Legation of the United States,
Constantinople, November 29,
1895. (Received Dec. 12.)
No. 697.]
Several days since a telegram from Mr. Lee informed me that he was safe,
but for three days I have been unable to receive an answer to my inquiry
as to the value of the mission property destroyed.
[Inclosure in No. 697.]
Extract from letter of Rev. L. O. Lee, of
Marash.
I have written you twice stating that we are safe, and also
acknowledging the prompt response of the United States legation and
the British embassy to our telegram.
Thus far at least 50 have been killed and perhaps 300 have been
wounded, some of them fatally. The affair is attributed to a quarrel
between a Mussulman and an Armenian, in which the Mussulman was
fatally injured. This was on the 24th of October. The next day,
after the man was buried, the attack began. According to a Turkish
official, the outbreak would have occurred in any case, even had not
this fatal altercation precipitated it. The disorder commenced on
Friday, the 25th. Word came around that the plan had been to have it
on Sunday, when the Armenian population would have been in the
churches. We do not certainly know this, but nothing would be more
apparent than that it was at least a permitted massacre. The worst
occurred after the moutessarif had sent a crier around three times
to order the Armenians to open their shops on pain of fine. Those
who obeyed had their shops pillaged. This is only too significant.
Not a Moslem has been arrested for injuries to Christians. A few who
aided the Christians have been arrested. The order of the day now is
gradually to arrest Armenians who are prominent in influence or
position. Two days ago the pastor of the Third Protestant Church was
imprisoned. He is as innocent of any political crime as I am.
It is now clear that the people of Zeitoun have risen. They have
captured the fort overlooking their city of 15,000 inhabitants. The
prisoners they are treating well. Their leader is a Russian
Armenian, but we do not certainly know what was the cause of this
rising; but we learn on good authority that an order had come to the
Hunchagists there to go no further in anything since the reform
scheme had been accepted. There is pretty good evidence in a letter
from a Moslem in Zeitoun to a man in this city that the Moslems had
formed a plan to destroy the place. Thus they may have risen in
self-defense. On the other hand, they may have rebelled under
Hunchagist incitements in view of the untold oppression of the past
few months.
At present troops are moving in upon Zeitoun from its four mountain
approaches. The force is from 15,000 to 20,000. We hear that they
are ordered to utterly destroy the city and raze it to the ground.
This would mean a massacre outdoing Sassoun. In these days of
reform, is there no way to stay proceedings and have a commission to
examine the case? The guilty should be punished, of course, but we
are agonized at the awful probabilities before the innocent
thousands in the city. Whatever is to be done for Zeitoun must be
done quickly, for no one can tell at what moment the attack may be
made. Naturally they are pressing on as fast as possible, so as to
finish before the snows come.
Can anything be done to protect our church building and parsonage at
Zeitoun? It cost a considerable sum of the board’s money.
