"Constantinople, Oct. 28, 1895.--Another massacre of Armenians,
accompanied by the outraging of women, is reported to have
occurred recently in the districts of Baiburt, between Erzeroum
and Trebizond. According to the news received here, a mob of
about 500 Mussulmans and Lazes, the greater majority of whom
were armed with Martini-Henry rifles, made an attack upon the
Armenians inhabiting several villages of that vicinity, and set
fire to their houses and schools. As the Armenians fled in terror
from their dwellings they were shot down as they ran, and a number
of men and women who were captured by the rioters, it is added,
were fastened to stakes and burned alive.
"The Armenian women who fell into the hands of the mob, it is
asserted, were outraged and brutally mutilated. It is also stated
that the churches were desecrated and pillaged, the cattle, and
all the portable property of any value belonging to the Armenians
being carried off by the marauders. During the disturbance
150 Armenians are reported to have been killed. The surviving
villages applied for protection to the governor of Baiburt, who,
after hearing their complaint, sent three policemen to the scene
of the massacre after the slaughter was ended.
"The Turkish officials, it is claimed, know the ringleaders of
the outbreak in the Baiburt district; but apparently no steps
have been taken to arrest them."
Another Letter from Baiburt.
"The Armenian bishop's vicar was killed, the teachers in the
schools and many other men and women were massacred. Women jumped
into open wells to escape worse deaths; the villages round about
were laid waste.
"Following this was the Erzinghan massacre. On Friday, the 25th
of October, 1895, the Moslems finished their noon hour of prayer
by pouring out of the mosques and attacking the Armenians in the
market, who, taken by surprise, were shot and cut down to the
number of 500; their shops being all plundered."
(Signed) An American Missionary.