"That effendi's mouth deserves to be punished for refusing such a choice morsel," exclaimed a voice in the crowd, whereupon somebody stepped forward, knocked out some of his teeth and proceeded to cut out his tongue. "He will never blaspheme again," a pious Moslem jocosely remarked. Thereupon a dagger was placed under one of his eyes which was scooped clean out of its socket. The hideous contortions of the man's discolored face, the quick convulsions of his quivering body and the sight of the ebbing blood turning the dry dust to gory mud, literally intoxicated these furious fanatics, who having gouged out the other eye and chopped off his feet hit upon some other excruciating tortures before cutting his throat and sending his soul to "damnation" as they expressed it. These other ingenious, pain-sharpening devices, however, were such as do not lend themselves to descriptions. More than one thousand people perished in Trebizond under similar tortures who were not more mercifully shot down at once--while many Armenian women were murdered or kidnapped, and most of the Armenian houses were burned to the ground; the survivors of the massacres being driven to the hills and woods to suffer slow starvation. Equally sad was the fate of the Christians of Baiburt whose tragic taking off was related in a letter addressed by the survivors to the Armenian Patriarch at Constantinople. After giving a partial list of the slain, the writers stated: "When the massacres and plundering began, on account of the prevailing terror and insecurity, the people were compelled to close all the churches, shops and schools, and take refuge in the houses. Letters were sent from our Prelate to the commandant of the Fourth Army Corps at Erzeroum, and to the Armenian Prelate at Erzeroum asking assistance; but all our prayers remained unanswered. After the massacres the Turks advised us indirectly that the order was secretly given from the Imperial Palace and was irrevocable! "The frantic Turkish mob, assisted by regular troops suddenly fell upon the innocent and unarmed Armenians. The bloody work began at four o'clock A. M., and lasted until late in the evening. Besides murdering our people, the mob plundered and fired the Armenian dwellings and stores, taking care that the Greeks should not be molested. On that frightful day the Armenian community was almost annihilated.