“The authorities did nothing, and the soldiers were worse
than the crowd, for they were better armed. One house in our
quarter was burned with 115 people inside. We counted the
bodies. The soldiers set fire to the door, and as the windows
had iron bars, nobody could get out. Everybody in the house
was roasted alive. They were all women and children and old
people.”--Extract from letter of Mrs. Doughty-Wylie, wife of
British Consul at Adana; published in the London “Daily Mail.”
* * * * *
“The soldiers led the way in these horrors and were guilty of
atrocities so terrible that they can never be described in a
public print. Even the soldiers landed at Mersina--the soldiers
sent expressly to restore order--added to the crimes and for
three days continued the murders unchecked.”--Extract from the
London “Daily Mail.”
* * * * *
[Illustration: RUINED CHURCH AND HOMES AT ADANA.]
“The outbreak began in the Armenian bazaar on April 14th, and
on the pretence that an Armenian revolt was in progress the
Redifs or reserves were called out. These, as villainous a crew
as could well be found, had arms and ammunition served out to
them, and immediately joined in the slaughter, and all the
worst of the subsequent killing, looting, and house burning was
done by them.”
“The Armenians did not take their punishment lying down. Their
quarter of the town was so well defended that the mob, mad
as they were with lust for blood, would not venture into it.
Houses on the outskirts were besieged by thousands of men and
held by half a dozen; in fact, the courage of these hordes of
Moslem savages was only equal to butchering women and children
and unarmed men. I saw a Greek house which was held for eight
hours by one Armenian with a shotgun against hundreds of Turks
firing from the surrounding houses and the minaret of a mosque.
At last his cartridges gave-out, but not for two hours after
that did the mob pluck up courage to rush the house.”--Extracts
from accounts by Mr. J. L. C. Booth, special correspondent of
the London “Graphic.”
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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