and, throwing aside all
hostility, he entered into the discussion of the positions, and on a
subsequent interview begged me to go to Constantinople and place the
matter before A'ali Pasha, to whom he gave me a letter of introduction.
I accordingly went to Constantinople, and was received in the kindest
and most considerate manner by the Grand Vizier, to whom I stated at
length my ideas of the difficulties of the pacification, and at his
request made a memoir of all the facts and motives involved, with a
description of the class of men to whom was entrusted the carrying out
of the measures by which the Porte had hoped to conciliate the Cretans,
embittered political and religious adversaries, full of wrath at the
losses and indignities they had suffered, and more anxious to avenge
their own wrongs than to secure the true interest of the Porte. He
begged me to wait until he could send to Crete and obtain a report on
my memoir, and, as he found on its receipt that my assertion was just,
he promised to correct the abuses of administration, and proposed to me
to go to Crete to superintend the carrying out of the measures which
seemed necessary to restore the confidence of the late insurgents,
pledging himself to accord complete immunity to any individuals whom
I should designate as possessing my confidence, and offering me a
stipend more than sufficient for all my needs in the service. I knew
that so long as he was Grand Vizier I could depend on the fulfilment
of these promises, but, in the event of any change of administration,
the understanding between us would fail as between his successor and
myself. I demanded, therefore, a comprehensive measure securing all
the insurgents from civil suits on account of acts of war committed
during the insurrection, as a condition of my acceptance of the
official position thus created for me. This the Grand Vizier declared
the government could not grant without assuming all the personal
liabilities thus discharged, which he was not willing to recommend, and
so, after several interviews and thorough discussion, I was obliged to
decline the offer made me, much to my regret, for the islanders had
ever a place in my regard, which, with the interest of common suffering
and loss, the years of advocacy of rights kept back and redress denied,
and perhaps the personal attachment I had found for me and mine in so
many of them, disposed me to make any effort in my making to secure
their good. But to engage my faith and influence with them on such
uncertain grounds as the continuance in power of a Grand Vizier, or the
maintenance of harmony between myself and the local administration, was
too great a risk for a prudent man, unwilling to engage others in a
position from which he might not have the power to extricate them.
It was with such a pain as the waiting of my own sentence of exile
would have given me that I went to meet the old captains on my return
to Athens, and told them that there was no hope of their repatriation
through my efforts at least. I never shall forget the silent despair
in the face of old Costa Belondaki, tall and straight under his
seventy-odd years, white-haired, and meagre, but alert as a man of
forty, as he turned from me when he got his sentence. As with his
elder compatriots, the mountain nostalgia fevered him and the idle
exile broke his spirit, but I could give him no hope that in his day
European civilization or Turkish administration would be wise enough
to economize his devotion to his country, and make use of rather than
crush the spirit which makes Crete rebellious while its government is
criminal.
APPENDIX.
[Translation.]
PETITION FROM THE LATE CRETAN GREEK ASSEMBLY TO THE SULTAN.
TO HIS IMPERIAL AUGUST MAJESTY, OUR SOVEREIGN ABDUL AZIZ KHAN.
MAJESTY: We, the humble undersigned, having been specially delegated
by the whole Christian population of Crete to avail ourselves of the
benevolent and philanthropic intentions which the Imperial Government
have at all times evinced towards this island, now take the liberty to
lay at the feet of your Imperial Majesty the following humble prayer,
in the hope that the same may be favorably acceded to:
1. And in the first place, we humbly pray to be relieved from the
exorbitant duties levied on all articles of food since the year 1858 up
to this day. Contrary to the concessions made to us, verbally and in
writing, not only have the duties in question been increased, but new
ones have been added, namely, the duties on salt, tobacco, snuff, wine,
and spirits, on land rents, porterage, on sales of real and personal
property, on sales of animals in general, on weighing, on stamps (which
last are particularly heavy), those on dyeing, on sales of fish and
meat, etc., and, finally, various others which are onerous and unjust.
We are, moreover, able to prove by statistical accounts that within
the last two years we have paid what, with duties and taxes, would
exceed the amount of our incomes. Above all things, then, the system
of taxation requires imperial solicitude, like unto the care a father
would bestow on his dutiful children. The mode of levying duties also
requires reform.
The system of farming in operation is not only vexatious and
perplexing to the population, but is also baneful to the Imperial
Government, inasmuch as the farmers, being bound in sureties, one for
the other, at the time of the sale of the articles by public auction
incur greater responsibility than they are able to meet when their
obligations become due. Hence they oppress the taxpayer by fraudulently
exacting more than they ought, while, on the other hand, they often
quit the island secretly, thus both damaging their sureties and
entailing loss on the public treasury.
The unequal system of levying the taxes in all the provinces of the
island, which is contrary to the spirit of the Tanzimat published by
the Imperial Government, and which latter secures equal rights to
all your Imperial Majesty's subjects indiscriminately, also requires
amending.
We humbly pray your Imperial Majesty that the district of Sfakia,
hitherto exempt from taxation owing to the barrenness and sterility of
its soil, may continue to enjoy the same privilege.
2. We humbly submit, for the consideration of your Imperial Majesty,
the utter want of means of communication throughout the interior of the
island, and the absence of bridges, whereby the conveying of produce
from one part to another is materially impeded, and many persons are
annually drowned in the rivers.
3. We humbly venture to submit to your Imperial Majesty that the
concessions granted to us by your illustrious predecessor in 1858,
through the medium of the distinguished delegates sent hither, be put
into execution.
It is true that we possess a Demogerondia, Councils, and Heads of
Communities ("Ephoria"), but when we are called upon to exercise the
right of election, our charter, which to all appearances exists,
becomes in fact a dead letter. We venture to suggest that the last
Regulation, which refers to the mode of electing the members of the
Demogerondia and Councils, is defective, and therefore requires
modification.
4. We beseech your Imperial Majesty graciously to consider the evils
to which we are subject in consequence of the possessors of oil stores
assuming to be money-lenders, but who are, indeed, monopolists, thus
selling the produce of the island at half its value.
As it frequently happens that the crops fail, we are compelled to pay
double the price, having under pressure already effected the sale of
such produce.
We trust, therefore, that this system be abolished, and a bank duly
established, for which latter the Hatti-Humayoun duly provides in its
29th paragraph.
5. We venture to submit to the paternal solicitude of your Imperial
Majesty the deplorable condition of the local tribunals. Unprovided
as these are with a general code, the form of procedure observed
therein is necessarily irregular. In corroboration of this allegation,
we assert that many have been persecuted, while no redress has been
granted to those who have so suffered. We are enabled to enumerate
various abuses which have occurred in every province. Hence, every
branch of these law-courts requires amendment, so that on a sentence
being awarded no undue favor shall be shown to the stronger party, or
the creed of the individual be made to serve as a bias, as happened
to some of the inhabitants of Kritza, Lasithe, and others. In that
affair the Khaniollis family, having at one time held the produce
of "malikianeh" or the tithes, presumed to consider themselves sole
proprietors of that privilege, and went so far as to take possession
of half of the property of Kritza, and nearly the whole of that of
Lasithe, and some other. In consequence of such a proceeding, the
inhabitants of the last-quoted village incurred considerable expense
in the defence of their rights, and otherwise suffered grievously.
Examples of this kind are not wanting in the Provinces of Retimo and
Canéa.
Moreover, the sentences of the local tribunals used formerly to be
drawn up in Turkish and Greek; but nowadays, although the vernacular
be modern Greek throughout the island, no judicial award, or any
other official document, must be written out in Greek, but merely in
Turkish; a fact at once perplexing to both parties at suit, as also to
the judicial and other administrative offices.
We consequently entreat of your Imperial Majesty that the use of the
modern Greek and Turkish languages be freely permitted to all classes.
At the Mekhemeh the testimony of a Christian is held invalid against
that of a Mohammedan. This is contrary to the letter and spirit of
the Hatti-Humayoun, which removes all legal disabilities from the
non-Mussulman subjects of your Imperial Majesty.
6. From your Imperial Majesty we look forward with hope and confidence
to obtain our personal liberties. At present, this depends entirely
upon the discretion of the Honorable Governors and officers charged
with the Imperial Government. A simple pretext is sufficient to cause
the imprisonment of the most respectable man, and without sentence
being awarded to him he may be detained there for an indefinite period.
7. We humbly request the attention of your Imperial Majesty to the want
of schools in the villages belonging to the three provinces, and we
pray that any teacher, irrespective of his nationality, be allowed to
exercise his profession in the provinces as well as in the towns, and
that the hospitals may be properly looked after.
8. Another drawback which impedes the prosperity of our island is the
closing of the numerous ports with which Nature has so bountifully
supplied it; and while in all countries of the world commerce has
been materially developed by the reduction of duties, we are obliged,
after long journeys, and after being exposed to the inclemency of the
seasons, to convey our produce to one of the three principal fortresses
of the island. The opening, therefore, of all the ports for the free
importation and exportation of produce and general merchandise would
greatly contribute to our well-being.
9. The liberty of worship, in virtue of the provisions of the
Hatti-Humayoun, exists only by name in Crete, since, on a Greek
becoming Mussulman, he is allowed to remain in the island, and inherit
property; whereas if a Turk be converted to Christianity, he must
forthwith quit the island, and forfeit all his rights.
10. Majesty! Similar griefs we, two years ago, took the liberty of
submitting to the clemency of your Imperial Majesty, when were added
such disproportionate duties and taxes on food, and when the privileges
conceded to us in 1858 were violated; but unfortunately, and contrary
to every hope, we were not listened to, and although even to-day we may
have been obliged from higher motives to assemble, in order to give
utterance to our grievances, we hope that for such reason we shall not
be considered disturbers of the public peace, such imputation the local
Governor-General, in his Excellency's proclamation of the 28th of April
last, having ascribed to us.
On the other hand, perceiving as we do warlike preparations, while our
gathering has altogether been a peaceful one, and presuming that the
same has been misrepresented to the Imperial Government, we entreat of
your Imperial Majesty a general pardon for all those who may have taken
part in the present popular movement.
With a view to an impartial investigation of all the above-stated
grievances on the part of your Imperial Majesty's faithful subjects in
this island, we venture to submit that an upright person be sent hither
for the purpose.
We beg leave to express a hope that your Imperial Majesty may take pity
on this poor people, who suffers so unjustly, and who implores that its
prayer may be soon transmitted to your Imperial Majesty.
From this day we raise our voices for the long life and happiness
of your Imperial Majesty, and we shall never cease to hope for an
improvement in our condition under the powerful ægis of the Imperial
Government.
CANEA, May 14 (26), 1866.
The most obedient and humble subjects representing
the Christian population of Crete.
(Here follow signatures.)
[Translation.]
TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN.
MADAM: The undersigned representatives of the Province of the Island
of Candia venture to place the present petition at the feet of your
Majesty, addressing at the same time a similar one to the sovereigns of
the two other protecting powers of the Hellenes.
The inhabitants of Candia, having taken an active part with the whole
Greek race in the bloody war of independence, which, begun in 1821,
has continued through many years, succeeded, at great sacrifice, in
making themselves masters of the island and of Grambousse, one of its
principal fortresses.
Consequently, they hoped that, enjoying the same rights as their
brethren of the Continent of Greece, their efforts would have been
crowned by the consecration of their independence, but the three Great
Powers in their wisdom decided otherwise. The Cretans, heartbroken,
submitted to this decision, and since then have dragged on their
existence, at one time under the sovereignty of the Pasha of Egypt, at
another under that of his Majesty the Sultan.
In recommending to us to submit to this decision of Europe, the
President of Greece, the late Count Capodistria, who was greatly
interested in us, led us to hope that this great misfortune would
be of short duration, and that in a short while our wishes would be
fulfilled. On the other hand, we received solemn promises that we
should be governed in a kindly manner.
Thirty-five years have elapsed since then, and during this long period
our existence has not ceased to be exposed to every kind of oppressive
injustice and misfortune. Not a traveller has visited our beautiful but
unfortunate country without being touched by our sufferings.
We pay enormous taxes, which are increased each year, without
enjoying any of the advantages which all nations receive in return for
such taxation. Justice is a thing unheard of. We have no tribunals
worthy of that name; nor have we any laws. Our government depends on
the arbitrary will of the representative of the Sublime Porte. Our
children, from want of public instruction, wallow in ignorance; the
few schools we have are maintained at our own small means. The clergy
are even paid by us. We are not admitted into the public service. We
have no roads or bridges. Our evidence is of no avail against that of
a Mussulman. The excesses committed by the Turks are rarely punished.
We have never experienced any of the advantages enjoyed by the poorest
subjects of civilized nations. We are the slaves of another race.
The population of this unfortunate country, being unable to bend
itself to this state of things, has several times since 1830 found
itself forced in its despair to have recourse to arms to recover its
rights. At this present time it has again risen, and in abstaining
from all acts of violence, it peaceably asks for justice from his
Majesty the Sultan, the reduction of taxes, and an improvement in the
administration. And if we, the most prudent, had not restrained its
impetuosity, the population would have flown to arms, to engage in its
despair in an unequal and sanguinary contest.
Madam, one of the reasons of state policy which led the great Powers to
replace us under the dominion of Turkey, was no doubt the amount of the
Mussulman population in our island, which was considered higher than
that of the Christian population.
But now the Turks compose but one-fourth of the whole population,
which amounts to 300,000 souls. It is unjust that the most numerous
should suffer on account of the lesser number, whereas if we were
under a Christian government our Turkish brethren would enjoy the same
happiness and the same advantages as ourselves.
Moreover, in order to keep the country in subjection, Turkey is obliged
to keep up an army and a fleet, and to spend enormous sums of money,
without its being of much service to her, whereas Crete, if united to
Greece, would confer great advantages on the whole Greek race, and
would be able to embark on a system of civilization. If the creation
of an Hellenic kingdom has for its object the regeneration of this
people, Crete, which is purely Hellenic country, would become one of
its foundation stones.
Madam, long experience has proved that, from the manner in which our
island is governed, all improvement and all advancement are impossible
for this wretched country.
We consequently entreat your Majesty and their Majesties the Sovereigns
of the two other Protecting Powers of the Greek nation, to deign to
excuse our one wish, viz., union with our brethren of Greece.
It is only under this condition that we can be happy, and contribute to
the advancement of our race.
Should that, however, be impossible at present, we beg your Majesty,
in your infinite goodness, to endeavor to obtain for us a political
organization, under which there may be laws and regular tribunals,
less grievous and better imposed taxes, by which the morality of the
people may become possible, that at least one part of the revenues
of the country should be expended on its improvement, and generally
that our just grievances may be redressed by a Christian and paternal
administration.
This is what, in imploring the magnanimous interposition of your
Majesty, we venture to ask of the powerful monarchs of the three Great
Powers.
We sign ourselves, etc.
The Deputies of the Section of Canéa, Heraclim,
Rethymne, etc.
CANEA, May 15, 1866.
[Translation.]
OFFICIAL INSTRUCTION TO THE GOVERNOR OF THE ISLAND OF CRETE, DATED 2
REBI-UL-EVEL, 1283 (JULY 15, 1866).
Your Excellency's despatches, with their enclosures, forwarded through
Kadri Bey on his return from an official mission to Crete, have
arrived, and his report on the state of affairs, as witnessed by him in
that island, has been thoroughly understood.
It was hoped and expected that the non-Mussulman inhabitants, who had
assembled together in several districts of the province, would have
listened to the benignant and paternal exhortations of the Imperial
Government; that they would have broken up these assemblies, and,
showing obedience and submission to authority, have returned to their
own homes. And the reluctance of the Porte up to the present moment
to inflict the punishment due to their offences has been based upon
this expectation. But it appears, on the contrary, that although these
persons have made a show of breaking up their meetings, yet they
have not abandoned their religious proceedings; and it is evident
that at the present time they are still continuing in the course of
excitement and commotion. Now, according to the sense of the petitions
which have reached the Porte on the part of these persons, both at
the commencement of the affair and subsequently, the object of these
assemblies was to obtain the abolition of certain duties on such
articles as tobacco, snuff, salt, and stamps; the facilitating of
the means of communication in the island; reform in the election of
the Medjliss or Demogerondia; the prevention of the evil practice
of wearing arms; the formation of schools, hospitals, and such like
institutions.
But besides all these things, they have got certain ideas into their
heads, to which they also now give expression.
Now, from first to last, as is most manifest and natural, the
principal wish of the Imperial Government is to secure the tranquillity
and welfare of all classes of its subjects; and the inhabitants of
Crete especially, and in many instances, have been the object of
concessions and peculiar favor; above all, in the matter of the
property tax ("virgu"), the sheep tax, and such like imposts which are
levied in all other parts of the Ottoman dominions, the inhabitants
of this island have alone been exempted. And up to the present day
the Porte has never entertained the idea of depriving them of this
indulgence. But the inhabitants of Crete now put forward a claim for
the abolition of taxes which belong to a different category. For, as
every one knows, the Porte some years ago, solely with the view of
increasing the exports from its dominions, and in order to encourage
and facilitate commercial enterprise, agreed to the abolition of the
tax of 12 per cent. on exports to foreign countries; and owing to the
tax being diminished at the rate of 1 per cent. annually, it will
be reduced in the course of a few years to only 1 per cent. for a
permanence.
In consequence of this measure, the loss to the Imperial treasury
amounts to more than 300,000 purses a year.[L] The abolition of
this tax on exports being of immense benefit to the people of this
empire, in order in some slight degree to compensate for the loss thus
entailed, certain new taxes of universal application to all parts of
the country were imposed; and as the people of the Island of Crete are
amongst those most benefited by the abolition of the duty on exports,
it is only just and natural that they should pay their share of the
new imposts which were intended to make up the loss to the treasury.
For, whilst the inhabitants of other places have had 50,000 purses
added to their property tax ("verghi"), in consequence of no such tax
existing in Crete, no part in the payment of this augmentation falls
to their lot. Crete, then, enjoying as she does this exceptional
favor and advantage, cannot with right and justice pretend to be
exempted from the imposts mentioned above. As regards the matter of
the construction of roads, bridges, hospitals, etc., it is true that
such wishes are amongst the requirements of the age, and the Porte is
exceedingly anxious for the carrying out of such useful projects. It
is clear, moreover, that all countries and governments stand in need
of improvements of this kind. But their execution can only be effected
by degrees, and according to convenience and opportunities. If the
inhabitants of Crete required such public works and improvements,
then it behooved them to make application to the Government at
Constantinople, and in a manner consistent with their allegiance. But
the essentially illegal and irregular demand for the abolition of
taxes, the mixing up with this demand of other matters which might
possibly be conceded, and their proceedings in assembling together for
the promotion of these objects, can only be regarded by intelligent
persons as acts of rebellion which cannot be tolerated, and they have
now incurred the extreme reprobation of the Imperial Government.
[L] A purse is 500 piastres.
In short, from the misconduct of this people up to the present time
in declining to listen to advice, in imputing probably to erroneous
motives the gracious clemency of his Imperial Majesty, who has hitherto
delayed to visit their offences with punishment, and in preferring
to follow the suggestions of seditious intrigues rather than the
tranquillity and welfare of their families, it has become manifest that
they will not be guided by prudential motives. Henceforth, then, the
Imperial Government is compelled to perform its duty. A military force
will at once be despatched to a convenient locality, and in the first
instance the orders and resolutions of the Porte will once more be made
known to the inhabitants of Crete, viz., that in obedience to orders
the assemblies should disperse, and each individual return to his own
home and ordinary occupation, under the protection of the Sultan;
and, if they have any demands to prefer, let them make them in a wise
and decorous manner to the Government. But if they continue in the
course explained above, this will be regarded as a grave offence by the
Government, and they will be dispersed by force and visited with severe
chastisement. Let them understand this and take warning. Let them break
up their assemblies, and give assurances and obligations in writing to
the effect that they will no more act in contravention of the principle
of submission to authority.
If after this they immediately return to their homes and occupations,
well and good. But if, on the contrary, they persist in their
misconduct, the troops will be sent against them, and the ringleaders
of the sedition will be arrested and imprisoned in the Sultan's
fortresses, while the rest of the people will be dispersed by force;
and, in the event of their presuming to have recourse to arms, they
will meet with reprisals in kind and be severely chastised. Should
these persons dare to resist to arms, it will also be necessary to
disarm them.
Your Excellency is instructed to execute the measures necessary in
accordance with what is stated above.
[Translation.]
REPLY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE CRETANS TO THE ANSWER OF THE
GRAND VIZIER TO THEIR PETITION.
TO HIS HIGHNESS THE GRAND VIZIER:
YOUR HIGHNESS: We, the Undersigned, the Representatives of the
Christian population of the Island of Crete, received yesterday
(July 19), after a delay of three months, the answer of the Imperial
Government to the humble petition we addressed to His Majesty the
Sultan, which answer has been transmitted to us through his Excellency
the Governor-General of Candia.
It is with great pain that we remark the silence kept in this answer
in regard to the chief complaints in our petition--that is to say, on
what concerns the tribunals, freedom of worship, personal liberty, the
municipal elections, the use of the Greek language, etc.
It is also with pain and astonishment that we have learnt by this
answer that not only we have no right to complain of direct and
indirect taxes which weigh so heavily upon us, but that we are in a
privileged position, in so far as regards other subjects of the empire,
in reference to the direct taxes--viz., the one under the denomination
of "verghi" and that on sheep.
Highness, we take the liberty to again call your kind attention to the
following points:
First. It is all the Christians of Candia, and not some, as it pleases
your Highness to say, who think that they cannot in any way be compared
to other subjects of the Porte in what concerns the taxes since the
period when, by the advice and under the guarantee of the great
Christian Powers, the Cretans submitted themselves to the Sublime
Porte; and it is notorious that since that period up to a few years ago
they have not paid other taxes, direct or indirect, beyond tithes and
the military tax, in conformity with the law and decrees. It is true
that the duties on exportation diminish gradually from one per cent.,
as is stated in the answer of the Porte. Nevertheless, in a country
like Crete, where there is no industry, the import duties, which still
remain the same, neutralize the advantages arising out of the lowering
of the export duties. Such being the case, we not only do not enjoy the
benefits which your Highness is pleased to mention, but we are still
crushed by the exorbitant taxes, which are far above our means, as is
evident from the financial report of the last two years, during which
time we have paid almost as much in taxes as the amount of our incomes,
without enjoying in return any material advantage.
Secondly. In what concerns roads, schools, and hospitals, we do not
doubt the benevolent intentions of His Majesty; but the unfortunate
inhabitants of Candia see with sorrow that the execution of these
generous intentions is indefinitely postponed, notwithstanding the
oft-repeated promises of the Sublime Porte.
Thirdly. It is, nevertheless, our sacred duty to protest openly
against the reproach addressed to us by your Highness, namely, that
we had not made known our complaints to the Imperial Government in a
respectful manner; that we had mixed up claims altogether inadmissible
with those which might be entertained; and that we had held meetings
and made demonstrations which could not be considered otherwise than
treasonable by all conscientious and impartial persons. To these
reproaches we take the liberty to reply respectfully that in a country
like Crete, where there is no press or parliament, and that experience
has shown that, whenever and in whatever manner the Christians have
sought to obtain justice from the Sublime Porte, their mouths have
been shut by intimidation and by low intrigues, we had no other means
of bringing our grievances to the knowledge of our Sovereign, and of
acquainting him with the real state of the country, beyond a recourse
to a peaceable meeting without arms. It is also our bounden duty--we
think so, at least--to repeat here that all the Christians in Candia,
without exception, took part in this manifestation, and not merely some
of the inhabitants, as was said by the Governor-General, and which is
believed by your Highness.
It would be absurd, your Highness, almost childish, to assume that the
Representatives of the Christian population of Candia have obeyed or
obey the suggestions of foreigners, and that the Central Committee is
exciting the people and acting in a seditious spirit. Such allegations
are only put forward by those impostors and wicked men who, whether
Mohammedans or Christians, are imbued with the most hostile feelings
towards the Imperial Government and towards the Candiotes, and are only
interested in imposing upon the goodness of our gracious Sovereign. It
is notorious that the demonstration of the Candiote people is quite
spontaneous, and that the assemblage of Cretans, far from compromising
public tranquillity, was to upset the projects of such wicked people
who seek for any pretext for calumny.
Finally, we, the undersigned, the Representatives of the Candiote
people, not considering ourselves as rebels, cannot answer for the
future by solemn declarations ("senets") in the name of a people which
has only confided to us expressly and in writing a limited authority,
namely, to forward its petition and to receive the answer which may be
returned thereto.
It is this answer alone which we have in consequence bound ourselves to
bring to the knowledge of the people, with the fullest confidence in
the promises of the Imperial Government, which has declared that the
persons fulfilling this sacred duty need not fear the threats made to
them. It is for your Highness to arrive at such a decision as may be
dictated by a sense of justice and conscientious feeling.
Done at Prosnero, July 20, 1866.
We have, etc.,
The Members of the Central Committee.
(Here follow the signatures.)
TRANSLATION OF AN ADDRESS TO THE EUROPEAN CONSULS OF THE CHRISTIAN
DEPUTIES, ASSEMBLED UNDER THE NAME OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF CRETANS,
SITTING AT PROSNERO, CANTON OF APOCORONA.
MM. LES CONSULS: The Representatives of the Christian people of the
Isle of Crete, respectfully undersigned, assembled under the title of
the Assembly General of the Cretans, feel it our imperative duty to
call you to bear witness to the violence which obliges us, in spite of
our wishes to the contrary, to take up arms by right of lawful defence.
Greeks by origin and by tongue, having taken part in the struggle
borne by our brothers in 1821 for our national independence, but yet
not having profited by the advantages of that war, our only object
in assembling here is to claim the enjoyment of the rights which
were guaranteed to us by the three Protecting Powers by Treaties and
Protocols, and of those which His Imperial Majesty the Sultan deigned
spontaneously to decree to us by a Hatti-Humayoun.
But the Governor-General, changing the meaning and the point of our
humble petition, by which we claimed pacifically, and without resorting
to arms, the execution of written promises, after leaving us for three
months in a state of uncertainty, finally incited the Porte to return
an unfavorable and menacing answer, and, opposing violence to right, he
appeared before us in arms.
Calling the Representatives of the protecting and guaranteeing Powers
to bear witness to this, we take up arms for our defence and safety,
and we make the Turkish Government responsible before the civilized
world for all the consequences of the struggle which is about to break
out.
Done at Prosneron, July 20-21, 1866.
The humble Representatives of the Christian
People of the Isle of Crete.
(Here follow the signatures of 46 Deputies.)
[Extract.]
LORD LYONS TO LORD STANLEY.--(Received September 7.)
CONSTANTINOPLE, August 28, 1866.
I had, on the 25th instant, the honor to receive your Lordship's
despatches respecting the affairs of Crete, of the 13th instant.
Yesterday, in obedience to your Lordship's instructions, I informed
A'ali Pasha that Her Majesty's Government strongly advise the Porte to
deal with the Cretans with the utmost forbearance and in a conciliatory
spirit, to redress any grievances of which they may have cause to
complain, to relieve them from any exceptional treatment which bears
hard upon them, and generally to study to reconcile them to the
Sultan's Government. I added, that Her Majesty's Government conceive
that in the present state of the Continent of Europe, it would be
a great misfortune to Turkey if any question were to arise which
should excite the sympathies of Europe in favor of the resistance of
Christian subjects of the Sultan to the Ottoman Government, and that
it is manifestly most important to the interests of the Porte that the
Provincial authorities should be enjoined to act justly and in a kindly
spirit towards the Christians.
A'ali Pasha said that he entirely concurred in the views of Her
Majesty's Government. He told me that it had been definitively settled
that Mustapha Kiritli Pasha should be sent to Crete with large powers;
that this measure would show the Cretans that their petition had been
seriously taken into consideration by the Sultan; and that he had
reason to hope that order would very soon be restored.
I said that I hoped that Mustapha Pasha's powers were not merely
conferred with a view to quelling the present resistance of the
Christian Cretans, but that they were to be exerted for the purpose of
removing causes of complaint and placing matters in the island on a
footing likely to be permanently satisfactory.
A'ali Pasha said that Mustapha Pasha would be empowered to take into
consideration all reasonable complaints, which were brought before him
in a loyal and dutiful spirit, but, of course, he would not listen
to men unlawfully assembled in defiance of the Government, and would
repress revolt and treasonable attempts to change the relation of the
island to the Porte. On being further pressed by me, A'ali Pasha said
that no Christian blood had been shed; that he was confident none would
be shed; and that it was the earnest desire of the Porte to avoid, if
possible, a collision between the troops and the Christians. He added
that he was convinced that the movement was due to foreign instigation,
and that, if that instigation ceased, it would rapidly subside.
INDEX.
A'ali Pasha arrives in Crete, 143, 148;
rebuilds church at Lakus, 157
_Abdou_, 128
Abdul Aziz, Sultan, accession, 36;
rage over Crete, 111
Abdul Medjid, Sultan, deceased, 36
Afendallos, a Moreote chieftain, 30
_Agios Basilios_, 126, 131, 135
_Agios Roumeli_, 133
_Alikianu_, plain of, 88, 107;
town, 156
Ali Riza Pasha, movement against Omalos, 105;
rescued, 106;
beaten at Topolia, 120
_Amari_, 106, 135
American Secretary of Legation at Constantinople, 116;
intrigue against Consul Stillman, 118
_Anopolis_, 132, 133
_Apokorona_ district, 54, 58;
Egyptians surrender, 66;
movement against, 74, 89
_Aradena_, 133
"Arethusa" man-of-war, 61
_Arkadi_, convent of, 83;
bombardment of, 84;
butchery at, 86;
effect on European opinion, 90
"Arkadi," blockade-runner, 114
_Asfendu_, 132
_Askyphó_(Askyfó), 71, 82, 102, 132
Assembly at Murnies (1833), 33;
at Nerokouro (1858), 35, (1864), 36;
at Omalo, gathers April 12, 1865, moves to Boutzounaria and
Nerokouro, 41;
games at Boutzounaria, 42;
sends a deputation of captains with a petition to the Porte,
refuses to adjourn when ordered by Ismael Pasha, 43;
insists on a promise of immunity, dissolution urged by all friendly
consuls, 47;
decided by Parthenius Kelaïdes and Joannides, 48;
committee retreat to the mountains, 48;
counter-proclamation to Mustapha's, 68;
provisional government, headed by Mavrocordato, 123;
appeals for Coroneos to become commander-in-chief, 151
"Assurance" sloop-of-war, 91
Baleste, a French Philhellene, 30
Barron, Mr., English chargé at Constantinople, 141
Bishop of Canéa threatened with burning, 29;
(another), heroic end, 35
_Bondapoulo_, 78
Boniface, Duke of Montserrat, possesses Crete, 20
Borthwick, Col., adventure at Meskla, 162
Boutakoff, commander of "Grand Admiral," 76, 96;
ordered to the Sphakian coast, 98
_Boutzounaria_, seat of the Assembly, 41, 42;
source of water supply of Canéa, 42;
attack on aqueduct, 121
Bulgaris, evil genius of Greece, 145;
tool of Russia, 146;
withdraws all support from Crete, 152
_Campos_, 78
"Canandaigua," American ship-of-war, 117
_Candanos_, fortress, refuge of Mussulmans, 66;
expedition for relief of, 67, 69
_Candia_, 106, 125
Cave-stifling at Kephalá, 79;
in Mylopotamos, 128, 137
Christians persecuted in Crete, 27, 29;
panic and exodus, 51, 52, 57;
massacres, 64, 65;
stifled in caves, 79, 128, 137
Colucci, Italian consul, advises giving an assurance to the
Assembly, 45;
wins the Pasha's ill-will, 47
_Comitades_, pass, 102
Comoundouros, premier at Athens, 114;
prepares insurrection in Turkey, 116;
dismissal effected by Russia, 145
Consular corps summoned by Ismael Pasha, 44;
refuse him support, 46;
protest against calling in the Mussulmans, 50;
unite in preventing a Mussulman outbreak, protect Christian
refugees, 57;
fortify the consulates, 59;
side with Schahin Pasha against Ismael, 62
Coroneos, Col., timely arrival, 83;
headquarters at Arkadi, 83;
unites with Zimbrakakis to defend Omalos, 89;
moves eastward, 95;
operations on Mt. Ida, 99;
at Kallikrati, 123; attacks
Omar at Margaritas, 125;
at Kallikrati, 131;
falls back on Askyfó, holds Muri, 132;
drives Reschid, 133, 135;
wanted for commander-in-chief, 151
Cretans, the best types of ancient Greeks, 13;
ancestors, 14;
present characteristics, 16, 19
_Crete_, climate and products, 13;
antiquities, 14, 16;
present inhabitants, 16;
language, 17, 18;
literature, 18;
music, 19;
conquered by Saracens, 19;
recovered by Byzantine emperors, 20;
transferred to Boniface, and sold to Venetian Republic, 20;
cruel government, 20-26;
conquest by Turks favored, 26;
Turkish rule, 26-37;
Sphakiote insurrection of 1770, 27;
of 1821, 29-31;
united by the allied powers to government of Mehemet Ali, Egyptian
régime, 32-34;
assembly at Murnies in 1833, repression by Mustapha Pasha, 33;
insurrection of 1840, 34;
Assembly of 1858, 34;
of 1864, 36;
hardships preceding the insurrection of 1866, 36
Criaris, a Cretan chief, 105
_Damasta_, 127, 128
Dante's description of Crete, 26
Dendrino, Russian consul, sincere in advising against insurrection,
but probably strengthened Parthenius, 48;
character, 96;
orders a frigate to the Sphakian coast, 98
Deportations, 92, 99, 140, 142
Derché, French consul, supports Ismael Pasha in everything, 44;
urges violent dispersal of the Assembly, 45;
confirms the Pasha against consular protests, 46;
labors to provoke a collision, 52;
intrigue with Schahin Pasha, 54;
refuses to ask for a man-of-war, 57;
recalled, 122
_Dibaki_, port, 130, 135
Dickson, English consul, humane and honest, ordered to co-operate with
his French colleague, 44;
supports Ismael Pasha against the Assembly, 45;
declares an assurance unnecessary, 46;
refuses to ask for a man-of-war, 57;
reports the atrocities at Arkadi, 90;
proposes to send a ship to pick up Cretan families, 92;
dispatch on the affair at Krapi, 104;
captured by Cretans near Canéa, 150
Dimitrikarakos, an Hellenic chief, 125
Diodorus Siculus, on the first inhabitants of Crete, 14
Egyptian régime in Crete, 32;
troops in Crete, 30, 31;
under Schahin Pasha, 53;
at Vrvsis, 63, 64, 66;
as found by Mustapha, 68;
beaten at Stylos, 78;
driven to the assault of Arkadi, 85;
sufferings in the mountains, 90;
slaughter at Krapi, 104;
recalled home, 122;
losses at Sime, 130
"Ennosis" blockaded at Syra, 152
_Episkopi_, 84, 123;
surprised, 99
Erskine, English minister at Athens, 107
Fair at Omalo, April, 1865, 38;
turned into an Assembly, 41
_Foligniaco_, Venetian raid on, 25
_Franco Castelli_ port, 102, 130
_Gaiduropolis_, 132
Geissler (Dilaver Pasha), Turkish chief of Artillery, 124;
death, 134
_Gnossus_, 128
Goldsborough, Rear-Admiral, 101, 116
_Grabusa_, captured by Kalergis, 32
"Grand Admiral," Russian frigate, 76;
ordered to assist in deportation, 96
Greek Government and the insurrection, 63, 112, 114;
under Russian influence, 145;
ostentatious pretence of aiding the revolt, 151
_Halará_, 135
Hobart Pasha blockades the "Ennosis" at Syra, 152
Homer, account of Ancient Crete, 14, 15
_Hostí_, 105
Hussein Avni replaces Mustapha, 118;
locum tenens of Omar Pasha, ravages plains of Kissamos, 120;
block-house plan, 148
_Ida_, Mt., 83, 99
Ignatieff, Gen., Russian minister, 96, 99;
prevents Mr. Stillman's recall, 120
Insurrection of 1866, preparation, 42-52;
first bloodshed, 52;
overtures from Schahin Pasha, 54;
first Mussulman blood, 56;
collision at Selinos, 63, 64;
general outbreak of hostilities, 65;
Vrysis taken, 66;
engagement at Kakopetra, 70;
at Malaxa, 72;
Lakus abandoned, Zurba held, 73;
Theriso lost, 73;
stand at Stylos, 78;
Campos abandoned, 78;
Vafé lost; retreat to Askyfó; loss of confidence in Greek
volunteers, 82;
revived by Coroneos, 83;
Arkadi lost, 84-87;
Kissamos besieged, Omalos defended, 89;
shut up in Sphakian Mountains, collapse imminent, 94;
revival in Eastern Sphakia, 99;
Turks shut up in Retimo, 100;
affair at Krapi, 103;
defeat of Ali Riza Pasha, 105;
of Reschid Effendi, 106;
aid from the Greek Government, 115;
defeat of Ali Riza Pasha at Topolia, 120;
of Mehmet Pasha at
Krapi, and Omar Pasha at Kallikrati, 123;
reinforcements in the east, 125;
Omar shut up at Margaritas, 126;
Reschid beaten at Lasithe, 129;
Omar attacked at Kallikrati, 131;
at Aradena, 133;
checked at Agios Roumeli, 133;
retreat to Canéa, 135;
Reschid killed, 135;
armistice, 142;
pusillanimous surrender of volunteers, 151;
collapse, 152
Ismael Gibraltar, 31;
killed, 78
Ismael Pasha, appointed governor, outwits the Assembly of 1864, 36;
hated for his extortions and cruelty, 37;
quarrels with Consul Stillman, 38;
shirks the apology ordered by the Porte, 39;
makes a present of a paste intaglio, 40;
orders the Assembly at Boutzounaria to disperse, 43;
calls a conference of the consular corps, 44;
threatens to disperse the Assembly by force, 45;
fails to get the support of the consular corps, 46;
calls in the Mussulmans to the walled cities, 50;
attacked with fever, 55;
arms his co-religionaries, 57;
superseded by Mustapha Kiritli, 58;
quarrel with Schahin Pasha, 62;
withdraws Turkish supports from him, demands a battalion of
Egyptians, 63;
unnerved at Cretan successes, 66;
packed off to Constantinople, 67
Italian words in Cretan speech, 18
Janissary sway in Crete, 28
Joannides, a Greek physician, decides the Assembly not to disperse, 48
_Kakopetra_, ravine of, 70
Kaìergis, a Greek chief, 31
_Kallikrati_, pass, 123, 130
_Kalyves_, 78
_Kares_, 132
_Kephalá_, cave-stifling, 79
_Keramia_, movement against, 72, 73
_Khalepa_, 57
_Kissamos_, captured by Kalergis, 32;
besieged by volunteers, 89;
plain districts ravaged, 120
Korakas a Cretan chieftain, 99
_Krapi_, 78, 88, 99;
passage by the Turks, 103;
attack of Mehmet Pasha, 123
_Krustogherako_, pass, 90
_Lakus_, movement against, 72, 73, 157;
reoccupied by Cretans, 83;
abandoned, 89:
situation, 157;
church-bell strife, 158
_Lasithe_, 125;
attacked, 128
_Lasithe Effendi_ mountain, 129
_Lasithri_ district, 83
Levantine, a person of foreign ancestry, born and bred in Turkey, 44
_Loutro_, a port of Sphakia, 94
Lyons, Lord, 56, 97, 113
McDonald, Capt., 61
Mainote irregulars, 95, 99
_Malavisi_, 127
_Malaxa_, block-house attacked, 72
Manosouyanaki, a Cretan captain, 73
_Margaritas_, 126
_Mathea_, 129
Mavrocordato appointed president by the Cretans, 123
Mehemet Ali, awarded Crete by the allies, 32;
oppression, 33
Mehmet Ali, "the Prussian," 174
Mehmet Pasha guards Krapi, 88;
out-flanks Theriso, 89;
attack on Krapi, 123;
shut up at Kares, 132;
driven back to Vryses, 133
_Melambos_, 135
Melidoni, Antoni, a Cretan captain, 29;
assassinated, 30
_Meskla_, 159
_Messara_, 106, 129, 130
Mikhali, Hadji, of Lakus, 81;
reoccupies Lakus and Theriso, 83;
successes near Canéa, 83;
fights Ali Riza Pasha, 105;
character, 106, 163, 168
Morris, Hon. E. Joy, U. S. Minister at Constantinople, 97, 101, 119
Moustier, Marquis de, plan to transfer Crete to Viceroy of Egypt, 53
_Murnies_, 25;
Assembly at, in 1833, 33;
executions at, 34
Murray, commander of "Wizard," 62, 91;
letter to Minister Erskine, 107;
visit to Omar, 137
Music of the Cretans, 19
Mustapha Pasha (Kiritli), the "Albanian butcher," 33, 34;
made Imperial Commissioner, 58;
arrival, 67;
summons insurgents to submit, 68;
relieves Candanos, 69;
retreat harassed, 70;
return to Canéa, 71;
moves against Lakus, Theriso, and Keramia, relieves Malaxa, 72;
attacks Zurba, occupies Theriso, 73;
march on Krapi, opposed at Stylos, takes Campos, 78;
carries Vafé, 81;
tarries at Prosnero, takes Arkadi, 82-87;
return to Canéa, prepares for Theriso campaign, 88;
moves through the passes of Kissamos, 89;
ravages the valleys of Selinos, 90;
permits Dickson to ship off Cretan families, 92;
embarks at Suia, repulsed at St. Rumséli and Tripiti, returns to
Selinos, 95;
removes to Askyfó, 102;
losses at Krapi, 104;
orders an attack on Omalos, 105;
slights Capt. Strong, 117;
replaced by Hussein Avni, 118
_Mylopotamo_, 125, 127
_Navarino_, result of battle on Cretan insurrection, 31
_Nerokouro_, seat of the Assembly of 1858, 35
Nicolaïdes, an Hellenic chief, 133
Nikephoras Phocas drives the Saracens from Crete, 20
_Omalos_, annual fair at, April, 1865, 38; turned into an Assembly, 41;
situation, 74, 89, 90, 105, 165;
concentration of insurgents and volunteers at, 89;
attacked by Ali Riza Pasha, 105;
expedition against, 135
Omar Pasha arrives, 121;
moves on Sphakia, 122;
attacks Kallikrati, 123;
faithlessness, lust, and cruelty, 124;
sets out for Candia, 125;
bottled up at Margaritas, 126;
rescued by Reschid Effendi, 127;
orders an attack on Lasithe, 128;
prepares for Sphakian campaign, 130;
attacked at Kallikrati, 131;
at Aradena, 133;
transports his troops to Agios Roumeli and to Canea, 133;
losses, 134;
gets the ill-will of French consul, 138;
proclamation of amnesty, 142;
return in disgrace 148
Osman Pasha, 52
Outrey, French minister at Constantinople, 141
Paget, Lord Clarence, arrives in the "Psyche," 61
"Panhellenion" blockade-runner, 74, 114
Pappadakis, Dr., see _Joannides_
Parthenius Kelaïdes, priest, decides the Assembly not to disperse, 48
Pashley, on the Venetian rule in Crete, 20-26;
on the rule of Mustapha Kiritli, 34
_Pediada_, 128, 130, 134
_Pergamos_, 156
_Perivoglia_, 42
Petropoulaki, Mainote chieftain, 99;
jealousy, 127, 133;
made head of Greek Government's expedition, 156
Platanos (Iardanos) river, 156
Porte, change of policy, 109;
proclamation, 110;
threatens to revoke Consul Stillman's exequatur, 119
_Prosnero_, 82
"Psyche" despatch-boat, 61
Pym, commander of "Assurance," 91;
carries Cretan families to the Peiræus, 92;
act disapproved by government, 93
Reign of terror, 57-60
Reschid Effendi drives back the insurgents, 100;
moves on Amari, 106;
ordered to join Omar, 125;
rescues him, 127;
attacks Lasithe, 128, 129;
marches from Dibaki, 131;
to Askyfó, 132;
rescues Mehmet, 132;
driven back to Kallikrati, 133;
fatally wounded at Melambos, 135
_Retimo_, 83, 84, 99, 100
_Rhizo_, 74
_Rhizo Castron_, 129
Rogers, E. T., Acting English Consul-General at Beyrout, 142
Romaic and Cretan speech compared, 17, 18
Russia's relations to the insurrection, 76, 77;
Russian minister at Constantinople sends a ship to aid in
deportation, 96, 99;
intrigues with the Viceroy, 122;
agreement with France, 137;
encouragement to the revolt, 143;
overthrows Comoundouros ministry, 145
Russos, a Sphakiote chief, 30
Sacopoulos, Greek consul, 91
_Samariá_, impenetrable fortress, 27, 95, 133;
glen of, 166;
chapel, 172
Saracen conquest of Crete, 19
Sarpi, Fra Paolo, advice to Venetian senate, 23
Schahin Pasha, general-in-chief of Egyptians, 53;
intrigue with the French consul, 54;
fruitless mission to the Apokorona, 54;
approaches Consul Stillman, 55;
difference with Ismael, 62;
refuses him troops, 64
Scylax on the settlement of Crete, 14
Seliniotes, 16
_Selinos_ shut in by insurgents, 63;
second sortie, 64;
third sortie, 66;
entered by Mustapha, 90, 135
Server Effendi sent to Crete, 109;
character, 111;
compels delegates to go to Constantinople, 113
Seward, Hon. Wm. H., instructions to Consul Stillman, 101;
despatch to Minister Morris, 119;
decides to recall Stillman, 120, 144
_Sime_, 130
Simon, French Admiral, ordered to Cretan coast, 141
_Sitia_, 143
Skoulas, a Cretan chieftain, 106, 127
Smolenski, an Hellenic chief, 133
Soliotis, an Hellenic officer, 89;
at Krapi, 123, 132
Sphakian mountains, 73
Sphakiotes, 16;
insurrection of 1770, 27
Spratt, on the geology of Crete, 14
_St. Irene_ pass surprised, 90
_St. Roumeli_ river, 172
_St. Rumséli_, entrance to Samariá, 95
ST. THOMAS, 107, 130
Stanley, Lord, 141, 142
Steedman, Commodore, 62
Stillman, William J., U. S. consul,
arrives in Crete in summer of 1865, 36;
plans a journey to Sphakia _via_ Omalos, opposed by Ismael Pasha,
consulate violated, broil with the Pasha, 38;
checkmates him at Constantinople, 39;
and in Canéa, 40;
returns a spurious gem, 40;
abandons the journey to Sphakia, 41;
protests against using violence towards the Assembly, 46;
remonstrates against the conduct of a dervish, 52;
approached by Schahin Pasha, 55;
besieged in his home, 59;
advises Schahin Pasha to disobey Ismael, 63;
warns Mustapha of the result of his successes, 75;
hopes after Arkadi, 88;
urges European intervention, Turkish espionage, 97;
news agency, pressure on the Russian Consul, 98;
asks for an American ship-of-war, 101;
rude treatment from officers of the "Canandaigua," 117;
sends his family to Syra, lives on yacht "Kestrel," 118;
anxious to leave the island, 119;
recall determined on at Washington, trip to Cerigotto, 120;
to Candia, 129;
sends first news to Constantinople, 130;
excites Tricou against Omar, 138;
favors acceptance of A'ali Pasha's terms, 144;
scorbutic illness, 149;
witnesses a skirmish between Zurba and Lakus, 159;
leaves Crete under medical orders, 150;
death of Mrs. Stillman, 154;
deposed by Secretary Fish, revisits Crete after the war, 154;
trip to Omalos, 155;
mission to Constantinople, 175
Strong, captain of ship "Canandaigua," 117
_Stylos_, 78
_Suda Bay_, 61
_Suia_, of Selinos, 92, 95
_Temenos_, 127
_Theriso_, movement against, 72, 73;
occupied, 74;
reoccupied by Cretans, 83, 83, 89
"Ticonderoga," corvette, 61
Tombasis, a Hydriote chief, 31
_Topolia_, 120
Tricou, French consul, succeeds Derché 122;
refused permission to accompany Omar Pasha, 125;
makes a list of atrocities, 137;
despatch, 138
_Tripiti_, 95
Turkish rule in Crete, 26-37
Turkish words in Cretan speech, 17, 18
_Vafé_ 78;
attacked, 81
Veloudaki, Costa, of Sphakia, 81;
surprises Episkopí, 99;
at Krapi, 123
Venetian Republic purchases Crete, 20;
barbarous régime, 20-25
Volunteers distrusted, 82;
behave badly, and are carried home, 94;
Mainote reinforcements, 95;
surrender, 151
_Vrysis_, 55, 123, 132, 133;
held by Egyptians, 63;
threatened by Cretans, 64;
taken, 66;
effect on Greek Government, 68
White Mountains, 73
"Wizard" gunboat, 62, 66;
ordered to Malta, 91
_Xyloscala_, 166
Yennissarli, a Greek chief, 95
_Yerakari_, 106
Zebeques, dance of, 168
Zimbrakaki, commander of volunteers, 81;
joins Coroneos, 89;
attacked by Ali Riza Pasha, 105;
inertness, 106, 133;
at Krapi, 123;
pursued by Omar, 132
_Zurba_, attacked, 73, 149
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected, but
variations in spelling, punctuation, hyphenation and accents have been
retained.
In the discussion of language in the Introduction the non standard use
of ς within the words ἑςπέρα, τςιμπούχι, and βίςτατο has been
normalised.
In the Introduction the sentence: The Venetians seem to have regarded
the Cretans much in the same light as the English colonists of America
did the Indians, and, when their wretched state came to the knowledge
of the Senate, they sent commissioners to examine into it, from whose
reports I translate some extracts (quoted in Italian by Pashley), who
took them from the original documents in the public library of Venice.
has ben amended from:
.....from whose reports I translate some extracts (quoted in Italian
by Pashley), who, from the original documents in the public library of
Venice.
The section "THE YEAR AFTER THE WAR." had no heading within the text.
This has been added.
Index
_Askyphó_(Askyfó), 71, 82, 102, 132 the variant spelling has
been added.
Bondapoulo 78 was Condapoulo in the text. The text has been changed to
correspond to the index.
Italics are represented thus _italic_.