the enemy was appearing at every pass in the mountain. Here and
there the Turks had already gained the cliffs and shoulders of the
crest. Our reserve body of defenders was—very unwisely, as we
afterwards realised—sent in small groups to these various points. No
sooner had our forces been thus divided than a massed attack in
great force commenced through one ravine. All the other advances had
been feints and were not followed up. By the time our men discovered
the situation and rallied from distant points, the Turks had shot
down our scouts and had poured through an important pass. To our
dismay we saw them already in full occupation of high ground,
threatening our camp. Reinforcements kept pushing up the mountain,
and as the afternoon drew on we saw that we were completely
outnumbered. We saw also that the range of the Turks’ rifles was far
superior to that of our old-fashioned firearms. By sundown the enemy
had advanced three companies through the dense underbush and forest
to within four hundred yards of our huts. A deep damp ravine lay
between, and the Turks decided to bivouac rather than to push on in
the darkness.
Our leaders hurriedly took counsel together, whispering very quietly
and not allowing any fight in camp. Everyone knew that a crisis had
been reached. Finally a venturesome plan was adopted: to creep round
the Turkish positions in the dead of night and thus carry out an
enveloping movement, closing in very suddenly with a fusillade and
ending with a hand to hand encounter. If this plan should fail, we
knew that everything was lost. Through the dark wet woods our men
crept with extraordinary skill. It was here that our familiarity
with those crags and thickets made it possible to do what invaders
could not attempt. The circle was practically completed when, with a
flash and a crash on all sides, our men delivered their attack,
rushing forward with desperate courage.
In a very few moments it was evident that bewilderment and alarm had
thrown the Turkish camp into the utmost confusion. Troops were
rushing hither and thither in the black night, stumbling over rocks
and logs, officers shouting contradictory commands and struggling
vainly to rally their men. Evidently the impression was given of a
very substantial Armenian attack, because in less than half-an-hour
the Turkish colonel gave the order to retreat, and before dawn the
woods were practically clear of the troops. More than two hundred
Turks had been killed and some booty taken—seven Mauser rifles,
2,500 rounds of ammunition and one mule. There was no sign of any
renewal of fighting. But we knew that our foes were not defeated;
they were only driven off.
During the next few days they roused the whole Mohammedan population
for many miles around—a horde of perhaps 15,000. With this larger
number they were able to surround and lay siege to Mousa Dagh on the
landward side. Their plan was to starve us out. On the seaward side
there was no harbour nor any communication with a seaport; the
mountain sloped directly into the sea. We were fully occupied in the
care of our wounded and the reparation of the damage done in camp.
Special meetings were held to thank God for deliverance thus far,
and to intercede with him for our families and little ones.
Gregorians and Protestants were fused into one faith and fellowship
by this baptism of suffering. It was at this time that my wife was
confined and gave birth to her first child, a son. She suffered much
in the flight down the seaward trail some days later, but I carried
her and helped her as much as possible. Thank God, she is in good
health now and so is our little son.
When we discovered that our mountain was in a state of siege, we
began to estimate our food resources. During the first week on the
heights we had exhausted the bread, olives and cheese that we had
brought from home. Very few had been able to bring flour or other
cereals, so for a month past we had been living on our flocks, using
the goats’ milk for the little children and the sick, and
slaughtering a number of sheep and goats every day. This constant
meat diet was not good for us, but on the other hand we were
profoundly thankful that we were spared the suffering of starvation.
We made a careful count of the flocks, and found that even with a
reduced ration of meat our supply would last not more than two weeks
longer. Under the pressure of this anxiety we began to think of
plans for escape by sea.
Before the siege had entirely closed in, we had sent a runner to
make the dangerous journey of eighty-five miles through Turkish
villages to Aleppo, the capital of the province, with an appeal to
the American Consul, Mr. Jackson, to send us help by sea if
possible. But it is not at all likely that our runner ever reached
Aleppo. It occurred to us that possibly a battleship of the Allies
might be in Alexandretta harbour, thirty-five miles to the north. So
one of our young men who was a strong swimmer volunteered to creep
through the Turkish lines and take a message in English strapped
inside his belt. He succeeded in reaching the hills overlooking the
harbour, but saw that there was no battleship and returned. His plan
had been to swim out to sea, circling round to reach the battleship,
thus avoiding the Turkish sentries on the roads leading in to
Alexandretta.
We then prepared triplicate copies of the following appeal and
appointed three swimmers to be constantly on the watch for any
passing ship, to strike through the surf and swim out at an angle so
as to meet the vessel:—
“To any English, American, French, Italian or Russian admiral,
captain or authority whom this petition may find; we appeal in
the name of God and human brotherhood.
“We, the people of six Armenian villages, about 5,000 souls in
all, have withdrawn to that part of Mousa Dagh called Damladjik,
which is three hours journey north-west from Souedia along the
sea-coast.
“We have taken refuge here from Turkish barbarism and torture,
and most of all from the outraging of the honour of our women.
“Sir, you must have heard about the policy of annihilation which
the Turks are applying to our nation. Under cover of dispersing
the Armenians as if to avoid rebellion, our people are expelled
from their houses and deprived of their gardens, their
vineyards, and all their possessions.
“This brutal programme has already been applied to the city of
Zeitoun and its thirty-two villages, to Albustan, Göksoun,
Yarpouz, Gurin, Diyarbekir, Adana, Tarsus, Mersina, Dört Yöl,
Hadjin, etc. And the same policy is being extended to all the
one-and-a-half million Armenians in different parts of Turkey.
“The present writer was the Protestant pastor in Zeitoun a few
months ago and was an eye-witness of many unspeakable cruelties.
I saw families of eight or ten members driven along the highway,
barefooted children six and seven years old by the side of aged
grandparents, hungry and thirsty, their feet swollen from the
toilsome journey. Along the road one heard sobs and curses and
prayers. Under the pressure of great fear, some mothers gave
birth to children in the bushes by the side of the road.
Immediately afterward they were compelled by the Turkish guards
to continue their journey till kind death arrived to give an end
to their torture.
“The remainder of the people who were strong enough to bear the
hardships of the march were driven on under the whips of
gendarmes to the plains of the south. Some died of hunger.
Others were robbed along the way. Others were stricken by
malaria and had to be left by the roadside. And, as a last act
of this dark and foul tragedy, the Arabs and Turks massacred all
the males and distributed the widows and girls among their
tribes.
“The Government some forty days ago informed us that our six
villages must go into exile. Rather than submit to this we
withdrew to this mountain. We have now little food left, and the
troops are besieging us. We have had five fierce battles. God
has given us the victory, but the next time we shall have to
withstand a much larger force.
“Sir, we appeal to you in the name of Christ!
“Transport us, we pray you, to Cyprus or any other free land.
Our people are not indolent; we will earn our own bread if we
are employed.
“If this is too much to grant, transport at least our women, old
people and children, equip us with sufficient arms, ammunition
and food, and we will work with you with all our might against
the Turkish forces. Please, Sir, do not wait until it is too
late!
“Respectfully your servant, for all the Christians here,
Dikran Andreasian.”
_September 2._
But days passed and not even a sail was seen. The war had reduced
the coastwise shipping to a minimum. Meanwhile, at my suggestion,
our women had been making two immense flags, on one of which I
printed in large, clear English, “CHRISTIANS IN DISTRESS: RESCUE.”
This was a white flag with black lettering. The other was also white
with a large red cross at the centre. We fastened these flags to
tall saplings and set a watch at the foot to scan the horizon from
dawn to dark. Some days we had rain and on others heavy mists and
fogs, which are rather prevalent along our bit of coast.
The Turks again attacked us by several approaches, and we had some
severe fighting, but never at such close quarters as during the
first general engagement. From one point of vantage we were able to
roll boulders down the precipitous mountain side with disastrous
effects to the enemy. Our powder and cartridges were running low,
and the Turks evidently had some idea of the straits we were in, for
they began shouting insolent summons to surrender. Those were
anxious days and long nights!
One Sunday morning, the fifty-third day of our defence, while I was
occupied in preparing a brief sermon to encourage and strengthen our
people, I was startled by hearing a man shouting at the top of his
voice. He came racing through our encampment straight for my hut.
“Pastor, pastor,” he exclaimed, “a battleship is coming and has
answered our waving!—Thank God!—Our prayers are heard. When we wave
the Red Cross flag the battleship answers by waving signal flags.
They see us and are coming in nearer shore!”
This proved to be the French _Guichen_, a four-funnel ship. While
one of its boats was being lowered, some of our young men raced down
to the shore and were soon swimming out to the stately vessel which
seemed to have been sent to us from God! With beating hearts we
hurried down to the beach, and soon an invitation came from the
Captain for a delegation to come on board and explain the situation.
He sent a wireless to the Admiral of the fleet, and before very long
the flag-ship _Ste. Jeanne d’Arc_ appeared on the horizon followed
by other French battleships. The Admiral spoke words of comfort and
cheer to us, and gave an order that every soul of our community
should be taken on board the ships. The embarkation took some time,
of course, and an English cruiser was invited to take part in the
transportation to Port Said, Egypt. We were taken on board four
French cruisers and one English, and were very kindly cared for. In
two days we arrived at Port Said, and are now settled in a permanent
camp which has been provided for us by the British authorities.
We are especially grateful to Mr. William C. Hornblower for the
excellent organisation of this camp, and to Col. and Mrs. P.G.
Elgood and Miss Russell for their untiring efforts on our behalf.
The Armenian Red Cross Society of Cairo, recently organised, of
which the Gregorian Bishop is Honorary Chairman, Mr. Fermanian of
the Kodak Company, Director, and Prof. Kayayan, Secretary, has sent
us a staff of three doctors and three nurses.
An accurate census has been taken which shows that the survivors
number:—
427 babies and children under four years of
age,
508 girls from 4 to 14,
628 boys from 4 to 14,
1,441 women above 14 years of age,
1,054 men above 14.
——
4,058 total number of souls rescued.
——
After the Turks’ first challenge, on the 13th July, we had eight
days’ parley and preparation; for fifty-three days we defended
ourselves on Mousa Dagh; and a two days’ voyage brought us to Port
Said on the 14th September.
We do not forget that our Saviour was brought in His infancy to
Egypt for safety and shelter. And the brethren of Joseph could not
have been more grateful than we are for the corn and wheat provided.
131. JIBAL MOUSA: REPORT, DATED EGYPT, 28th SEPTEMBER, 1915, ON THE
ARMENIAN REFUGEES RESCUED AND TRANSPORTED TO PORT SAID BY THE
CRUISERS OF THE FRENCH FLEET; DRAWN UP BY MGR. THORGOM, BISHOP
OF THE GREGORIAN COMMUNITY IN EGYPT.
(1.) _Number of the Refugees._
Approximately accurate statistics have been made out here, which
show that the refugees number 4,200, including:—
915 Men
1,408 Women
702 Boys
539 Girls
636 Infants
——
4,200
——
(2.) _Origin of the Refugees._
They all come from the villages of Selefka (Kaza of Leffia, Sandjak
of Antakia, Vilayet of Aleppo), including:—
80 families from the village of Makof
10 ” ” ” Keboussia
160 ” ” ” Kheder Bey
228 ” ” ” Yoghanolouk
220 ” ” ” Hadji-Habibli
170 ” ” ” Beitias
———
868
———
But these families do not represent the total number of families
inhabiting each village, for
240 families in the village of Keboussia
2 ” ” ” Yoghanolouk
80 ” ” ” Hadji-Habibli
10 ” ” ” Beitias
—-
332
—-
that is, 332 families in all, remained at home and were subsequently
deported by the Turkish Government.
(3.) _Circumstances of the Insurrection and Exodus._
The Turkish Government, in pursuance of its policy of clearing
Armenia of the Armenians, had ordered, after the fall of Van, the
deportation of all Armenian families. This order reached Selefka on
the 30th July;[169] a week’s grace was given for its execution. The
villagers met together and, in spite of the advice of several of
their leading members and of their priests, decided to revolt and
die like brave men, rather than undergo the fate of the people of
Zeitoun, Hadjin and Dört-Yöl.
These 868 families retired on to the mountain called Mousa Dagh,
taking with them their cattle and supplies for several months.
Before leaving their villages, the insurgents invited the people of
Kessab to join them. Kessab is separated from Selefka by a little
stream, which was guarded by Turkish gendarmes. They were,
therefore, unable to enter into direct communication with them, but
they received a letter (we have seen this letter, and we have reason
to believe that it was a fabrication of the Turkish Government’s) in
which the people of Kessab, who have a special reputation for
bravery, purport to advise their neighbours of Selefka to submit to
the Turkish authorities.
The period of grace expired on the 8th August, but they had already
withdrawn into the mountains in the first days of August. On the
8th, the first collision took place between the Armenians and 200
regular troops; it lasted six hours.
The Armenians had barely 600 fighting men, armed with 150 Martini
rifles and 450 shot guns. Four fighting men directed operations,
eight guarded the non-combatants, and forty picketed the paths. The
non-combatants dug out shelter trenches for the people and children,
or made munitions, while the women looked after the food.
On one occasion a woman was bringing up water to the firing line;
her jar was riddled by an enemy bullet, upon which the woman coolly
put down the jar, plugged the hole and went to get fresh water, all
under the enemy’s fire. I cite this incident because I have been
told that the rest took courage from the coolness of this woman to
resist courageously to the end.
The insurgents had not forgotten to bring with them the sacred
vessels from their churches, so that the five priests who were with
them celebrated mass, and a pastor preached every evening.
On the 12th August, the second collision occurred with the Turks,
who had 2,000 troops with two guns; it lasted twelve hours. On the
16th and 17th there were two violent encounters with regular troops,
reinforced by Kurdish and Arab bashibazouks, 4,800 troops in all;
during this encounter the Armenians captured from the enemy seven
Mausers and 15,000 cartridges, as well as other munitions and
equipment.
There followed an interval of twenty days; on the twenty-first, a
serious battle with 7,000 soldiers, including 4,000 regulars.
From the very first days of the insurrection, the Armenians had sent
down to the seashore a party of twenty people, who were relieved
every 24 hours. They had with them a letter addressed to the Allied
Powers, in which they prayed for help. They had hoisted a big flag—a
red cross on a white ground—to attract the attention of the Allied
fleet.
The Allied fleet was blockading the Turkish Mediterranean ports, and
a French flotilla was on duty there. The armoured cruiser _Guichen_
saw the flag, and the commander, Captain Joseph Brisson, put out a
boat. A brave old Armenian threw himself into the water, and
clambered on board the cruiser. The commander, moved by the heroism
of this old man and by the details which he communicated to him,
sent a wireless message to the commander of the cruiser _Jeanne
d’Arc_, at Port Said. The _Jeanne d’Arc_ arrived within 24 hours.
The same day, the _Guichen_ bombarded the neighbourhood of the
church at Keboussia, which the Turks were attacking in order to
massacre the Armenians who had taken refuge in the building.
Meanwhile, a further wireless message from the Admiral on board the
_Jeanne d’Arc_ brought the armoured cruiser _Desaix_ to the spot
within another 24 hours, with an Armenian dragoman on board. The
_Jeanne d’Arc_ went off to Cyprus, and despatched three other
armoured cruisers from there. The united squadron began to bombard
the Turkish positions, to enable the 4,200 Armenians to come down to
the water’s edge, where they were embarked on board the cruisers.
The embarkation took a day and a half.
The fighting had begun on the 8th August and ended on the 10th
September. The Armenians had 20 killed and 16 wounded; the enemy had
about 300 killed and more than 600 wounded.
We had already learnt these facts while the insurgents were still on
their voyage, but we did not know where it was intended to land
them. Cyprus, Algeria and Tunis were all suggested; then we heard
that the French and British Governments were in consultation on the
subject. On the 14th September they arrived at Port Said. Sir Henry
MacMahon, the High Commissioner, and General Maxwell gave immediate
attention to the refugees. His Majesty the Sultan of Egypt sent a
donation of £250.
The French Fleet entertained the refugees three days, and since then
the British Government has taken charge of them. The first to be
embarked on board the four cruisers were the old men, the women and
the children; the fighting men remained two days longer on land.
They asked for munitions to keep up the struggle, but the Admiral,
acting on instructions received from his Government, refused their
request, and so they arrived in Egypt two days later.
(4.) _The Situation of the Refugees at Port Said._
They are installed in the Lazaretto, consisting of five or six
stone buildings, and in 500 tents pitched round it. Everything has
been organised by the military authorities. The tents are pitched
in ranks divided into groups; each tent has its tent-commander,
with a pennant and a number, and each group of tents has its
group-commander, with a flag.
They have built them a large kitchen, conduits and baths. Two of the
stone buildings are being used for office work, and the rest have
been turned into hospitals.
The general state of health is good; there are about 80 sick,
including the wounded.
The refugees have all the looks of a fighting race. They speak a
dialect, but they are all orthodox members of the Armenian Church,
except for an inconsiderable number of Catholics and Protestants.
At present the Government does not allow them to go outside the zone
assigned to them.
The distribution of rations is punctually and methodically carried
out.
(5.) _Maintenance of the Refugees._
The Government has undertaken their maintenance, and it is believed
that this arrangement will continue.
(_a_) _Hospital._—Kept up by the Armenian Red Cross of Cairo. The
Government, however, has also provided a head doctor and three
assistants, two of them women. The Red Cross has contributed £120
for medical stores.
(_b_) _Clothes._—The Armenian Red Cross of Cairo and Alexandria has
made itself responsible for them.
(_c_) _Education._—There are 1,000 children. The Government has
placed a large tent at their disposal for use as a school. The
General Armenian Union of Benevolence has undertaken the expense of
their education.
(_d_) _Workshops._—To give the refugees employment, work has been
found for those who know how to make combs, wooden spoons, etc. The
men will have money advanced to them as capital, and the women wool
to knit stockings and socks, to give them an opportunity of setting
to work and earning a living.
The approach of winter causes some anxiety, but we hope that the
Government and the Armenian community in Egypt will take the
necessary steps for securing them against the cold.
-----
Footnote 169:
The dates given in this report do not tally with those in Mr.
Andreasian’s narrative, except that both accounts put the arrival
of the refugees at Port Said on the 14th September. Mr. Andreasian
puts the intervention of the _Guichen_ on Sunday, the 12th
September; but as he also states that the voyage took two days,
while the present report makes the embarkation take a day and a
half, the date given here for the appearance of the _Guichen_ upon
the scene, namely, the 10th September, is probably correct. On the
other hand, Mr. Andreasian speaks from first-hand knowledge when
he places the official summons to deportation on the 13th July
(instead of the 30th July), the first fighting on the 21st July
(instead of the 8th August) and the total length of the siege at
53 days; so that his statements on these points are likely to be
more accurate.—EDITOR.
132. JIBAL MOUSA: ANOTHER REPORT ON THE REFUGEES AT PORT SAID, DRAWN
UP BY MR. TOVMAS K. MUGGERDICHIAN, FORMERLY DRAGOMAN OF THE
BRITISH CONSULATE AT DIYARBEKIR.
You must certainly have heard that, on the 14/27th September
(1915), five armoured cruisers (four French and one English)
brought to Port Said 4,200 Armenians from the six villages of the
Selefka district, who have been given shelter in the Lazaretto, on
the banks of the Suez Canal. I am happy to be able to tell you
that the Anglo-Egyptian Government has kindly undertaken to house
and feed these refugees until such time as they may be able to
return to their country.
A little band of heroes from Selefka, hardly five to six hundred
combatants, held out for fifty-five whole days against Captain
Rifaat Bey and the force under his command—3,000 Nizam troops and
more than 4,000 bashibazouks (Arabs and Turks), until the cruiser
_Guichen_ saw the flag in the form of a cross which these heroes had
hoisted on the Mousa Mountain. This warship, with four others, went
to their assistance and rescued them. These fine fellows had not
more than 120 Gras rifles and about 400 flintlocks and shot guns.
Sixty of them were good shots, and they picked off the Turkish
artillerymen one by one, thus reducing their guns to silence—so much
so that Rifaat Bey cried out: “These good Giaours sight through the
needle’s eye,” and took to his heels. The Armenian fighting men of
Selefka have had seventeen killed and twelve wounded, but they have
killed fifty times as many of the enemy.
There are hardly 1,000 grown men among the refugees; the rest are
women, girls, children and infants. The boys and girls less than
fourteen years of age, who are by way of going to school, number
about 800; there are also three men teachers and three women, five
priests and the Pastor of Zeitoun, the Reverend Dikran Andreasian.
Babies have been born on the Jibal Mousa, on board the warships and
at Port Said. All these refugees are in need of clothes, for they
have been able to rescue nothing, except their wives and children
and their arms.