BITLIS
Not far south of the line of junction of the volcanic plateau west
of Lake Van with the first outworks of the main Taurus range, where
the level spaces of the elevated tableland of Armenia break away to
the crest and trough of Kurdistan, there, within the threshold of
the chain but at the very head of the mountainous country, lies the
picturesque town of Bitlis. Coming from the north, the traveller is
impressed by a change of scene which is at once sudden and complete. In
place of the great plains, divided by irregular mountain masses of
eruptive volcanic origin, he is introduced to the regular sequence
of ridge upon ridge and valley after valley, which are in fact the
steps, or succession of mountain terraces with stratified formation,
leading down to the burning lowlands of Mesopotamia. The clouds no
longer float in tranquil, feathery beds, but sail across the sky,
grazing the peaks. The rivers hiss in the gorges and are white with
foam instead of winding with sluggish current over the flats. The
glare of the open and treeless landscape is succeeded by the gloom
of overhanging parapets; and, while the margin of the streams will
be overgrown by willows and poplars, the forest trees, among which
the walnut and the elm are conspicuous, flourish upon each oasis
of deeper soil. Even the Kurdish shepherds have failed to destroy a
vegetation favoured by moisture and shade.
It is a place of beginning and ending, of ways radiating outwards, of
ways closing in. South of the town the valleys collect together; slope
approaches slope, increasing in acclivity and holding the united waters
as in a vice. About the site itself the walls of mountain recede,
forming an amphitheatre of commanding heights upon the north. Passages
thread their way within the folds of that landscape, following
side valleys of which the pleasant spaces caress the eye until they
are lost to view in a turn of the fold. The sense of imprisonment,
which soon outweighs the romance of a sojourn among the mountains,
is a feeling foreign to the genius of these surroundings. Far rather
is one diverted by the variety of the expanses which preclude the
palling of this essentially alpine scene.
Yet, in spite of the comparative openness of such a situation, you
do not see Bitlis until you are well within her precincts. The body
of the town--the mediæval castle, the minarets and the bazars--lies
in the trough of a deep gorge. The river which threads the valley is
composed by the union of two main streams, the one coming from the
north through a direct passage from the plains of the tableland, the
other from the east, the direction of the Güzel Dere and the road to
Van. The waters meet at some little distance above the settlement, to
bury themselves on a south-westerly course in a ravine or cañon with a
depth of about 100 feet. From either side of the ravine rise the slopes
of the mountains, leaving no great interval of level ground. The road
is taken along the right bank upon the summit of the cliff; and after a
few winds reaches the commencement of the houses. They cluster on the
cliffs on both sides of the stream and mount the first acclivities of
the mountain walls. Of a sudden the valley opens and the river changes
direction, settling down to a southerly course. Two side valleys with
confluent streams enlarge the views. Tier upon tier the flat-roofed
dwellings are terraced up the slopes, and are seen extending into
the recesses of the hills. It will be about a quarter of a mile from
where you reached the first buildings; and still the castle and the
bazars are hidden from sight. It is not until that venerable pile
is already passed that the banks of the river flatten. It grazes the
eastern side of the platform of rock supporting the battlements, and
is soon joined by the tributary to the right bank. These are the most
densely-built quarters. Stone bridges with a single span of arched
masonry present the most charming prospects up the labyrinth of houses
to the castled rock of which the figure is that of a wedge with the
broad side facing south. The water bubbles over the boulders in its
bed, which is not more than thirty or forty feet wide. From its margin
rise the slender stems of willows or poplars. A little lower down the
second tributary rustles in, this one to the left bank. But the river
soon resumes its burrowing and boring tendency, and compels the houses
again to take refuge up the slopes on either side. The expanse narrows
and assumes the form of a single trough in the mountains, threaded
by a thin line of foam. The most comprehensive view of the city may
be obtained from these southern limits, just before the entrance of
the affluent from the east. It forms the subject of my illustration,
which was taken from a position in the Avel Meidan (Fig. 146)--the
quarter in which is situated the American Mission, and where, since
the date of my visit, has been established the British consulate,
the pioneer of the political and commercial intercourse of the states
of the West with this remote Oriental town.
I have endeavoured to portray the principal features in the topography
of Bitlis on the little plan--hastily executed upon the spot--which
accompanies this chapter. [130] The old castle in the well of the
expanse, towards which the valleys converge, suggests the appearance,
when seen from a standpoint on one of the adjacent heights, of a
gigantic starfish. The long feelers of the creature, represented by
the valleys covered with houses, straddle somewhat about its slender
body. Abundance of water and the shade of trees favour the place as a
residence; but these advantages are balanced by the heats which prevail
in summer and by the quantities of snow which collect in winter. The
southern aspect of the site makes it a trap for the fiery sun; while
its elevation of 5200 feet above sea-level enables the snow to lie
during the winter months, when it accumulates to a great depth, as
in a natural reservoir. On the other hand the houses are the best
built in this part of Asia, and their solid walls are almost proof
against extremes of temperature. It is quite a pleasure to observe
their substantial masonry after the habitual rubble or plastered mud
of Eastern dwellings. Here at Bitlis they are composed of blocks of
hewn stone, broken by a layer or two of thick beams, to equalise the
shock in case of earthquake. The walls are double, and the stone is
faced on the side of the interior as well as upon that of the garden
or the street. A layer of mud and rubble is sandwiched between the
two walls. Very little mortar is used to bind the blocks together,
which consist of a yellow lava weathering to a warm grey. This lava is
found in abundance in the troughs of the valleys, having presumably
flooded down them from the volcanic plateau on the north. A quarry
of white marble in the western valley, some three miles distant,
supplies ornamental material. Window glass is brought from Europe and
extensively employed. There are only wanting our open fireplaces and
groups of stone chimneys to complete the resemblance to an English
west-country town. In Bitlis the rooms are warmed most usually by
braziers and more rarely by European stoves.
The importance of the situation can readily be appreciated when we
reflect upon the geographical conditions. The entire section of the
Tauric barrier between the Great Zab on the east and this valley of
the Bitlis Su upon the west is composed of quite a network of lofty
mountains, extremely difficult to cross. To these natural obstacles,
which have played an important part in the history of these countries,
are added dangers to traffic arising out of the lawlessness of
regions which it has never been easy to police. Bitlis commands
the approach to the first important natural passage between the
districts about Lake Van and the Mesopotamian plains. The avenue
of communication is taken down the valley of the Bitlis Su, and,
crossing thence into that of the Keser Su, to the town of Sert, a
distance of about forty miles. Although this route has not as yet
been rendered passable to wheeled traffic, it is well adapted to
caravans. At Sert you are already upon the fringe of the lowlands
and in a different climate. On your one hand lies Diarbekr, with
its ready access to the Mediterranean, and on the other Mosul, upon
the navigable waterway of the Tigris, whence in any other country
but Asiatic Turkey a service of first-rate steamers would afford
quick access to the Persian Gulf. West of Bitlis there are several
passages, the routes converging upon Diarbekr; but they are for the
most part less accessible to the great plains of the tableland. It
is therefore towards this avenue that the traffic is directed between
widely distant centres of the plateau country and Aleppo or Baghdad.
It is not so very long ago that this door between highlands and
lowlands was in the keeping of a line of Kurdish princes. The Merchant
in Persia, who travelled in the early portion of the sixteenth
century, describes Bitlis as a town of no great size, ruled by a
Kurd in only nominal allegiance to the Shah of Persia, and named in
the peculiar jargon of these early adventurers Sarasbec. The castle,
with its spacious area, high walls, turrets and towers, was occupied
by this petty feudal sovereign. [131] A century later the Bey of
Bitlis impressed Tavernier with his show of power; he could place in
the field no less than 20,000 to 25,000 horsemen besides a quantity of
good infantry. He resided in the castle, approached by three successive
drawbridges; and his private apartments were situated in the last and
smallest of three courts through which the visitor made his way on foot
to audience. The Bey acknowledged neither the Sultan of Turkey nor the
Shah of Persia, and was courted by both on account of the strategical
value of his city, barring the communications between Aleppo and
Tabriz. [132] When the Jesuits founded a mission in Bitlis in the year
1685 they were kindly received by the ruling Bey. But that prince was
in nominal subjection to the Sultan, each successive ruler paying to
the Porte a small present as a matter of form upon the occasion of his
accession. [133] In the eighteenth century the padre Maurizio Garzoni,
who sojourned for eighteen years among the Kurds in the interests
of the Propaganda at Rome, speaks of the dynasty of Bitlis as one
of the five considerable principalities which divided between them
the Kurdistan of his day. The remainder were respectively located at
Jezireh, Amadia, Julamerik and Sulimanieh. [134] The last of this old
order of princes at Bitlis was a man of many-sided and remarkable
character, whose romantic history one peruses with breathless
excitement in the dry reports and correspondence of Consul Brant,
the eye and ear of the famous Stratford Canning. His name was Sherif
Bey; and he built a fortified palace on the heights which confine the
valley on the east. The site of his residence I have indicated on the
plan, although it has long ago been razed to the ground. After a life
of chequered fortune and fox-like resistance to the Turkish power he
was finally overwhelmed by the operations of Reshid Pasha and taken
a prisoner to Constantinople in 1849. It appears to have been this
prince who first deserted the ancient castle, which has now fallen
into complete ruin. Since his overthrow Bitlis has been governed by a
Turkish pasha, and it forms the capital of a vilayet bearing its name.
The derivation of that name does not appear to be known, although it
was prevalent in the time of the Arab geographers. [135]
The place seems to have borne the earlier appellation of Baghesh,
and to have belonged to the Armenian province of Beznuni. [136]
Local tradition ascribes the origin of the castle to the campaigns of
Alexander--a persistent belief which has no foundation upon any known
facts. A laughable story is gravely related in this connection. The
King of Macedon was impressed by the advantages of the site as
he journeyed past it at the head of his army. Detaching one of
his generals who was called Lais, or Lis, he ordered him to erect
a stronghold at the junction of the two streams and to endeavour
to complete it against the return of the royal forces. The general
executed these commands to the very letter; and when the King retraced
his steps to the valley which had excited his admiration, he found
it defended against his entry by a formidable fortress. After in vain
employing all the arts known to the besiegers of his day, he contrived
to possess himself of the person of his revolted subject. When that
rebel was introduced to the royal presence, he defended his action
against the vehement reproaches of his master in the following brief
speech. "My lord ordered me to build him a strong castle, the strongest
which should yet have been constructed. How could I better convince my
lord of the obedience of his servant than by successfully resisting
in that castle the greatest warrior of the world?" Alexander was
pleased by the words, but playfully observed in the Persian language
that Lis was a very naughty man, bad Lis. The epithet adhered to the
name of the general and survives in that of the town to the present
day. This is a good example of an Oriental yarn.
The connection of Bitlis with Alexander is probably apocryphal; but
the number of Greek coins that are dug up and offered for sale to the
traveller argue the extension of the later Hellenic culture into the
recesses of this distant valley. During my stay at Akhlat in the course
of my second journey several of these pieces in silver, derived from
Bitlis and the neighbourhood, were brought into my tent. One of them, a
coin of Antiochus the Sixth of Syria, lies before me as I write. Greek
inscriptions, perhaps of the Roman period, are said to be forthcoming
in the vicinity. But such hearsay should be received with considerable
caution; and the same remark will apply to the statement made to Shiel
by an aged native that there had existed an inscription on the wall
of the castle ascribing its foundation to a date 300 years before
the prophet Mohammed. [137] The Arabic writings seen on the ruins,
but unfortunately not copied or translated by modern travellers,
have most likely, almost without exception, disappeared.
The population of the town appears to have increased during the
present century. In 1814 it was believed to consist of not more than
12,000 souls, one-half Mussulman, and the remainder Armenian. [138]
Brant computed the number of families in 1838 at 3000, or from
15,000 to 18,000 souls. Of these, two-thirds were Mussulman, and
one-third Armenian, besides 50 families belonging to the Jacobite
persuasion. [139] In 1868 Consul Taylor speaks of 4000 families,
of which 1500 were Christian, that is to say Armenian. [140] At the
time of my visit the population of the town probably amounted to
close on 30,000 souls, 10,000 Armenians, 300 Syrians or Jacobites,
and the rest Mussulman Kurd. The official figures for the town and
caza, comprising Tadvan and the head of Mush plain, showed a total of
just over 44,000 inhabitants, including about 15,500 Armenians. If we
would equalise the number of the females to that of the males, 15 per
cent must be added to these figures. [141] Bitlis owes its somewhat
flourishing state mainly to its position as a provincial centre; but
it does a trade in gall-nuts and gum, collected in the surrounding
country, as well as in loupes or whorls found on the trunks of the
walnut trees and exported to France for veneering purposes. The nuts
of these trees furnish an oil which is also marketable, and madder
root is found in the district and used for dyeing purposes. From the
leaves of the oak and other trees, the villagers in the neighbourhood
collect manna -- an old-world practice still in vogue in Kurdistan.
I would now invite my reader to accompany me in a ride through the
town. Our starting-point will be a fine house on the heights of Bash
Mahalla, immediately adjoining the road from Van. A stone bridge
crosses the road from the precincts of the mansion to the dwelling
of the ladies of the family, surrounded by a pleasant garden. The
best rooms of the salamlik or larger residence had been placed at
our disposal by one of the notables of Bitlis, by name Shemseddin
Bey. Adjoining this quarter are the open spaces of the Gök Meidan,
where you may admire an old medresseh, now used as a military store--a
fine square building in hewn stone with four turrets at the corners,
and a rich façade in the Arab style on the south side. The place is
overgrown with weeds. Ancient elm trees spread their shade over the
ruins of a mosque not many feet away. Adjacent is a cemetery with
numerous headstones and two considerable mausolea. In this same
district, not far from the residence of the Pasha, is situated the
small mosque called Meidan Jamisi. A mollah dispenses instruction to
some twenty little boys in a small den of a room close by. Descending
the cliff-side to the main valley by a paved way, we pass the little
mosque of Dort Sanduk, and the Armenian church of Karmirak. The latter,
although presided over by the bishop of Bitlis, is an unpretentious
building of four plain stone walls, with two rows of three stone
pillars in the interior and crowned by a small dome. The bishop--poor
fellow--will probably be in prison; that was his residence on the
occasion of our sojourn. Attached to the church is a school with
four teachers and over a hundred pupils, who certainly impressed us
as better-to-do than at Van. Quite a number were wearing cloth clothes.
The prison, full of Armenians, frowns out from the edge of the
cliff. We make our way down the trough of the valley and past the
castle. It is nothing better than a shell, the inner structures
having fallen in or yielded their masonry to serve as material for
other buildings. On an eminence, overlooking the pile, is placed
the Turkish High School or Rushdiyeh, with seventy scholars and four
instructors. Our visit was expected, but no preparations could conceal
the squalor and general decrepitude of the institution. Most of the
pupils were quite small boys. Where was the Mudir or Director of
Public Instruction? It transpired that he too, although a Mussulman,
was in prison. He had been complaining to Constantinople that the
military authorities had turned him out of the building destined
to serve as a High School, and had converted it into a store. The
officers retaliated by locking him up. [142]
The Syrian church is situated in the same quarter--that of Kizil Mejid,
or the red Mejid. Mejid is said to be a proper name. A plain little
whitewashed chapel nestles under the cliff, and here the service
is read in the Syriac language, and a Syriac Bible lies upon the
desk. Not that any of the congregation understand that tongue; they
speak Armenian and are familiar with Turkish. The Bible is expounded to
them in Armenian, which may be said to be their native tongue. When we
reflect that the services of the early Armenian Church were celebrated
in the Syriac or the Greek languages, this transformation in the
old order of things is not without interest. The attendant priest,
a charming man who had come from Diarbekr, seemed half aware of the
irony of the situation. He went so far as to say that the Armenians
had usurped the Syrian religion and then set up a separate Church. But
the differences between the Churches amounts to little more than a
divergence in the preparation of the consecrated bread. The Syrians
use leavened bread. There was sadness in his voice when he related
the fortunes of the Jacobite community. In old days he maintained
that they had been much more numerous; and he believed that the
principal mosque in Bitlis had originally been a Syrian church. Some
had emigrated; the greater number had become Armenians. A Jacobite
marries an Armenian wife whom he leaves a widow; the woman brings up
the children in the Armenian faith. I enquired why the faithful remnant
spoke Armenian to the exclusion of any Syrian dialect. He replied,
"Because this earth is Hayasdan (Armenia)." He added that there were
some 1500 Syrians in the sanjak of Sert, mostly in the districts of
Sert and Shirvan. Their spiritual ruler is the patriarch of Mardin.
The Armenian Catholics are a mere handful among the inhabitants of
Bitlis, amounting to not more than fifteen families, of which only
three or four represent the converts of the former Jesuit Mission,
founded here in 1685. The remainder have become Catholics during
quite recent years. Persecution and schism have dealt hard blows
at the Catholic community. In 1838 they did not number more than
fifty citizens, and their priest had been taken a prisoner by the
Gregorian Armenians and cruelly beaten at the monastery of Surb
Karapet above Mush plain. [143] In the eighties that well-informed
and genial ecclesiastic, Father Rhétoré of Van, speaks of them as the
most neglected and disorganised body in Bitlis, which had dwindled
during the Kupelianist movement and from other causes from thirty
to nine families. [144] The advent of an energetic pastor, who had
studied in the Jesuit college of Beyrut, has infused new life into
the flock. He speaks French fluently, has travelled widely, and is
an accomplished man. A school has been recently opened. The Catholics
of Bitlis have had good reason to resent their treatment at the hands
of the Gregorians; but their spiritual leader displayed an antipathy
towards the Armenians of the national persuasion in which religious
hatred had overcome the bonds of race.
Very different is the attitude of the American Protestant missionaries,
whose flourishing establishment is situated in the Avel Meidan within
the angle formed by the confluence of the stream from the eastern
valley with the main Bitlis river. If their conversions excite
the jealousy of the Gregorian hierarchy, their proselytes display
no tendency to divest themselves of their nationality, but, on the
contrary, remain Armenians to the core. This fact does not increase the
goodwill of the Turkish official classes towards the Americans. Founded
in 1858, their Mission encountered the same opposition on the part
of the Armenian clergy as had formerly been experienced by the
Catholics. It was not until after the lapse of seven years that a
nucleus of five professed Protestants was formed; and, once a start
had been made, progress was rapid. Of late years the labours of
the missionaries have been wisely directed to the extension of their
schools rather than to the propagation of Protestant doctrine. Debarred
from working among the Mussulmans, they have supplied the Armenians
with priceless advantages in the shape of a college in the provincial
capital, and no less than fifteen schools in the smaller towns and
villages comprised within the limits of the vilayet. About one-half
of the attendants are and remain Gregorian. The college dispenses
three grades of education: the High School, the intermediate and
the primary grades. At the time of our visit twenty scholars were
included in the first of these categories, fifty in the second,
and about sixty in the third. There were fifteen boarders living on
the premises. The teachers numbered four, besides the missionaries,
the principal teacher having graduated at the important American
institution in Kharput. Some eighty girls, some of them boarders,
were receiving instruction. Of these the residents were in most
cases inhabitants of Bitlis, parents preferring that their daughters
should avoid passing to and fro in the streets. The majority pay for
their maintenance in kind. They impressed me as being very neat and
clean. The Mission was under the direction of Messrs. G. C. Knapp,
R. M. Cole, and George Knapp--all zealous, experienced, and amiable
men. Their Board have constructed a large church in the quarter, the
community supplying a small portion of the funds. There are about 100
professed Protestants in Bitlis, and about three times this number
of attendants at service. The Protestants of the whole vilayet may
be counted at 1200, including those who have made no public profession.
The valley which stretches eastwards from the quarter of the
missionaries is only sparsely built over. The houses belong to the
Avekh ward. Fields of cabbage occupy a considerable portion of the
level area, which is dotted over by poplars and other trees. At
a distance of about two miles from the confluence of the stream
is situated among lonely surroundings the Armenian monastery of
Astvatsatsin and an adjacent church which belongs to the Jacobite
community. The buildings of the cloister have fallen into ruin, and
are tenanted by a single priest wearing the dress of a peasant and
not distinguishable in other respects from the lowest of the peasant
class. When we alighted at the entrance, a figure stepped forth to
hold our horses, whose full, round face, large eyes and sturdy limbs,
clad in loose trousers, impressed us as belonging to a good-looking
youth. But the shirt, happening to open, displayed the bosom of a
maiden. The church was so little lighted, one could scarcely discern
the architecture; but one may say in general of the monastic churches
on the outskirts of Bitlis that they are well-built stone structures,
with four plain walls on the exterior, unbroken by any projection
on the side of the apse. The interiors display features typical of
Armenian architecture--the lofty dome, supported upon arches rising
from detached pillars, and the stone daïs at the eastern end in front
of the apse upon which the altar is reared. Their peculiarity is a
partiality for Arab stalactite ornament, as seen in the capitals of the
pillars and in the altar pieces. The most remarkable is Surb Joannes,
belonging to the monastery of Amelort in the western valley, or Koms
Mahalla. Other examples are Astvatsatsin, in the village of Koms at the
head of that valley, and the church of the fortified cloister of this
same name among the hills bordering the main stream upon the east. A
track from Van and the Güzel Dere, leaving the village of Bor on the
north, comes in over the hills at the extremity of the eastern valley.
Issuing again from this minor trough and regaining the principal
artery, we may extend our ride to the fortress enclosure of the
monastery last mentioned--a curious receptacle for a sanctuary
dedicated to the mother of Christ (Fig. 147). In spite of its massive
walls, it was rifled by Kurds during the last Russo-Turkish war; and
you may still see the imprints of the large stones which they hurled
at the door communicating with the treasury adjoining the apse of the
church. The ignorant peasant who was priest in charge informed us that
the cloister had been in possession of charms wherewith to raise the
dead to life; with these, too, the marauders had made off. A sheep
was bleating in the yard; his fat tail had been bitten off by a wolf,
while he grazed upon the sward outside. Wolves enter the streets of
the town during winter and have been known to carry away the dogs.
Returning by the right bank of the Bitlis river, we may thread our
way through the crowded bazars. They are nothing better than roofed
passages, narrow and low. An old Khan with a fine doorway in the Arab
style, adorned with the figures of two snarling lions, varies the
monotony of the shabby booths. The Arab façade with inlays of marble
of the Sherifieh mosque adjoins the masonry of the bridge over the
western confluent. We were unable to penetrate within the walls of the
principal mosque, at the foot of the castle; but it did not appear
to offer interesting features. There is a persistent tradition that
several of the mosques in Bitlis were formerly Christian churches. A
question of still greater interest, but which I regret I have failed
to elucidate, attaches to the age of the various edifices. One
cannot help remarking a strong family resemblance between them,
all being markedly under the influence of the Arab style. They are
evidently the outcome of a period or periods of building activity,
which I have been unable to locate in the history of the city.
Not the least interesting among the experiences of a sojourn at Bitlis
will be the excursion to the so-called tunnel of Semiramis. You follow
the course of the river for a distance of some four miles below the
castle along the avenue of communication with Sert. A metalled road has
been constructed for some portion of the way, representing the abortive
attempts to connect the two centres by a carriageable chaussée. It
breaks off within 1 1/2 miles of the tunnel, to be succeeded by
sporadic patches of levelled inclines. These fitful reminders of
the puny civilisation of the present day struggle forward for no
great space into the alpine scene. Limestones on the heights above,
dark lavas in the trough below accompany your course. Mineral springs
well up in abundance along the path. The tunnel is an artificial work,
attributed to the Assyrian queen, which pierces a wall of rock blocking
the narrow valley and completely cutting off the path (Fig. 148). The
barrier has been formed by deposits of lime and other ingredients left
by a spring bubbling in a basin some 150 feet above the track and over
300 feet above the right bank of the river. The water in the pool is
clear as crystal to the eye, but it tastes strongly of iron. Iron rust
reddens portions of the surface of the rock, and is conspicuous on the
huge boulders in the bed of the river, detached by the hissing torrent
from the base of the parapet. The tunnel has a depth of 22 feet and a
height of about 18 feet. It seemed to constitute the only egress from
the gorge. The view from this standpoint, looking down the passage of
the mountains, is in the sternest vein of alpine landscapes (Fig. 149).
Bitlis, like Van, was in the throes of a Reign of Terror when we
were guests within her precincts. The storm was then brewing which
was to burst in the Sasun massacre, the forerunner of the whole
series of butcheries. The town was full of tales relating to a
notorious Armenian conspirator, who not many months ago had been
captured in the Sasun region, some said by treachery and others at
the hands of a Kurd disguised as an Armenian. His name is Damadean,
and he was lodged in the jail at the time of our visit. Sasun is
comprised within a section of the same zone of mountains as those
which rise about the site of Bitlis. In other words, it is a district
of the southern peripheral ranges of the Armenian tableland, and
it lies to the south of the plain and town of Mush. The Armenians
who inhabit it are on terms of subjection to the Kurdish chiefs,
to whom they pay sums fixed by custom for protection against other
Kurdish tribes. Each chief has his own Armenian dependants, who are in
possession of arms. Being a race of mountaineers they are noted for
their courage and stubbornness; and there can be little doubt that
Armenian political agitators, such as Damadean, fixed upon them as
suitable material for a conflagration. The object of these men is to
keep the Armenian cause alive by lighting a flame here and there and
calling: Fire! The cry is taken up in the European press; and when
people run to look there are sure to be some Turkish officials drawn
into the trap and committing abominations. On this occasion the scene
of the trouble had been the village of Talori or Talvorik--the same
village which played a part in the later tragedies. Its inhabitants
earn a livelihood by the primitive exploitation of mines of iron,
and there is sufficient wood in the neighbourhood for smelting
purposes. Damadean had for some time been busy in the district,
and he had endeavoured to effect a coalition between Kurds and
Armenians to resist the levy of taxes for Government. At the same
time the Vali of Bitlis, Tahsin Pasha, happened to be on bad terms
with the authorities at Constantinople. It was said in Bitlis that
he was delighted to be afforded an opportunity of recovering favour
by suppressing a so-called rebellion. The result of these opposite
tendencies was a little piece of warfare, in which Turkish troops,
accompanied by the Vali in person, appeared before Talori. Taxes were
demanded and refused. The villagers, who had fled to a strong place
in the vicinity--where they had already successfully resisted two
tribes of Kurds friendly to the Government--stated to the official
envoy with much reason that they could not afford to pay a double set
of taxes, one to Government and the other to Kurds. If they yielded
to the present demand, was it likely that the chiefs would forego
payment when the Turkish force had turned their backs upon Sasun? The
Vali appears so far to have acted with good sense, that he avoided
bloodshed. He recovered the cattle which had been carried off by his
Kurdish allies and liquidated his claims from the proceeds of their
sale. His services were rewarded by a decoration from Constantinople;
and he was able to pose as the restorer of the authority of Government,
the ringleader being in his hands. These events occurred in the month
of June.
Damadean is a good type of the Armenian revolutionary. He received
a sound education in the school of the Mekhitarists at Venice, and
he is said to speak both the French and the English languages. Some
ten years before our visit he came to Mush as a teacher in one of
the Armenian schools. The real miseries attendant upon the social
and political lot of his countrymen are nowhere more eloquent than
in that remote town. They spoke to the soul of an Armenian who had
tasted the liberties of Europe without succumbing to the vices on the
surface of European life. The actions of such a neophyte are in so far
misguided that they operate upon much too low a plane. They produce
disturbance rather than wholesome change. The despairing usher shook
off the dust of Mush from his feet; and, when he returned after a
protracted absence to pursue his old vocation, the profession was
only a cloak to the designs he had matured in Constantinople as a
petty conspirator and correspondent of European newspapers. When his
plans were sufficiently ripe, he exchanged the dress of his office for
that of a peasant in Sasun; and the disguise enabled him to pass to
and fro between the town and the adjacent mountains in the capacity
of a seller of firewood. Disposing of his logs in the houses of
the principal officials, he had ready access to their confidential
servants. No move was made of which he had not been apprised. His
career was cut short in the doubtful manner already indicated; but
it was not calculated to accomplish abiding results.