atrocities that the Armenians of Kerasond have had to undergo. One
morning the Government announced, through the public crier, that
every male Armenian, old or young, must immediately go to the
Government Building, where an important communication was to be made
to them. Those who neglected to comply with this order were
threatened with imprisonment. The Armenians obeyed, as there was no
alternative in a town where they were in minority; but as soon as
they had arrived at the Government Building, they were surrounded by
hundreds of gendarmes and driven straight to prison. At mid-day
their families, seeing that nobody returned, collected together and
went in a body to the Government Building. They demanded that their
husbands should be set free. The gendarmes replied with the bayonet,
and dispersed the crowd, while those who still insisted in their
protest were sent to join their husbands in prison. That night was
passed by the poor Armenians in the prison, while all night long
their families mourned and wept. I visited several Armenian
neighbours and tried to calm them, but they were all convinced that
they would never see their people again, as they had guessed
latterly, from the attitude of the Turks, that some plot was being
prepared against them. Next morning the prisoners were told that
they were to be exiled to Kara-Hissar (a town inland from Kerasond)
and that they were only to take with them provisions for five days.
Their wives were notified of this, and in the afternoon, under the
escort of hundreds of gendarmes, they were marched out of the prison
on to the road leading to Kara-Hissar, and divided up into several
separate batches. Several days passed, and then a few telegrams
reached various families, signed by their husbands or brothers and
announcing that they had arrived in safety at Kara-Hissar. But
unfortunately these telegrams were merely forged by the Government
in order to calm down those left behind, who had not yet ceased to
demand the return of their dear ones. Their true fate was very
different. A fortnight later, I met a friend who told me that he had
given protection to a young Armenian who had escaped from the party
of Armenians that were sent to Kara-Hissar, and that this young man
gave horrible descriptions of their experiences. I went to see this
young man at my friend’s house. He was an honest business man in the
town, so that I do not question for a moment the honesty of his
declaration in the present case, which he made to the following
effect:—
“Our party consisted of 350 men, mostly young fellows. The next day
after our departure from Kerasond, we reached a spot on the banks of
the River Kara Su. It was lunch time, and the gendarmes ordered us
to stop and eat. We had just begun to do so when guns were fired on
us from all sides, and I saw many fall dead. I was wounded myself in
the arm and collapsed on my side from the pain. The firing
continued, and I fainted. I only recovered consciousness to find
myself in the river with hundreds of dead bodies floating round me.
My wound did not prevent me from swimming, so that I struggled out
of the river, and at night-fall walked back to the town. I was
afraid to go to my family, so I asked shelter of my friend here; but
as my prolonged presence may bring him harm, I am going home
to-night.”
In fact, the Government had announced that any Turk or Greek giving
protection to an Armenian would be punished with death. So that
night the young man went to his house; but he was soon found out,
and under the pretext of sending him to hospital for his wound they
took him away and he has never been heard of since.
This was the end of the male population. The women were dealt with
in the same fashion. They were likewise herded by force into the
prison, and marched under escort in batches along the same road
leading to Kara-Hissar. They were not massacred, but treated with
extreme brutality and forced to walk for long hours, so that many
died of exhaustion, and many others committed suicide by throwing
themselves into the river with their children in their arms. Some
went mad through inability to endure the brutalities and
humiliations inflicted on them by the gendarmes and by the Turkish
villagers they met on the way. The small children under three years
of age were allowed to be carried along by their mothers, but the
children between the ages of three and fifteen, both girls and boys,
were all distributed among Mohammedan families, with instructions to
convert them to Islam. The Armenians’ houses were sealed with the
Government’s seal, but it is clear that they were first stripped of
their furniture and placed at the disposal of Turkish immigrants.
This is the tragic history of the extermination of the 3,000
Armenians of Kerasond.
One old Armenian only escaped death by embracing the Mohammedan
religion; but that only served to save his own life, as his son and
wife were sent off with the rest.
Kara-Hissar is a town three days inland from Kerasond, Kerasond
being its port. The Armenian population of this city, guessing the
intentions of the Turks, took up their arms and fled into the
mountains surrounding the town. The gendarmes and soldiers sent in
their pursuit had several encounters with them, but they failed
every time to drive them out of their mountain positions. In my
opinion their positions are good and can resist attacks, but their
supply of food may soon come to an end, and in their isolation they
may starve, if no help reaches them[95].
_Trebizond._—During the last massacres (1896) Trebizond suffered the
most, and this time also it has been the scene of the most fiendish
atrocities. These are described by a young Armenian girl who was an
eye-witness of them. She was saved through the protection of the
late Italian Consul at Trebizond, who was allowed to leave in a
motor boat for Constantinople[96], whence he went to Italy and sent
this girl to some relatives of hers in Roumania. She gives the
following account of her experiences:—
“In the morning my father, a Russian subject, was summoned by a
gendarme and taken away to the Government Building. A few hours
passed, and my mother went to find out what had happened to him. She
did not return either, and, being thus left alone in the house, I
went to our neighbour, the Italian Consul, and asked for his
protection. He immediately disguised me as a servant girl in the
Consulate. Every day I used to see hundreds of Armenians, men and
women in separate batches, passing our house under escort—mothers
carrying their children on one arm and a package of provisions on
the other. That was all they were allowed to take. The Kavass of the
Consulate used to come in every day and report to the Consul all
that was going on in the town. Business was at a standstill, all the
shops were closed, and you met nothing in the streets but Armenians
escorted by gendarmes. Many young girls were forced to marry
Mohammedans. All the children were collected and distributed to
Turkish families to be brought up, as Mohammedans. Several leading
Armenians committed suicide by throwing themselves down from the
windows of their houses. All the Armenians who were Russian subjects
(there were forty-five of them) were put on board a sailing ship
bound for Kerasond, but on the way they were thrown into the sea and
shot at by the gendarmes sent with them. This we verified later on,
when the Consul was allowed to leave Trebizond in a motor boat, in
which I accompanied him as servant girl. On the way a sailor on the
launch, in answer to a question from the Consul, said that he had
refused to take those forty-five Russian subjects in his sailing
boat because he knew what fate was marked out for them on the way;
and, in fact, when we arrived at Kerasond, we discovered that not
only had those forty-five people never arrived (though they were put
on board the boat under the pretext that they were to be exiled to
the districts inland from Kerasond), but that not a single Armenian
was left in the town itself. We were told the same thing all along
the coast—at Tireboli, Ordou, Samsoun, Ineboli, etc.[97] The wife of
the late Secretary of the British Consulate at Trebizond (himself a
British subject) was forced to marry a Turk; the rest of the
family—the Secretary, his brothers, his uncles, etc., who were all
British subjects too—were exiled to the interior of the country, and
nothing has been heard of them since. Many women have offered to
become Mohammedans but have been refused. Only one family in
Tireboli, called A., obtained leave to remain by turning
Mohammedan.”
This is confirmed by a telegram received lately by a gentleman in
Constantinople, who has business connections with the family in
question. The telegram was signed “A. Zadé Mehmed Sirry.”
The plan of the Government has been the same everywhere—to convert
the children to Islam, and to march the male and female population
under escort into the interior of the country, until the last of
them has dropped dead with exhaustion. As to their houses, the
furniture was distributed among the officers and soldiers. Pianos,
side-boards, and other objects too luxurious for soldiers’ houses
were sold by auction, where the best buyers, in many districts, were
Jews, who considered the price of 50 piastres too high for a piano,
and tried to buy them at 10-15 piastres. The houses thus emptied
were given over to Turkish immigrants or paupers. The copper kitchen
utensils, and, in fact, everything made of copper, were carefully
packed, and sent, by different means, to Constantinople, where the
Germans were anxiously waiting for them as their share of the
plunder.
It is only in Constantinople and Smyrna that the Armenians have not
been exiled; but that does not mean that they there escape their
share of the general misfortune. Most of the leading Armenians
there, including doctors, deputies, wholesale merchants,
journalists, etc., were exiled to the interior, and nothing has been
heard of them since. The requisitioning officer takes away anything
he finds in an Armenian shop, and many have thus been reduced to
closing their shops, having nothing left to sell. Only one man among
those deported from Constantinople was brought back, having
consented to become a Mohammedan. This is Mr. B. of the B. Bros.
firm, the largest export and import business in Constantinople. He
has been forced to pay £5,000 for the building of a Mosque in
Kaisaria, to build a Turkish school in Constantinople, to wear a
turban, and to pray seven times a day, as a proof of his sincere
devotion to his new religion.
-----
Footnote 95:
This was written before it was known that the Armenians of
Kara-Hissar had been overwhelmed by force and massacred to the
last woman and child, with their bishop at their head.—EDITOR.
Footnote 96:
“I hired the motor launch for myself and three members of my
household”.—_Signor Gorrini in the Rome journal “Il Messaggero,”
25th August, 1915._
Footnote 97:
“Of the 200 Armenian families at Ordou, 160 have embraced Islam,
under pressure of threats and violence. Of the 400 Armenian
families at Kerasond, 200 have embraced Islam to escape
persecution; the rest have been deported.”—_New York Journal
“Gotchnag,” 28th August, 1915._
76. TREBIZOND AND ERZEROUM: DESPATCH FROM THE CORRESPONDENT OF THE
LONDON “TIMES” AT BUKAREST, DATED BUKAREST, 18th MAY, AND
PUBLISHED ON THE 22nd MAY, 1916.
Since the entry of the Russian troops into Trebizond it has become
possible to lift the veil of mystery that has hitherto shrouded the
fate of the Armenian population in this prosperous port. The troops
on their arrival found all the Armenian houses plundered and for the
most part in ruins. Doors, windows, shutters, and all woodwork had
been carried away. There was no opposition on the part of the
authorities.
The deportation of the Armenians, which began in June, was carried
out here, as elsewhere, in accordance with instructions from
Constantinople. The leading families were the first to suffer. Some
300[98] of these received the order to prepare for emigration and
purchased a number of wagons for the transport of their property,
but four days after their departure all the wagons were brought back
to the town. The emigrants had been massacred and their property
plundered.
Other groups, each of several hundred families, followed. This
process went on for some time, but eventually new methods were
adopted. The police entered the houses of the remaining Armenians,
forcibly expelled them, drove them through the streets, and locked
up the houses. The whole Armenian population of Trebizond, numbering
some 10,000 souls, was thus exterminated. It is hoped, however, that
some hundreds of persons may yet be found hidden in the villages in
the neighbourhood.
At Erzeroum, where the Armenian population was considerably greater,
being estimated at 35,000, practically the same programme was
carried out. The proceedings, which began in the middle of May, were
inaugurated by the arrest and imprisonment of 400 young Armenians.
Many families, after being expelled from their houses, were kept
waiting for several days in the streets before being taken to their
fate. At the entrance to the town the processions of exiles
encountered tax-gatherers, who insisted on the payment of arrears of
taxation, although the unfortunate people had left all their
property behind them. Only a few artisans, who were required to work
for the Army, were allowed to remain in the town. By the beginning
of August the whole Armenian population had disappeared from
Erzeroum. Only the Bishop remained. On the 5th August two police
officers appeared at his house and communicated the order for
departure. The Bishop had taken precautions to secure some horses
for the transport of his effects, but these were now stolen. He
tried to purchase others, but at the last moment he was informed
that he was not allowed to take anything with him. He was then
removed to an unknown destination.
German officers stationed in the town and the German Consul
manifested open approval of these proceedings. Among the spoils
which fell to the Turks were several Armenian girls, and a share in
this living booty was conceded to the Germans.
-----
Footnote 98:
Including Muggerditch Zarmanian, a contractor employed by the
Ottoman Army.—_Information furnished to the writer by Armenian
refugees in Roumania._
IX.
SIVAS: THE CITY AND PARTS OF THE VILAYET.
_The Vilayet of Sivas lies immediately to the west of the Vilayet of
Erzeroum. It includes the upper basins of two rivers—the Kizil Irmak
(Halys), on the banks of which the City of Sivas itself is situated,
and the Yeshil Irmak, further towards the north-west and nearer the
Black Sea coast._
_The province is less mountainous and much richer than its eastern
neighbours. Agriculture is flourishing, the nomad shepherd is
comparatively rare, and there are a number of populous towns, with
the beginnings of local manufactures._
_The peasant population is predominantly Turkish, interspersed with
important Greek enclaves, which have held their own from the first
Seljuk invasions to the present day; but there are also a number of
Armenian villages, and the Armenians constitute—or constituted
before June, 1915—-about half the population of the towns. The
rising trade and industry was almost entirely the product of these
Armenians’ initiative, and they themselves had risen with it in
education and civilisation, till in all essentials they were on a
level with the corresponding commercial and professional classes in
Western Europe._
_This peaceful, progressive community was entirely uprooted by the
Deportation Decree. The villages were cleared in June; the City of
Sivas suffered its first deportation on the 5th July._
77. SIVAS: LETTER FROM A FOREIGN RESIDENT AT SIVAS, DATED 13th JULY,
1915; COMMUNICATED BY THE AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR ARMENIAN AND
SYRIAN RELIEF.
To begin with the all-important fact, which may have reached you by
now, the Armenians of the interior are being deported in the
direction of Mosul. At the time we left Sivas, two-thirds of them
had gone from the city, including all our Protestants, our teachers
and pupils, and all our side of the city. Those left were the orphan
girls and teachers and a few boarding girls, three nurses and two
orderlies in the hospital, D. Effendi and his family and a few women
servants. According to my best knowledge and opinion, with the
exception of Armenian soldiers and prisoners (all of whose families
have been sent) and a very few exceptions in the case of people who,
for various reasons, were necessary to the Government, all Armenians
are gone from Sivas. According to what I consider good authority, I
believe it to be true that the entire Armenian population from
Erzeroum to (and including) Gemerek, near Kaisaria, and from Samsoun
to (and including) Harpout has been deported. There is also a
movement in the central field which had not become general yet when
I left, but will doubtless become so later. More than 100,000 Greeks
from the Marmora and Mediterranean coast have been deported.
We heard many rumours of massacres, but I have no evidence on the
subject. To my knowledge, no general massacres have occurred in the
Sivas Vilayet. Not a few men have been killed in one way and
another.
This general movement against Armenians began months ago in arrests
for alleged revolutionary activity and in searches for guns and
bombs. In Sivas the winter passed rather quietly, and it was late
spring before much was done. About two months ago a general
endeavour was made to imprison all leading Armenians, and within a
week more than 1,000 were arrested. I estimate the whole number of
Sivas men in prison to be between 1,500 and 2,000. The only person
taken from our circle was H. Effendi, who was taken by name the
first day—not, we think, as from us, but as a resident in the city.
Strict orders were given not to molest us or our people, though all
our efforts to do anything for H. Effendi failed. Up to the time of
our departure from Sivas these men had been in prison a month. They
were well, and as comfortable as could be expected in a Turkish
prison; but no examinations had been held, no charges made, and no
one knew what was to be done. The Vali assured me again and again
that they would be released and sent with their families; but this
was not done for at least ten days after the deportation was begun,
and I have no confidence that it will be done at all. We could not
believe that this outrage would really take place, but when, on
Monday, hundreds of families were loaded on to ox-carts and sent
off, and our Protestant people were told that they were to start on
Wednesday, Miss Graffam said she was going to try to go with them,
and in this she succeeded. She bought a spring wagon, a common
wagon, eight ox-carts and six donkeys, so that our pupils and
teachers went by their own conveyance. The Government furnished on
an average an ox-cart to a family, but how far they went that way
and how soon they were obliged to walk we do not know.
The advice of the Vali was that the orphans should remain for the
present, and we have no idea what they will do to them in the end.
This was one of our motives in getting to Constantinople. I
represented to our friends there the fear we had that, after all the
others were gone, these girls might be forcibly taken from us and
put into Turkish families. I talked with Mr. N. about the
possibility of bringing them all out of the country. Mr. Morgenthau
promised to have strict orders sent to Sivas for their protection. I
presume you will hear from Mr. N. on the subject, if his letter gets
through. At the time we left Sivas the orphanage circle (female) was
complete with the exception of Miss O., who went with the
Protestants. I think they deemed it wise to keep as few teachers as
necessary. Miss P. and Miss Q. expect to go with them if they go,
and take care of them if they remain. We understand that, since we
left, the orphans have been moved up to the college building with
the ladies; probably the old building is vacant, and very likely
sealed by the Government to ensure its safety. The Y.’s are probably
sleeping in our house and going to the city for hospital work in the
daytime.
The only men besides Dr. Y. are G., our kavass, D. Effendi and two
or three orderlies in the hospital, of whom you will remember only
our old teacher, Z. Effendi, of Divrig. All the Protestants except
R. the Greek and his family, most of the boarders (boys and girls)
and all our teachers excepting H. Effendi, who was in prison, and
K., who is with us, went on the road together on Wednesday
afternoon, the 7th July. Six or eight of the larger boys ran away a
day or two before, and we got no word from them. S. Effendi and T.
Effendi went with their families, and the others—U., V., W. and
X.—went the same day.
After we had seen thousands of people start out, and especially
after ours had actually gone, we came to the conclusion that if
anything could be done to stop this terrible crime, which impresses
us as ten times worse than any massacre, it would be done in
Constantinople. Our work in Sivas seemed to be terminated, at least
for the present, and our furlough was due; so it was decided that
Dr. Y., because of his knowledge of Turkish and his medical work,
should remain, and that the rest of us should go. We had been
getting neither letters nor telegrams for some time, and I did not
believe that those we sent arrived. In Constantinople we found that
the whole plan of deportation originated from the Central
Government, and that no pressure from the Embassies had been able to
effect anything. Mr. N. felt that the most we could do now was to
work for raising relief funds for the Armenians, and, in view of the
uncertainty of travel from Constantinople to the border, he was
anxious for us to get out of the country as soon as possible. So we
started at once on receiving our passports.
We believe there is imminent danger of many of these people (whom we
estimate for the Sivas, Erzeroum and Harpout Vilayets to be 600,000)
starving to death on the road. They took food for a few days, but
did not dare take much money with them, as, if they did so, it is
doubtful whether they would be allowed to keep it. From Mr. N. we
understood that the Rockefeller Foundation people are in Geneva or
Berne, and we hope that everything possible will be done to make
them recommend relief appropriations at once. Mr. N. and our
Ambassador promised to do what they could, and gave me some hope
that some relief funds might be sent to Harpout at once. It is
questionable whether relief work will even be allowed, but it ought
to be undertaken if possible. We shall do all we can in the United
States, with the aid of the American Missions Board....
I started out from Sivas with several hundred addresses of people to
whom we promised to give word about their friends. Then there was my
own list of some 700 names of my constituency that I brought, but we
were obliged to leave them all in Constantinople. It was impossible
to carry out of Turkey a single address or a scrap of writing of any
kind. I bought an empty account book, and started a new travelling
expense account after crossing the border.
We met on the road near Talas the people of two villages journeying
on foot with less than a donkey to a family, no food or bedding,
hardly any men, and many of the women barefooted and carrying
children. A case in Sivas worthy of notice was that of T. Effendi’s
sister. Her husband had worked in our hospital as a soldier nurse
for many months. She contracted typhus, and was brought to our
hospital. Her mother, a woman of sixty to seventy, got up from a
sick-bed to go and take care of their seven children, the oldest of
whom was about twelve. A few days before the deportation, the
husband was imprisoned and exiled without examination or fault. When
the quarter in which they lived went off, the mother got out of bed
in the hospital and was put on an ox-cart to go with her children.
78. SIVAS: LETTER[99] WRITTEN FROM MALATIA BY MISS MARY L. GRAFFAM,
PRINCIPAL OF THE GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL AT SIVAS, TO A CORRESPONDENT
AT CONSTANTINOPLE; REPRINTED FROM THE BOSTON “MISSIONARY
HERALD,” DECEMBER, 1915.