concealment, or from the houses of certain friendly Kurds, or from
their captivity in Moslem harems. These are indeed but hundreds
compared with the thousands who have been massacred or driven into
the wildernesses. But it is a gratification to hear that from
Sassoun 160 men came forth; that in Khnyss there have appeared more
than a thousand new refugees; that in Riza on the Black Sea more
than 200 Armenian children were discovered after the taking of the
town by the Russians; that in Bitlis men, women and children have
come forth in large numbers (2,800); that in Moush nearly 3,000
souls have been freed. Erzeroum seems to have been dealt with most
savagely. Less than 200 Armenians out of 20,000 in the city itself
escaped death or deportation, that is, exile. Of these, thirty were
saved in the house of Mr. Stapleton. The Armenians report that when
the Moslems came and demanded that these girls should be delivered
over to them, Mr. Stapleton replied: “You must kill me before you
can touch them.” Recent reports say that in the villages round
Erzeroum Armenian women and children are appearing, singly and in
groups, and are in the greatest need. Whose heart is not moved with
pity for and desire to preserve these remnants who have escaped from
the greatest destruction! Our opportunity is a wonderful one—to save
the remnant, to aid in the restoration, to prepare for the return of
the 200,000 fugitives now in Persia and the Caucasus.
Our call to help is both general and specific. A specific and
unusual call has reached us from the Russian Governor of Van, Mr.
Alfred Teremin.
Now we have telegraphed to the Governor that we are coming, as we
telegraph to the American Committee of our entrance upon the new
work. Fortunately we have a considerable balance on hand, and we are
going in the faith that America will support us generously. Large
funds will be necessary, to put roofs over the heads of the people,
to supply seed-corn, ploughs, oxen, carts, etc.; to set at work
carpenters, blacksmiths and other artisans; to help the most needy
till harvest time. We shall buy the necessary things here or in
Persia or from the Kurds, and will do our part in assisting the
returning exiles to cultivate their fields, so that harvest may be
abundant. Fortunately the time of spring sowing in the highlands of
Armenia does not close till June, so we have yet time. A letter from
Van says: “The important thing is that material help should be
received quickly. If delayed, it will lose half its value. It is
necessary to hasten. Every day is precious.”
VI.
VILAYET OF ERZEROUM.
_The Vilayet of Erzeroum lies due north of Bitlis and Van, and is
likewise a border province. It consists principally of the upper
valleys of the Kara-Su (Western Euphrates) and the Tchorok. The
fortress-city of Erzeroum itself is situated in a plain which
collects the head-waters of the former river; Erzindjan, a place of
almost equal importance, lies further west, about 120 miles down
stream; while Baibourt, in the Tchorok valley, is the most important
place on the high road from Erzeroum to Trebizond. The districts
north of the Kara-Su are as civilised as the rest of Anatolia; but
south of the river, in the great peninsula enclosed by the two arms
of the Euphrates, lies the mountain-mass of Dersim, inhabited by
wild, independent tribes of Kizil-Bashis and Kurds, who played an
active part in the destruction of their Armenian neighbours._
_In the Vilayet of Erzeroum the deportations began at the end of May
and during the first days of June. Reports from a particularly
trustworthy source state that, by the 19th May, more than 15,000
Armenians had been deported from Erzeroum and the neighbouring
villages, and that, by the 25th May, the districts of Erzindjan,
Keghi and Baibourt had also been “devastated by forced emigration.”
Our information concerning Erzeroum itself was at first somewhat
scanty, but since its capture by the Russians it has been visited by
representatives of various relief organisations in the Caucasus, who
have obtained circumstantial accounts of what happened in the city
and the surrounding villages. They report that, out of an Armenian
population estimated at 400,000[65] souls for the Vilayets of
Erzeroum and Bitlis, not more than 8,000-10,000 have survived,—in
other words, that 98 per cent. of the Armenians in these vilayets
have been either deported or massacred._
_We are also particularly well informed with regard to Baibourt and
Erzindjan, and the documents in this section may be noted as a clear
case in which independent testimonies exactly bear one another out._
-----
Footnote 65:
The author of Doc. 57 estimates them at 300,000 only; but consult
Annexe D. to the “Historical Summary.”
53. ERZEROUM: RECORD[66] OF AN INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE REV. H.J.
BUXTON AND THE REV. ROBERT STAPLETON, A MISSIONARY OF THE
AMERICAN BOARD, RESIDENT AT ERZEROUM FROM BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF
WAR UNTIL AFTER THE CAPTURE OF THE CITY BY THE RUSSIANS.[67]
Up to 1914 the population of Erzeroum was between 60,000 and 70,000,
of whom 20,000 were Armenians.
In 1914 Tahsin Bey was Vali of Erzeroum (whom Mr. H.J. Buxton had
met, as Vali of Van, in 1913).
On the outbreak of war with Turkey (November, 1914) the British
Consul, Mr. Monahan, received his passport; the Russian Consul was
ejected; the French Consul was absent. All their servants and
interpreters were Armenians; these were ejected likewise, and were
sent to Kaisaria as prisoners. The three Armenian servants of the
Russian Military Attaché were hanged. The wife of one of these was
sitting up, knitting socks and putting things together for her
husband’s departure, when news came to her, early in the morning,
that he was hanging on the scaffold.
In the spring of 1915 Passelt Pasha was Military Commandant of
Erzeroum, and he suggested that all Armenian soldiers should be
disarmed, withdrawn from combatant service and put on road gangs
(yol tabour). These were men who had been conscripted, and, owing to
the friendly relations between Turks and Armenians in this district
(for the past ten years), had joined readily.
Teachers in the schools were first of all put into hospitals to do
the work of dressers and nurses among the wounded. They were men
with a good education, and did their work with intelligence. Then
came the order that they were to be put on to the road gang, and
they were replaced by totally incompetent men, so the soldiers had
very poor attention in the hospital.
All through this period, up to May, 1915, military service could be
avoided by men of all races and parties upon payment of an exemption
tax of £40 (Turkish).
Even Turks themselves obtained exemption on these terms, and for a
period (of, say, twelve months) the terms were faithfully observed;
but, of course, eventually the need for soldiers made the
authorities come down even upon exempted persons. In any case, this
exemption only applied to military duties, and afforded no shelter
to Armenians in the final crisis.
Stapleton managed to get one Armenian exempted by the payment of
this tax.
_19th May, 1915._
There was a massacre in the country round Khnyss. As the Russians
advanced from the east a large number of Kurds fled in front of
them, bent on vengeance, and carried out a raid on the peasantry
which was quite distinct from the organised massacres later on.
Some of Stapleton’s teachers, boy and girl students, were at Khnyss
on holiday, and perished in this massacre.
_6th June._
The inhabitants of the one hundred villages in the plain of Erzeroum
were sent away by order of the Government at two hours’ notice. The
number of these must have been between 10,000 and 15,000. Of this
number very few returned, and very few reached Erzindjan. A few took
refuge with friendly Kurds (Kizilbashis), but all the rest must have
been killed.
They were escorted by gendarmes, but the people responsible for the
massacres would probably be chettis or Hamidia.
One of the Kurds was charged in court for murder, pillage and
rapine, and he thereupon produced a paper and laid it before them,
saying: “These are my orders for doing it.”
It is not certain who gave these orders, but the presumption is that
they originated with the Government at Constantinople.
About this time definite orders arrived, by which Tahsin Bey was
instructed that all Armenians should be killed. Tahsin refused to
carry this out, and, indeed, all through this time he was reluctant
to maltreat the Armenians, but was overruled by _force majeure_.
_On the 9th June_
he issued an order that the whole civic population were to leave
Erzeroum, and many Turks and Greeks actually did leave (the latter
being hustled out).
The German Consul was now aware of what was coming, and wired
protests to his Ambassador; but he was told to remain quiet, as the
Germans could not interfere with the internal affairs of Turkey.
This is what he said to Stapleton, and his goodwill is borne out by
his evident intention to help the Armenians. It is an established
fact that, in the days following, he used to send bread tied up in
large sacks to the refugees outside the city, conveying these large
supplies in motor cars.
_16th June._
The first company of Armenian deportees left Erzeroum on the 16th
June, having got leave to go to Diyarbekir by Kighi. These were
forty families in all, mostly belonging to the prosperous business
community.
First of all, after starting, all their money was taken from them,
“for safety.” After a short halt, when some alarm was expressed,
they were reassured of the complete security of their journey, and
shortly after resuming their journey (somewhere between Kighi and
Palu) they were surrounded and a massacre took place. Only one man
and forty women and children reached Harpout.
Evidence of this massacre comes from various sources: (1) letters to
Stapleton from women survivors; (2) evidence of Americans who were
living in Harpout at the time of the arrival of the survivors, and
cared for them; (3) evidence of a Greek, who passed the scene of the
massacre shortly after it took place and described it as sickening.
_19th June._
About five hundred Armenian families left Erzeroum, _via_ Baibourt,
for Erzindjan; they were allowed time for preparations—a concession
granted throughout the deportations from the town itself. At
Baibourt there was a halt, and the first party of about 10,000
people was joined by later contingents, bringing the number up to
about 15,000. A guard of gendarmes (up to 400) was provided by the
Vali, and these doubtless took their toll of the Armenians in
various ways, licentiously and avariciously.
The Vali went to Erzindjan to see after their security, and it is
known that about 15,000 reached Erzindjan. Up to this point the
roads were good enough to allow transport by bullock carts (arabas),
but after Erzindjan, instead of being allowed to follow the carriage
road _via_ Sivas, they were turned aside to the route _via_ Kamakh,
Egin and Arabkir, where there were only footpaths. The arabas had,
therefore, to be left behind, and no less than 3,000 vehicles were
brought back to Erzeroum by an Armenian in the transport service,
whom Stapleton met on his return.
At Kamakh, twelve hours from Erzindjan, it is reported that the men
were separated and killed, their bodies being thrown into the river.
Beyond this place letters come from women only, though Stapleton’s
account leads us to suppose that, from among thirty families of
which he has news, ten men survive. Letters from women to Stapleton
do not, of course, give details of what occurred; they only indicate
what happened by such phrases as: “My husband and boy died on the
road.” The destinations reached by these Armenians, as definitely
known to Stapleton in January, 1916, were Mosul, on the east; Rakka,
on the south; Aleppo and Aintab, on the west. The need in these
places has been urgent. German Consuls in Aleppo and Mosul are known
to have assisted in distributing relief funds sent by Stapleton, per
the Agricultural Bank at Constantinople, to Mesopotamia—in all about
£1,000 (Turkish).
Stapleton had previously been able to distribute a sum of about £700
(Turkish), received from America, to poor Armenians before their
departure. This he did in co-operation with the Armenian Bishop.
_November, 1915._
Certain Roman Catholic “lay brothers and sisters” (Armenians),
claiming to be under Austrian protection, were permitted to remain
until November, 1915, when they left Erzeroum in arabas. They were
known to have reached Erzindjan, and probably Constantinople, in
safety, where they were housed in the Austrian schools[68].
From twelve to twenty families of artisans were left to the last, as
they were doing useful work for the Government. Also fifty single
masons, who were building a club-house for the Turks, being
compelled to use gravestones from the Armenians’ cemetery.
_February, 1916._
These masons were sent to Erzindjan, where they were imprisoned for
some days and then brought out and ordered to be shot. Four,
however, escaped by shamming death, and one of them saw Stapleton on
the 16th February and gave an account of what had happened.
The fate of the artisans is thought to have been similar, but we
have no details, except that three families were able to return.
One of those to leave the town in the early days was a photographer.
He would not wait. Ten hours out from Erzeroum he was surrounded by
forty chettis, stripped naked and stoned to death. They mutilated
his body. One child was brained. Of the other children, a girl was
taken away and only escaped many months later when the Russians
came. Very reluctantly she poured out her story to the Stapletons,
from which it appeared that she had been handed round to ten
officers after the murder of her husband and his mother, to be their
sport.
Thirty-five families of Greeks remained in Erzeroum until near the
end. They were then hustled out when the Russian approach was
imminent, the Turks virtually saying to them: “We are suffering. Why
should not you?”
These deportations went on in an almost continuous stream from the
16th June to the 28th July, when the Armenian Bishop left. He is
supposed to have been put to death near Erzindjan.
The part which Stapleton took during these events may now be
described. In addition to what we have already said about his relief
work, he and Mrs. Stapleton sheltered eighteen Armenian girls. It
was by the permission of the Vali that these were allowed to stay
with him, and on only one occasion was his house actually
threatened. This was just on the eve of the Russian arrival, when he
was warned by the German Consul that a plot had been made to burn
down his house and, in the subsequent rush of panic, to seize the
girls. Nothing could have stopped this but the Russian entry, which
took place on the very day for which it was planned. This plot,
however, was an isolated act, and, on the whole, Stapleton speaks
highly of the general conduct of the Turks in Erzeroum itself.
_The Last Days._
On Sunday, the 13th February, the German Consul left. On Monday, the
14th February, the Persian Consul was forced to go with the Turks to
Erzindjan. They maintained that, as he was a representative
accredited to the Government, he must go with them when the
Government moved its headquarters. He went reluctantly, as he was
anxious to look after his fellow-countrymen.
On Monday evening (the 14th February) Stapleton was sent for by the
Vali, and he went, expecting to be told to leave the town. The Vali
said that he and the Turks were leaving on the morrow, but that
Stapleton might remain.
Tahsin Bey requested him to ask the Russian Commander to spare the
population of the city, as, in general, they had had nothing to do
with the deportations.
And that is a fact.
On the 15th, Stapleton was asked by a deputation of all ranks of
Turks in the town to go out (three hours’ distance) and meet the
Russian Commander. He refused to go, but he delivered Tahsin’s
message the following day, when the Russians entered the city.
On the 15th, Turkish troops fired the Armenian episcopal residence
and the market. They also burned schools and arsenals, and looted in
the city.
_Wednesday, the 16th February._
The first Russian to appear was a Cossack with a white apron. He was
accompanied by Russian and Armenian soldiers, who shouted: “We are
Armenians. Are there any here?” Then the Cossack came into
Stapleton’s house, and wrote his name in the book as “the first
Russian to enter Erzeroum.” The house was soon filled, and Stapleton
lent eight beds to Russian officers, and also supplied food.
When the Grand Duke came, a few days later (the 20th), the Russians
asked for another bed; but this was refused.
Mr. H.J. Buxton asked Stapleton: “Was there a good deal of looting
by the Russians?” Stapleton said: “No, I should not say a good deal
of looting. They were very hungry, and the stores were all open;
but, for an invading army, they were quite mild. For the first
twenty-four hours they were very short of food.”
Armenian Volunteers began to search the city for Armenians, and they
did not find very many. Four girls were held by Turks, and these,
together with the eighteen with Stapleton, made the full quota of
twenty-two Armenians in the town.
The appointment by the Russians of an “Old Turk” (a former agent of
Abd-ul-Hamid at Bukarest, who had subsequently been banished by the
Young Turks to Erzeroum) is now giving considerable satisfaction to
the Moslem population.
In August, 1915, the Turkish Government appointed and despatched a
Commission from Constantinople, ostensibly to protect the property
of the deported Armenians. During August this Commission took
possession of, and sold, this property, including valuables left
with Dr. Case (Stapleton’s colleague at that period). Stapleton
asked the police for their authority, and was turned off his own
premises by a high-handed secretary. However, he wired to his
Government, and got the official removed, and from that time he was
treated with respect and was able to exert considerable influence
with the Vali; in fact, he remonstrated with him on the brutal
treatment of the women at the hands of the zaptiehs and Kurds on the
road from Erzeroum.
Stapleton is not a Consul, but a Missionary. To the foreigner a
“Missionary” always means a Government representative; and as
Stapleton was the only American in Erzeroum, he was, _de facto_,
Consul. In many ways he was able to do far more than if he had been
officially a Consul, knowing the ways of the country and exactly how
far he could go, but yet free from official fetters.
-----
Footnote 66:
Undated.
Footnote 67:
Mr. Stapleton’s total period of service at Erzeroum is thirteen
years. For a letter from Mr. Stapleton himself, see Doc. 149, page
589.—EDITOR.
Footnote 68:
See Doc. 62
54. ERZEROUM: REPORT, DATED 25th SEPTEMBER, 1915, DRAWN UP BY THE
AMERICAN CONSUL-GENERAL AT TREBIZOND, AFTER HIS RETURN FROM A
VISIT TO ERZEROUM; COMMUNICATED BY THE AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR
ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF.
I left Trebizond on the 12th August on horseback, accompanied by
kavass Ahmed and a katerdji with my travelling outfit, also two
mounted gendarmes furnished by the Governor-General. I reached
Erzeroum about midnight on the 17th August, and was allowed to enter
the city gate only after communicating with the Commandant.
I found the two American families well. The Rev. Robert S.
Stapleton, who is the director of the American Schools and Treasurer
of the Mission Station, is living with his wife and two daughters in
the upper storey of the Boys’ School building. The lower part is
used as a Red Crescent Hospital for lightly wounded or convalescing
soldiers, accommodating on an average about 75 patients. Dr. Case
and wife and two small children were living in the upper part of the
Hospital building, the lower part being used as a Red Crescent
Hospital for about 30 patients. The Girls’ School building, with the
exception of two rooms belonging to the teachers, which are locked
up, is also used by the Red Crescent for lightly wounded soldiers,
accommodating on an average about 200. These three fine buildings
are on the same street, about 100 yards apart. The Red Crescent flag
flies over the three buildings, and on Fridays and holidays the
Turkish flag is also raised over the Girls’ School building, which
is entirely devoted to the Red Crescent work, with the exception of
the two rooms mentioned above. Over the other two buildings, which
are partly occupied by the Americans as residences, the American
flag is hoisted, in addition to the Red Crescent flag, on Sundays
and holidays, and there seems to be no difficulty raised by the
authorities now in regard to the flag question.
I called upon the Governor-General, Tahsin Bey, accompanied by the
Rev. Mr. Stapleton and Dr. Case, and the Bey received us very
cordially. He informed me that he had just received a report from
the military authorities that the Russians, upon evacuating Van, had
destroyed every building in the city, including the American
buildings, in order that the Turkish army should not find shelter
for the winter, and had taken the Americans from Van with them on
their retirement towards Russia. This information I telegraphed to
the Embassy on the 18th August as follows:
“All American buildings reported destroyed by Russians upon their
withdrawal from Van, and Americans now in Russia.”
He also informed me that all the Americans at Bitlis had gone to
Diyarbekir.
The Vali said that, in carrying out the orders to expel the
Armenians from Erzeroum, he had used his best endeavours to protect
them on the road, and had given them fifteen days to dispose of
their goods and make arrangements to leave. They were not prohibited
from selling or disposing of their property, and some families went
away with five or more ox-carts loaded with their household goods
and provisions. The Missionaries confirm this.
Over 900 bales of goods of various kinds were deposited by 150
Armenians in Mr. Stapleton’s house for safe keeping. There are also
about 500 bales in Dr. Case’s house and stable. The value of the
bales is estimated by Mr. Stapleton at from £10,000 to £15,000
(Turkish). He has a good American combination safe belonging to the
Mission in his house, and two safes of English make left by
merchants, which he filled with paper and silver roubles and
jewellery deposited by Armenians, for safe keeping. He gave no
receipts and assumed no responsibility, however. The gold deposited
by Armenians amounted to £5,559 (Turkish), and of this amount £5,000
(Turkish) was sent to Mr. Peet through the Imperial Ottoman Bank in
Erzeroum by telegram. The roubles, however, the Bank refused to
transfer, and so they were left in his safes in the shape received,
namely, tied up in handkerchiefs or made up in small packages.
Afterwards these packages were all opened, and an itemized list was
made of the contents of each package. The paper roubles and
jewellery were then packed into tin boxes and sealed with the
Mission seal and deposited in the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Mr.
Stapleton’s name for safe keeping....
Many policies of insurance in the New York Life Insurance Company
were found in these packages, upon which a separate report will be
made. There were also deeds to house and lands, promissory notes and
other valuable papers, which no doubt have now lost much of their
value.
The Gregorian Armenian Cathedral and the Catholic Armenian Church at
Erzeroum were filled with goods of various kinds which had been
entrusted to the Imperial Ottoman Bank by the Armenians before they
were deported. These goods were entrusted to the Bank, and the keys
are in the possession of the Bank....
The Vali of Erzeroum informed me that he had received instructions
from Constantinople to allow the Protestants and Catholics to remain
where they were for the present. One of Mr. Stapleton’s valuable
teachers, Mr. Yeghishé, was taken some time ago for military
service, and was working upon the roads near Erzeroum. Mr. Stapleton
needed this man as an interpreter, since he himself knows very
little Turkish. The Vali promised me he would give Mr. Yeghishé a
vesika or permit to remain in the city, if his military exemption
taxes were paid. I attended to this matter, and on my way to
Trebizond found Mr. Yeghishé at Ilidja, three hours from Erzeroum,
and delivered to him the vesika, which gave him freedom to return to
Erzeroum and remain there.
I also asked for the return of another Protestant teacher who was
thought to be in Erzindjan, but this the Vali declined to allow,
saying that the order did not permit their return, but simply
allowed them to remain where they were. In case they had already
been sent away he could not recall them.