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diff --git a/old/53046-0.txt b/old/53046-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 68782aa..0000000 --- a/old/53046-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6494 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ravished Armenia, by H. L. Gates - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Ravished Armenia - The Story of Aurora Mardiganian - -Author: H. L. Gates - -Contributor: Nora Waln - -Release Date: September 13, 2016 [EBook #53046] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RAVISHED ARMENIA *** - - - - -Produced by Cindy Horton and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: Suspected printer errors have been corrected. -There are variations in the spelling of a number of names that have -been transliterated from the Armenian, and these have not been changed. - - - - - -RAVISHED ARMENIA - -[Illustration: THE LONG LINE THAT SWIFTLY GREW SHORTER - -One of the most striking photographs of the deportations that have come -out of Armenia. Here is shown a column of Christians on the path across -the great plains of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz. The zaptiehs are shown walking -along at one side.] - - - - - RAVISHED ARMENIA - - THE STORY OF - AURORA MARDIGANIAN - - THE CHRISTIAN GIRL WHO LIVED THROUGH - THE GREAT MASSACRES - - _INTERPRETED BY H. L. GATES_ - - WITH A FOREWORD BY - NORA WALN - - _AND FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS_ - - [Illustration: SAVE - A LIFE - - ARMENIAN SYRIAN RELIEF] - - NEW YORK - KINGFIELD PRESS, INC. - - Copyright, 1918, by - KINGFIELD PRESS, INC. - New York - - - - -MY DEDICATION - - -To each mother and father, in this beautiful land of the United States, -who has taught a daughter to believe in God, I dedicate my book. I saw -my own mother’s body, its life ebbed out, flung onto the desert because -she had taught me that Jesus Christ was my Saviour. I saw my father die -in pain because he said to me, his little girl, “Trust in the Lord; His -will be done.” I saw thousands upon thousands of beloved daughters of -gentle mothers die under the whip, or the knife, or from the torture of -hunger and thirst, or carried away into slavery because they would not -renounce the glorious crown of their Christianity. God saved me that I -might bring to America a message from those of my people who are left, -and every father and mother will understand that what I tell in these -pages is told with love and thankfulness to Him for my escape. - -AURORA MARDIGANIAN. - -The Latham, New York City, December, 1918. - - - - - THIS STORY OF - AURORA MARDIGANIAN - - which is the most amazing narrative ever written - has been reproduced - - for the American Committee for - Armenian and Syrian Relief in a - - TREMENDOUS MOTION PICTURE - SPECTACLE - - “RAVISHED ARMENIA” - - Through which runs the thrilling yet - tender romance of this - - CHRISTIAN GIRL WHO SURVIVED - THE GREAT MASSACRES - - Undoubtedly it is one of the greatest and most - elaborate motion pictures of the age--every stirring - scene through which Aurora lives in the book, is - lived again on the motion picture screen. - - SEE AURORA, HERSELF, IN HER STORY - - Scenario by Nora Waln--Staged by Oscar Apfel - - Produced by Selig Enterprises - - Presented in a selected list of cities - - By the - - American Committee for - ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - ACKNOWLEDGMENT 9 - - FOREWORD 11 - - ARSHALUS--THE LIGHT OF THE MORNING 19 - - I WHEN THE PASHA CAME TO MY HOUSE 29 - - II THE DAYS OF TERROR BEGIN 47 - - III VAHBY BEY TAKES HIS CHOICE 64 - - IV THE CRUEL SMILE OF KEMAL EFFENDI 80 - - V THE WAYS OF THE ZAPTIEHS 99 - - VI RECRUITING FOR THE HAREMS OF CONSTANTINOPLE 116 - - VII MALATIA--THE CITY OF DEATH 132 - - VIII IN THE HAREM OF HADJI GHAFOUR 145 - - IX THE RAID ON THE MONASTERY 158 - - X THE GAME OF THE SWORDS, AND DIYARBEKIR 174 - - XI “ISHIM YOK; KEIFIM TCHOK!” 191 - - XII REUNION--AND THEN, THE SHEIKH ZILAN 208 - - XIII OLD VARTABED AND THE SHEPHERD’S CALL 223 - - XIV THE MESSAGE OF GENERAL ANDRANIK 239 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - The Long Line that Swiftly Grew Shorter _Frontispiece_ - - Map Showing Aurora’s Wanderings _Page_ 75 - - Waiting They Know Not What _Facing Page_ 158 - - Driven Forth on the Road of Terror ” ” 192 - - The Roadside of Awful Despair ” ” 234 - - - - -ACKNOWLEDGMENT - - -For verification of these amazing things, which little Aurora told -me that I might tell them, in our own language, to all the world, I -am indebted to Lord Bryce, formerly British Ambassador to the United -States, who was commissioned by the British Government to investigate -the massacres; to Dr. Clarence Ussher, of whom Aurora speaks in her -story, and who witnessed the massacres at Van; and to Dr. MacCallum, -who rescued Aurora at Erzerum and made possible her coming to America. -You may read Aurora’s story with entire confidence--every word is true. -As the story of what happened to one Christian girl, it is a proven -document. - - H. L. GATES. - - - - -FOREWORD - - -She stood beside me--a slight little girl with glossy black hair. -Until I spoke to her and she lifted her eyes in which were written -the indelible story of her suffering, I could not believe that she -was Aurora Mardiganian whom I had been expecting. She could not speak -English, but in Armenian she spoke a few words of greeting. - -It was our first meeting and in the spring of last year. Several weeks -earlier a letter had come to me telling me about this little Armenian -girl who was to be expected, asking me to help her upon her arrival. -The year before an Armenian boy had come from our relief station in the -Caucasus and kind friends had made it possible to send him to boarding -school. I had formed a similar plan to send Aurora to the same school -when she should arrive. - -We talked about education that afternoon, through her interpreter, but -she shook her head sadly. She would like to go to school, and study -music as her father had planned she should before the massacres, but -now she had a message to deliver--a message from her suffering nation -to the mothers and fathers of the United States. The determination in -the child’s eyes made me ask her her age and she answered “Seventeen.” - -Tired, and worn out nervously, as she was, Aurora insisted upon telling -us of the scenes she had left behind her--massacres, families driven -out across the desert, girls sold into Turkish harems, women ravished -by the roadside, little children dying of starvation. She begged us to -help her to help her people. “My father said America was the friend of -the oppressed. General Andranik sent me here because he trusted you to -help me,” she pleaded. - -And so her story was translated. Sometimes there had to be intervals of -rest of several days, because her suffering had so unnerved her. She -wanted to keep at it during all the heat of the summer, but by using -the argument that she would learn English, we persuaded her to go to a -camp off the coast of Connecticut for three weeks. - -You who read the story of Aurora Mardiganian’s last three years, -will find it hard to believe that in our day and generation such -things are possible. Your emotions will doubtless be similar to mine -when I first heard of the suffering of her people. I remember very -distinctly my feelings, when, early in October of 1917, I attended a -luncheon given by the Executive Committee of the American Committee for -Armenian and Syrian Relief, to a group of seventeen American Consuls -and missionaries who had just returned from Turkey after witnessing -two years of massacre and deportation. I listened to persons, the -truthfulness of whose statements I could not doubt, tell how a church -had been filled with Christian Armenians, women and children, saturated -with oil and set on fire, of refined, educated girls, from homes as -good as yours or mine, sold in the slave markets of the East, of little -children starving to death, and then to the plea for help for the -pitiful survivors who have been gathered into temporary relief stations. - -I listened almost unable to believe and yet as I looked around the -luncheon table there were familiar faces, the faces of men and women -whose word I could not doubt--Dr. James L. Barton, Chairman of the -American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, Ambassadors -Morgenthau and Elkus, who spoke from personal knowledge, Cleveland H. -Dodge, whose daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Huntington is in Constantinople, -and whose son is in Beirut, both helping with relief work, Miss Lucille -Foreman of Germantown, C. V. Vickrey, Executive Secretary of the -American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, Dr. Samuel T. Dutton -of the World Court League, George T. Scott, Presbyterian Board of -Foreign Missions, and others. - -And you who read this story as interpreted will find it even harder to -believe than I did, because you will not have the personal verification -of the men and women who can speak with authority that I had at that -luncheon. Since then it has happened that nearly every communication -from the East--Persia, Russian Caucasus and the Ottoman Empire, has -passed through my hands and I know that conditions have not been -exaggerated in this book. In this introduction I want to refer you to -Lord Bryce’s report, to Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story, to the recent -speeches of Lord Cecil before the British Parliament, and the files of -our own State Department, and you will learn that stories similar to -this one can be told by any one of the 3,950,000 refugees, the number -now estimated to be destitute in the Near East. - -This is a human living document. Miss Mardiganian’s names, dates and -places, do not correspond exactly with similar references to these -places made by Ambassador Morgenthau, Lord Bryce and others, but we -must take into consideration that she is only a girl of seventeen, -that she has lived through one of the most tragic periods of history -in that section of the world which has suffered most from the war, -that she is not a historian, that her interpreter in giving this story -to the American public has not attempted to write a history. He has -simply aimed to give her message to the American people that they may -understand something of the situation in the Near East during the past -years, and help to establish there for the future, a sane and stable -government. - -Speaking of the character of the Armenians, Ambassador Morgenthau says -in a recent article published in the New York _Evening Sun_: “From -the times of Herodotus this portion of Asia has borne the name of -Armenia. The Armenians of the present day are the direct descendants -of the people who inhabited the country 3,000 years ago. Their origin -is so ancient that it is lost in fable and mystery. There are still -undeciphered cuneiform inscriptions on the rocky hills of Van, the -largest Armenian city, that have led certain scholars--though not many, -I must admit--to identify the Armenian race with the Hittites of the -Bible. What is definitely known about the Armenians, however, is that -for ages they have constituted the most civilized and most industrious -race in the Eastern section of the Ottoman Empire. From their mountains -they have spread over the Sultan’s dominions, and form a considerable -element in the population of all the large cities. Everywhere they -are known for their industry, their intelligence and their decent and -orderly lives. They are so superior to the Turks intellectually and -morally that much of the business and industry has passed into their -hands. With the Greeks, the Armenians constituted the economic strength -of the Empire. These people became Christians in the fourth century and -established the Armenian Church as their state religion. This is said -to be the oldest Christian Church in existence. - -“In face of persecutions which have had no parallel elsewhere, these -people have clung to their early Christian faith with the utmost -tenacity. For 1,500 years they have lived there in Armenia, a little -island of Christians, surrounded by backward peoples of hostile -religion and hostile race. Their long existence has been one unending -martyrdom. The territory which they inhabit forms the connecting link -between Europe and Asia, and all the Asiatic invasions--Saracens, -Tartars, Mongols, Kurds and Turks--have passed over their peaceful -country.” - -Aurora Mardiganian has come to America to tell the story of her -suffering peoples and to do her part in making it possible for her -country to be rebuilt. She is only a little girl, but in giving her -story to the American people through the daily newspapers, in this -book, and the motion picture which is being prepared for that purpose -by the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, she is, I -feel, playing one of the greatest parts in helping to reëstablish again -“peace on earth, good will to men” in ancient Bible Lands, the home -in her generation of her people. Her mother, her father, her brothers -and sisters are gone, but according to the most careful estimates, -3,950,000 destitute peoples, mostly women and children who had been -driven many of them as far as one thousand miles from home, turn their -pitiful faces toward America for help in the reconstructive period in -which we are now living. - -Dr. James L. Barton, who is leaving this month with a commission of two -hundred men and women for the purpose of helping to rehabilitate these -lands from which Aurora came, is a part of the answer to the call for -help from these destitute people. The American Committee for Armenian -and Syrian Relief Campaign for $30,000,000, in which it is hoped all of -the people of America will participate, is another part of the answer. - -You who read this book can play a part also in helping Aurora to -deliver her message, by passing it on to some one else when you have -finished with it. - - December 2, 1918 - One Madison Ave., - New York - - NORA WALN, - Publicity Secretary, - American Committee for - Armenian and Syrian Relief. - - - - -ARSHALUS--THE LIGHT OF THE MORNING - -A PROLOGUE TO THE STORY - - -Old Vartabed, the shepherd whose flocks had clothed three generations, -stood silhouetted against the skies on the summit of a Taurus hill. His -figure was motionless, erect and very tall. The signs of age were in -every crease of his grave, strong face, yet his hands folded loosely on -his stick, for he would have scorned to lean upon it. - -To the east and north spread the plains of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz, with -here and there a plateau reaching out from a nest of foothills. -Each Spring, through twenty-five centuries, other shepherds than -Old Vartabed had stood on this same hilltop to watch the plains and -plateaux of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz turn green, but few had seen the grass -and shrubs sprout so early as they had this year. Old Vartabed should -have been greatly pleased at such promise of a good season, and should -have spoken to his sheep about it--for that was his way. - -But the shepherd was troubled. A strange foreboding had come to him in -the night. Even at daybreak he could not shake it off. He was gazing -now, not at the stretches of welcome green which soon would soothe the -bleating of his sheep, but across into the north beyond, where the blue -line of the Euphrates was lost in the haze of dawn. What his old eyes -sought there, he did not know; but something seemed to threaten from up -there in the north. - -Suddenly the lazy, droning call to the Third Prayer, with which the -devout Mohammedan greets the light of day, floated up from the valley -at Old Vartabed’s feet. It brought the shepherd out of his reverie -abruptly. “There, that was it! That was the sign. The danger might come -from the north, but it would show itself first, whatever it was to be, -in the city.” - -The shepherd looked down into the valley, onto the housetops and the -narrow, winding streets that separated them. He caught the glint of -the minaret as the muezzin again intoned his summons. Quickly his eyes -leaped across the city to where the first glimpse of sunshine played -about a crumbled pile of brown and gray--the ruins of the castle of -Tchemesh, an ancient Armenian king. A piteous sadness gathered in his -face. The minaret still stood; the castle of the king was fallen. That -was why there were two sets of prayers in the city, and why trouble was -coming out of the north. - -The old man planted his stick upright in the ground as a sign to his -sheep that where the stick stood their shepherd was bound to return. -Then he picked his way down the path that led to the lower slopes where -the houses of the city began. With a firm, even step that belied his -many years, he strode through the city until he came to the streets -marked by the imposing homes of the rich. A short turn along the side -of the park that served as a public square brought him to the home of -the banker, Mardiganian. In this house Old Vartabed was always welcome. -He had been the keeper of herds belonging to three succeeding heads of -the Mardiganian families. - -A servant woman opened the door in the street wall and admitted the -shepherd to the inner garden. When she had closed the door again, the -visitor asked: - -“Is the Master still within the house, or has he gone this early to his -business?” - -“Shame upon you for the asking!” the woman replied, with a servant’s -quick uncivility to her kind. “Have you forgotten what day it is, that -you should think the Master would be at business?” - -Amazement showed in the old man’s eyes. The woman saw that he had, -indeed, forgotten. She spoke more kindly: - -“Do you not know, Vartabed, that this is Easter Sunday morning?” - -The old man accepted the reminder, but his dignity quickly reasserted -itself. “If you live as many days as Old Vartabed you will wish to -forget more than one of them--perhaps one that is coming soon more -than any other.” - -The woman had no patience for the sententiousness of age, and the -veiled threat of coming ill she put down for petulance. But her sharp -reply fell upon unheeding ears. The shepherd crossed the garden without -further parleys and entered the house. - -The house of the Mardiganians was typical of the homes of the -well-to-do Armenians of to-day. The wide doorway which opened from -the garden was approached by handsome steps of white marble, and the -spacious hall within was floored with large slabs of the same material. -Outside, the house presented a rather gloomy appearance, because, -perhaps, of the need of protection against the sometimes rigorous -climate; inside there was every sign of luxury and opulence. The space -of ground occupied was prodigious, as the rooms were terraced, one -above the other, the roof of one being used as a dooryard garden for -the one above. - -In the large reception room, into which Old Vartabed strode, there was -a great stone fireplace, with a low divan branching out on either side -and running around three sides of the room. Beautiful tapestry covers -of native manufacture, and silk cushions made by hand, covered this -divan. Soft, thick rugs of tekke, which is a Persian and Kurdish weave -built upon felt foundations, were strewn over the marble floor. Over -the fireplace hung a rare Madonna; a landscape by a popular Armenian -artist, and a Dutch harbor by Peniers hung on the walls at the side. In -a corner of the room, under a floor lamp, was a piano. Oriental delight -in bright colorings was apparent, but the ensemble was tasteful and -subdued. - -The shepherd waited, standing, in the center of the room until his -employer entered and gave him the Easter morning greeting which Armenia -has preserved since the world was young: - -“Christ is risen from the dead, my good Vartabed!” - -“Blessed be the resurrection of Christ,” the old man replied, as the -custom dictates. Then he spoke, with an earnestness which the other man -quickly detected, of that which had brought him to the house. - -It was a vision he had seen during the night. “Our Saint Gregory -appeared to me in my sleep and pressed his hand upon me heavily. -‘Awake, Old Vartabed; awake! Thy sheep are in danger, even though -they be favored of God. Awake and save them!’ This, the good saint -said to me. Hurriedly I arose, but when my old eyes were fully opened -the vision was gone. I rushed out to the fold, but it was only I who -disturbed the flock. They were resting peacefully. - -“But I could not sleep again. Each time my eyes closed our Saint stood -before me, seeming to reprove my idleness. At dawn I took my sheep to -the hills--and then I remembered!” - -Here the shepherd hesitated. He had spoken fast, and was nearly -breathless. His employer had listened with the consideration due one -so old, and so faithful, but not without a trace of amusement in his -immobile face. - -“It is a pity, Vartabed, your sleep was restless. This morning, of all -others, you should be joyful. Tell me what it was you remembered at -dawn, and then dismiss it from your mind.” - -“Some things, Master, neither you nor I can dismiss from our minds. I -remembered that once before our Saint appeared to me in my sleep with -a warning of danger. I gave no attention then, for I was younger, and -thoughtless. Those, also, were joyous times in Armenia, for there was -peace and prosperity. But that very day the holocaust came out of the -north; for that was twenty years ago.” - -Now, the other man started. He was shaken by a convulsive shudder, and -his face blanched. Twenty years ago--that was when a hundred thousand -of his people were massacred by Abdul Hamid! Without a word he walked -to a window, separated the curtains and looked out upon the house -garden. - -The banker, Mardiganian, was a true type of the successful, modern -Armenian business man. He did not often smile, but his voice was kind, -and his eyes were gentle. In the Easter morning promenades in any -avenue in Europe or America he would have been a conventional figure, -passed without notice. When he turned from the window, after a moment, -only a close observer could have detected in his face or manner that -inexplainable, intangible something which, indelibly, marks a race -cradled in oppression. - -“What happened twenty years ago, my Vartabed, can never happen again. -We Armenians have done nothing to rouse the anger of our overlords, -the Turks. On the contrary, we have proven our willingness to serve -the state. Our young men have been called into this great war which is -ravaging the world. Even though their sympathies are with the Sultan’s -enemies, they have not shown it. They have freely given their lives in -battle for a cause they hate, that the Turk may have no excuse to vent -his wrath upon our people. Less than a week ago the Sultan’s minister, -the powerful Enver, expressed his gratitude to us for the services we -are rendering the Crescent. They dare not molest us again.” - -“But the vision that came to me last night was the same that would have -warned me that night in 1895 of the tragedy then in store for us.” - -“This time, nevertheless, it was but an idle dream.” - -The banker spoke with the finality of conviction. The shepherd was -affronted by his calm disbelief in the sign of coming evil, as the -shepherd considered it. The old man left the room and crossed the -garden in high dudgeon. His hand was upon the gate, and in another -moment he would have been gone when a fresh, youthful voice arrested -him. - -“Vartabed--wait; I am coming!” - -The old man stopped abruptly. Looking back he saw coming toward him the -one who was closer to his heart than any other living thing--Arshalus, -a daughter of the Mardiganians. - -Arshalus--that means “The Light of the Morning.” There is but one -word in America into which the Armenian name can be translated--“The -Aurora.” And no other would be so fitting. She was a merry-eyed child -of fourteen years, hair and eyes as black as night; smile and spirit as -sunny as the brightest day. Every sheep in Old Vartabed’s flock was her -pet, especially the black ones. - -When she reached the waiting shepherd Aurora quickly discovered that he -was glum, and she chose to be piqued about it. - -“Surely you were not going without wishing me the happiness of the -Easter time, or has Old Vartabed ceased to care for the one who plagues -him so much?” She made a great show of pouting, but the old man’s hurt -could not be so easily mended. Perhaps the sight of Aurora intensified -it. - -“It is idle to wish happiness; it is better to give it. When one has -none to give he has no mission. I have no joy to give to-day, even to -you, my Aurora, and so I had not thought of seeking you.” - -“That is very wrong, Vartabed. To-day Christ is risen, and there is -joy everywhere. And even more for me than many others. Just yesterday -my father told me that before another Easter comes I am to go away to -finish my schooling--to Constantinople, or, perhaps, to Switzerland or -Paris. Does that not make you happy for me, Vartabed?” - -For an instant the old man gazed down upon the upturned face. Then his -hand reached for the gate again, as if to give support to the tall, -straight body that seemed to droop. Aurora thought she had pained him. -With an impulsive fondness she raised her hands as if to rest them upon -the old man’s breast. But before she could reach him the shepherd was -gone, and the gate had closed between them. - -An hour later Old Vartabed again stood on the summit of the hill, -looking down upon the city and the plains of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz, -bathed, now, in the glory of the full morning sun. A few miles to the -south lay the ridges and long abandoned tunnels which, according to -tradition, once were the busy workings of Solomon’s mines. Harpout, -where the caravans stop; Van, the metropolis, and Sivas, the “City of -Hope,” were far beyond the horizon, outpost cities of a nation which -was born before history. The old man’s thoughts visited each of these -jewel cities in turn, and pictured the hope and faith with which they -celebrated the coming of Easter. Then he turned again to the spires -and housetops reaching up from the plains below. For he was thinking -not only of Armenia--the beautiful, golden Armenia of that Easter day -in 1914, but, also, of the child who was named for “The Light of the -Morning.” - - H. L. GATES. - - - - -THE STORY OF AURORA MARDIGANIAN - - - - -CHAPTER I - -WHEN THE PASHA CAME TO MY HOUSE - - -My story begins with Easter Sunday morning, in April, 1915. In my -father’s house we prepared to observe the day with a joyous reverence, -increased by the news from Constantinople that the Turkish government -recently had expressed its gratitude for the loyal and valuable -service of the Armenian troops in the Great War. When Turkey joined -in the war, almost six months before, a great fear spread throughout -Armenia. Without the protecting influence of France and England, my -people were anxious lest the Turks take advantage of their opportunity -and begin again the old oppression of their Christian subjects. The -young Armenian men would have preferred to fight with the Sultan’s -enemies, but they hurried to enlist in the Ottoman armies, to prove -they were not disloyal. And now that the Sultan had acknowledged their -sacrifices, the fear of new persecutions at the hands of our Moslem -rulers gradually had disappeared. - -And in all our city, Tchemesh-Gedzak, twenty miles north of Harpout, -the capital of the district of Mamuret-ul-Aziz, there was none more -grateful for the promise of continued peace in Armenia than my father -and mother, and Lusanne, my elder sister and I. I was only fourteen -years old, and Lusanne was not yet seventeen, but even little girls -are always afraid in Armenia. I was quite excited that morning over -my father’s Easter gift to me--his promise that soon I could go to an -European school and finish my education as befits a banker’s daughter. -Lusanne was to be married, and she was bent upon enjoying the last -Easter day of her maidenhood. Even the early visit that morning of Old -Vartabed, our shepherd, who came just after daybreak, with a prophecy -of trouble, did not dampen our spirits. - -Standing before my looking glass I was rearranging for the hundredth -time the blue ribbons with which I had dressed my hair with, I must -confess, a secret hope that they would be the envy of all the other -girls at the church service. Lusanne was making use of her elder -sister’s privilege to scold me heartily for my vanity. Lusanne was -always very prim, and quiet. I was just about to tell her that she was -only jealous because she soon would be a wife and forbidden to wear -blue ribbons any more, when my mother came into the room. She stopped -just inside the door, and leaned against the wall. She did not say a -word--just looked at me. - -“Mother, what is it?” I cried. She did not answer, but silently pointed -to the window. Lusanne and I ran at once to look down into the street. -There at the gate to our yard stood three Turkish gendarmes, each with -a rifle, rigidly on guard. On their arms was the band that marked them -as personal attendants of Husein Pasha, the military commandant in our -district. - -I turned to my mother for an explanation. She had fallen in a heap on -the floor and was weeping. She did not speak, but pointed downward and -I knew that Husein Pasha had come to our house, and was downstairs. -Then my happiness was gone, and I, too, fell to the floor and cried. -Somehow I felt that the end had come. - -For a long time the powerful Husein Pasha, who was very rich and a -friend of the Sultan himself, had wanted me for his harem. His big -house sat in the midst of beautiful gardens, just outside the city. -There he had gathered more than a dozen of the prettiest Christian -girls from the surrounding towns. In Armenia the Mutassarif, or Turkish -commandant, is an official of great power. He accepts no orders, except -those that come direct from the Sultan’s ministers, and, as a rule, he -is cruel and autocratic. - -It is dangerous for an Armenian father to displease the Mutassarif. -When this representative of the Sultan sees a pretty Armenian girl he -would like to add to his harem there are many ways he may go about -getting her. The way of Husein Pasha was to bluntly ask her father -to sell or give her to him, with a veiled threat that if the father -refused he would be persecuted. To make the sale of the girl legal -and give the Mutassarif the right to make her his concubine it was -necessary only for him to persuade or compel her to forswear Christ and -become Mohammedan. - -Three times Husein Pasha had asked my father to give me to him. Three -times my father had defied his anger and refused. The Pasha was afraid -to punish us, as my father was wealthy, and through his friendship with -the British Consul at Harpout, Mr. Stevens, had obtained protection of -the Vali, or Governor, of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz province. But now the -British Consul was gone. The Vali was afraid of no one. And Husein -Pasha could, I knew, do as he pleased. Instinctively I knew, too, that -his visit to our house, with his escort of armed soldiers, meant that -he had come again to ask for me. - -I clung to my mother and Lusanne, with my two younger sisters holding -onto my skirt, while we listened at the head of the stairs to my father -and the governor talking. Husein was no longer asking for me--he was -demanding. I heard him say: “Soon orders from Constantinople will -arrive; you Christian dogs are to be sent away; not a man, woman or -child who denies Mohammed will be permitted to remain. When that time -comes there is none to save you but me. Give me the girl Aurora, and I -will take all your family under my protection until the crisis is past. -Refuse and you know what you may expect!” - -My father could not speak aloud. He was choked with fear and horror. -My mother screamed. I begged mother to let me rush downstairs and give -myself to the Pasha. I would do anything to save her and father and my -little brothers and sisters. Then father found his voice, and we heard -him saying to the Pasha: - -“God’s will shall be done--and He would never will that my child should -sacrifice herself to save us.” - -My mother held me closer. “Your father has spoken--for you and us.” - -Husein Pasha went away in anger, his escort marching stiffly behind. -Scarcely had he disappeared than there was a great commotion in the -streets. Crowds began to assemble at the corners. Men ran to our house -to tell us news that had just been brought by a horseman who had ridden -in wild haste from Harpout. - -“They are massacring at Van; men, women and children are being hacked -to pieces. The Kurds are stealing the girls!” - -Van is the greatest city in Armenia. It was once the capital of the -Vannic kingdom of Queen Semiramis. It was the home of Xerxes, and, we -are taught, was built by the King Aram in the midst of what was the -first land uncovered after the Deluge--the Holy Place where the ark of -Noah rested. It is very dear to Armenians, and was one of the centers -of our church and national life. It lies two hundred miles away from -Tchemesh-Gedzak, and was the home of more than 50,000 of our people. -The Vali of Van, Djevdet Bey, was the principal Turkish ruler in -Armenia--and the most cruel. A massacre at Van meant that soon it would -spread over all Armenia. - -They brought the horseman from Harpout to our house. My father tried to -question him but all he could say was: - -“Ermenleri hep kesdiler--hep gitdi bitdi!”--“The Armenians all -killed--all gone, all dead!” He moaned it over and over. In Harpout the -news had come by telegraph, and the horseman who belonged in our city -had ridden at once to warn us. - -I begged my father and mother to let me run at once to the palace of -Husein Pasha and tell him I would do whatever he wished if he would -save my family before orders came to disturb us. But mother held me -close, while father would only say, “God’s will be done, and that would -not be it.” - -Lusanne was crying. Little Aruciag and Sarah, my younger sisters, were -crying, too. My father was very pale and his hands trembled when he put -them on my shoulders and tried to comfort me. I closed my eyes and -seemed to see my father and mother and sisters and brothers, all lying -dead in the massacre I feared would come, sooner or later. And Husein -Pasha had said I could save them! But I couldn’t disobey my father. -Suddenly I thought of Father Rhoupen. - -I broke away from my mother and ran out of the house, through the -back entrance and into the street that led to the church where Father -Rhoupen was waiting for his congregation. No one had had the courage to -tell the holy man of the news from Van. When I ran into the little room -behind the altar he was wondering why his people had not come. - -I fell at his feet, and it was a long time before I could stop my tears -long enough to tell him why I was there. But he knew something had -happened. He stroked my hair, and waited. When I could speak I told him -of the visit of Husein Pasha, and what he said to us--and then I told -him of the message the horseman had brought. I pleaded with him to tell -me that it would be right for me to send word to Husein Pasha that I -would be his willing concubine if he would only save my parents and my -brothers and sisters. - -Father Rhoupen made me tell it twice. When I had finished the second -time he put a hand on my head and said, “Let us ask God, my child!” - -Then Father Rhoupen prayed. - -He asked God to guide me in the way I should go. I do not remember all -the prayer, for I was crying too bitterly and was too frightened, but -I know the priest pleaded for me and my people, and that he reminded -the Father we were His first believers and had been true to Him through -many centuries of persecution. As the priest went on I became soothed, -and unconsciously I began to listen--hoping to hear with my own ears -the answer I felt must surely come down from up above to Father -Rhoupen’s plea. - -When he said “Amen” the priest knelt with me, and together we waited. -Suddenly Father Rhoupen pressed me close to his breast and began to -speak. - -“The way is clear, my child. The answer has come. Trust in Jesus Christ -and He will save you as He deems best. It were better that you should -die, if need be, or suffer even worse than death, than by your example -lead others to forswear their faith in the Saviour. Go back to your -father and mother and comfort them, but obey them.” - -All that day and the next messengers rode back and forth between -Harpout and our city, bringing the latest scraps of news from Van. -We were filled with joy when we heard the Armenians had barricaded -themselves and were fighting back, but we dreaded the consequences. No -one slept that night in our city. All day and all night Father Rhoupen -and his assistant priests and religious teachers in the Christian -College went from house to house to pray with family groups. - -The principal men in the city waited on Husein Pasha to ask him if we -were in danger. He told them their fears were groundless--that the -trouble at Van was merely a riot. My father and mother clutched eagerly -at this half promise of security, but Tuesday we knew we had been -deceived. That morning Husein Pasha ordered the doors of the district -jail opened, and the criminals--bandits and murderers--who were -confined there, released and brought to his palace. - -An hour later each one of these outlaws had been dressed in the uniform -of the gendarmes, given a rifle, a bayonet and a long dagger and lined -up in the public square to await orders. That is the Turkish way when -there is bad work to do. - -At noon officers of the gendarmes, or, as they are called, zaptiehs, -rode through the city posting notices on the walls and fences at every -street corner. My father had gone to Harpout early in the morning to -confer with rich Armenian bankers there and to appeal direct to Ismail -Bey, the Vali. Mother was too weak from worry to go to the corner and -read the notices, so Lusanne and I went at once. The paper read: - - ARMENIANS. - - You are hereby commanded by His Excellency, Husein Pasha, to - immediately go into your houses and remain within doors until - it is the pleasure of His Excellency to again permit you to go - about your affairs. All Armenians found upon the streets, at - their places of business or otherwise absent from their homes, - later than one hour after noon of this day will be arrested and - severely punished. - - (Signed) - - ALI AGHAZADE, _Mayor_. - -When we reported to our mother she was greatly worried because of our -father’s absence at Harpout. He might ride into the city at any time -during the afternoon, ignorant of the orders, and be caught in the -streets. Our brother Paul, who was fifteen years old, was visiting at a -neighbor’s. We sent him, through narrow, back streets, out of the city -and onto the plains where he could watch the road our father must ride -along, and, should he appear before dark, warn him of the order. We had -reason later to be thankful father was away. - -We could not imagine what the order meant. We could not bring ourselves -to believe it meant a deliberate massacre was planned, and that this -means was taken to have us all in our homes for the convenience of the -zaptiehs. - -At 4 o’clock gendarmes, among them the prisoners released from jail, -marched up to the homes of the wealthiest men, with orders for them to -attend an audience with Husein Pasha. - -When mother explained to the officer who came to our door that my -father was out of town the zaptiehs searched the house, roughly pushing -my mother aside when she got in their way. They then demanded the keys -to my father’s business place. When Lusanne ran upstairs to get them -the officer insisted upon going with her. While she was getting the -keys from my father’s room he embraced her, tearing open her dress as -he did so. When she screamed he slapped her in the face so hard she -fell onto the floor. He left her there and went out with his men. - -From our windows we could overlook the public square. Here the zaptiehs -gathered fifty of the city’s leading men. Among them were Father -Rhoupen; the president of the Christian College, which had been founded -by American missionaries; several professors and physicians; bankers, -the principal merchants and other business men. - -Instead of marching their prisoners toward the palace of the Pasha, the -guards turned them toward the other part of the city. Then we knew they -were being taken, not to an audience with the commandant, but to the -jail which had been emptied by the Mutassarif that morning. - -Many women, when they realized where their husbands were being taken, -ignored the order to keep to their homes, ran into the street and -tried to rush up to their men folk. The gendarmes knocked them aside -with rifle butts. One woman, the wife of a professor, managed to break -through the guard and reach her husband. A gendarme tried to pull her -away, but she clung tightly, screaming. The soldier turned his rifle -about and drove his bayonet into her. Her husband leaped at the man’s -throat and was killed by another gendarme. - -The prisoners were compelled to march over the bodies of the professor -and his wife, while their children, who had also run out of their -house, stood aside, wringing their hands and weeping, until the company -passed, when they were permitted to tug the bodies of their parents -into their home. None of us who watched dared go to the assistance of -these little ones. - -The jail is a rambling stone building, built more than seven centuries -ago. Originally it was a monastery, but the Turks took possession of -it in 1580, and have used it as a prison ever since. It is surrounded -by a high wall and has a large courtyard onto which the great, barren -dungeons open. - -Throughout that afternoon mother, Lusanne and I waited anxiously -for father to come from Harpout. Toward evening a gendarme came to -the house and asked if father had returned yet, saying that he was -missed “at the audience with the Mutassarif.” Mother asked him why the -men folk were taken to jail, if the Mutassarif wanted to see them. -The soldier said the governor thought that would be handier, as it -was a long walk to the palace. We were comforted a little by that -explanation, but when evening came and the men had not returned to -their homes we became worried again. And we began to fear, too, that -father and Paul had been intercepted. - -At dark the wives and daughters of the men who had been taken from -their homes could not stand the suspense any longer. Braving the order -to remain indoors they began to gather in the streets, and little -companies of women and children, and even the more daring men, moved -toward the jails. They waited outside until well toward midnight, -hoping to catch a glimpse of their relatives or to hear what was going -on inside. At 11 o’clock the prison gates opened and Husein Pasha, in -his carriage and escorted by a heavy guard of mounted soldiers, came -out. - -The women crowded around him, but the soldiers drove them away. -Scarcely had the Pasha’s carriage disappeared than there was shouting -and screaming in the prison. Lusanne and I, who had stolen up to the -prison wall, ran home frightened. Father and Paul were there, having -reached home late in the evening. - -Father looked very careworn. He took me into his arms and kissed me -in a strange way. Big tears were in his eyes when I looked into them. -I knew, without asking, that he had not succeeded in his mission to -Harpout for protection. We sat up all that night, listening to the -cries that came from the prison. We learned the next day what had -happened, when the one man who had escaped crept into his home to be -hidden. - -When Husein Pasha arrived at the prison he told the men who had been -gathered that new word had come from Constantinople that the Armenians -were not loyal to Turkey, and that they had been plotting to help the -Allies. He demanded that the prisoners tell him what they knew of such -plots. Every one of them assured him there had been no such plotting, -that the Armenians wanted only to live in peace with their Turkish -neighbors, obey the Sultan and do him whatever service was demanded of -them. Husein seemed at last convinced and went away, saying the men -could all return to their homes in the morning. - -While the prisoners were congratulating each other upon their promised -release, and hoping there might be some way to get word to their -families in the meantime, gendarmes appeared and drove the men into -one corner of the courtyard. While the others were held back by the -levelled guns and bayonets one prisoner at a time was pulled into a -ring of soldiers and ordered to confess that he had been conspiring -against the Sultan. - -As each one denied the accusation and declared he would confess to -nothing, he was stripped of his clothes and the gendarmes fell to -beating him on his naked back with leather thongs. As fast as the -men fainted from the lashing they were thrown to one side until they -revived, when they were beaten again, until all the soldiers had taken -turns with the thongs and were tired. Eight of the older men died under -the beatings. Their bodies were thrown into a corner of the jail yard. - -While they were beating Father Rhoupen an officer interfered. He said -it was a waste of time to beat the priest, as all priests must be -killed anyway. He then turned to Father Rhoupen and told him he could -live only if he would forswear Christ and become Mohammedan. If he -refused, the officer said, he would be beaten until he died. - -Poor Father Rhoupen was almost too weak to answer. When the soldiers -dropped him, at the officer’s command, he fell into a heap on the -ground. When he tried to speak his head shook and the Turk thought he -was signifying he would accept Mohammed. - -“Hold him up--on his feet,” the officer ordered. - -Two soldiers lifted him. The officer commanded him to repeat the creed -of Islam--“There is only one God, and Mohammed is his prophet.” - -“There is only one God”--Father Rhoupen began, just as clearly as -he could, and with his eyes turned full upon the cruel officer. He -stopped for breath, and then went on--“and Jesus Christ, His Son, is my -Saviour!” - -The officer drew his sword and cut off Father Rhoupen’s head. - -Professor Poladian, president of the College, was next told that he -might save his life if he would profess Mohammed. Professor Poladian -was one of the most loved men in all Armenia. He had studied at Yale -University, in the United States, and had been highly honored by -England and France because of his noble deeds. He was very old. - -I loved him more than any man besides my father, because once when I -was very little I was sick and cried when I had to stay away from a -Christmas tree at the College on which Professor Poladian had hung -bags of candy for all the little girls of Tchemesh-Gedzak. Professor -Poladian asked Lusanne, my sister, why I was not with the other -children who gathered about the tree, and when she told him I was at -home, ill, and that I cried because I couldn’t come, he drove all the -way to our house, almost two miles, brought me my candy bag and told -me the Christmas story of the birth of Christ. I remember after that I -always wanted to pray to Professor Poladian after I had prayed to God, -until my mother made me understand why I shouldn’t. - -Professor Poladian was not beaten, but the officer told him he had -been spared only that he might swear faith in Islam. The Professor was -almost overcome with his suffering at having to witness the treatment -of his friends, but he told the officer he would give his life rather -than deny his religion. The soldiers then tore out his finger nails, -one by one, and his toe nails and pulled out his hair and beard, and -then stabbed him with knives until he died. - -Throughout the night the screams from the prison yard continued, and -the women waiting outside were frantic. At dawn soldiers drove the -women away, telling them their husbands would soon be home. - -As soon as the women were out of sight the soldiers took out the men -who had lived through the torture, and, tying them together with a long -rope, marched them out of the city behind the jail toward the Murad -River, ten miles away. When they reached the river bank the soldiers -set upon the men and stabbed them to death with bayonets. Only the one -escaped by pulling a dead body on top of him and making believe that -he, too, was dead. - -The next day, Thursday, which is the day before the Mohammedan Sunday, -the soldiers went through the streets at 9 o’clock, calling for all -Armenian men over eighteen years of age, to assemble in the public -square. In every street an officer stopped at house doors and told the -people that any man over eighteen who was not in the square in one hour -would be killed. - -Mother and Lusanne and I flew to father’s arms. We each tried to get -our arms around his neck. He was very sad and quiet. “One at a time, my -dear ones,” he said, and made us wait while he kissed and said good-by -to each of us in turn. Little Sarah, who was seven, and Hovnan, who was -six, he held in his arms a long time. Then he kissed me on the lips, -such as he had never done before. He told mother she must not cry, but -be very brave. Then he went out. - -Little Paul followed father at a distance, to be near him as long as -possible. When father got to the square Paul tried to turn back, but a -soldier saw him and caught him by the collar, saying, “You go along, -too, then we won’t have to gather you up with the women to-morrow.” -Father protested that Paul was only fifteen, but the soldiers wouldn’t -listen. So my brother never came back home. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE DAYS OF TERROR BEGIN - - -I had gone upstairs to my window to watch father crossing the street -to the square. Mother had fallen onto a divan in the reception room -downstairs. Lusanne and my little brothers and sisters stayed with her, -even the little ones trying to make believe that, perhaps, father would -return. When I saw the soldier take Paul, too, I screamed. Mother heard -and came running upstairs, Lusanne and the others following. I was the -only one who had seen. I would have to tell them--to tell them that not -only father, but that little Paul, who had wanted to be a priest, when -he grew up, like Father Rhoupen, was gone too. For a moment I could not -speak. Mother thought something had happened to father in the street, -and that I had seen. - -“Tell me quick--what is it? Have they killed him?” she cried. I -couldn’t answer--except to shake my head. Suddenly mother missed Paul -for the first time. Something must have told her. She asked Lusanne: -“Where is my boy? Where is Paul? Why isn’t he here?” - -Lusanne started to run downstairs to look in the yard. I motioned her -not to go. I put my arms around mother and said, between my sobs: - -“They took Paul too--he is with our father!” - -Mother sank upon the floor and buried her face. Lusanne and I knelt -beside her. But she didn’t cry. Her eyes were dry when she gathered us -to her. I never saw my mother cry after that, even when the Turkish -soldiers, at the orders of Ahmed Bey, were beating her to death while -they made me look on before returning me to Ahmed’s harem. - -Out of my window we could see the men comforting each other, or -talking excitedly with the leaders, in the square. By the middle of -the afternoon more than 3,000 men and older boys had assembled. The -soldiers and zaptiehs searched our houses that no man over eighteen -might escape. When women clung to husbands and fathers the soldiers -said the men were summoned only to be addressed by Ishmail Bey, the -Vali, who was coming up from his capital, Harpout. Some of the women -believed this explanation. Others knew it was not true. - -Not very far from our house was the home of Andranik, a young man who -had graduated from the American School at Marsovan, and who had come to -our city with his parents to teach in our schools. He was very popular -in the city, and it was to him Lusanne was to be married. When the -Turks conscripted young Armenian men they spared Andranik because of -his position as a teacher. - -When his father answered the summons to the square Andranik remained -behind. He disguised himself in a dress belonging to his sister and -made his way to the edge of the city where he bought a horse from a -Turk whom he knew he could trust. By the Turk, Andranik sent word -to Lusanne that he would ride to Harpout, where he knew the German -Consul-General, Count Wolf von Wolfskehl, and beg of this powerful -German official to intercede for the Armenians of Tchemesh-Gedzak. - -Lusanne was much encouraged when she heard Andranik was safe. All -afternoon neighboring women, some of them wives of wealthy men, came -to our house to look from our windows into the square, hoping to catch -a glimpse of their loved ones. The soldiers would not let the women -gather near the square, nor communicate with the men. - -One pretty woman, Mrs. Sirpouhi, who had been married not quite a -year to a son of our richest manufacturer, was just about to become a -mother. From our window she caught sight of her husband. She could not -keep herself from running across to the square, screaming as she went, -“My Vartan--my Vartan!” Vartan was his name. - -The young husband heard his wife calling and ran to the edge of the -square, holding out his arms to her. Just as she was about to throw -herself upon him a zaptieh struck her on the head with his gun. When -this zaptieh and his companions saw the young woman was almost a mother -they took turns running their bayonets into her. The husband fell to -the ground. I think he fainted. The soldiers carried him off. They left -his bride’s body where it fell. - -At sundown, when nearly all the Christian women in the city must have -cried their eyes dry, as did Lusanne and I, we heard the muezzin -calling the First Prayer from the minarets of the El Hasan Mosque in -the Mohammedan quarter. It seemed to me the muezzin was mocking us as -he sang: “There is no God but Allah; come to prayer; come to security!” -Without letting mother know I knelt by myself and asked our God if He -would not think of us--and send our fathers back. Perhaps He heard me -for as soon as the Mohammedan prayer was over a soldier came to our -door. - -He said father had paid him to bring a message; that he would be able -to speak to us if we should go at once to the north corner of the -square. To prove his message was true the soldier showed us father’s -ring. - -With my little sisters and brothers holding to our hands, mother, -Lusanne and I ran quickly to the north corner, and there father and -Paul were awaiting us. For a time he could not speak. Then he said: - -“We are to be driven into the desert!” - -The officers had told them they would be taken only to Arabkir, sixty -miles away, and allowed to camp there until the Turks were ready for -them to return home again. Father said he hoped this were true--but -he did not believe they would be allowed to return. He told mother -that since little Paul was along he would like to have her bring -him a blanket to wrap up in at night, and money. He had with him a -hundred liras, or $440. in American money, but perhaps if he had more, -he thought he could bribe the soldiers to let Paul ride a horse, or -perhaps, escape when they began the march. - -Mother and I hurried to the house. She went into the basement, where -father had hidden a great deal of money for us. When I went to get a -blanket I thought of my “yorgan,” a birthday blanket father had brought -me from Smyrna when I was ten years old. It was the most beautiful -thing I had. The Ten Commandments were woven into it, and it had been -made, many people had said, a thousand years ago. I took this to Paul -and another blanket for father. Paul cried when he saw I had given him -my yorgan. We wrapped dried fruit, and cheese in thin bread, also, to -give them. Mother took 200 liras--almost a thousand dollars. - -The soldiers would not let us talk long to father the second time. We -stood across the street just looking at him until it was too dark to -see him any more, and then we went home. We never saw father or Paul -again. - -When we reached our house we found Abdoullah Bey, the police chief, -waiting in the parlor. Abdoullah always had been a friend of father’s, -and we thought him a kindly man. Perhaps he would have helped us if he -could, but when mother begged him to have Paul, at least, restored to -us, he showed us a written order, signed by Ismail Bey, the Vali, which -had been given him by Husein Pasha. It read: - -“During the process of deportation of the Armenians if any Moslem -resident or visitor from the surrounding country endeavors to conceal -or otherwise protect a Christian, first his house shall be burned, then -the Christian killed before his eyes, and then the Moslem’s family and -himself shall be killed.” - -“You see I cannot help you,” Abdoullah Bey said, “even though I would. -But I can advise you as a friend. You have two daughters who are young. -It is still possible for them to renounce your religion and accept -Allah. I will take word personally, if you wish, to Husein Pasha that -your Lusanne and Aurora will say the rek’ah (the oath to Mohammed). He -is willing to take them both, and thus spare them and you many things, -which, perhaps, are about to happen. Soon it may be too late.” - -Husein wanted us both! I remembered Father Rhoupen’s words, “Trust -in God and be true to Him.” But it seemed as if I ought to sacrifice -myself. Even then I would have gone to the Pasha’s house, but mother -said to Abdoullah: - -“Tell the Pasha we belong to God, and will accept whatever He wills!” -Abdoullah respected mother for her courage. He bowed to her as he went -out. “I am sorry for what may come,” he said. - -That evening Andranik returned from Harpout and came at once to our -house. He still wore his sister’s dress. When he appeared at the door -Lusanne ran into his arms. I read in his face bad news. - -“I begged of Count von Wolfskehl to save us. He said the Sultan had -ordered that no Christian subject be left alive in Turkey, and that he -thought the Sultan had done right.” - -Lusanne secretly had thought Andranik would be successful. She had such -confidence in him she did not think he could fail. She was overcome -when her hope was destroyed, but she thought more of Andranik than of -herself. She begged him to try to escape. Andranik decided he would -remain in his women’s clothes. Lusanne cut off some of her own hair -and arranged it on his head so bits of it would show under his shawl -and make him look more nearly like a girl. They thought perhaps he -might get out of the city at night, unmolested, and hide with friendly -farmers. - -But, somehow, the authorities learned Andranik had not surrendered -himself. Early in the evening the zaptiehs under command of Abdoullah, -surrounded his house and demanded that he come out. When his mother -said he was not there, the gendarme chief replied that if he did not -appear at once the house would be burned with all who were in it. - -A neighbor woman ran in to tell us. Andranik threw off his disguise, -took an old saber father had hung on our wall, and rushed out. He -cut his way through the gendarmes and got into his home, where he -found his mother and sister and his other relatives in a panic of -fear. The gendarmes shouted to him to come out at once. Andranik saw -them bringing up cans of oil. He kissed his mother and sister again -and stepped out into the street. They killed him with knives on the -doorstep. His sister ran out and threw herself on his body, and they -killed her, too. When a neighbor told us what had happened, Lusanne ran -out to Andranik’s house and helped his mother carry in the two bodies. - -Father and the other men were taken away that night. In our house we -were sitting in my room trying to pick them out from the shadows in -the square made by the torches and lanterns of the zaptiehs, when many -new soldiers appeared, and, suddenly, there was a great shouting. Soon -we saw the men, formed into a long line, march out of the square, -with zaptiehs and soldiers all about them. It was too dark for us to -identify father and Paul, but we knew they would be looking up at our -window and hoped they could see us. - -They took the men toward the Kara River, which is a branch of the -Euphrates. Many were so old and feeble they could not walk so far, and -fell to the ground. The zaptiehs killed these with their knives and -left their bodies behind. It was daylight when they came to the little -village of Gwazim, which is on the river bank twelve miles away. There -was a large building at Gwazim which the Turks sometimes used as a -barracks when there was war with the Kurds, and at other times as a -prison. Half the men were put into this building and told they would -have to stay until the next day. The zaptiehs then took the others -across the river toward Arabkir. - -At noon of that day the zaptiehs returned to Gwazim. They had killed -all the men they had taken across the river just as soon as they were -out of sight of the village. When we, in Tchemesh-Gedzak, heard that -part of our men had been left in the prison, hundreds of women walked -the dusty road to Gwazim. Lusanne and I went, hoping to get one more -glimpse of father and Paul. - -In Gwazim there was an aged Armenian woman who had lived in our city -at the time of the massacre in 1895. She was pretty then, and when the -Kurds stole her she saved her life by turning Mohammedan. Then she -was sold to a Turkish bey at Gwazim. He kept her in his harem until -she grew old. All the time, while professing Islam, she secretly was -Christian. The bey had given her the name “Fatimeh.” - -Fatimeh persuaded the guards at the prison to let her take water to the -men. When she told the prisoners the zaptiehs had returned without the -other men they knew the same fate was in store for them. - -When Fatimeh came out she told me father and Paul were inside and had -sent word to us to be hopeful. In a little while we saw her going into -the prison again, this time with two big rocks, so heavy she could -hardly carry them, hidden in her water buckets. She came out again and -filled her buckets with coal oil. - -When it was dark the younger men, who were strong and brave, killed all -the older men by hitting their heads with the rocks Fatimeh had taken -them. Father killed Paul first, because he was so little. When all -the old and feeble men were dead, the young men prayed that God would -think they had done right in not letting the old men suffer and then -they spread the oil, set it afire, and threw themselves in the flames. -Fatimeh told us what had happened while the prison burned. The zaptiehs -suspected her and carried her into the burning building and left her. - -It was almost dawn Saturday morning when Lusanne and I returned to -mother. “As God wills, so be it,” was all she said when we told her -what had happened at the prison. She said there had been a great -celebration in the El Hasan mosque, in honor of the Mohammedan Sunday, -while we were at Gwazim. A special imam, or prayer reader, had come all -the way from Trebizond to read special prayers set aside for such great -events as the beginning of a holy war or massacre of Christians. - -That morning soldiers went through the streets posting a new paper on -the walls. It was what we had feared--an order from the Governor that -all Armenian Christian women in the city, young and old, must be ready -in three days to leave their homes and be deported--where, the order -did not say. - -As soon as the Turkish residents heard of the new order many of them -began to go about the Armenian half of the town offering to buy what -the Armenian women wanted to sell. As there were none of the men left, -the women had no one to advise them. To our house, which was one of the -best in the city, there came many rich Turks, who told us we had better -sell them our rugs and the beautiful laces mother, Lusanne and I had -made. - -Every Armenian girl is taught to make pretty laces. No girl is happy -until she can make for herself a lace bridal veil. Always the Turks are -eager to buy these, as they sell for much money to foreign traders, but -no Armenian bride will sell her veil unless she is starving. Lusanne -and I had made our veils, and had put them away until we should need -them. We knew we could not carry them with us when we were deported, -as they would soon be stolen. So we sold them, and mother’s, too. The -most we could get was a few piasters. Since I have come to America I -have seen spreads and table covers, made from such bridal veils as -ours, for sale in shops for hundreds of dollars. Father had brought us -many rugs from Harpout, Smyrna and Damascus. For these mother could get -only a few pennies. - -On the second day after the proclamation, which was our Sunday, the -soldiers visited all the houses. They walked in without knocking. They -pretended to be looking for guns and revolvers, but what they took was -our silver and gold spoons and vases. - -That afternoon a company of horsemen rode past our house. We ran to -the window and saw they were Aghja Daghi Kurds, the crudest of all the -tribes. At their head rode the famous Musa Bey, the chieftain who, a -few years before, had waylaid Dr. Raynolds and Dr. Knapp, the famous -American missionaries, and had robbed them and left them tied together -on the road. - -The Kurds rode to the palace of Husein Pasha. In a little while they -rode away again, and some of the Pasha’s soldiers rode with them. That -meant, we knew, that the Governor had given the Kurds permission to -waylay us when we were outside the city. - -All that night the women sat up in their homes. In our house mother -went from room to room, looking at the little things on the walls -and in the cupboards that had been hers since she was a little girl. -She sat a long time over father’s clothes. I got out my playthings -and cried over them. Some of them had been my grandmother’s toys. -Lusanne did not cry. She thought only of Andranik and the loss of her -bridal veil, and her tears had dried, like mother’s. Little Hovnan and -Mardiros, our brothers, and Sarah and Aruciag, our sisters, cried very -hard when we told they must say good-by to their dolls and their kites. - -When morning of the last day came I slipped out of our home to visit -Mariam, my playmate, who lived a few doors away. Mariam’s family was -not very rich, and mother had said I might give her twenty liras from -our money, that she might have it to bribe soldiers for protection. But -Mariam was not there. - -During the night zaptiehs had entered her house and taken her out of -her bed, with just her nightdress on, and had carried her away. The -soldiers said Rehim Bey had promised them money if they would bring -Mariam to his house. Mariam’s mother and little brother were kneeling -beside her empty bed when I found them. - -On my way back to our house a Turk stopped me. He asked me to go with -him. He said I might as well, as “all the pretty Christian girls would -have to give themselves to Turks or be killed anyway.” I broke away -and ran home as fast as I could. I could not forget the look on that -Turk’s face as he spoke to me. It was the first time I had ever seen -such a look in a man’s face. I tried to explain to mother. She put her -arms around me, but all she said was: - -“My poor little girl!” - -The women had been allowed until noon to assemble in the square. -Already they were arriving there, with horse, donkey and ox carts, some -with as many of their things as they could heap on their carts, others -with just blankets and comforts, a favorite rug and bread and fruits. -In Armenia every family keeps a year’s supply of food on hand. The -women had to leave behind all they could not carry. - -When it came time for us to go I thought again of the look in that -Turk’s face. For the first time I realized just what it would mean -to be a captive in one of the harems of the rich Turks whose big -houses look down from the hills all about the city. I had heard of the -Christian girls forced into haremliks of these houses, but I had never -really understood. Lusanne was older. She knew more than I. “If only I -could have died with Andranik,” she said. - -Mother thought of a plan she hoped might save Lusanne and me from the -harems or a worse fate among the Kurds and soldiers. She brought out -two yashmaks, or veils, such as Turkish women wear on the street, -and made us put them on, hiding our faces. Over these she had us put -on a feradjeh, a Turkish woman’s cloak. We looked quite as if we were -Turkish women, with all our faces hidden. - -“It is only death that faces me, but for you, my daughters, there are -even greater perils,” mother said to us. “You will be able now to walk -in the streets and the soldiers will think you are Mohammedan women. -Try to reach Miss Graham, at the orphanage. Perhaps she can hide you -until there is a way for you to escape into the north, where the sea -is. And if you do find safety, thank God, and remember He is always -with you.” Then she kissed us and bade us go. - -Miss Graham, who was an English girl, had come to our city from the -American College at Marsovan, to teach in our school for orphaned -Armenian girls. She was very young and pretty. The Turks had seemed to -respect her, and mother thought we would be safe with her. - -While mother went to the square with Aruciag, Sarah, Hovnan and -Mardiros, Lusanne and I mingled with Mohammedan women who had gathered -to watch the scenes at the square and to bargain for pieces of jewelry -and other things the Armenian women knew they must either sell or have -stolen from them. We planned to wait until dark before venturing to -reach Miss Graham’s. - -Soon we saw Turks, both rich citizens and military officers, walking -about in the square roughly examining the Christian girls. When they -were pleased by a girl’s appearance these beys and aghas tried to -persuade their mothers to let them profess Mohammedanism and go away -with them, promising to save her relatives from deportation. When -mothers refused the Turks often struck them. Officers killed some -mothers who clung too closely to their daughters. - -Many young girls gave in to the Turks and agreed to swear faith in -Allah for the sake of their mothers, sisters and brothers. Toward -evening the khateeb, or keeper of the mosque, was brought to receive -their “conversions.” - -More than fifty girls took the oath. Just as soon as the oaths were all -taken the officers signaled to the zaptiehs and they took all these -girls away from their families and gathered them at one side of the -square. - -Then the richer beys began to examine the apostasized girls. The -soldiers would give a girl to the one who paid them the most money, -unless an officer also wanted her. The higher military officers were -given first choice. - -One by one the soldiers dragged the girls who had sacrificed their -religion in vain to save their mothers and relatives out of the square -and toward the homes of the Turks. Lusanne and I had gone close to -watch our chance to speak once more to mother. We saw everything. And -while they were taking the girls away we saw a zaptieh carrying Miss -Graham in his arms. She struggled hard, but the zaptieh was too strong. -We learned afterward the soldiers had gone to her school to get the -little Armenian girls, and when Miss Graham tried to fight them they -said her country couldn’t help her now, and since she was a Christian -they would take her, too. - -It was to Rehim Bey’s house, where Mariam already had been carried, -they took Miss Graham. They did not even try to make her become a -Mohammedan. Rehim Bey was very powerful, and was a cousin of Talaat -Bey, the Minister of the Interior at Constantinople. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -VAHBY BEY TAKES HIS CHOICE - - -For a time Lusanne and I debated whether we should return to the square -and join mother, since Miss Graham had been stolen and could not help -us, or whether we should make an effort to escape since we had so far -escaped notice in our disguises. We decided that, perhaps, if we could -reach the house of a friendly Turk, outside the city, and we knew of -many of these, we might find a way to help mother. We did not know how -this could ever be done, but we clung to a hope that surely some one -would aid us. - -When it was quite dark we crept through side streets to our deserted -house and succeeded in getting into the garden without attracting -attention. We dared not make a light, or remain on the lower floors, -soldiers might enter the house at any moment. The safest place to hide, -we thought, would be the attic. - -In the attic there were a number of boxes of old things of mother’s. -We searched until we found some old clothes, and each of us put on an -old dress of mother’s under the cloaks she had given us. If we were -discovered, the old clothes, we thought, might deceive the Turks if we -could keep our faces covered. - -Neither Lusanne nor I had slept during the three days the Turks allowed -the Armenian women to prepare for deportation. Toward morning we were -both so worn out we fell asleep. Suddenly I awoke to find an ugly -zaptieh standing over me, a sword in his hand. He had kicked me. Three -or four others, who, with the leader, had broken in to search for -valuables, were coming up the ladder into the attic, and the one who -had found us was calling out to them: - -“Mouhadjirler--anleri keselim!”--(“Here are refugees--let’s kill them!”) - -The zaptieh’s shout awakened Lusanne and she screamed. - -By this time the Turks had pulled me to my feet, but when Lusanne -screamed they dropped me. “That’s no old one,” the chief zaptieh said, -as he turned to my sister. “Her voice is young.” - -They kicked me aside while they gathered around Lusanne, picked her up -and carried her down the ladder to the floor below, where our bedrooms -were. There they found a lamp and lighted it from the torch one of them -carried. They began to examine Lusanne, who screamed and fought them -desperately. I followed them down the ladder and ran into the room, but -when they saw me one of them struck me with his fists, and I fell. They -thought I at least was as old as my clothes looked. One of them said, -“Stick the old one on a bayonet if she don’t keep still.” I could do -nothing but stay on the floor, crouch tight to the wall and look on. - -A zaptieh tore off Lusanne’s veil and cloak. When they saw her face -and that she was young and good looking they shouted and laughed. The -leader dropped his gun and laid his sword on a table and then took -Lusanne away from the others and held her in his arms. She fought so -hard the others had to help hold her while the officer kissed her. Each -time he kissed her he laughed and all the others laughed too. One by -one the zaptiehs caressed her, each passing her to the other, all much -amused by her struggles. - -When Lusanne’s dress was all torn and her screams grew weak I could not -stand it any longer. I crept up to the men on my knees and begged them -to stop. I knew there was no longer any hope that we might escape, so -I pleaded: “Please take us to the square to our relatives; we will get -money for you if you will only spare us.” - -They allowed us to leave the house, but followed across the street to -the square. It was daylight now and the women were stirring about, -sharing with each other the bread and meats some had brought with them. -The zaptiehs made Lusanne stay with them while I searched for mother. -She was caring for a baby whose mother had died during the night. The -first thing she asked was, “Where is Lusanne--have they got her?” - -Mother gave me two liras. The zaptiehs took them and shoved Lusanne -away. She fainted when she realized they had released her. - -During the first day and night no one knew what was to happen. Such of -the soldiers as would answer questions said only that the Pasha had -ordered the women deported. None knew how or when. During the first -night three of the mothers of girls who had been taken by the Turks the -day before died. One of them killed herself while her other children -were sleeping around her. So many were crowded into the square not all -could find room to lie down and the soldiers killed any who attempted -to move into the street. - -In the center of the square there was a band-stand, where the -Mutassarif’s band often played in the summer evenings. In this -band-stand the soldiers had put the little girls and boys taken from -the Christian Orphanage when they carried off Miss Graham. There were -thirty little girls, none of them more than twelve years old, and -almost as many boys. - -The children were crying bitterly when Lusanne and I, at mother’s -suggestion, went to see if we could not help care for them. There was -no food for them except what the women could spare from their own -stores. The Turks never give food to their prisoners. - -Toward noon of that day Vahby Bey, the military commandant of the -whole vilayet, who had under him almost an army corps, rode into the -city with his staff and a company of hamidieh, or Kurdish cavalry. He -was on his way to Harpout, from Erzindjan, a big city in the north, -where he had attended a council of war with Enver Pasha, the Turkish -Commander-in-Chief. - -Vahby Bey walked from his headquarters into the public square, -accompanied by his staff. Hundreds of women crowded around him, but his -staff officers beat them away with swords and canes. The general walked -at once to the band-stand and looked at the children. Abdoullah Bey, -the chief of the gendarmes, was with him, and they talked in low voices. - -When Vahby Bey had gone, several officers began to ask Armenian girls -if they would like to accompany the orphans and take care of them in -the place where the government would put them. The officers said they -would take several girls for this purpose, and thus save them the -terrors of deportation and death, or worse, if they would first agree -to become Mohammedan. - -Many mothers thought this the only way to save their daughters from -the harem. Some of the younger women, among them brides whose husbands -had been killed, were so discouraged and frightened they were eager -to accept this chance. The officers said only young girls would be -accepted, and bade all who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity -to gather at the band-stand. More than two hundred assembled, with -mothers and relatives hanging onto them. I don’t think any of them -really was willing to forswear Christ, but they thought they would -be forgiven if they seemed to do so to save themselves from being -massacred, stolen in the desert or forced to be concubines. - -A hamidieh officer, looking smart and neat in his costly uniform, -went to the stand to select the girls. He chose twelve of the very -prettiest. One girl who was tall and very handsome, and whose father -had been a rich merchant, refused to take the Mohammedan oath unless -her two sisters, both younger, also were accepted. The officer -consented. The three girls had no mother, only some younger brothers, -and these the officers said might accompany the orphans. The three -sisters were very glad they were to be saved. One of them was a friend -of Lusanne’s, and to her she said: “Our God will know why we are doing -this; we will always pray to Him in secret.” - -Esther Magurditch, daughter of Boghos Artin, a great Armenian author -and poet, who lived in our city, also was willing to take the oath, -and was chosen. Esther had been one of my playmates. Her mother was -an English woman, who had married her father when he was traveling in -Europe. Esther had married Vartan Magurditch, a young lawyer, just a -week before. When both her father and husband were taken from her she -almost lost her mind. - -When all the fourteen girls had said the Mohammedan rek’ah, soldiers -took them with the orphans to the big house in which Esther’s family -had lived. It was the largest Armenian home in the city. - -As soon as the children and the apostasized girls entered the house -Esther prepared a meal for them from the bread and other food that had -been left. While the children were eating the girls were summoned to -another part of the house, where an aged Mohammedan woman awaited them -with yashmaks, or Turkish veils, which she told them they must put on, -as they had become Mohammedan women and must not let their faces be -seen. - -The young women were then told to seat themselves until an officer -came to give further instructions. They still were waiting in the room -when childish voices in the other part of the house were lifted up in -screams. The girls rushed to the door, only to find it locked. - -Suddenly the door opened and Vahby Bey, with his chief of staff, Ferid -Bey, and Ali Riza Effendi, the Police Commissary, whose headquarters -were in Harpout, entered. With them were a number of other smartly -dressed officers, who had been traveling with General Vahby. The girls -fell to their knees before the officers, and asked them, in Allah’s -name, to let them go to the children. The officers laughed. The three -sisters, who had taken their little brothers with the other children, -appealed to General Vahby to tell them what had happened to their -little ones. Vahby Bey did not answer, but pointed to the taller one -of the three girls, the one who was so handsome, and said to the chief -of staff: “This one I will take; guard her carefully.” Ferid Bey, the -chief officer, then called some soldiers, who picked up the girl and -carried her upstairs to a room which Vahby Bey had occupied. Vahby Bey -followed. Ferid Bey then selected Esther, and soldiers carried her up -to another room. Ferid Bey followed and dismissed the soldiers, with -orders to place a guard outside his door and another outside the door -of Vahby Bey’s room. - -Downstairs the other officers of Vahby Bey’s staff each selected a -girl, the officers of higher rank taking first choice. There were three -girls left, one of them the youngest sister of the girl Vahby Bey had -taken, and the soldiers took possession of these, not even removing -them from the room. - -How long these three girls lived I cannot tell. It was Esther who told -us what happened that afternoon in her house, for she was the only one -of the fourteen who escaped alive. Before she got away from the house -she looked into the room where the soldiers had been, and saw that the -three girls were dead. - -Esther tried to resist Ferid Bey, and to plead with him; but he -threatened to kill her. When she told him she would rather die he -opened the door so she could see the men standing guard in the hall, -and said to her: - -“Very well then; if you do not be quiet I will give you to the -soldiers!” - -Surely God will not blame Esther for shrinking away from the sight of -those many men and allowing Ferid Bey, who was only one man, to remain. - -The officers busied themselves with the girls until evening. When Ferid -Bey left her Esther begged him again to at least tell her where the -children were, that she might go to them. He had assured her during the -afternoon that the orphans were safe, and that the girls could return -to them later. Now he pretended no longer. “We have no time to bother -with the children of unbelievers,” he said. “We drowned them in the -river!” - -Ferid Bey told the truth. We found some of their bodies when we passed -that way later on. The soldiers had tied the children together with -ropes in groups of ten and had driven them to Kara Su, also a branch -of the Euphrates, ten miles away. Those who were too little to walk or -keep up with the others, the soldiers had killed with their bayonets -or gun handles. They left their bodies, still tied together, at the -roadside. On the river banks we found other bodies that had been washed -up. - -As soon as Ferid Bey had gone and Esther heard the other officers -assembling on the floor below, something warned her to try to escape -immediately. Her clothes had been nearly all torn away, but she dared -not wait even to cover herself. She climbed onto the roof by a small -stairway which the Turks were not guarding, and hid herself there. - -General Vahby and his officers went to their quarters. The soldiers -hunted out the girls they had left behind. Esther heard them fighting -among themselves over the prettiest ones. After a time most of the -girls died. The soldiers killed the rest with their swords when they -were finished with them. From what Esther heard them saying to each -other as they did this, she believed they had been ordered not to leave -any of the young women alive as witnesses to Vahby Bey and his officers -having done such things openly. - -Esther crept out of the house and crawled through a back street to -the square. She found my mother and fell into her arms. When daylight -came a soldier saw her and recognized her as one of the girls who had -apostasized the day before, and the zaptiehs carried her away. - -At noon more soldiers came to the square, with zaptiehs and hamidieh, -and officers began to go among us, saying that within one hour we were -to march. They told us we were to be taken to Harpout, but we soon saw -our destination was in the direction of Arabkir. - -That last hour in our city, which had been the home of many of our -family ancestors for centuries, and beyond the borders of which but -few of our neighbors ever had traveled, was spent by most of the -mothers and their children in prayer. There was almost no more weeping -or wailing. The strong, young women gathered close to them the aged -ones or frail mothers with very young babies. Each of us who had more -strength than for our own needs tried to find some one who needed a -share of it. - -We were encouraged a little when the time came for us to move by the -apparent kindness of some of the new Turkish soldiers, who seemed to -want to make us as comfortable as possible. It was at the suggestion -of these that many aged grandmothers whose daughters had more than -one baby were placed together in a group of ox carts, each with a -grandchild that had been weaned. The soldiers said this plan would -relieve the young mothers of so many children to watch over, and would -let the old women have company, while, being together, the soldiers -could keep them comfortable. - -[Illustration: THIS MAP SHOWS AURORA’S WANDERINGS - -The black line indicates the route covered by Miss Mardiganian, who -during two years walked fourteen hundred miles.] - -When we were three hours out from town these ox carts fell behind. -Presently the soldiers that had been detailed to stay with them joined -the rest of the party ahead. When we asked where the grandmothers and -the babies were, the soldiers replied: “They were too much trouble. We -killed them!” - -It was very hot, and the roads were dusty, with no shade. Many women -and children soon fell to the ground exhausted. The zaptiehs beat these -with their clubs. Those who couldn’t get up and walk as fast as the -rest were beaten till they died, or they were killed outright. - -Our first intimation of what might happen to us at any time came when -we had been on the road four hours. We came then to a little spot where -there were trees and a spring. The soldiers who marched afoot were -themselves tired, and gave us permission to rest a while, and get water. - -A woman pointed onto the plain, where, a little ways from the road, we -saw what seemed to be a human being, sitting on the ground. Some of us -walked that way and saw it was an Armenian woman. On the ground beside -her were six bundles of different sizes, from a very little one to one -as large as I would be, each wrapped in spotless white that glistened -in the sun. - -We did not need to ask to know that in each of the bundles was the body -of a child. The mother’s face was partially covered with a veil, which -told us she had given up God in the hope of saving her little ones--but -in vain! - -She did not speak or move, only looked at us with a great sadness in -her eyes. Her face seemed familiar and one of us knelt beside her -and gently lifted her veil. Then we recognized her--Margarid, wife -of the pastor, Badvelli Moses, of Kamakh, a little city thirty miles -to the north. Badvelli Moses once had been a teacher in our school -at Tchemesh-Gedzak. He was a graduate of the college at Harpout, and -Margarid had graduated from a Seminary at Mezre. They were much beloved -by all who knew them. Often Badvelli Moses had returned, with his wife -and Sherin, their oldest daughter, who was my age, to Tchemesh-Gedzak -to visit and speak in our churches. - -Besides Sherin, there were five smaller girls and boys. All were there, -by Margarid’s side, wrapped in the sheets she had carried with her when -the people of her city were deported. - -“There were a thousand of us,” Margarid said when we had brought her -out of the stupor of grief which had overcome her. “They took us away -with only an hour’s notice. The first night Kurdish bandits rode down -upon us and took all the men a little ways off and killed them. We -saw our husbands die, one by one. They stripped all the women and -children--even the littlest ones--so they could search our bodies for -money. They took all the pretty girls and violated them before our eyes. - -“I pleaded with the commander of our soldier guards to protect my -Sherin. He had been our friend in Kamakh. He promised to save us if -I would become a Moslem, and for Sherin’s sake, I did. He made the -bandits allow us to put on our clothes again, and Sherin and I veiled -our faces. - -“The commander detailed soldiers to escort us to Harpout and take me -to the governor there. When we left the Kurds and soldiers who were -tired of the girls were killing them, and the others as well. When we -reached here the soldiers killed my little ones by mashing their heads -together. They violated Sherin while they held me, and then cut off her -breasts, so that she died. They left me alive, they said, because I had -become Moslem.” - -We tried to take Margarid into our party, but she would not come. “I -must go to God with my children,” she said. “I will stay here until He -takes me.” So we left her sitting there with her loved ones. - -It was late at night and the stars were out when we arrived at the -banks of the Kara Su. Here we were told by the soldiers we could camp -for the night. In the distance we could see the light on the minaret in -the village of Gwazim, where father and Paul had died in the burning -prison. - -All along the road zaptiehs killed women and children who could not -keep up with the party, and many of the pretty girls had been dragged -to the side of the road, to be sent back to the party later with tears -and shame in their faces. Lusanne and I had daubed our faces with mud -to make us ugly, and I still wore my cloak and veil. - -For a time it seemed as if we were not to be molested, as the guards -remained in little groups, away from us. Only the scream now and then -of a girl who had attracted some soldier’s attention reminded us we -must not sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE CRUEL SMILE OF KEMAL EFFENDI - - -During the night Turkish residents from cities near by came to our camp -and sought to buy whatever the women had brought with them of value. -Many had brought a piece of treasured lace; others had carried their -jewelry; some even had brought articles of silver, and rugs. There were -many horse and donkey carts along, as the Turks encouraged all the -women to carry as much of their belongings as they could. This we soon -learned was done to swell the booty for the soldiers when the party was -completely at their mercy. - -As the civilian Turks went through the camp that night, they bargained -also for girls and young women. One of them urged mother to let him -take Lusanne. When mother refused he said to her: - -“You might as well let me have her. I will treat her kindly and she can -work with my other servants. She will be sold or stolen anyway, if she -is not killed. None of you will live very long.” Several children were -stolen early in the night by these Turks. One little girl of nine years -was picked up a few feet away from me and carried screaming away. When -her relatives complained to the soldiers, they were told to be glad she -had escaped the long walk to the Syrian desert, where the rest of the -party was to be taken. - -Dawn was just breaking, and we were thankful that the sleepless, -horrible first night was so nearly over, when, in a great cloud of sand -and dust, the Aghja Daghi Kurds, with Musa Bey at their head, rode down -upon us. The soldiers must have known they were coming, for they had -gathered quite a way from the camp, and were not surprised. Perhaps it -was arranged when Musa Bey visited Husein Pasha, in Tchemesh-Gedzak, -just before we were taken away. - -The horses of the Kurds galloped down all who were in their way, their -hoofs sinking into the heads and bodies of scores of frightened women. -The riders quickly gathered up all the donkeys and horses belonging to -the families, and when these had been driven off they dismounted and -began to walk among us and pick out young women to steal. Lusanne and I -clung close to mother, who tried to hide us, but one of three Kurds who -walked near us saw me. - -He stopped and tore my veil away. When he saw the mud and dirt on my -face he roughly rubbed it off with his hands, jerking me to my feet, -to look closer. When he saw I really was young, despite my disguise, -he shouted. One of the other Kurds turned quickly and came up. When I -looked up into his face I saw it was Musa Bey himself! - -The bey clutched at me roughly, tore open my dress and threw back my -hair. Then he gave a short command, and, so quickly, I had hardly -screamed, he threw me across his horse and leaped up behind. In another -instant he was carrying me in a wild gallop across the plains. His -band rode close behind, each Kurd holding a girl across his horse. I -struggled with all my strength to get free. I wanted to throw myself -under the horse’s hoofs and be trampled to death. But the bey held me -across his horse’s shoulder with a grip of iron, as he galloped to the -west, skirting the banks of the river. - -I screamed for my mother. The other girls’ screams joined with mine. -Behind us I could hear the shouts and cries of our party. I thought I -heard my mother’s voice among them. Then the shouts died away in the -distance. Soon I lost consciousness. - -When I came to I was lying on the ground, with the other girls who had -been stolen. The Kurds had dismounted. Some were busy making camp, -while others were in groups amusing themselves with such of the girls -as were not exhausted. Musa Bey was absent. - -My clothes were torn and my body ached from the jolting of the horse. -My shoes and stockings were off when the Kurds came down upon us, so -my feet were bare. For a long time I lay quietly, fearing to move -lest I attract attention and suffer as some of the girls already were -suffering. When I could look around I saw that among the girls were -several whom I had known, and some I recognized as young married women. -Some I knew were mothers who had left babies behind. - -On the ground near me was quite a little girl, Maritza, whose mother -had been killed by the zaptiehs just after we left Tchemesh-Gedzak. She -had carried a baby brother in her arms during all the long walk of the -first day on the road. She was weeping silently. I crawled over to her. - -“When they picked me up I was holding little Marcar,” she sobbed. “The -Kurds tore him out of my arms and threw him out on the ground. It -killed him. I can’t see anything else but his little body when it fell.” - -It was several hours before Musa Bey came back. A party of Turks on -horseback rode up with him. They came from the West where there were -many little villages along the river banks, some of them the homes of -rich Moslems. - -When they dismounted, Musa Bey began to exhibit the girls he had stolen -to the Turks. Some of the Turks, I could tell, were wealthy farmers. -Others seemed to be rich beys or aghas (influential citizens). Musa -Bey made us all stand up. Those who didn’t obey him quick enough he -struck with his whip. When I got up off the ground he caught me by the -shoulder and threw me down again. “You lie still,” he said. I saw that -he did the same thing to two or three other girls. - -The Turks brutally examined the girls Musa Bey showed them, and began -to pick them out. Those who were farmers chose the older ones, who -seemed stronger than the rest. The others wanted the prettiest of the -girls, and argued among themselves over a choice. - -The farmers wanted the girls to work as slaves in the field. The others -wanted girls for a different purpose--for their harems or as household -slaves, or for the concubine markets of Smyrna and Constantinople. Musa -Bey demanded ten medjidiehs, or about eight dollars, American money, -apiece. I thought, as I lay trembling on the ground, what a little bit -of money that was for a Christian soul. - -Little Maritza, who stood close to me, was taken by a Turk who seemed -to be very old. Another man wanted her, but the old one offered Musa -Bey four medjidiehs more, and the other turned away to pick out another -girl. The Turk who bought Maritza was afraid to take her away on his -horse, so he bargained with Musa Bey until he had promised two extra -medjidiehs if a Kurd would carry her to his house. Musa Bey gave an -order and a Kurd climbed onto his horse, lifted Maritza in front of -him and rode away by the side of the man who had bought her. She did -not cry any more, but just held her hands in front of her eyes. - -After a while all the girls were gone but me and the few others whom -Musa Bey had not offered for sale. The ones who were bought by the -farmers were destined to work in the fields, and they were the most -fortunate, for sometimes the Turkish farmer is kind and gentle. Those -who were bought for the harem faced the untold heartache of the girl to -whom some things are worse than death. - -When the last of the Turks had gone with their human property, Musa -Bey spoke to his followers and some of them came toward us. We thought -we had been reserved for Musa Bey himself, and we began to scream and -plead. They picked us up despite our cries and mounted horses with us. -Musa Bey leaped onto his horse and we were again carried away, with -Musa Bey leading. - -I begged the Kurd who carried me to tell me where we were going. He -would not answer. We had ridden for two hours, until late in the -afternoon, when we came to the outskirts of a village. We rode into the -yard of a large stone house surrounded by a crumbling stone wall. It -was a very ancient house, and before we had stopped in the courtyard -I recognized it from a description in our school books, as a castle -which had been built by the Saracens, and restored a hundred years ago -by a rich Turk, who was a favorite of the Sultan who then reigned. - -I remembered, as the Kurds lifted us down from their horses, that the -castle was now the home of Kemal Effendi, a member of the Committee -of Union and Progress, the powerful organization of the Young Turks. -He was reputed throughout our district as being very bitter toward -Christians, and there were many stories told in our country of -Christian girls who had been stolen from their homes and taken to him, -never to be heard from again. - -Only a part of the castle had been repaired so it might be lived in, -and it was toward this part of the building the Kurds took us when -they had dismounted. I tried to plead with the Kurd who had me, but he -shook me roughly. We were led into a small room. There were servants, -both men and women, in this room, and they began to talk about us and -examine us. Musa Bey drove them to tell their master he had arrived. - -In a little while Kemal Effendi entered. He was very tall and middle -aged. His eyes made me tremble when they looked at me. I could only -shudder as I remembered the things that were said of him. - -When Kemal Effendi had looked at all of us for minutes that seemed -torturing hours he seemed satisfied. He spoke to Musa Bey and the Kurds -went out, followed by him. I do not know how much Musa Bey was paid -for us. - -Women came into the room and tried to be kind to us. One of them put -her arms around me and asked me to not weep. She told me I was very -fortunate in falling into such good hands as Kemal Effendi. “He will -be gentle to you. You must obey him and be affectionate and he will -treat you as he does his wife. He will not be cruel unless you are -disobedient,” the woman said. I do not know what was her position in -the house, but I think she was a servant who had been a concubine when -she was younger. - -Until then I had tried to keep myself from thinking that I had lost my -mother and sisters and brothers. What the woman told us was to happen -to us in the house of Kemal took away my hopes of ever seeing them -again. I told her I would kill myself if I could not go back to my -relatives. - -It was late in the evening before Kemal Effendi summoned us. He had -eaten and seemed to be gracious. One of the girls, who had been a -bride, threw herself on the floor before him, weeping and begging him -to set us free. Kemal Effendi lost his good humor at once. He called a -man servant and told him to take the girl away. “Shut her up till she -learns when to weep and when to laugh,” he ordered. The man carried the -girl out screaming. - -Kemal then asked us about our families, how old we were, and if we -would renounce our religion and say the Mohammedan oath. One girl, -whose name I do not know, but whom I had often seen in our Sunday -school at Tchemesh-Gedzak was not brave enough to refuse. The Kurds had -treated her cruelly, and the one who had carried her away had beaten -her when she cried. She moaned, “Yes, yes, God has deserted me. I will -be true to Mohammed. Please don’t beat me any more.” - -When she had said this Kemal smiled and put his hand on her head. “You -are wise. You will not be punished if you continue so.” - -The second girl would not forsake Christ. “You may kill me if you -wish,” she said, “and then I will go to Jesus Christ.” As soon as she -had said this a man servant dragged her out of the room. I looked at -Kemal Effendi, but he was still smiling, as soft and smoothly as if he -could not be otherwise than very gentle. I could see that he was more -cruel even than people had said of him. - -When Kemal Effendi spoke to me his voice was very soft. I can still -remember it made me feel as if some wild animal’s tongue was caressing -my face. - -“And you, my girl,” he said, “are you to be wise or foolish?” - -“God save me,” I whispered to myself again, and then something seemed -to whisper back. I heard myself saying, without thinking of the words, -“I will try to be as you wish.” - -“That is very good. You will be happy,” Kemal replied. “You will -acknowledge Allah as God and Mohammed as his prophet? Then I will be -kind to you.” - -“I will do that, Effendi, and I will be obedient, if you will save my -family also,” I said. - -“And if I do not?” Kemal asked. - -“Then I will die,” I replied. - -The Effendi looked at me a long time. Then he asked me to tell him of -my family. I told him of my mother, my sister, Lusanne, and of my other -sisters and brothers. He made me stand close to him. He put his hands -on me. I stood very straight and looked into his face. I promised that -if he would take my mother and sisters and brothers also I would not -only renounce my religion, but obey him in all things. And for each -thing I promised I whispered to myself, “Please, God, forgive me.” But -I could think of no other way. I was afraid that even now, perhaps, my -mother, brothers and sisters were being murdered. It seemed as if my -body and soul were such little things to give for them. - -Kemal kept me with him more than an hour, I think. Each time he tried -to touch me I shrank away from him. It amused him, for he would laugh -and clap his hands, as if very pleased. “I will die first,” I said -each time, “unless you save my family.” - -I had begun to lose hope; to think Kemal was but playing with me. I -could hardly keep my tears back, yet I did not want to weep for I knew -he would be displeased. Then, suddenly, he appeared to have made up his -mind. He arose and looked down at me. - -“Very well. The bargain is made. I will protect your relatives. I -prefer a willing woman to a sulky one. We will go to-morrow and bring -them.” - -I would have been happy, even in my sacrifice, had it not been that -Kemal Effendi smiled as he said this--that cruel, wicked smile. I would -have believed in him if he had not smiled. But I felt as plain as if it -were spoken to me that behind that smile was some wicked thought. - -I begged him to go with me then to bring my people before it was too -late. He said it would not be too late in the morning; that he would go -with me after sunrise; that I need have no further fears. When he left -the room the woman who had spoken to me earlier came in to me. She took -me into the haremlik, or women’s quarters, where there were many other -women. - -I think the harem women would have been sorry for me had they -dared. They tried to cheer me. They asked much about our religion, -and why Armenians would die rather than adopt the religion of the -Turks. I could not talk to them, because I could think only of the -morning--whether I would be in time--and wonder what could be behind -that smile of the Effendi’s. - -They put me in a small room, hardly as large as an American closet. -They told me an Imam would come the next day to take my oath. - -They did not know the Effendi had promised to save my relatives and -bring them to the house. - -I had not been alone in my room very long when a pretty odalik, a young -slave girl, slipped silently through the curtained door and took my -hand in hers. She was a Syrian, she told me, whose father had sold her -when she was very young. She had been sent from Smyrna to the house of -Kemal. She was the favorite slave of the Effendi. She wanted to tell me -that if I needed some one to confide in when her master had made me his -slave, too, I could trust her. She said she was supposed to have become -Mohammedan, but that secretly she was still Christian. She did not know -many prayers she explained, for she was so young when her father had -been compelled to sell her. She wanted me to teach her new ones. - -It was so comforting to have some one to whom I could talk through -the long hours of waiting until sunrise. I told the little odalik I -had promised to be a Moslem only to save my mother and sisters and -brothers. I told her what Kemal had promised, how he had smiled and -how I feared something I could not explain. - -“When he smiles he does not mean what he says,” the girl said, sadly. -“Often when he is displeased with me he smiles and pets me. Soon -afterwards I am whipped. When the Kurd, Musa Bey, who brought you, came -to tell the Effendi he had stolen some girls and wished to sell the -prettiest to him, the Effendi smiled and said, ‘Be good to the best -appearing ones, and bring them here.’ I would not trust him to keep his -promise.” - -Early in the morning the Effendi sent for me and asked me to describe -my relatives. I told him it would be impossible for him to find them -in so large a party. He agreed I should go with him and we set out, he -riding his horse while I walked beside him. I tried to convince him I -was contented with the bargain we had made--even that I was glad of the -opportunity to have his protection. Yet I knew that behind his smile -was his resolve to have my family killed as soon as he had brought -about my “conversion” and had obtained the willing sacrifice he desired. - -Kemal knew the party in which my family was would be taken across the -river at the fording place to the north. We went in that direction, but -they had not yet arrived and we turned back to meet them. - -When we came close to the river bank, which was high and cliff-like, -I looked down at the water and saw it was running red with blood, -with here and there a body floating on the surface. I screamed when I -saw this, and sank to the ground. I shut my eyes, yet I seemed to see -what had happened--a company of Armenians taken to the river bank and -massacred, cut with knives and sabres before they were thrown into the -river, else they would not have stained the river for many miles. - -The Effendi reproached me. - -“Christians are learning their God cannot save their blood. It is what -they deserve. Why should you weep now, my little one, when already you -have decided to give your faith to Islam?” I could not look at him, but -somehow I could feel that in his eyes there would be the gleam of that -terrible smile. - -I gathered strength and replied firmly: “I am not used to blood, -Effendi.” - -We went on, close by the river, looking for the vanguard of my people -who would come from the south. The river banks reached higher, and -the river narrowed until it was almost a solid red with the blood. -Afterwards I learned seven hundred men and boys from Erzindjan had been -convoyed to the river and killed by zaptiehs. The zaptiehs stabbed them -one by one and then threw them into the river. And this river was a -part of the Euphrates of the Bible, with its source in the Garden of -Eden! - -Kemal rode close to the high banks. I walked at his side. Below me the -river seemed to call me to security. If I went on I knew Kemal would -only feed false hopes by promising protection to my relatives he would -soon tire of giving. And I would have to make the sacrifice he demanded -in vain. I waited until we were at the very edge of the cliff. Then I -jumped. I heard the curse of Kemal Effendi as I struck the red water. -When I came to the surface I saw him sitting on his horse at the top of -the cliff, looking down at me. I was glad I could not tell if he were -smiling. - -I had learned to swim when I was very young. Unconsciously I struck out -for the opposite shore and reached it safely. The banks were not so -high on that side. Soon I was free. It must have been that Kemal did -not have a revolver or he would have shot me. I did not look back, but -ran onto the plain. I did not know if Kemal would send searchers for -me, so I hid in the sand, covering myself so Kurds or zaptiehs could -not see me if they rode near, until I saw the long line of my people -from Tchemesh-Gedzak approaching on the other side of the river. - -I remained through the rest of the day and night, while the refugees -camped at the fording place. When they crossed the river the next -morning I managed to get in among them during the confusion. My mother -was so happy she could not speak for a long time. Kemal Effendi had -ridden up to them, she told me, and had demanded that the leader of the -zaptiehs find my relatives and punish them for my escape. Mother bribed -the soldiers and they told Kemal my relatives were not among the party. - -The party was given no opportunity to rest after the laborious fording -of the river, but was made to push on toward Arabkir. Little Hovnan -and Mardiros, and Aruciag and Sarah, already were almost exhausted. -Their little feet were torn and bleeding, and mother and Lusanne kept -them wrapped in cloths. There were no more babies in the party, for -just before they forded the river the zaptiehs made the mothers of the -youngest babies leave them behind. The mothers nursed them while they -were waiting to be taken over the river and then laid them in little -rows on the river bank and left them. - -The soldiers said Mohammedan women would come out from a nearby village -to take the babies and care for them, but none came while we still -could see the spot where they were left, and that was for several -hours. Several of the mothers, when they realized the promise of the -soldiers was just a ruse, jumped into the river to swim back. The -soldiers shot them in the water. After that we were not allowed to go -near the river, even to drink. - -Late that day we came to a khan, or travelers’ rest house, such as are -found along all the roads in Asia Minor, maintained after an ancient -custom of the Turks as stopping places for caravans. We were told we -could rest there for the remainder of the day and night, but when we -drew near the khan a party of soldiers came out and halted us. We could -not go to the building, our guards were told, as it was occupied by -travelers being taken north to Shabin Kara-Hissar, a large city in the -district of Trebizond near the Black Sea. - -Soon we learned who these travelers were. They were a company of -“turned” Armenians, as the Turks call Christians who have given up -their religion. The company was from Keban-Maden, a city thirty miles -south. The company arrived at the khan that morning, having traveled -twenty miles the day before. - -The zaptiehs who guarded our party and the soldiers who had come from -Keban-Maden with the others, soon became friends and talked earnestly -with each other. They had forbidden us to go near the khan, and we -wondered why the “turned” Christians were not to be seen. Presently a -slim young girl crept out of the house and, unseen by the soldiers, -crawled along the ground until she came to the outskirts of our camp. -She was naked and her feet were cut and bruised. - -She was a bride, she said, who had “turned” with her young husband. The -Mutassarif of Keban-Maden had promised all the Armenians in his city -that their lives would be saved if they accepted Islam, the child-bride -said, and more than four hundred of them, mostly the younger married -people, agreed. - -Then they were told, she said, they would have to go to Shabin -Kara-Hissar. As soon as they were outside the city the soldiers robbed -them of everything worth taking. Then most of the soldiers returned to -Keban-Maden so as not to miss the looting there of the Armenian houses. -The soldiers that remained tied the men in groups of five and made them -march bound in this way. During their first night on the road, the -bride said, the soldiers stripped all the women of their clothing and -made them march after that naked. - -Terrible things happened during that night, the girl said. Nearly -all the women were outraged, and when husbands who were still tied -together, and were helpless to interfere while they looked on, cried -out about it, the soldiers killed them. The little bride had come over -to us to ask if some of us would not give her a piece of clothing to -cover her body. Many of our women offered her underskirts and other -garments, and she crawled back to the khan with as many as she could -carry, for herself and other women. - -They did not know what was going to happen to them. They did not -believe the soldiers who said they would be permitted to live at Shabin -Kara-Hissar in peace. Their guards already were grumbling, she said, -at having to take such a long march with them just because they had -“turned.” - -That night a dozen or more of our youngest girls, from eight to ten -years old, were stolen by the soldiers and taken to the khan. We didn’t -know what became of them, but we feared they were taken to be sold -to Mohammedan families, or to rich Turks. Mother slept that night, -she was so worn out, but Lusanne and I took turns keeping guard over -our sisters and brothers, keeping them covered with dirt and bits of -clothing, so the soldiers as they prowled among us, would not see them. - -Before daylight the Armenians in the khan were taken away. We had not -been upon the road next day but a few hours when we came upon a long -row of bodies along the roadside, we recognized them as the men of the -party of “turned” Armenians. A little farther on we came to a well, but -we found it choked with the naked corpses of the rest of the party--the -women. The zaptiehs had killed all the party, and to prevent Armenians -deported along that road later, from using the water, had thrown the -bodies of the women into it. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE WAYS OF THE ZAPTIEHS - - -While we stood, in groups, looking with horror into the well, I -suddenly heard these words, spoken by a woman standing near me: - -“God has gone mad; we are deserted!” - -I turned and saw it was the wife of Badvelli Markar, a pastor who had -been our neighbor in Tchemesh-Gedzak. When the men of our city were -massacred the Badvelli’s wife was left to care for an aged mother, who -was then ill in bed with typhoid fever, and three children--a baby, a -little girl of three, and a boy who was five. She had begged the Turks -to let her remain in her home to care for her mother, but they refused. -They made the aged woman leave her bed and take to the road with the -rest of us. She died the first day. - -During the first days we were on the road the Badvelli’s wife was very -courageous. Then her little boy died. The guards had compelled her to -leave her baby at the river crossing and now her little girl, the last -of her children, was ill in her arms. When we passed the bodies of the -Armenians from the khan, laid along the road, the Badvelli’s wife -suddenly lost her mind. - -“God has gone mad, I tell you--mad--mad--mad!” - -This time she shrieked it aloud and ran in among the others in our -company, crying the terrible thing as she went. A woman tried to stop -her, to take the little girl out of her arms, but she fought fiercely -and held on to the child. - -I have heard how sometimes a sickness like the plague will spread from -one person to another with fatal quickness. That was how the madness -of the Badvelli’s wife spread through our party. It seemed hardly -more than a minute before the awful cry was taken up by scores, even -hundreds, of women whose minds already were shaken by their inability -to understand why they should be made to suffer the things they had to -endure at the hands of the Turks. - -It was the mothers of young children, mostly, who gave in to the -madness. Some of these threw their children on the ground and ran, -screaming, out of the line and into the desert. Others ran wild with -their children hanging to their arms. Their relatives tried to subdue -them, but were powerless. - -I think there were more than 200 women whose minds gave way under this -sudden impulse, stirred by the crazed widow of the pastor. - -The zaptiehs who were in charge of us could not understand at first. -They thought there was a revolt. They charged in among us, swinging -their swords and guns right and left, even shooting point blank. Many -were killed or wounded hopelessly before the zaptiehs understood. Then -the guards were greatly amused, and laughed. “See,” they said; “that is -what your God is--He is crazy.” We could only bow our heads and submit -to the taunt. Some of the women recovered their senses and were very -sorry. Those who remained crazed the zaptiehs turned onto the plains to -starve to death. They would not kill an insane person, as it is against -their religion. - -We had been told we were to go to Arabkir, but soon after leaving the -khan we changed our direction. It was apparent we were headed in the -direction of Hassan-Chelebi, a small city south of Arabkir. None of our -guards would give us any definite information. - -The zaptiehs made us march in a narrow line, but one or two families -abreast. The line of weary stragglers stretched out as far as I could -see, both ahead and behind. We had but little water, as the zaptiehs -would not allow us to go near springs or streams, but compelled us to -purchase water from the farmer Kurds who came out from villages along -the way. The villagers demanded sometimes a lira (nearly $5.) a cup for -water, and always the boys we sent out to buy it were sure to receive -a beating as well as the water. We who had money with us had to share -with those who had none. Sometimes the villagers would sell the water, -collect the money, and then tip over the cups. - -After we were on the road a week we were treated even more cruelly -than during the first few days. The old women, and those who were too -ill to keep on, were killed, one by one. The soldiers said they could -not bother with them. When children lagged behind, or got out of the -line to rest, the zaptiehs would lift them on their bayonets and toss -them away--sometimes trying to catch them again as they fell, on their -bayonet points. Mothers who saw their young ones killed in this way for -the sport of our guards could not protest. We had learned that any sort -of a protest was suicide. They had to watch and wring their hands, or -hold their eyes shut while the children died. - -Our family had been especially fortunate because none of our little -ones became ill. Although Hovnan was only six years old, he seemed to -realize what was going on. My youngest aunt, Hagenoush, who was with -us, was carried off from the road by a zaptieh, who beat her terribly -when she tried to resist him. When he had outraged her he buried his -knife in her breast and drove her back to us screaming with the fright -and pain. I think I was never so discouraged as when we had treated -Hagenoush and eased her pain. - -News of the massacres and deportations had not yet reached all the -villages we passed, as the road was little traveled. We came upon one -settlement of Armenians where the women were at their wash tubs, in the -public washing place, only partly clothed, as is the way in country -villages in Turkey. Our guards surrounded the women at once and drove -them, just as they were, into our party. Then they gathered the men, -who did not know why they were molested until we told them. We rested -on the road while the soldiers looted all the houses in that village. -Then they set fire to it. - -We were now in a country where there were many Turkish villages, as -well as settlements of Kurds. We camped at night in a great circle, -with the younger girls distributed for protection inside the circle as -widely as possible. Each day young women were carried away to be sold -to Turks who lived near by, and at night the zaptiehs selected the most -attractive women and outraged them. - -The night after the Armenian village had been surprised we had hardly -more than made our camp when the captain of the soldiers ordered the -men who had been taken from the village during the day to come before -him, in a tent which had been pitched a little way off. The captain -wanted their names, the soldiers explained. We had hoped these men -would remain with us. There were seventy-two of them, and we felt much -safer and encouraged with them among us. But we knew what the summons -meant. The men knew, too, and so did their womenfolk. - -Each man said good-by to his wife, or daughters, or mother, and other -relatives who had been gathered in at the village. The captain’s tent -was just a white speck in the moonlight. Around it we made out the -figures of soldiers and zaptiehs. The women clung to the men as long as -they dared, then the men marched out in a little company. Our guards -would not allow us to follow. We watched, hoping against hope. - -Soon we saw a commotion. Screams echoed across to us. Figures ran out -into the desert, with other figures in pursuit. Only the pursuers would -return. Then it was quiet. The men were all dead. - -That was the first time the officers had raised a tent. We wondered at -their doing this, as usually they slept in the open after their nightly -orgies with our girls. After that we shuddered more than ever whenever -we saw the soldiers put up a tent for the night. - -After the massacre of the men, the soldiers who had participated came -into the camp and, with those which had remained guarding us, went -among us selecting women whose husbands had belonged to the more -prosperous class and ordering them to go to the tent. The captain -wished to question them, the soldiers said. They summoned my mother and -many women who had been our neighbors or friends, until more than two -hundred women whose husbands had been rich or well-to-do were gathered. -With my mother my Aunt Mariam, whose husband had been a banker, was -taken. - -As soon as the women had arrived at the tent the captain told them -they were summoned to give up the money they had brought with them, -“for safe keeping from the Kurds,” he said. The women knew their money -would never be returned to them and that they would suffer terribly -without it. They refused to surrender it, saying they had none. Then -the zaptiehs fell upon them. They searched them all, first tearing off -all their clothes. - -One woman, who was the sister of the rich man, Garabed Tufenkjian, of -Sivas, and who had been visiting in our city when the deportations -began, was so mercilessly beaten she confessed at last that she had -concealed some money in her person. She begged the soldiers to cease -beating her that she might give it them. The soldiers shouted aloud -with glee at this confession and recovered the money themselves, -cutting her cruelly with their knives to make sure they had missed none. - -The soldiers then searched each woman in this way. My Aunt Mariam was -to become a mother. When the soldiers saw this they threw her to the -ground and ripped her open with their bayonets, thinking, in their -ignorant way, she had hidden a great amount of money. They were so -disappointed they fell upon the other women with renewed energy. - -Of the two hundred or more who were subjected to this treatment, only -a little group survived. When they crawled back into the camp and into -the arms of their relatives they had screamed so much they could not -talk--they had lost their voices. My poor mother had given up all the -money she had about her, but had not admitted that others of her family -had more. She was bleeding from many cuts and bruises when she reached -us, and fainted as soon as she saw Lusanne and me running to her. We -carried her into the camp and used the last of our drinking water, -which we had treasured from the day before, to bathe her wounds. - -When the soldiers and zaptiehs had divided the money which they had -taken, they came in among us again to pick out young women to take -to the officers’ tent. The moonlight was so bright none of us could -conceal ourselves. Lusanne was sitting with the children, comforting -them, while I had taken my turn at attending mother’s wounds. A zaptieh -caught her by the hair and pulled her to her feet. - -“Spare me, my mother is dying--spare me!” Lusanne cried, but the -zaptieh was merciless. He dragged her along. I could not hold myself. -I ran to Lusanne and caught hold of her, pleading with the zaptieh to -release her. Lusanne resisted, too, and the zaptieh became enraged. -With an oath he drew his knife and buried it in Lusanne’s breast. The -blade, as it fell, passed so close to me it cut the skin on my cheek, -leaving the scar which I still have. Lusanne died in my arms. The -zaptieh turned his attention to another girl he had noticed. - -Mother had not seen--she was still too exhausted from her own -sufferings. Aruciag and Hovnan, my little brother and sister, saw it -all, however, and had run to where I stood dazed, with Lusanne’s limp -body in my arms. I laid her on the ground and wondered how I could tell -mother. - -A woman who had been standing near took my place at mother’s side. I -led the little ones away and asked another woman to keep them with her, -then I returned to my sister’s body. I could not make myself believe -it. I counted on my fingers--father, mother, Paul, Lusanne, Aruciag, -Sarah, Mardiros, Hovnan and my two aunts. With me that made eleven of -us--eleven in our family. Then I counted father, Paul, Aunt Mariam, and -now Lusanne--four already gone! - -I cried over Lusanne a long time. Then I realized I must do something. -I was afraid a sudden shock might kill mother, so I must have -time, I knew, to prepare her. With the help of some other women I -carried Lusanne to the side of the camp and with our hands we dug her -grave--just a shallow hole in the sand. I made a little cross from bits -of wood we found after a long search, and laid it in her hands. - -When morning came mother had gathered her strength, with a tremendous -effort, and was able to stand and walk. Some strong young women, -offered to help carry her, even all day if necessary, if she could not -walk. Mother insisted upon walking some of the time, though, leaning -upon my shoulder. - -She asked for Lusanne as soon as we began preparation to take up the -day’s march. I tried to make her believe Lusanne was further back -in the company--“helping a sick lady,” I said. But mother read my -eyes--she knew I was trying to deceive her. - -“Don’t be afraid, little Aurora,” she said to me, oh, so very gently; -“don’t be afraid to tell me whatever it is--have they stolen her?” - -“They tried to take her,” I said, “but--” - -I stopped. Mother helped me again. “Did she die? Did they kill her? If -they did it was far better, my Aurora.” - -Then I could tell her. “They killed her--very quickly--her last words -were that God was good to set her free.” - -We saw the zaptieh who killed Lusanne, during the day, and little -Aruciag recognized him. “There is the man who killed my sister,” she -cried. Mother put her hands over her eyes and would not look at him. - -We all were in great fear of what might happen to us at Hassan-Chelebi. -Some of the young women who had been taken during the night to the -tent of the officers reported that the officers had told them during -the orgie that some great beys were coming from Sivas to meet us at -Hassan-Chelebi, and that something was to be done about us there. We -were afraid that meant that all our girls were to be stolen. - -When the city loomed up before us our young women began to tremble -with dread, and many of them fell down, unable to walk, so great was -their anguish. The soldiers whipped them up, though, and we were guided -into the center of the town. Hundreds of our women were wholly nude, -especially those who had been stripped and beaten when the soldiers -robbed them. The zaptiehs would not allow them to cover themselves, -seeming to take an especial delight in watching that those who were -without clothes did not obtain garments from others. These poor women -were compelled to walk through the streets of Hassan-Chelebi with their -heads bowed with shame, while the Turkish residents jeered at them from -windows and the roadside. - -At the square the Turkish officials from Sivas came out to look -at us. Among them were Muamer Pasha, the cruel governor of Sivas; -Mahir Effendi, his aide de camp; Tcherkess Kior Kassim, his chief -hangman, who, we afterward learned, had superintended the massacre -of 6,000 Armenian Christians at Tchamli-Bel gorge, near Sivas; a -captain of zaptiehs and a Hakim, or judge. Two of these officials were -noted throughout Armenia--Muamer Pasha and his hangman, for their -characteristic cruelties toward Christians. - -After the officials had walked among us, closely surrounded by soldiers -so that none could approach them, the Mudir, or under-mayor of the -city, came with the police to get all boys over eight years of age. The -police said the mayor had provided a school for them in a monastery, -where they would be kept until their mothers had been permanently -located somewhere and could send for them. Of course, we knew this was -a false reason. - -I greatly feared for Mardiros, but he was so small they did not take -him. There must have been 500 boys with us who were between eight and -fifteen, and these all were gathered. - -The little fellows were taken to the mayor’s palace. Then soldiers -marched them away, all the little ones crying and screaming. We heard -the cries a long time. When we arrived at Arabkir we were told by -other refugees there that all the boys were killed as soon as they had -crossed the hills into the valley just outside Hassan-Chelebi. The -soldiers tied them in groups of ten and fifteen and then slew them with -swords and bayonets. Refugees passing that way from Sivas saw their -bodies on the road. - -Before we left Hassan-Chelebi, Tcherkess Kior Kassim, the hangman, came -among us, with a company of zaptiehs and picked out twelve very young -girls--most of them between eight and twelve years old. The hangman was -going soon to Constantinople, the soldiers said, and wanted young girls -to sell to rich Turks of powerful families, among whom it is the custom -to buy pretty girls of this age, whenever possible, and keep them in -their harems until they mature. They are raised as Mohammedans and are -later given to sons of their owners, or to powerful friends. - -Just outside Hassan-Chelebi, which we left in the afternoon, we were -joined by a party of 3,000 refugees from Sivas. They, too, were on -their way to Arabkir, and had encamped outside the city to wait for -us. Among them was a company of twenty Sisters of Grace. These dear -Sisters, several of whom were Europeans, had been summoned at midnight -from their beds by the Kaimakam, or under-governor. When the Turkish -soldiers went for them they were disrobed, sleeping. The soldiers -would not permit them to dress, but took them as they were, barefooted -and in their nightgowns. - -They had managed, during the long days out of Sivas, to borrow other -garments, but none had shoes and their feet were torn and bleeding. -They were very delicate and gentle, and all had received their -education in American or European schools. They had demanded exemption -from the deportation under certain concessions made their convent by -the Sultan, but the soldiers ignored their pleas. - -Instead of arousing some slight respect upon the part of their guards -because of their holy station, these Sisters had been subjected to -the worst possible treatment. They told us that every night after -their party left Sivas the soldiers and zaptiehs took them away from -the party and violated them. They begged for death, but even this was -refused them. Two of them, Sister Sarah and Sister Esther, who had come -from America, had killed themselves. They had only their hands--no -other weapons, and the torture and agonies they endured while taking -their own lives were terrible. - -The refugees from Sivas included the men. There were more than 25,000 -Armenians in that city, and all were notified they were to be taken -away. The party which joined ours was the first to be sent out. They -had passed many groups of corpses along the road, they reported, the -reminder of deportations from other cities. - -When we arrived at Arabkir we were ordered to encamp at the edge of the -city. Parties of exiles from many villages between Arabkir and Sivas -already were there. Some of them still had their men and boys with -them, others told us how their men had been killed along the route. - -The Armenians of Arabkir itself were awaiting deportation, herded in -a party of 8,000 or more, near where we halted. They had been waiting -five days, and did not know what had happened to their homes in the -city. - -A special official came from Sivas to take charge of the deportations -at Arabkir. With him came a company of zaptiehs. Halil Bey, a great -military leader, with his staff, also was there, on his way to -Constantinople where he was to take command of an army. - -In the center of the city there was a large house which had been used -by the prosperous Armenian shops. On the upper floors were large rooms -which had been gathering places. Already this house had come to be -known as the Kasab-Khana--the “butcher-house”--for here the leading men -of the city had been assembled and slain. - -Shortly after the special official’s arrival soldiers summoned all -the men still with the Sivas exiles, to a meeting with him on the -Kasab-Khana. The men feared to go, but were told there would be no -more cruelties now that high authority was represented. The men went, -two thousand of them, and were killed as soon as they reached the -Kasab-Khana. Soldiers were in hiding on the lower floors and as the -men gathered in the upper rooms the doors were closed and the soldiers -went about the slaughter. Men leaped out of the windows as fast as they -could, but soldiers caught them on their bayonets. - -The bodies were thrown out of the house later in the day. The next -morning they were still piled in the streets when the official called -for the girls who had been attending the Christian colleges and schools -at Sivas, and the Mission at Kotcheseur, an Armenian town near Sivas. -There were two hundred of these girls, all of them members of the -better families, and all between fifteen and twenty years old. The -soldiers said the official had arranged for them to be sent under the -care of missionaries to a school near the coast, where they would be -protected. - -The girls were summoned to the Kasab-Khana. It was then we learned, for -the first time, what had happened to the men the day before. They stood -in line but a few yards from the great piles of the bodies still lying -in the street. - -The official received them in a room on the upper floor of the house, -which still bore the stains of blood on the walls and floors. He asked -them to renounce Christ and accept Allah. Only a few agreed--these were -taken away, where, I do not know. The rest were left in the room by the -official and his staff. As soon as the officers had left the building -the soldiers poured into the room, sharing the girls among them. All -day and night soldiers went into and came out of the house. Nearly all -the girls died. Those who were alive when the soldiers were weary were -sent away under an escort of zaptiehs. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -RECRUITING FOR THE HAREMS OF CONSTANTINOPLE - - -The exiles from my city were kept in a camp outside Arabkir. On the -third day the hills around us suddenly grew white with the figures of -Aghja Daghi Kurds. They waited until nightfall then they rode down -among us. There were hundreds of them, and when they were weary of -searching the women for money, they began to gather up girls and young -women. - -I tried to conceal myself when a little party of the Kurds came near. -But I was too late. They took me away, with a dozen other girls and -young wives this band had caught. They carried us on their horses -across the valley, over the hills and into the desert beyond. There -they stripped us of what clothes still were on our bodies. With their -long sticks they subdued the girls who were screaming, or who resisted -them--beat them until their flesh was purple with flowing blood. My -own heart was too full--thinking of my poor, wounded mother. I could -not cry. I was not even strong enough to fight them when they began to -take the awful toll which the Turks and Kurds take from their women -captives. - -When the Kurds were tired of mistreating us they hobbled us, still -naked, to their horses. Each girl, with her hands tied behind her back, -was tied by the feet to the end of a rope fastened around a horse’s -neck. Thus they left us--neither we nor the horses could escape. - -I have often wondered since I came to America, where life is so -different from that of my country, if any of the good people whom I -meet could imagine the sufferings of that night while I lay in the -moonlight, my hands fastened and my feet haltered to the restless -animal. - -There seems to be so little of tragedy in this country--so little of -real suffering. I can hardly believe yet, though I have been free so -many months now, that there is a land where there is no punishment for -believing in God. - -When the dawn broke the Kurds came out to untie their horses. It is -characteristic of even the fiercest Kurds that their captives always -are fed. The Kurds will rob and terribly mistreat their victims, -especially the women of the Christians, but they will not steal their -food. When their captives have no food they will even share with -them. The Kurd is more of a child than the Turk, and nearly all the -wickedness of these bandits of the desert is inspired by their Turkish -masters. - -When we had eaten of the bread and drank the water they brought for -us, the Kurds lifted us upon their horses and galloped toward the -north. There were more girls than Kurds, and we were shifted frequently -that double burdens might be shared among the horses. - -We did not know where we were being taken, nor to what. After many -hours of riding I was shifted to the care of a Kurd who--either because -he was kinder or liked to talk--answered my pleading questions. He told -me a great Pasha was at Egin, a city to the north, who had come down -from Constantinople especially to take an interest in Armenian girls. -This Pasha, the Kurd said, even paid money to have Christian girls who -were healthy and pleasing brought before him. - -Egin is on the banks of the Kara Su. From Erzindjan, Shabin Kara-Hissar -and Niksar, large northern cities, thousands of Armenians had been -brought to Egin. Here special bands of soldiers had been stationed to -superintend the massacres of these Christians. All around the hills and -plains outside the city huge piles of corpses were still uncovered. -We passed long ditches which had been dug by convicts released from -Turkish prisons for that purpose, and in which an attempt had been made -to bury the bodies of the Armenians. But the convicts had been in such -a hurry to get done the work for which they were to be given their -liberty, that the legs and arms of men and women still stuck out from -the sand which had been scraped over them. - -There had been many rich Armenian families in Egin. It was the meeting -place of the rich caravans from Samsoun, Trebizond and Marsovan, bound -for Harpout and Diyarbekir. For many years the Turkish residents and -the Armenians had been good neighbors. When the first orders for the -deportation and massacres reached Egin the rich Armenian women ran to -their Turkish friends, the wives of rich aghas and beys, and begged -them for an intercession in their behalf. There was at that time an -American missionary at the hospital in Egin who had been an interpreter -attached to the American Embassy at Constantinople. He procured -permission from the Kaimakam to appeal by the telegraph to the American -Ambassador, Mr. Morgenthau, for the Christian residents of the city. - -In the meantime the rich Armenian women gave all their jewels and -household silver and other valuables to the wives of the Turkish -officials, and in this way obtained promises that they would not -be molested until word had come from Constantinople. The American -Ambassador secured from Talaat Bey, the Minister of the Interior, and -Enver Pasha, the Minister of War, permission for the Armenians of Egin -to remain undisturbed in their homes. - -There was great rejoicing then among the Christians of Egin. A few -days later the first company of exiles from the villages to the west -reached the city on their way to the south. They had walked for three -days and had been cruelly mistreated by the zaptiehs guarding them. -Their girls had been carried off and their young women had been the -playthings of the soldiers. They were famished also for water and -bread, and the Turks would give them none. - -The Armenians of Egin were heart-stricken at the condition of these -exiles, but they feared to help them. The refugees were camped at night -in the city square. During the night the zaptiehs and soldiers made -free with the young women still among the exiles and their screams -deepened the pity of the residents. In the morning the Armenian priest -of the city could stand it no longer--he went into the square with -bread and water and prayers. The Kaimakam had been watching for just -such an occurrence! - -He sent soldiers to bring the priest before him. He also sent for -twenty of the principal Armenian business men and had them brought into -the room. As soon as the Armenians arrived his soldiers set upon the -priest and began to torture him, to pull out his hair and twist his -fingers and toes with pincers, which is a favorite Turkish torture. The -soldiers kept asking him as they twisted their pincers: - -“Did you not advise them to resist? Did you not take arms to them -concealed in bread?” - -The priest screamed denials. The twenty men had been lined up at one -side of the room. In his trickery the Kaimakam had stationed his -soldiers at a distance from the Armenians. When the torture of the -priest continued and his screams died away into groans the Armenians -could stand it no longer. They threw themselves upon the torturers--not -to assault them, but to beg mercy for the holy man. Then the soldiers -leaped upon them and killed them all. - -The Kaimakam reported to Constantinople that it was impossible longer -to obey the Ministry’s orders to allow the Armenians in Egin to -remain--that they had revolted and attacked his soldiers and that he -had been forced to kill twenty of them. Talaat Bey sent back the famous -reply which now burns in the heart of every Armenian in the world--no -matter where he or she is--for they all have heard of it. Talaat Bey’s -reply was: - -“Whatever you do with Christians is amusing.” - -After this reply from Talaat Bey, the Kaimakam issued a proclamation -giving the Armenians of Egin just two hours to prepare for deportation. -The women besieged the officers and said to them: “See, we have given -our precious stones to your wives, and we have given them many liras -to give to you. Your wives promised us protection, and we have done -nothing to abuse your confidence. Our men did not attack your soldiers -in violence.” - -But the officers would only make light of them. “We would have gotten -your jewels and your money anyway,” they replied. - -In two hours they had assembled--all the Armenians in the city. The -soldiers went among them and seized many of the young women. These they -took to a Christian monastery just outside the city, where there were -several other Armenian girls residing as pupils. - -The Armenians had many donkeys and horse carriages. The mayor had told -them they might travel with these. The soldiers tied the women in -bunches of five, wrapped them tightly with ropes, and threw one bunch -in each cart. Then they drove away the donkeys and horses and forced -the men to draw these carts in which their womenfolk were bound. The -soldiers would not let husbands or brothers or sons talk to their -womenfolk, no matter how loudly they cried as the carts were pulled -along. - -An hour outside the city the soldiers killed the men. Then they untied -the women and tormented them. After many hours they killed the women -who survived. - -The Kaimakam sent his officers to the monastery where the young women -were imprisoned. They took with them Turkish doctors, who examined the -captives and selected the ones who were healthy and strong. Of these, -the Turks required all who were maidens to stand apart from those who -were not. The brides and young wives then were told they would be sent -to Constantinople, to be sold there either as concubines or as slaves -to farmer Turks. The maidens were told they might save their lives if -they would forswear their religion and accept Mohammed. Some of them -were so discouraged they agreed. An Imam said the rek’ah with them, and -they were sent away into the hopeless land--to be wives or worse. - -One maiden, the daughter of an Armenian leader who had been a deputy -from that district to the Turkish Parliament, was especially pretty, -and one of the officers wanted her for himself. He said to her: - -“Your father, your mother, your brother and your two sisters have been -killed. Your aunts and your uncles and your grandfather were killed. I -wish to save you from the suffering they went through, and the unknown -fate that will befall these girls who are Mohammedan now, and the -known fate which will befall those who have been stubborn. Now, be a -good Turkish girl and you shall be my wife--I will make you, not a -concubine, but a wife, and you will live happily.” - -What the girl replied was so well remembered by the Turks who heard her -that they told of it afterward among themselves until it was known -through all the district. She looked quietly into the face of the -Turkish officer and said: - -“My father is not dead. My mother is not dead. My brother and sisters, -and my uncle and aunt and grandfather are not dead. It may be true you -have killed them, but they live in Heaven. I shall live with them. I -would not be worthy of them if I proved untrue to their God and mine. -Nor could I live in Heaven with them if I should marry a man I do not -love. God would not like that. Do with me what you wish.” - -Soldiers took her away. No one knows what became of her. The other -maidens who had refused to “turn” were given to soldiers to sell to -aghas and beys. So there was none left alive of the Christians of Egin, -except the little handful of girls in the harems of the rich--worse -than dead. - -When the Kurds carried me and the other girls they had stolen with me, -into Egin they rode into the center of the city. We begged them to -avoid the crowds of Turkish men and women on the streets because of our -nakedness. They would not listen. - -We were taken into the yard of a large building, which I think must -have been a Government building. There we found, in pitiable condition, -hundreds of other young Armenian women, who had been stolen from bands -of exiles from the Erzindjan and Sivas districts. Some had been there -several days. Many were as unclothed as we were. Some had lost their -minds and were raving. All were being held for an audience with the -great Pasha, who had arrived at Egin only the night before. - -This Pasha, we learned soon after our arrival, was the notorious Kiamil -Pasha, of Constantinople. He was very old now, surely not less than -eighty years, yet he carried himself very straight and firm. Once, many -years before, he had been the governor of Aleppo and had become famous -throughout the world for his cruelties to the Christians then. It was -said he was responsible for the massacres of 1895, and that he had been -removed from office once at the request of England, only to be honored -in his retirement by appointment to a high post at Constantinople. - -With Kiamil Pasha there was Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir Bey, who, I afterward -learned, was an emissary of Talaat Bey and Enver Pasha. - -A regiment of soldiers had come from Constantinople with Kiamil Pasha, -and had camped just outside the city. This regiment later became known -as the “Kasab Tabouri,” the “butcher regiment,” for it participated in -the massacre of more than 50,000 of my people, under Kiamil Pasha’s -orders. - -Kiamil Pasha and Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir Bey came to the building where -we were kept and sat behind a table in a great room. We were taken in -twenty at a time. Even those who were nude were compelled to stand in -the line which faced his table. - -The pasha and the bey looked at us brutally when we stood before them. -That which happened to those who went to the audience with me, was what -happened to all the others. - -“His Majesty the Sultan, in his kindness of heart, wishes to be -merciful to you, who represent the girlhood of treacherous Armenia,” -said Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir, while Kiamil looked at us silently. “You -have been selected from many to receive the blessing of His Majesty’s -pity. You are to be taken to the great cities of Islam, where you will -be placed under imperial protection in schools to be established for -you, and where you may learn of those things which it is well for you -to know, and forget the teachings of unbelievers. You will be kindly -treated and given in marriage as opportunity arises into good Moslem -homes, where your behavior will be the only measure of your content.” - -Those were his words, as truly as I can remember them. No girl answered -him. We knew better than to put faith in Turkish promises, and we knew -what even that promise implied--apostasy. - -“Those of you who are willing to become Moslems will state their -readiness,” the bey continued. - -Though I cannot understand them, I cannot blame those who gave way now. -The Pasha and the Bey said nothing more. They just burned us with -their cold, glittering eyes, and waited. The strain was too terrible. -Almost half the girls fell upon their knees or into the arms of -stronger girls, and cried that they would agree. - -Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir waved his hand toward the soldiers, who escorted -or carried these girls into another room. We never heard of them again. -Kiamil still looked coldly and silently at those of us who had refused. -The Bey said not a word either, but raised his hand again. Then -soldiers began to beat us with long, cruel whips. - -We fell to the floor under the blows. The soldiers continued to beat us -with slow, measured strokes--I can feel them now, those steady, cutting -slashes with the whips the Turks use on convicts whom they bastinado to -death. A girl screamed for mercy and shouted the name of Allah. They -carried her into the other room. Another could not get the words out of -her throat. She held out her arms toward the Pasha and the Bey, taking -the blows from the whip on her hands and wrists until they saw that she -had given in. Then she, too, was carried out. Others fainted, only to -revive under the blows that did not stop. - -Twice I lost consciousness. The second time I did not come to until it -was over and, with others who had remained true to our religion, had -been left in the courtyard. - -I think there were more than four hundred young women in the yard when -I first was taken into it. Not more than twenty-five were with me -now--all the rest had been beaten into apostasy. No one can tell what -became of them. It was said Kiamil and Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir sent more -than a thousand Armenian girls to Kiamil’s estates on the Bosphorus, -where they were cared for until their prettiness had been recovered -and their spirits completely broken, when they were distributed among -the rich beys and pashas who were the political associates of Kiamil, -Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir Bey, and Djevdet Bey of Van. - -We were kept in the courtyard four days, with nothing to eat but a bit -of bread each day. Three of the young women died of their wounds. Often -Turkish men and women would come to look into the yard and mock us. -Turkish boys sometimes were allowed to throw stones at us. - -On the fourth day we were taken out by zaptiehs to join a party of a -thousand or more women and children who had arrived during the night -from Baibourt. All the women in this party were middle-aged or very -old, and the children were very small. What girls and young women were -left when the party reached Egin, had been kept in the city for Kiamil -and Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir Bey to dispose of. The older boys had been -stolen by Circassians. There were almost no babies, as these either had -died when their mothers were stolen or had been killed by the soldiers. - -With this party we went seven hours from the city and were halted there -to wait for larger parties of exiles from Sivas and Erzindjan, which -were to meet at that point on the way to Diyarbekir. - -Both these parties had to pass through Divrig Gorge, which was near by. -The exiles from Erzindjan never reached us. They were met at the gorge -by the Kasab Tabouri, the butcher regiment, and all were killed. There -were four thousand in the party. Just after this massacre was finished -the exiles from Sivas came into the gorge from the other side. - -The soldiers of the Kasab Tabouri were tired from their exertions in -killing the 4,000 exiles from Erzindjan such a short time before, so -they made sport out of the reception of those from Sivas, who numbered -more than 11,000 men, women and children. - -Part of the regiment stood in line around the bend of the gorge until -the leaders of the Armenians came into view. Panic struck the exiles -at once, and they turned to flee, despite their guards. But they found -a portion of the regiment, which had been concealed, deploying behind -them and cutting off their escape from the trap. - -As the regiment closed in, thousands of the women, with their babies -and children in their arms, scrambled up the cliffs on either side of -the narrow pass, helped by their men folk, who remained on the road to -fight with their hands and sticks against the armed soldiers. - -But the zaptiehs who accompanied the party surrounded the base of the -cliffs and kept the women from escaping. Then the Kasab Tabouri killed -men until there were not enough left to resist them. Scores of men -feigned death among the bodies of their friends, and thus escaped with -their lives. - -Part of the soldiers then scaled the cliffs to where the women were -huddled. They took babies from the arms of mothers and threw them over -the cliffs to comrades below, who caught as many as they could on their -bayonets. When babies and little girls were all disposed of this way, -the soldiers amused themselves awhile making women jump over--prodding -them with bayonets, or beating them with gun barrels until the women, -in desperation, jumped to save themselves. As they rolled down the base -of the cliff soldiers below hit them with heavy stones or held their -bayonets so they would roll onto them. Many women scrambled to their -feet after falling and these the soldiers forced to climb the cliffs -again, only to be pushed back over. - -The Kasab Tabouri kept up this sport until it was dark. They were under -orders to pass the night at Tshar-Rahya, a village three hours from the -gorge, so when darkness came and they were weary even of this game they -assembled and marched away singing, some with babies on their bayonets, -others with an older child under their arms, greatly pleased with such -a souvenir. Some salvaged a girl from the human débris and made her -march along to unspeakable shame at the Tshar-Rahya barracks. - -Only 300 of all the 11,000 exiles lived and were able to march under -the scourging of the handful of zaptiehs who remained to guard them. -They joined us where we had halted. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -MALATIA--THE CITY OF DEATH - - -Seven days after the massacre at Divrig Gorge, those of us who survived -the cruelties of our guards along the way, saw just ahead of us the -minarets of Malatia, one of the great converging points for the -hundreds of thousands of deported Armenians on their way to the Syrian -deserts which, by this time, I knew to be the destination of those who -were permitted to live. When the minarets came into view, I was much -excited by the hope that perhaps my mother’s party might have reached -there and halted, and that I might find her there. - -When we drew close to the city we passed along the road that countless -other exiles had walked before. At the side of the road, in ridicule of -the Crucifixion and as a warning to such Christian girls as lived to -reach Malatia, the Turks had crucified on rough wooden crosses sixteen -girls. I do not know how long the bodies had been there, but vultures -already had gathered. - -Each girl had been nailed alive upon her cross, great cruel spikes -through her feet and hands. Only their hair, blown by the wind, covered -their bodies. - -“See,” said our guards with great satisfaction; “see what will happen -to you in Malatia if you are not submissive.” - -In the vicinity of Malatia, and in the city itself, there were more -than twenty thousand refugees waiting to be sent on. Kurds were -camped outside in little bands, each with its “Claw chief,” waiting -to waylay and plunder the exiles. Arabs rode about the hills in the -distance--outlaw bands, who swooped down upon the Christians in the -night and stole the strongest of the women and girls for the harvesting -in the fields. Turkish beys and aghas, with here and there a dignified -pasha, rode out along the road to inspect each band of exiles as it -approached the city, their cruel, sensual eyes trying to pierce the -veils the younger girls wrapped about their faces to conceal their -youth and prettiness. - -From Sivas, Tokat, Egin, Erzindjan, Kerasun, Samsoun and countless -smaller cities in the north, where the Armenians had had their homes -for centuries, they had all been started toward Malatia. All the rivers -in between were running red with blood; the valleys were great open -graves in which thousands of bodies were left unburied; mountain passes -were choked with the dead, and every rich Turk who kept a harem between -the Black Sea and the River Tigris, had one or more, sometimes a -score, of new concubines--Armenian girls who had been stolen for them -along the road to this city. - -I often wonder if the good people of America know what the Armenians -are--their character. I sometimes fear Americans think of us as a nomad -people, or as people of a lower class. We are, indeed, different. My -people were among the first converts to Christ. They are a noble race, -and have a literature older than that of any other peoples in the world. - -Very few Armenians are peasants. Nearly all are tradesmen, merchants, -great and small, financiers, bankers or educators. In my city alone -there were more than a score of business men or teachers who had -received their education at American colleges. Hundreds had attended -great European universities. My own education was received partly at -the American college at Marsovan and partly from private tutors. Many -Armenians are very wealthy. Few Turks are as fortunate in this respect -as the great Armenian merchants. - -Of the twenty thousand Christians herded in Malatia, in camps outside -the city, in the public square or in houses set apart by the Turks -for that purpose, I think much more than half were the members of -well-to-do families, girls who had been educated either in Europe or -in great Christian colleges at home, such as that at Marsovan, Sivas -or Harpout, or in schools conducted by the Swiss, the Americans, the -English and the French. These girls had been taught music, literature -and art. - -I want to tell what happened to one group of school girls near Malatia, -as it was told me by one of them. - -At Kirk-Goz, a small city outside Malatia, there had been a German -school, where young Armenian women from all over the district were -sent to be taught by German teachers. The rule of the school was that -the money received from the rich Armenian girls for their tuition was -used in paying the expenses of poor girls. There were more than sixty -pupils at this school when the attack on the Armenians began. As the -school was under German protection, these girls considered themselves -safe, and their families were happy to think they were protected. Aziz -Bey, the Kaimakam, sent soldiers, however, with orders to bring all the -girls into Malatia, to be deported or worse. Mme. Roth, the principal, -refused to open the gates. She declared Eimen Effendi, the German -consular agent in that district, would demand reparation if any attack -on the school’s pupils were made. - -Mme. Roth--who was a German and old--herself, went to Malatia to -consult Eimen Effendi. He told her Turkey was an ally of Germany, -that Turkey declared Armenians to be obnoxious, and that Germany, -therefore, must support the Sultan. He said the pupils would have to be -surrendered. Then the soldiers took them away. Each girl was permitted -to have a donkey, which the teachers bought in the city for them. They -started west, to Mezre, where, the authorities promised, the girls -would be taken care of in a dervish monastery. - -Mme. Roth went, herself, before Aziz Bey and pleaded for the girls. -She told him she was ashamed of being a German since Eimen Effendi -had allowed such a horrible thing to be perpetrated with the consent -of Germany. She offered the Bey all her personal possessions, all -the money she had with her at Kirk-Goz, if he would return the girl -pupils and allow her to keep them with her. Mme. Roth was very wealthy. -She had more than 1,000 liras, and jewels worth much more. Aziz Bey -accepted the bribe and sent her, with an escort of soldiers, after the -young women. - -Two days later Mme. Roth and her escort approached the crossing of the -river Tokma-Su, at the little village Keumer-Khan. There were tracks -on the plain which showed the party they sought had passed that way -but a little while before. Suddenly down the road toward them came an -unclothed girl, running madly and screaming in terror. When she came -near Mme. Roth and recognized her, the girl cried, “Teacher, teacher, -save me! Save me!” - -The girl, whose name was Martha, and whose parents were rich people of -Zeitoun, threw herself on the ground at her teacher’s feet and clasped -them. “Save me! Save me!” she continued to scream. Mme. Roth gave her -drops of brandy from a bottle she had carried with her, and tried to -quiet her. Two zaptiehs from the guard which the bey had sent with the -school girls came running up. When Martha saw them she went mad again -and became unconscious. The zaptiehs tried to take possession of her -limp body, but Mme. Roth defied them. Her escort persuaded the zaptiehs -to go away. When Mme. Roth knelt again by the girl she was dead. Marks -on her body and bruises and wounds and her torn hair were evidences of -the struggle she had made to save herself. - -Mme. Roth hurried on. She heard more screams as she neared the river -banks. She came upon two zaptiehs, sitting on the sand, prodding with a -pointed stick the bare shoulders of a girl whom they had buried in the -earth above her elbows. This was a favorite pastime of the zaptiehs of -the Euphrates provinces. They had commanded the girl to submit to them -quietly and she had fought them. To punish her and break her spirit -they buried her that way and tortured her. She screamed with pain and -fright, and this amused them greatly. When they wished the zaptiehs -would take her out, and then bury her again. It was from such torture -as this Martha had escaped. - -The soldiers of Mme. Roth’s escort rescued the girl, at her command. -Mme. Roth left her with three soldiers and crossed the river. She -could hear screams from the other side. Once zaptiehs on the raft -taking them across the river broke into a loud guffaw. The oarsmen -steered the raft so as to escape two floating objects, and it was -these which amused them. Mme. Roth saw the bodies of two of her girls -floating down the river from where the screams came. - -“Look--look there,” shouted a laughing zaptieh; “two more Christians -whom their Christ forgot!” - -On the other side Mme. Roth found all who were left of her sixty or -more pupils--only seventeen. Their lives were saved only because the -zaptiehs had become weary. They were, too, the least pretty of the -original party. Mme. Roth took them all back to Malatia, where the -Kaimakam insisted that she house them. They were living there in -constant fear of being taken away again when I was taken from the city. - -It was said by those who knew, that Mme. Roth refused to receive Eimen -Effendi when he called upon her after her return with her surviving -pupils. It is said she sent word to him that she was no longer German, -and would ask no protection except that which she could buy with gold -liras as long as she could obtain them from her relatives. - -In every open space in the city and in every empty building Armenian -refugees were camped, hungry, footsore and dying, with little food or -water. In all our company there were not ten loaves of bread when we -entered the city. When we asked at the wells of Turks for water we were -spat at, and if soldiers were near the Turks would call them to drive -us away. Each day thousands of the refugees were taken away, and each -day thousands of others arrived from the north. - -Inside the city there was no attempt to care for the arriving exiles. -Some of the men in our party finally led the way to a great building -which had been a barracks, but in which many thousands of Christians -had taken refuge. We seldom ventured out on the streets, for Turkish -boys and Kurds and Arabs thronged the streets and threw stones or -sticks at us, or, in the case of girls as young as I, carried them into -Turkish shops or low houses, and there outraged them. - -When we had passed the second day in Malatia I could rest no longer -without seeking my mother--hoping that she and the Armenians of -Tchemesh-Gedzak might be among the other refugees. I went into the -street at night and went from place to place where exiles were herded. -Nowhere could I find familiar faces--people from my own city. - -When morning came I could not find my way back to the building I had -left. Morning comes quickly in the midst of the plains, and soon it was -light, and I was in a part of the city where there were no exiles. - -The streets of Malatia are very narrow, and there are few byways. -My bare feet were tired from walking all night on cobblestones and -pavements. I felt very tired--not as if I really were but little over -fourteen. I knew I would soon be carried into one of these Turkish -houses and lost, perhaps forever, if soldiers or gendarmes should catch -me at large. I hid in a little areaway. - -Suddenly I realized that I was hugging the walls of a house over which -hung the American flag. A feeling of relief came over me. The American -flag is very beautiful to the eyes of all Armenians! For many years it -has been to my people the promise of peace and happiness. We had heard -so much of the wonderful country it represented. Armenia always has -thought of the United States as a friend ever ready to help her. - -When the street was clear I left my hiding place and went to the -door of the house. I rapped, but Turks entered the street just then -and spied me. They were citizens, not soldiers, but they shouted and -started to run at me, recognizing me perhaps from the bits of garments -which I had managed to gather to cover my body, as an Armenian. - -I screamed and pushed at the door. It opened, and I found myself in the -arms of a woman who was hurrying to let me in. - -I was too frightened to explain. The Turks were at the door. I thought -I would be carried away. One of them pushed himself inside the door. -Another followed, and they reached out their hands to take me. - -The woman, who was not Turkish, stepped in front of me. “What do you -want?--Why are you here?” she asked in Turkish. “The girl--we want her. -She has escaped,” they said. - -The woman startled me by refusing to allow me to be taken. She told the -Turks they had no authority. When the men motioned as if to take me by -force she stepped in front of me and told them to remember that I was -her guest. One of the men said: - -“The girl is an Armenian. She has run away from the rest of her people. -She has no right to be at large in the city. The Kaimakam has ordered -citizens to take into custody all Christians found outside quarters set -aside for them to rest in while halting on their way past the city.” - -“Your Kaimakam’s orders have nothing to do with me. I shall protect the -girl. You dare not harm an American!” said my new friend. The Turks, -grumbling among themselves, and threatening vengeance, went out. - -The young woman told me she was Miss McLaine, an American missionary. -The house was the home of the American consul at Malatia, but he had -taken his wife, who was ill, to Harpout. Miss McLaine kept the flag -flying while they were gone. She had tried to persuade the officials to -be less cruel to the refugees, but could do very little. She had been -a pupil of Dr. Clarence Ussher, the noted American missionary surgeon, -of New York, and Mrs. Ussher, both of whom were famous throughout -Armenia for their kindness to our people during the massacres at Van. -Mrs. Ussher lost her life at Van. - -Late that day a squad of soldiers came from the Kaimakam to the -consul’s house and demanded that I be given up. Miss McLaine again -refused to surrender me. The soldiers declared they had orders to take -me by force. Miss McLaine asked that they take her to the Kaimakam that -she might ask his protection for me. To this the soldiers agreed, and I -was left alone in the house. - -When Miss McLaine returned she was crying. The soldiers returned with -her. The Kaimakam had said I must rejoin the exiles, but that I might -be taken to a house where a large company of women who had embraced -Mohammedanism were confined, with their children. This company, the -mayor said, was to be protected until they reached a place selected by -the government. - -So Miss McLaine could do nothing more. She kissed me, and the soldiers -led me away to the house where the apostasized women with their -children were quartered. - -These apostasized Armenians were nearly all women from small cities -between Malatia and Sivas. None of them really had given up -Christianity, but they thought they were doing right, as nearly all -the women were the mothers of small children who were with them. They -wanted to save the lives of their little ones. They did not know what -was to become of them, but the beys had promised they would be taken -care of by the government. - -This party of exiles was fed by the Turks--bread, water and coarse -cakes. We were not allowed out of the house, but the Turks did not -bother us. I soon had occasion to realize that the Kaimakam really had -given me at least some protection when he allowed me to join this party. - -In some of the companies waiting in Malatia the men had not been -killed. One day the soldiers gathered all of these into one big party. -The mayor wanted them to register, the soldiers said, so allotments of -land could be made them at their destination in the south. So earnest -were the soldiers the men believed them. Many went without even putting -on their coats. They were marched to the building in which I had first -been quartered, and from which other refugees had been taken out the -night before. - -Almost 3,000 men were thus assembled. Outside soldiers took up their -station at the doors and windows. Other soldiers then robbed the men -of their money and valuables--such as they had saved from Kurds along -the road, and then began killing them. When bodies had piled so high -the soldiers could not reach survivors without stumbling in blood, then -they used their rifles, and killed the remainder with bullets. - -That afternoon soldiers visited all the camps of refugees and took -children more than five years old. I think there must have been eight -or nine thousand of these. The soldiers came even to the house in which -I was with the “turned” Armenians, and despite the promises of the -mayor took all our boys and girls. When mothers clung to their little -ones and begged for them the soldiers beat them off. “If they die now -your God won’t be troubled by having to look after them till they grow -up,” the soldiers said--and always with a brutal laugh. - -They took the children to the edge of the city, where a band of Aghja -Daghi Kurds was waiting. Here the soldiers gave the children into -the keeping of the Kurds, who drove them off toward the Tokma River, -just outside the city. The Kurds drove the little ones like a flock -of sheep. At the river banks the boys were thrown into the river. The -girls were taken to Turkish cities, to be raised as Mohammedans. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -IN THE HAREM OF HADJI GHAFOUR - - -After the massacre of the men all the exiles waiting in Malatia were -told to prepare for the road again. We were assembled outside the city -early one morning. Only women and some children, with here and there an -old man, were left. We were told we were to be taken to Diyarbekir, a -hundred miles across the country. Very few had hopes of surviving this -stage of the journey, as the country was thickly dotted with Turkish, -Circassian and Kurdish villages, and inhabited by most fanatical -Moslems. Civilians were more cruel to the deportees along the roads -between the larger cities, than the soldiers. Some of the treatment -suffered by our people from these fanatical residents of small towns -was such that I cannot even write of it. - -When the column was formed, outside Malatia, it was made up of fifteen -thousand women, young and old. Very few had any personal belongings. -Few had food. Many had managed to hold onto money, however, and these -were ready to share what they had with those who had none. Money was -the only surety of enough food to sustain life on the long walk, and -the only hope of protection against a zaptieh’s lust for killing. - -The company of apostates which I had been permitted to join was placed -at the head of the column, with a special guard of soldiers. Zaptiehs -guarded the other companies, but there were very few assigned. Most -of the zaptiehs in that district had been placed in the Mesopotamian -armies. My party of apostates, of which there were about two hundred, -was the best guarded. The others were wholly at the mercy of Kurds and -villagers. - -It was now late in June, and very hot. Scores of aged women dropped to -the ground, prostrated by heat and famished for water, of which there -was only that which we could beg from farmers along the way. The mother -of two girls in my party, who, with her daughters, already had walked -a hundred miles into Malatia, was beaten because she fell behind. She -fell to the ground and could not get up. The soldiers would not let us -revive her. Her two daughters could only give her a farewell kiss and -leave her by the roadside. - -One of these two girls was a bride--a widowed bride. She had seen her -husband and father killed in the town of Kangai, on the Sivas road, and -when the Kurds were about to kill her mother because she was old, she -begged a Turkish officer, who was near by, to save her. The officer -had asked her if she would renounce her religion to save her mother, -and she consented--she and her younger sister. - -The sisters walked on with their arms about each other. They dared not -even look around to where their mother lay upon the ground. When we -could hear the woman’s moans no longer I walked over to them and asked -them to let me stay near them. I knew how they must feel. I wondered if -my own mother and my little brothers and sisters had lived. A soldier -in Malatia had told me exiles from Tchemesh-Gedzak had passed through -there weeks before and had gone, as we were going, toward Diyarbekir. -Perhaps, he said, they might still be there when we arrived--if we ever -did. - -A few hours outside the city we were halted. We were much concerned by -this, as such incidents usually meant new troubles. This time was no -exception. As soon as we stopped villagers flocked down upon us and -began to rob us. - -Just before sundown a loud cry went up. We looked to the east, where -there was a wide pass through the hills, and saw a band of horsemen -riding down upon us. They were Kurds, as we could tell from the way -they rode. The villagers shouted--“It is Kerim Bey, the friend of -Djebbar. It is well for us to scatter!” They then scrambled back into -the hills, afraid, it seemed, the Kurd chieftain would not welcome -their foraging among his prospective victims. - -To say that Kerim Bey was “a friend of Djebbar” explained his coming -with his band. Djebbar Effendi was the military commandant of the -district, sent by the government at Constantinople to oppress Armenians -during the deportations. His word was law, and always it was a cruel -word. Kerim Bey was the most feared of the Kurd chiefs--he and Musa -Bey. Both were of the Aghja Daghi Kurds. Kerim Bey and his band ruled -the countryside, and frequently revolted against the Turks. To keep him -as an ally Djebbar Effendi had given into his keeping many companies of -exiled Armenians sent from Malatia to Diyarbekir and beyond. - -There were hundreds of horsemen in Kerim’s band. They had ridden far -and were tired, too tired to take up the march in the moonlight, -but not too tired to begin at once the nightly revels which kept us -terrorized for so many days after. Scarcely had they hobbled their -horses in little groups that stretched along the side of the column -when they began to collect their toll. Screams and cries for mercy and -the groans of mothers and sisters filled the night. - -I saw terrible things that night which I cannot tell. When I see them -in my dreams now I scream, so even though I am safe in America, my -nights are not peaceful. A group of these Kurds so cruelly tortured -one young woman that women who were near by became crazed and rushed -in a body at the men to save the girl from more misery. For a moment -the Kurds were trampled under the feet of the maddened women, and the -girl was hurried away. - -When they recovered, the Kurds drew their long, sharp knives and set -upon the brave women and killed them all. I think there must have been -fifty of them. They piled their bodies together and set fire to their -clothes. While some fanned the blaze others searched for the girl who -had been rescued, but they could not find her. So, baffled in this, -they caught another girl and carried her to the flaming pile and threw -her upon it. When she tried to escape they threw her back until she was -burned to death. - -When the Kurds approached my party of apostates, the soldiers with us -turned them away. “You may do as you wish with the others--these are -protected,” said the Turkish officer in charge. But this same officer -was not content to be only a spectator while the Kurds were reveling. - -Five soldiers came from his tent and sought a young woman they thought -would please their chief. They tore aside the veils of women whose -forms suggested they might be young, until they came upon a girl from -the town of Derenda, toward Sivas. She was very pretty, but one of the -soldiers, when they were dragging her off, recognized her. - -“Kah!” he grunted to his comrades. “This one will not do. She is no -longer a maid!” They pushed her aside and sought further. But each girl -they laid their hands on after that cried to them, “I, too, am not a -virgin!” Each one was given a blow and thrust aside when she claimed to -have been already shamed. - -Soon the soldiers saw they were being cheated of the choicest prey. -They turned upon some older women and seized three. One of them they -forced to her knees and two of the soldiers held her head back between -their hands until her face was turned to the stars. Another soldier -pressed his thumbs upon her eyeballs, and said: - -“If there be no virgin among you, then by Allah’s will this woman’s -eyes come out!” - -There was a cry of horror, then a shriek. A girl who must have been -of my own age, and whom I had often noticed because her hair was so -much lighter than that of nearly all Armenian girls, threw herself, -screaming, upon the ground at the soldiers’ feet. Winding her hands -about the legs of the soldier whose thumbs were pressing against the -woman’s eyes, she cried: - -“My mother! my mother! Spare her--here I am--I am still a maid!” - -The soldiers seized the girl, guffawing loudly at the success of their -plan. As they lifted her between them she flung out her hands toward -the woman, who had fallen in a heap when the soldiers released her. -“Mother,” the girl screamed, “kiss me--kiss me!” - -The poor woman struggled to her feet and reached out her arms, but her -eyes were hurt and she could not see. The girl begged the soldiers to -carry her to her mother. “I will go--I will go, and be willing--but let -me kiss my mother!” she cried. But the soldiers hurried her away. - -The mother stood, leaning on those who crowded close to comfort her. -Then, suddenly, she drooped and sank to the ground. When we bent -over her she was dead. We sat by the body until the daughter came -back--after the moon had crossed the sky, and it must have been -midnight. The girl hid her face when she came near, until she could -bury it in her mother’s shawl. She sat by the body until morning, when -we took up our march again. - -Every night such things happened. - -Other parties along that road had fared the same. Sometimes I counted -the bodies of exiles who had preceded us until I could count no longer. -They lay at the roadside, where their guards had left them, for miles. - -On the eleventh day we came to Shiro, the Turkish city where caravans -for Damascus spend the night in a large khan and then turn southward. -There are even more caravans now than there used to be, for now they -travel only to the Damascus railway and then return. Shiro is the home -of many Turks, who profit from traders, or who have retired from posts -of power and profit at Constantinople. It is not a large town, but more -a settlement of wealthy aghas. - -We camped outside this little city. Early the next morning military -officers came out. Kerim Bey met them, and there was a short -conference. Then the Kurds began to gather the prettiest girls. They -tore them from their relatives and half dragged, half carried them to -where guards were placed to take charge of them. - -All morning the Kurds carried young women away until more than a -hundred had been accepted by the officer from the city. Then the -apostates were ordered to join these weeping girls, and we were marched -into the town. - -The narrow streets were crowded with Turks and Arabs. They hooted at -us, and made cruel jests as we passed. Among the apostates were many -old women, whose daughters had sworn to be Mohammedans to save them. -When the crowds saw these they laughed with ridicule. Once the citizens -swooped down upon the party and, unhindered by our guards, seized four -of the older women, stripped off their clothing and carried them away -on their shoulders, shouting in great glee. We never heard what became -of these. I think they were just tossed about by the crowd until they -died. - -We were taken to a house which we soon learned was the residence of -Hadji Ghafour, one of the largest houses in the city. Only devout -Moslems who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca may be called “Hadji.” -Hadji Ghafour was looked up to as one of the most religious of men. - -In the house of Hadji Ghafour we were crowded into a large room, with -bare stone walls, where camels and dromedaries were often quartered -over night. - -Hadji Ghafour came into the room, accompanied by soldiers. We of the -apostate party had been put into one corner with Kurds to watch us. -Hadji Ghafour gave an order to his servants and they separated the most -pleasing girls and younger women from the others. Of these, with me -among them, there were only thirty. We were taken out of the room and -into another, not so large, on another floor of the house. The fate -of those who were not satisfactory to Hadji Ghafour I never learned. -A soldier told one of us they were allowed to rejoin the deportation -parties. - -Those of us who had been chosen were taken to the hamman, or bath -chamber, and garments were brought for those whose clothes were frayed -or, as it was with some, who had almost none at all. Turkish women and -negro slave girls watched us in the bath and locked us up again. - -At the end of an hour we heard steps. The door was opened and a huge -black slave, with other negroes behind him, summoned us. Frightened and -too cowed to ask questions or hold back, we followed the slave through -halls and up stairways, until we came to a huge rug-strewn chamber, -brilliantly lighted with lamps and candles. On divans heavy with -cushions, at one side of the room, sat Hadji Ghafour and a group of -other Turks who were of his class, all middle aged or older, none with -a kindly face. - -Those of us who had been taken from the apostasized party stood to one -side, while a servant said, to the others: - -“It is the will of Hadji Ghafour, whose house has given you refuge, -that you repay his kindness in saving you from the dangers that -confront your people by repenting of your unbelief and accept the grace -of Islam.” - -The Turks made sounds of approval, and a turbanned Khateeb, or priest -of the mosque, entered the chamber, with an attendant who carried the -prayer rug. Behind him was a negro servant carrying a whip of bull’s -hide. The prayer rug was spread, and the Khateeb waited. - -The Turks pointed to a shrinking girl and the servants pulled her out -“What say you?” the officer asked. “I belong to Christ--in His keeping -I must remain,” the girl replied. The negro’s whip fell across her -shoulders. When she screamed for mercy the Khateeb bared his feet, -stepped upon the prayer rug and turned to Mecca. “Allah is most great; -there is no God but Allah!” his voice droned. The negro flung the girl -onto the carpet. He held his cruel whip ready to strike again if she -did not quickly kneel. Her face also turned to Mecca as she stumbled to -her knees. Her flesh already was torn and bleeding. Terror of the whip -was in her heart. To escape it she could only say the rek’ah--“There is -no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet.” - -When the last one had recited the sacrilegious creed the Khateeb folded -the prayer rug and left the room. Hadji Ghafour, smiling now, ordered -us all to stand before his guests again. All were apostates now except -me, whom the Turks thought had previously taken the oath, else I would -not have been in the party which I had joined. The law as well as Hadji -Ghafour’s piousness allowed them to do with us now as they chose. - -One by one they selected us, according to their fancies--Hadji Ghafour -first, and then his guests. How they had arranged the order of choice -I do not know, but they had agreed among themselves. There were five -or six girls for each of the Turks. I was among those ordered aside -for Hadji Ghafour, who had also chosen the two daughters who had been -compelled to leave their mother dying on the Sivas road. - -The two sisters had been very quiet all that day. They had spoken but -little to any of the rest of us since we were taken into the house of -Hadji Ghafour. Nor had they cried--afterwards I remembered how their -faces that day seemed to be bright with a great courage. - -The girls chosen by the guests of Hadji Ghafour were taken away in -separate groups to the houses of those who claimed their bodies. When -these guests and their captives had gone Hadji Ghafour again summoned -us. It was one of the sisters, the elder, to whom he spoke first. His -words were terrible. He asked her, oh, so cruelly low and soft, if she -were willing to belong to him, body and soul, to live contented in his -house, to be obedient and--affectionate in her submission. - -The girl waited not an instant. “I had renounced my God to save my -mother, but it availed me nothing. Her life was taken. I have given -myself to God--and I will not betray Him again!” - -Hadji Ghafour motioned to his negro slave, who caught the girl in his -arms and carried her out of the room. Her sister had been standing near -her. Hadji Ghafour’s eyes fell upon her next. - -“And you, my little one,” he said, just as low and soft. And he -repeated the questions to her he had spoken to her sister. She spoke -softly, too--softer than had her sister, yet just as firmly. “She was -my sister. With her I saw my mother die, and now you have taken her. -You may kill me also, but I will never submit to you.” - -Those of us who watched looked with terror at Hadji Ghafour. This time -his eyes narrowed and glittered. “You have spoken well, my little one,” -he said, still so gently he might have been speaking to a beloved -daughter. “Perhaps I had better kill you as a warning to my other -little ones.” - -The negro with the whip stood near. Hadji Ghafour did not even speak to -him--just motioned with his hands. Two other servants sprang forward. -Quickly they stripped the girl of her clothes. And then the whip fell -upon her naked body. - -I shut my eyes so I could not see, but I could not shut out the sound -of the whip cutting into the flesh, again and again, until I lost -count. Even when the girl screamed no more and her moans died away the -whip did not stop for a long time. Then suddenly I realized the blows -had ceased. I opened my eyes and saw one of the servants lifting the -girl’s body from the floor. He held her by the waist, and her arms and -bleeding legs hung limp. She was dead. - -None of us had courage after that. We gave Hadji Ghafour our promises. -We were taken out another door, this time to the women’s apartments, -where women of the household were waiting to receive us. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE RAID ON THE MONASTERY - - -The women of the haremlik had retired, except the three who awaited -our coming. These took us through a long, narrow corridor, lit only by -a single lamp, to a separate wing of the house. Through a curtained -doorway we entered a series of small stone-floored rooms, in which -women were sleeping. At last we came to a wooden door, which one of the -women opened, pushing us through. One of them lit a taper. - -The room was barren, with not even a window. On the floor was a row of -sleeping rugs, but there were neither cushions nor pillows. The women -told us to remove our clothing, and took it from us as we obeyed. -Without another word the women left us, taking the taper with them and -locking the door. - -Through the long night we waited--for what we did not know. We were -afraid to sleep, even if we could. - -We knew morning had come when we heard the faint call to prayer from -some neighboring minaret. Soon the haremlik was astir. We trembled as -we waited for the door to open. - -[Illustration: WAITING THEY KNOW NOT WHAT - -The Armenians of a prosperous city assembled in front of the government -building, by order of the authorities. They are waiting to be deported. -Just outside the city they were massacred.] - -It was a big negro who finally swung it wide, letting into the room -the light from the windows that opened from the other rooms of the -haremlik. One of the servant women who had received us the night before -entered after him. - -For each of us the woman brought an entareh, or Turkish house dress, -and slippers and stockings. The dresses were of satin and linen, but -very plain. Though I wanted something with which to cover myself, I -could not help shrinking from the hated Turkish dresses. The woman saw -me and seemed to understand. - -“You will have prettier things after a while--after your betrothal!” - -After my betrothal! - -When we had dressed, with the aid of the woman, she ordered us to -follow the negro. “What you will see now, according to the desire of -Hadji Ghafour, will serve to guide your conduct in the haremlik,” the -woman said. - -The slave led us through a smaller room into a large chamber, in which -were gathered many excited women crowded about a window. - -At the window-sill the slave peered out and then ordered us to draw -nearer. The window opened upon a wide court. Across the court were many -small windows. For a moment I saw nothing but the bleak stone wall. -Then my eyes lifted to a window higher up. I shrieked and recoiled. - -The dead body of the elder sister of the girl who had been beaten to -death, the one who had been carried away when she defied Hadji Ghafour, -was hanging by its feet from a rope attached to the window-sill. The -girl’s arms had been tied behind her back and now hung away from her -body. Her hair was hanging from her swaying head. A bandage, still tied -over her mouth, had muffled her screams. - -One of the girls with me, Lusaper, who had cried all night, fell to her -knees and became hysterical. The slave lifted her and tried to make her -look again. When he saw she was half mad he carried her to a couch at -the other side of the room and two little negro slave girls immediately -began to comfort her. Other women crowded around her, too. The slave -left us then, as did the woman servant who had been with us. - -The women of the haremlik seemed to want to be very kind. The Turkish -women were older than the apostate women. Hadji Ghafour’s two wives -were not among them, as their apartments were elsewhere, and I do not -know what the relationship of the other women to him was, whether as -concubines or relatives. Nearly all the younger women were Armenian -girls who had been stolen. They were very sorry for us. - -Food was brought in this chamber, and we ate together. Already I had -made up my mind to be as brave as I could and to hope and pray that I -might be delivered from that house. - -All the Armenian girls in the haremlik had at one time passed through -just such experiences as had been ours the night before in the presence -of Hadji Ghafour. There were eight of them, and all had apostasized -with the hope of saving relatives, only to be taken to Hadji Ghafour’s -house upon their arrival at Geulik. Only one of them knew what had -become of her family. This one had seen her mother killed and her -sister taken by the Kurds on the road from Malatia. - -Four days I remained in the haremlik without being summoned by Hadji -Ghafour. On the third day one of the other of the “new” girls came -back to us in the morning, quiet and ashamed, with her eyes downcast. -That same day the harem slaves took away her plain entareh and gave -her a richly embroidered dress. Such was the sign of her having been -“betrothed.” - -We were not allowed outside the haremlik. Each night we were compelled -to say the Mohammedan prayers. I learned to say them aloud and -translate them in my mind into the words of Christian prayers. The -head servant of the haremlik, an elderly Turkish woman, who was as -kind to us as she could be, took occasion every day to warn us that if -we wished to live and be happy we must be pleasing to Hadji Ghafour. -Other women told us of girls who had come into the harem, never to -appear again after their “betrothal” to the master. When these things -were spoken of we could not help thinking of the body we saw hanging -from the window across the court--that was Hadji Ghafour’s way of -teaching us to be submissive. - -We were not put in the dark, windowless room again. Once one of Hadji -Ghafour’s wives came into the harem to see us. She was middle-aged, -and from Bagdad. She once had been very beautiful, I think, but seemed -to be cruel and without affection. She had us brought before her and -questioned each one of us about our experiences in the deportations. -She seemed to want to trap us into admissions that we had not truly -become Mohammedans. - -Among the Armenian girls in the harem was one who came from Perri, a -village between my own city and Harpout. During the nights she told -me of the massacres in her village, and how the Turks had spared her -because she accepted Islam, until they reached Malatia. There she had -been stolen, taken first to the home of a bey and then sent with other -Armenian girls to Geulik. She, too, had been taken straight to the -house of Hadji Ghafour. She had gone through with her “betrothal,” and -had found some favor in the eyes of the Turk. - -This little girl was Arousiag Vartessarian, whose father, Ohannes, -had owned much land. She had been educated at Constantinople. In -Constantinople she learned of the American, Mr. Cleveland Dodge, of New -York, who has done so much for education in Turkey. Since I have come -to America I have learned that this same Mr. Cleveland Dodge is the -best friend the Armenians have in all the world. - -Arousiag was secretly Christian still. But she did not hope ever to -escape from the harem. She told me Hadji Ghafour kept Armenian girls -only until he had tired of them or until prettier ones were available. -Then he sent them to his friends, or to be sold to Turkish farmers. She -had tried to please him, so she would not be sold into an even worse -state, for sometimes a girl who falls into the slave market will be -sold into a public house for soldiers and zaptiehs. - -On the evening of the fifth day my heart sank and my knees grew weak -when a little negro slave girl came to tell me Hadji Ghafour had sent -for me. - -The servant women gathered around me, each professing not to understand -why I was not elated. Only when my tears fell did they cease their -jesting at the arrival--“at last,” they said, of the hour of my supreme -torture--my “good fortune” they called it. - -While I was being dressed I closed my eyes and prayed--not to be saved, -for that was too late, but for strength and for the joy of knowing that -God would be watching over me. One of the harem women walked with me -down the narrow corridor and through the door I had not passed since I -left Hadji Ghafour’s presence five days before. - -The lights of many lamps glowed in the room. Just inside the door the -big negro was waiting. Across, on his cushions, with his nargilleh on -the floor beside him, sat Hadji Ghafour. His eyes were full upon me -when I stopped at the sound of the door closing behind me. - -He motioned for me to approach and sit upon a cushion at his feet. -Involuntarily I shrank back and threw my hands before my eyes. An -instant later I felt the negro’s hand gripping my arm. I tried to hold -back and I tried to gather courage to go forward--I knew my hopes of a -happier future depended upon my submission. - -The negro tightened his grip. Under his breath he murmured, “Be a good -little one. You will be the better for it.” I could not look up, but I -went and sat upon the cushion at Hadji Ghafour’s feet! - -It is needless to say more of that terrible night! - -To Arousiag I confided the next day that I must, somehow, escape from -Hadji Ghafour’s house. To remain meant more tortures and lessened such -chance as there might be that I would find my mother at Diyarbekir, -where refugees with money were allowed by the Vali to remain just -outside the city--provided they paid liberally for the privilege. When -their money was gone they were sent away with other exiles into the -Syrian desert. - -I had tried to coax Hadji Ghafour to send messengers to Diyarbekir to -rescue my family if they could be found there, or to learn what had -become of them. He would not grant me this favor. “You are a Turkish -girl now,” he said, “and you must forget all past associations with -unbelievers.” - -Arousiag feared for me the consequences of my being caught in an -attempt to escape. Captives who had tried to run away before had been -sold into the public houses, where they soon died. When I had made her -understand, though, that I would risk anything rather than remain in -Hadji Ghafour’s house, she promised to help me. It was then she told -me, when we were alone in our couches that night, that to the west, -across the plains, toward the Euphrates, was a monastery, founded ages -ago by Roman Catholic Dominican Fathers, who came into Armenia as -missionaries. During all the centuries Armenian religious refugees had -been received in this monastery, Arousiag told me, and from there many -teachers were sent into Syria and even to Kurdistan. - -A man from Albustan, who really was an Armenian Derder, or priest, -but who was disguised as a Turk and making his way to the Caucasus, -where he hoped to get aid for the exiles from the Russians, had told -Arousiag of the monastery while she was being kept in Malatia. Many -Armenian girls had found safety there, the Derder had said, as the -Fathers in the monastery had not been molested, and their refuge was -far off the track of the companies of deported Christians. Many years -ago, the Derder told Arousiag, the monastery Fathers had saved the life -of a famous chieftain, and there were legends about it which kept the -Kurds from attacking the monastery. For some reasons the Turks had not -molested it, either. - -Arousiag confided to me that she had often planned to escape from -the house and try to go alone to the monastery. There, she was sure, -there would be safety--for a time at least. But each time her courage -deserted her. Now she was willing to make the effort, since I, too, -would rather risk everything than remain a victim of Hadji Ghafour. - -The windows of the sleeping apartments were high, and were not barred, -as they opened only into a courtyard. Arousiag knew of a passageway -from the courtyard into the divan-khane, or reception chamber, which -opened onto the street. Often the servants of the haremlik went into -the street through this passageway. - -A night came when Hadji Ghafour sent early for the girl he desired. It -was long before the haremlik’s retiring hour. Arousiag and I slipped -away and let ourselves down from a window into the courtyard. We -hurried through the divan-khane and into the streets. We had veiled -ourselves, and, with Turkish slippers, we were mistaken for Turkish -girls or harem slaves hurrying home to escape a scolding. - -When we came to the gates of the city we were frightened lest we be -stopped--but the Turkish soldiers guarding the gate had stolen for -themselves some Armenian girls from refugees camped near the city, and -were too busy amusing themselves with these girls to notice us. Soon -we were beyond the city, alone in the night. The sands cut through -our thin slippers, and we were afraid that every shadow was that of a -lurking Kurd. - -It was twenty miles or more, Arousiag believed, to the monastery. For -three days we traveled, hiding most of the days in the sand for fear of -wandering villagers or Kurds, and walking as far as we could at night. -We had no bread or other food, and only late at night, when the dogs in -the villages were asleep, could we dare to approach a village well for -water. - -Arousiag suffered much from thirst on the fourth day. She was so -famished for water, of which we had none the night before, that when -I cried she moistened her tongue with my tears. At last she could go -no further and sank to the earth. In the distance was an Arab village. -The Arabs are not like the Kurds--they are very fierce sometimes, and -do not like the Armenians, but unless they are in the pay of Turkish -pashas they are not always cruel. To save Arousiag’s life I left her -and went into the village. - -The Arab women gathered around me, and to them I appealed for food and -water, as best I could. The women pitied me, and when the Arab men -came to inspect me they, too, felt sorry. They brought a gourd of cool -water, and bread, and some of the women went with me to where Arousiag -lay. The water revived and strengthened her, and it gave me strength -too. Our clothes were mostly torn away, and the Arab women gave us -other garments and sandals for our feet. The monastery, they said, was -but a few miles further on, and they showed us the nearest way. An Arab -boy went with us to tell the men of other villages that we must not be -harmed. Also the boy guided us away from a Circassian village, where we -would have been made captives. - -When the gray stone walls of the convent rose before us in the distance -Arousiag and I knelt down on the earth and thanked our Savior. The Arab -boy turned and ran back when he saw we were praying to the Christ of -the “unbelievers.” But we were very grateful to him. - -It was almost evening, and the monks were at prayer. We stood at the -gate until some of them heard our call, and then they let us in. The -monks were very kind. They gathered around us and listened to our -story. Then they took us into their little chapel and knelt down around -us, while the prior chanted a prayer of thankfulness. - -When the prayer was finished a monk led us to a part of the monastery -separated from the main buildings. Here we were astonished to find -more than half a hundred Armenian girls and widowed brides, who, like -us, had found refuge among the monks. Nearly all these girls and young -women were from Van, the largest of the Armenian cities, or from -districts near by. Some were from Bitlis, where thousands of my people -had been killed in a single hour, only the girls and brides being left -alive for the pleasure of the Turks. Some had escaped from Diyarbekir. - -All had been directed to the monastery as a refuge by friendly Arabs -or Armenian Derders. One by one or in groups of two and three they had -applied at the monastery gates just as had Arousiag and I, and the -monks had taken them in, disregarding the great danger to themselves. - -We all were cautioned not to show ourselves outside the smaller -building which the monks had given over to us, lest wandering Kurds or -soldiers chance to see us and thus discover that the monastery was the -retreat of escaped refugees. The monks prayed with us twice every day -and nursed back to health those who were ill. Little Arousiag became -very glad when the prior assured her that God had understood, when she -renounced Him, that in her heart she was still loyal to Him. When the -aged prior knelt with her alone and prayed especially that God forgive -her every blasphemous prayer she had made to Allah while under the -eyes of the watchful harem women in the house of Hadji Ghafour, she was -happy again. - -For two weeks we were safe in the monastery. Then, suddenly, our peace -was ended. One night, long after every one in the monastery had gone to -sleep, we, were awakened by a great shouting and pounding at the gates. -From our windows we could look into the yard, but we could not see the -gate itself. While we huddled together in fright we saw the little -company of monks, hastily robed, led by their aged prior, carrying a -lighted candle, move slowly across the yard. When they had passed out -of our sight toward the gate the shouting suddenly stopped, and we -heard voices demanding that the gate be opened. - -I think the monks refused. The shouting began again, and we saw the -monks retreating across the yard. An instant later a horde of strange -figures, which we recognized as those of Tchetchens, or Circassian -bandits, pushed across the yard to the monastery doors. When the monks -refused to open the iron gates they had climbed the walls. - -Tchetchens are even more cruel and wicked than the Kurds. They are -constantly at war, either with the Kurds and Arabs, or the Turks -themselves. During the massacres the Turks had propitiated them by -giving them permission to prey upon the bands of Armenian exiles in -their district and to steal as many Christian girls as they wished. -Always in the past it has been the Tchetchens who have brought to the -harems of the pashas their prettiest girls, as they do not hesitate to -steal the daughters of their own people, the Circassians, for the slave -markets of Constantinople and Smyrna. - -The monks tried to barricade themselves in their chapel. The prior -pleaded through the iron barred windows with the Tchetchen leader, -appealing to him for the same consideration even the Kurds had always -given the monastery. But the Tchetchen chief had learned in some -manner that Armenian girls had been concealed in the monastery, and he -demanded that we be surrendered as the price of mercy for the monks. - -The monks refused to open their chapel doors or to reveal our hiding -place. But the chapel doors were of wood--they gave way when the -Tchetchens rushed against them. We heard the shrieks of our friends, -the monks. There were cries for mercy, prayers to God and brutal shouts -from the Tchetchens. In a little while there were no more screams, no -more prayers--just the shouting of the bandits. - -There was no escape for us. The Tchetchens were swarming about the -yard below and through the chambers of the monastery proper. The only -way out of the buildings the monks had set aside for us was through -passages or windows leading directly into the yard. We heard one band -of Tchetchens breaking in the door that opened into the rooms on the -floor below us. We crowded into a corner and waited, trembling, too -frightened even to pray. - -The Tchetchens climbed the stone stairway. They were cursing their -ill fortune at not having found us. One of them pushed in the door of -the room in which we had gathered. The moon was shining through the -windows and the bandits saw us. Then the spell of our silent fear was -broken--we screamed. In an instant the Tchetchen band came pouring into -the room. - -They called terrible jests to each other. Arousiag and I were kneeling, -with our arms around each other. A Tchetchen caught my hair in one hand -and that of Arousiag in the other and dragged us down the stairway. The -others were either dragged out in the same way or carried into the yard -tossed across a Tchetchen’s shoulder. - -About the steps of the chapel we saw the bodies of the monks. All had -been driven out of the chapel into the moonlight and then killed. The -Tchetchens dragged us outside the monastery gate. They then gathered up -their horses and drove them into the yard, where they could be left for -the night. Then the Tchetchens returned to us. - -Each claimed the girl or girls he had captured and dragged through the -yard. Those who were not satisfied with their prizes, in comparing -their beauty with those who had fallen to the lot of others, -quarreled. Little Arousiag’s arm was broken when one Tchetchen, seeing -that the bandit who had captured us had two girls, pulled her away from -him. Her captor paid no attention to her screams of pain. He subdued -her by twisting her broken arm until she was unconscious. - -When daylight came and the Tchetchens could see our faces more plainly -they selected those whom they considered the prettiest, and killed the -rest. They killed Arousiag because of her broken arm. Then they lifted -us onto their horses and took us to Diyarbekir. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE GAME OF THE SWORDS, AND DIYARBEKIR - - -From the edge of a sandy plateau I caught my first view of Diyarbekir, -once the capital of our country. For two days we had ridden with the -Tchetchens. We knew that some new peril awaited us in this ancient city -which, centuries before, had been one of the most glorious cities of -Christ. - -When the Tchetchens drew up at the edge of the plateau, the walls of -the city spread out far below us, with here and there a minaret rising -over the low roofs. Just beyond the city was the beautiful, blue -Tigris--the River Hiddekel, of the Bible. And as far as I could see, -dotting the great plains that are watered by the Tigris, were Christian -refugees from the north and east and west, thousands and thousands of -them. Some had walked hundreds of miles. Nearly all the Armenians who -were permitted to live that long were brought to Diyarbekir, where -those who were not massacred in the city or outside the walls were -turned south into the Syrian and Arabian deserts, to be deserted there. - -More than one million of my people were started toward Diyarbekir when -the deportations and massacres began. Only 100,000, I have heard, lived -to reach the ancient city on the Tigris. And of these more than half -were massacred within the city and outside the walls. Only young women -and some of the children were saved, and these were lost in harems, -or, as with the children, placed in Dervish monasteries to be taught -Mohammedanism, so they might be sold as slaves when they grew up. - -Nail Pasha, the Vali of Diyarbekir, was very wicked. Inside the city -there are several ancient forts, built centuries ago--one of them -in the days of Mohammed, and two great prisons. Already more than -3,000 Russian prisoners of war had been marched from the Caucasus to -Diyarbekir for confinement in these prisons. Nail Pasha had taken -away all the clothing of these prisoners, and had compelled them, by -refusing to give them food, to work as masons on a large house the -pasha was building for himself. - -When the refugees began to arrive at Diyarbekir in great numbers Nail -Pasha crowded the Russians into one of the fortresses so closely they -had almost no room to lie down at night. The other prisons he then -filled with the Armenian men who had been permitted to accompany their -women from some of the smaller Armenian villages in the north. When the -prisons were full of these exiles he had his soldiers massacre them. -Outside the city their women waited on the plains or were taken away -without even being told what had been the fate of their husbands, sons -and brothers. - -When more Russian prisoners arrived Nail Pasha crowded Armenians into -the prisons in the daytime and killed them, and then compelled the -Russians to carry out the bodies and remove the blood before they -could lie down to rest from their day’s labor in the fields or on the -stonework of his new house. The soldiers of Nail Pasha told with great -enjoyment how the bodies of little Armenian children had been mixed -in with cement and built into the walls of the new house to fill the -spaces between the stones. - -The Tchetchens who had stolen us from the monastery decided to enter -the city by its southern gate--where the walls reach down almost to the -river banks. But when they had galloped around that way soldiers from -the gate came out and told them the Vali had issued orders that no more -refugees were to be brought into the city until some of those already -within the walls were “cleared out”--massacred or sent away. - -Afterward I learned why the city itself was crowded with refugees -while so many others were camped outside the walls. The Vali promised -protection from further deportation to all who had managed to preserve -enough money to bribe him. These he allowed to go within the city and -occupy deserted houses. When their money ran out the “protection” -ceased, and they were sent out of the city in little companies--always -to be killed at the gates by Tchetchens, who had been notified to wait -for them. - -When the Tchetchens saw they could not enter the city with us at once, -they lifted us from their horses and ordered us to sit in a circle so -they could guard us easily. Of the two hundred in the monastery, only -twenty-seven of us still lived. Three of the girls were younger than I. -None was more than twenty, although several had been brides when the -massacres came. - -The bandit leader then went into the city by himself. All that day, -and the next, and most of the day after that, we sat in the sand in -the burning sun. The Tchetchens foraged bread and berries and gave us -just a little of what they did not want themselves. Only once each -day would they let us have water. On the second day one of the girls -became hot with fever. She cried for water, and when a Tchetchen would -have slapped her for her cries she showed him her tongue, which had -begun to swell. When the Tchetchen saw this he called to his comrades, -and they were afraid lest the fever spread to others of us. They paid -no attention to the poor girl’s pleading for water, but dragged her a -hundred feet away and left her. Once she got to her feet and seemed to -be trying to get back to us. A Tchetchen went out to her and struck -her down with the end of his gun. She could not get up again, and we -saw her rolling about in the sand until she died. - -On the evening of our second day of waiting outside the walls there was -a great commotion at the city’s southern gate, and presently a stream -of refugees, all women, came pouring out onto the plain. All that day -groups of Tchetchen horsemen had been gathering from the surrounding -country and taking up positions nearby. Now we knew why these horsemen -had come--they had been notified a company of refugees was to be sent -out of the city. - -The Turks themselves seldom massacred women in a wholesale way. -Constantinople had not authorized the killing of submissive women--the -work was left to Kurds and other bands. - -I think there must have been more than 2,000 women and some children -in this company. They began to come out of the gate before sundown, -and were still coming long after it was dark. The Tchetchens herded -them into a circle about one mile from the walls. They were half a mile -or more from us, but when the moon came up we could plainly hear the -shouts and screams that told us the Tchetchens had begun their evil -work. - -All night long we heard the screams. Sometimes they would be very near, -as if fugitives were coming our way. Then we would hear shouts and the -hoofbeats of horses. There would be piercing shrieks and then only the -sound of hoofbeats growing fainter. The Tchetchens who guarded us did -not bother us, they seemed to be saving us for something else. But we -could not sleep that night. Sometimes even now I cannot sleep, although -I am safe forever. Those screams come to me in the night time, and even -with my friends all about me I cannot shut them out of my ears. - -When the first gray mist of dawn spread over the plain the excitement -was still at its height. Then, suddenly, everything was quiet. We were -too far from the city to hear the voices on the minarets, but we knew -that silence meant that the hour for the Prayer of Islam had arrived. -Even in the midst of their awful work the Tchetchens instinctively -heard the call and stopped to kneel toward Mecca. I remember how I -wondered that morning, while the bandits were reciting their prayer to -their Allah for his grace and commendation, how my Christ would feel -if His people should come to Him in prayer at the sunrise after such a -night’s work as that. - -More than ever before I loved Jesus Christ and trusted Him that morning -while the Mohammedan bandits were praying to him they call Allah. - -I think less than 300 of that company of Armenians were alive when the -sun came up and we could see across the plain. One little group we saw -moving about, huddled together. All around them were the Tchetchens -searching the bodies scattered over a great circle--making sure in the -daylight they had missed nothing of value in the massacre and robbery -during the night. - -During the morning the Tchetchens busied themselves with the young -women who had been permitted to survive the night. We could see them go -up to the little group of survivors and drag some of them away. - -It was when the Tchetchens began to tire of this that we saw them -preparing, a little way from where we were, in a flat place on the -plain, for one of the pastimes for which wild Circassian tribes are -famous, and which they frequently repeated, as I afterward learned, as -long as my people lasted. - -They planted their swords, which were the long, slender-bladed swords -that came from Germany, in a long row in the sand, so the sharp pointed -blades rose out of the ground as high as would be a very small child. -When we saw these preparations all of us knew what was going to happen. -When Armenian children are bad their mothers sometimes tell them the -Tchetchens will come and get them if they don’t be good. And when the -children ask, “And when the Tchetchens come, what will they do?” their -mothers say: - -“The Tchetchens are very wicked robber horsemen, who like to sharpen -their swords with little boys and girls.” - -Already I was trembling with sickness of heart because of the awful -night before and the things I had seen that morning when daylight came. -The other women beside me were trembling, too, and felt as if they -would rather die than see any more. We begged our Tchetchens to take us -away--to take us where we could not look upon those sword blades--but -they only laughed at us and told us we must watch and be thankful to -them we were under their protection. - -When the long row of swords had been placed the Tchetchens hurried -back to the little band of Armenians. We saw them crowd among them, -and then come away carrying, or dragging, all the young women who were -left--maybe fifteen or twenty--I could not count them. - -Each girl was forced to stand with a dismounted Tchetchen holding -her on her feet, half way between two swords in the long row. The -captives cried and begged, but the cruel bandits were heedless of their -pleadings. - -When the girls had been placed to please them, one between each two -sword blades, the remaining Tchetchens mounted their horses and -gathered at the end of the line. At a shouted signal the first one -galloped down the row of swords. He seized a girl, lifted her high in -the air and flung her down upon a sword point, without slackening his -horse. - -It was a game--a contest! Each Tchetchen tried to seize as many girls -as he could and fling them upon the sword points, so that they were -killed in the one throw, in one gallop along the line. Only the most -skillful of them succeeded in impaling more than one girl. Some lifted -the second from the ground, but missed the sword in their speed, and -the girl, with broken bones or bleeding wounds, was held up in the -line again to be used in the “game” a second time--praying that this -time the Tchetchen’s aim would be true and the sword put an end to her -torture. - -In the meantime the Jews of Diyarbekir had come out from the city, -driven by gendarmes, to gather up the bodies of the slain Armenians. -They brought carts and donkeys with bags swung across their backs. Into -the carts and bags they piled the corpses and took them to the banks -of the Tigris, where the Turks made them throw their burdens into the -water. This is one of the persecutions the Jews were forced to bear. -The Mohammedans did not kill them, but they liked to compel them to do -such awful tasks. - -Late in the afternoon the chief of our Tchetchens came out from the -city. His men drew off to one side and talked with him excitedly. When -it grew dark they lifted us upon their horses and carried us into the -city through the south gate. At the gate the Tchetchen chief showed to -the officers of the gendarmes a paper he had brought from the city, and -the Tchetchens were permitted to enter. We passed through dark narrow -streets until we came to a house terraced high above the others, with -an iron gate leading into a courtyard off the street. A hammal, or -Turkish porter, was waiting at the gate and swung it open. - -The bandits dismounted outside the gate to the house and lifted us to -the ground. The leader waved us inside. With half a dozen of his men he -entered behind us and the gate closed. Some of the Tchetchens went into -the house. In a few minutes they came out, followed by a foreign man, -whose uniform I recognized as that of a German soldier. - -Servants followed with lighted lamps, and the soldier looked into our -faces and examined us shamefully. Only eight of the girls pleased him. -I was among these. We were pushed into the house and the door was -closed behind us. Then we heard the Tchetchens gather up the other -girls and take them into the street. I do not know what became of them. - -The soldier and the servants, all of whom were foreigners, whom I -afterward discovered were Germans, took us into a stone floored room -which had been used as a stable for horses. - -It must have been two or three hours afterward--after midnight, I -think; we could not keep track of the time--when the soldier and the -servants came for us. Before they took us from the stable room they -took away what few clothes we had. They led us, afraid and ashamed, -into a room where were three men in the uniforms of German officers. -The soldiers saluted them. The officers seemed very pleased when they -had looked at us. We tried to cover ourselves with our arms and to hide -behind each other, but the soldier roughly drew us apart. The officers -laughed at our embarrassment, and then dismissed the soldier, saying -something to him in German, which I do not understand. - -The officers talked among themselves, also in German. They tried to -caress us. It amused them greatly when we pleaded with them to spare -us, to let us have clothes and to have mercy, in God’s name. - -Almost two weeks I was a prisoner in this house. The principal -officer’s name was Captain August Walsenburg. He was middle-aged, I -think, and very bald. After awhile I learned many things about him. -He had been connected with a German trading company, the “Oriental -Handelsgellschaft,” in the city of Van. - -He was a reserve army officer and had been called into service. He -helped the Turkish officials at Van mobilize an army there and had -taken part in the Armenian massacres at that city. He had been ordered -to report to a German general whose name I do not remember at Aleppo, -where the German commander was organizing Turkish soldiers for the -Mesopotamian armies. But when he reached Diyarbekir there was news -of the Russian advance in the Caucasus, and he had been ordered, -by telegraph, to wait at Diyarbekir for instructions. The two other -officers were lieutenants, who had accompanied him from Van, and they, -too, were awaiting instructions. - -They were the only German officers at Diyarbekir at that time. The Vali -was very friendly with them. He had set aside for them the house to -which we were taken as captives. To this house were brought many pretty -Armenian girls stolen by the Kurds and Tchetchens. When they tired of -them they sent them away to the refugee camps outside the city or to be -sold to Turks. - -The German captain asked me to be submissive. I fought him with all my -might. I told him he might kill me. This amused him. It was while I -was his prisoner I tasted, for the first and only time in my life that -which I have learned in America is called “whiskey”. It was bitter and -terrible. The officers had brought some of this from Van. They drank -much of it, and it made them very brutal. One night they assembled -all the girls in the house into a room where they were eating and -forced them to sit on a table and drink this awful whiskey. They were -delighted when it made us ill. - -One by one the other girls who had been stolen with me from the -monastery were sent away, after the officers had wearied of them, -and their places were taken by new ones. I think I was kept because -I fought so hard when one of them approached me. The captain always -clapped his hands and laughed aloud when I fought. - -There was another girl, who had been a prisoner in the house longer -than others--since before I was taken there. She had especially pleased -one of the under-officers. She told me of one night when the officers -had taken much of their whiskey and were particularly cruel. She said -they sent for some of the girls then in the house and, standing them -sideways, shot at them with their pistols, using their breasts as -targets. Afterward I was told this thing was done very often by the -Turks in the Vilayet of Van when they massacred our people there. - -At last orders came to the officers to leave Diyarbekir. I understood -they would have to go to Harpout. They prepared to leave immediately -and set out the next morning. They had in the house many rugs and -articles of valuable jewelry they had bought from Kurds and Tchetchens, -who had stolen them from Armenians, and all of this booty they -carefully packed in boxes to be kept for them by the Vali until a -caravan bound for the railway at Ras-el-Ain came through. - -They were so hurried they paid little attention to us. When they left -all their servants accompanied them, riding donkeys behind their -masters’ horses. So we were alone in the house. - -We would have been happy in our deliverance had it not been for the -danger which threatened us at the hands of the Turkish gendarmes, who -would be sure to discover us. We searched until we found where the -servants had hidden our clothes in a dark room, into which the clothes -of all Armenian girls who had been brought to the house had been -thrown. We each took something with which to cover ourselves. - -We spent a day and night in constant terror of discovery. We were -afraid to venture into the streets and afraid to stay where we were. -There were many foreign missionaries in the city, including Americans, -but they lodged in a different quarter, and we never could have reached -them. The gendarmes came the third day after the officers left. I do -not think they expected to find any one in the house, but came to look -for things the Germans might have left unpacked. - -We saw them entering through the courtyard gate. There was no place we -could hide, as the house was built in tiers. We could only huddle in a -corner and put off our capture till the last minute. The gendarmes saw -us from the courtyard and rushed after us with shouts. - -When I ran through the room that had been occupied by one of the -officers I saw a knife he had left behind. I seized this and hid it in -my clothes. It was the first time I had held a knife in my hands or -other weapon since I was taken from my home in Tchemesh-Gedzak. - -A gendarme cornered me in one of the rooms, just as all the other girls -were trapped. He caught me by the arms. He was taking me into another -room when the officer of the gendarmes saw me. He halted the man, took -me from him and ordered him to “find another one for himself.” The -officer pushed me into the room. - -But when he tried to pinion my arms I turned on him with the knife. I -know God guided my hand, for I am sure I killed him. He fell at my feet. - -In other parts of the house and in the courtyard the gendarmes were -giving their attention to the girls they had found. I reached the -street without being seen. I looked in each direction and could see no -one except a Turkish woman, who came out of her gate on the opposite -side of the street. For an instant I thought I would be caught, and I -gripped the knife, which I still kept under my clothes. - -But the Turkish woman was kind. She pitied me. She stepped back into -her gate and motioned me to follow. I was afraid, yet I trusted her. -She closed the gate and took me in her arms. She was sorry for me and -my people, she said, and would help me. But she dared not take me into -her house. She told me I could hide in her yard till night, when I -might slip out of the city to where the refugees were. - -During the day she brought me food. At dark she came to take leave of -me, and kissed me, and gave me three liras, which was all she could -spare without earning a scolding from her husband. “Go out by the north -gate, not by the south gate,” she said to me. “All the refugees who are -taken around by the south gate are killed; those who are camped beyond -the north gate may live. But do not join them while it still is night, -or you may be caught in a massacre. Hide among the rocks in the pass -through the Karajah hills, a mile from the city. If the Armenians are -allowed to pass these rocks when they are taken away, it means they -will be allowed to live through another stage of their journey.” - -I reached the north gate without being stopped, as I was careful to -keep in the shadows. Gendarmes guarded the gate, but they were not very -watchful. I ran onto the plain and followed the directions the friendly -Turkish lady had given me until I came to the rocks which marked the -road through the low hills that skirted the city on the north. Along -this road the refugees sent to the southern deserts from Diyarbekir -must pass. - -I waited at the rocks through the night. In the morning I thought to -walk along the road to where I would not be seen by soldiers, Kurds or -Tchetchens roving on the plains near the city, and where I could wait -until a company of my people passed. - -But while I was picking my way through the narrow pass between the -rocks I saw a little group of zaptiehs coming toward me along the road -beyond. I had not expected to meet any one. I screamed before I could -stop myself. The zaptiehs heard me and I ran back into the shelter -of the rocks and drew out my knife, which I had kept so I might kill -myself rather than be stolen again. But I was afraid God would not -approve. While the zaptiehs searched the rocks I knelt in a crevice and -asked God to tell me what I should do--if He would blame me if I killed -myself before the zaptiehs found me. “Dear God, tell me, shall I come -now to You or wait until You call?” I asked of Him. - -I know He heard me, and I know He answered. For something told me to -throw the knife far away--and I did. - -That was God’s will, I know, for after awhile He was to lead me into -the arms of my mother that I might be with her once again before the -Turks killed her. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -“ISHIM YOK; KEIFIM TCHOK!” - - -I threw the knife away and stood up. The zaptiehs soon found me. I was -resigned for whatever was to happen, and did not run from them. - -I told them I had come out from the city; that I wanted to join some -of my people; that if they would not harm me I would not give them any -trouble. I still had the three liras, or three pounds, which the good -Turkish lady had given me, but I knew if I gave it to them they would -only search me for more and then, perhaps, kill me. So I told them I -would get money for them from my people if they would let me join a -company that was not to be killed. - -“Maybe all will be killed; maybe not all. We do not know. Come with us. -Get us money and we will let you live,” one of them said to me. - -I walked with them a little ways, until we saw coming toward us a long -line of refugees. Then the zaptiehs halted, and from what they said to -each other I knew they had been sent from a village a little way behind -us to join the guards escorting this party. - -Soon the party drew near. The zaptiehs said I must stay near the front -of the line, and that they would come after a while and hunt for me, -and that I must have money or they would take me off and kill me. They -came to me a few hours later, and I gave them the three liras, and they -kept their promise and did not molest me again. - -The party of refugees I had joined was from Erzeroum and the little -cities in that district. My heart leaped with joy when I saw among -them a few Armenian men. It was the first time I had seen men of my -people for so long, and I was so happy for the women whose husbands -and fathers could still be with them. When I was led up to this party -by the zaptiehs the first women to see me held out their arms to me. -They thought I was one of the girls of their own party who had been -stolen the night before. When I told them I had escaped from Diyarbekir -they were glad for me, and one lady who had lost her sixteen-year-old -daughter to the Turks said I might take this daughter’s place and march -with her. Another little daughter, six years old, was with her still. - -[Illustration: DRIVEN FORTH ON THE ROAD OF TERROR - -The old and the very young just leaving their homes in an ancient city, -on their way to the desert. In the foreground is a zaptieh, who has -stolen an armful of rugs from the exiles.] - -There were two thousand, or a few more, in this party. They were all -that were left of 40,000 Armenian families who had been deported from -Erzeroum and nearby villages. Erzeroum is 150 miles directly north of -Diyarbekir, but the Armenians there had been sent to Diyarbekir in two -directions. Some had come by way of Erzindjan and Malatia. These had -walked almost 300 miles. Others had come by way of Khnuss and Bitlis, -and these had walked 250 miles. The survivors of both parties reached -Diyarbekir at almost the same time as those who came by way of Bitlis -had been kept for many days at towns along the route. - -The only friend the Armenians at Erzeroum had when they were being -assembled for deportation was the good Badvelli, Robert Stapleton, the -American vice-consul, whose home is in New York City. Dr. Stapleton -took all the Armenian girls he could crowd into his house at Erzeroum, -and when the Turks came for them he showed the Turks the American flag -over his door, and ordered them away. There were many mothers in this -party when I joined it who were glad their daughters had been among -those who were left under Dr. Stapleton’s protection, and they wondered -if they still were safe. - -Many months later I learned the good American Badvelli kept them all -safely until the Russians came to Erzeroum and took them under their -care. - -There were almost 75,000 men, women and children in the parties that -went by way of Erzindjan. Of these only 500 reached Diyarbekir. All the -prettiest and youngest girls had been stolen by the Kurds or zaptiehs -and given to Turks along the way. The girl children under ten years -old had all been either killed, if they were not strong and pretty, or -sold to the Turks, who kept them to raise as Moslems for their harems -or sent them to Constantinople to be sold into the harems of wealthy -Turks there. Many of the younger women who were not stolen had been -outraged to death. All the grandmothers and women who were ill had been -abandoned at the roadside, or killed outright. So only the 500 remained. - -Of the other parties, which had numbered 50,000 individuals, and who -had mostly come from the smaller cities near Erzeroum, with many rich -families, including teachers, bankers, merchants and professional men -from the city itself among them, only 1,500 were left--about 300 men, I -think. - -When the different parties recognized each other in camp outside -Diyarbekir, they rejoiced greatly, and they were allowed to move their -camps together. They remained outside Diyarbekir eleven days, because -all of them had been robbed of their money and all valuables, so they -could not bribe the Vali to let them stay inside the city. - -Each night while they were camped outside Diyarbekir Turks came forth -from the city to steal girls, and soldiers came out to borrow girls -and young women for a little while. They had no food except one loaf -of bread for each person, every other day, sent out by the Vali, and -occasionally something which American missionaries in the city managed -to smuggle out to them by bribing Turkish water carriers. - -During the night, while I was hiding in the rocks, they were told -they were to be taken away again in the morning, this time to Ourfa. -They had begged the Turkish officers to let them stay a while longer, -because so many of them were suffering with swollen feet, which had -grown more painful, even to bursting, during their eleven days of rest. -They asked to be allowed to wait until their feet were better again, -but the Turks would not grant this. - -So they had started early in the morning, and now I was with them, and -before me lay the long walk to Ourfa, 200 miles further toward the -Arabian deserts--unless I suffered the harder fate of being stolen -again along the way. - -For the first time since I had been taken from my home that Easter -Sunday morning, so many weeks before, I learned, when I joined this -party on the way to Ourfa, where my people were being taken--those -who were allowed to live. Soldiers who went out to the refugee camps -from Diyarbekir had told these exiles that all who reached Aleppo, a -large city on the Damascus railway, were to be taken from there to -the Der-el-Zor district, on the southern Euphrates, and there put to -building military roads through the deserts. As only a few men lived to -reach there, the strong women were to be used. - -But always there was hope of deliverance. So many Armenians had friends -in America, sons and brothers who had left our country to go to the -wonderful United States. They prayed every night that from America -would come help before all were dead. There were rumors even then that -help was coming; that good people in the United States were sending -money and food and clothing and trying to get the Turks to be more -merciful. It was this hope that kept thousands alive. - -When I joined this party it could only move along very slowly, because -of swollen feet. When we came to the rocks where I had been discovered -it was very painful for those whose feet were broken open to pass -between them, because the pass was very narrow and the stones sharp. -For more than a mile we had to walk along this rocky defile--then -we came into the open again. I had a pair of sandals, with leather -bottoms, which I had saved from the house of the Germans. These I -gave to the lady who had asked me to march with her, for her own feet -were bleeding. No one else in the party had shoes or slippers or any -covering for their feet, except rags which some could spare from their -clothing. - -Outside Diyarbekir some of the refugees had traded laces which they had -saved by wrapping them around their bodies, for donkeys and arabas (ox -carts). They had been told they might keep these until they reached -Ourfa. In the arabas they had hidden many small pieces of bread which -they had saved from their occasional rations at Diyarbekir, hoping -thus to provide against the sufferings of starvation along the road. -But when they reached the rocks the pass was so narrow there was great -trouble getting the arabas through. - -Some Turkish villagers from the other side had come to the rocks, and -when they saw the trouble the refugees were having with their arabas -they asked the zaptiehs guarding us why they could not have the donkeys -and the carts. The zaptiehs told them if they would give some money to -be divided among the guards they could take them. - -So the villagers paid money to the zaptiehs and then swooped down upon -us and took away our animals and carts. They would not allow us to take -what few belongings were in the carts, and the pieces of bread, saying -they had bought everything the carts contained from the zaptiehs. - -In one of the carts were two little girl twins, nine years old, whose -mother had died at Diyarbekir. They were being taken care of by their -aunt, who had three times bribed soldiers to let them alone, until -she had nothing more to bribe with. She had hidden them in her araba, -thinking she could save them and spare them the weary walking. The -villagers who took her cart refused to let her take them out. He said -they went with the cart. - -The woman was crazed, and screamed loudly. She attacked the villagers -with her hands. An Armenian man was near, and he and many women rushed -at the Turk, who was alone. Three zaptiehs rushed up, but the women -and the man were determined, and the zaptiehs were afraid to help the -villagers. They told him to let the aunt have the two little girls. - -Although there were about 2,000 refugees in this party, I could count -only eleven zaptiehs sent along as guards. As many men as could be -spared by the Turks at Diyarbekir had been sent north to the army, and -the supply of guards for refugees was very short. Had there been more -zaptiehs they would not have hindered the Turk from stealing the little -girls. - -At the next village the zaptiehs decided they would have to have more -help if they were to enjoy the license customary among them along the -road. At this village they stopped us and held a long conversation with -the Mudir, or village chief. Soon after the Mudir approached, followed -by twenty or thirty of the most evil looking Turks I ever saw. Each -one of them carried a gun and wore on his sleeve a strip of red woolen -cloth, the badge of police authority. - -When we went on these Turks were distributed among us by the zaptiehs -as additional guards. - -During the second day upon the road we met a party of mounted Turkish -soldiers, escorting a group of very comfortable looking covered arabas, -such as are used by the wealthy for traveling in the interior of -Turkey. In these arabas there were forty hanums, or Turkish wives, who -were on their way with the soldier escort to Erzeroum, to join their -husbands, who were high military officers with the army in the great -military fortress there. They had come from Damascus, Beirut and Aleppo. - -When our party approached, the arabas of the hanums halted, and the -soldiers ordered our guards to halt us also. Then we saw that several -of the arabas were occupied by young Armenian girls, from eight to -twelve years old, all very sweet and gentle looking, as if they were -the daughters of wealthy families. Some of them waved their little -hands from under the curtains, and that is how we discovered them. -From six to ten were crowded in each of their arabas, and each of the -hanum’s arabas hid others. - -The little girls told us they were from Ourfa and Aleppo. Their parents -and relatives all had been killed, and they had been given to the -hanums, who, they understood, intended to put a part of them in Moslem -schools at Erzeroum, so they could have them for sale when they were a -little older. The others the hanums would keep as servants or to sell -at once to friends among rich Turks. - -The hanums descended from their arabas and asked our zaptiehs if -there were any very pretty girl children among us. The zaptiehs did -not approve of losing girl children to these Turkish wives, who, they -thought, would take them without paying for them. So they said there -were none. But one of the hanums saw a little girl holding onto her -mother, and insisted upon having her brought to her. When she looked at -the little girl closely she saw she was pretty, and commanded one of -the soldiers to take her into her carriage. - -The child’s mother held onto it desperately, and when the hanum, with -her soldier near, put her hands on the little girl to pull it away the -mother lost her reason and struck at her. - -The soldier immediately caught hold of the woman and asked of the -hanum, “What shall I do with her?” The hanum said, “Have we any oil to -burn her?” The soldier said, “I do not think so.” Then the hanum held -out her hand and the soldier gave her his pistol. The Turkish woman -went up to the mother and shot her with her own hands. She then caught -the little girl’s hand and led her to the arabas. The little one wanted -to kiss her mother, but the hanum jerked her away. - -With our party was the wife of Abouhayatian Agha, the great scholar, -of Van, who had escaped, when the massacres began, to Diyarbekir. Her -husband had been a friend of Djevdet Bey. When the soldiers were turned -loose upon the Armenians at Van, so Mrs. Abouhayatian told me, her -husband went to Djevdet Bey and remonstrated with him. His reply, now -famous all over Turkey, was: - -“Ishim yok; Keifim tchok,” which means, “I have no work to do; I have -much fun!” After that, whenever regular soldiers were sent to slaughter -Armenians, they called out to each other: - -“Ishim yok; keifim tchok!” - -Over this same path I walked, more than 400,000 of my people had -trod--some of them having walked a thousand miles or more to get there. -And of these, sole survivors of the millions who were deported from -their homes, those who are alive to-day are lost in the deserts, where -there is no bread or food. - -God grant that I may soon go back to this desert, from which I escaped, -with money and food for those of my people who may still be alive! - -When we camped near a village at night our zaptiehs would invite the -village gendarme and his friends to come out, and they would sell young -women to them for the night. The mother or other relatives of these -young women dared not even object, for if they did the zaptiehs would -kill them. Sometimes there would be better class Turks in some of these -villages, and they would pick out girl children and buy them. They -would pay our guards for the child they fancied and take it out of its -mother’s arms. These children now are being taught to be Moslems, and, -if they are old enough, made to work in the fields. Some of them are -concubines besides. - -Three babies were born during the first days of this journey. The -mothers were not allowed to rest along the way, neither before nor -after. They were made to keep up with the party until the little ones -were born. Sometimes the men would carry the mother a little way, but -when the zaptiehs saw them doing this they would make them put her -down. They would say the woman didn’t deserve to be carried because she -was bringing an unbeliever into the world. - -These events always amused the zaptiehs greatly. When one of them -discovered a baby was about to be born he would call his comrades, and -they would walk near the poor woman, making her keep on her feet until -the last minute. Then they would stand close to her and laugh and jest. -As soon as the baby was born the mother would have to get upon her feet -and walk. If she could not walk the zaptiehs would leave her on the -road and make the party move on. - -Almost always the zaptiehs killed the babies. The first two born near -me they took from the mothers and threw up in the air and caught them -like a ball. They did this four or five times and then threw them -away. The mothers saw, but they had to walk on. The third baby was -not killed. It was born in the evening, just after we had camped. The -zaptiehs were busy with their horses and did not notice. This one was -a sweet little boy. Its father was dead. Its mother was so happy--and -so sad, both together--when she first held it in her arms. She asked -God to let it live, but there was no way. She had had so little food -herself she could not nurse it. The little thing starved to death in -her arms. - -When we left the district where the villages were we began to suffer -for water. The zaptiehs carried great water bags over their saddles, -but they would give none of it to us. For days at a time we marched -without a drop of moisture to quench our thirst. Then we would come to -a group of houses where Turks lived around a well, or spring. The Turks -always would refuse to let us go near the wells, demanding pay for each -gourd of water. Men would stand guard at the wells with guns and sticks -to drive us off if we went near. - -But no one in our party had anything left to pay with. Our women would -go as near to the houses as they dared, and get down on their knees and -beg for just a swallow of the precious water. Sometimes the Turks would -let us go to the wells when they were convinced we had nothing to give -them. But not always. At one place the head man, who had been a pilgrim -and was called Hadji, demanded that if we could not give him money or -rugs, we must give him for the community three strong men who could -help till the fields which were watered from his spring. - -We appealed to our guards, but they would not take our part. They stood -by the Turks, and said if we wanted water we should be willing to pay. -At least thirty of our party had died that day for want of drink. Some -of the women’s tongues were so swollen they could not talk. There was -talk of rushing on the spring in a body, but we knew this would cost -many lives, for our zaptiehs stood near with their guns, and we knew, -too, it would be held against us and probably cause a massacre. - -Finally Harutoune Yegarian, who had been a student at Erzeroum, said -he would sacrifice himself. He asked if there were two other men who -would give themselves. Two men whose wives had died, and who had no -daughters, at once said they were willing. Many women embraced them. -Harutoune was standing near me, and I cried for him. He saw me. - -“Don’t weep for me, little girl,” he said to me. “Every Armenian in the -world should be glad to give himself for his people.” Then he kissed -me, and I think his kiss was the kiss of God. - -The three men said they would stay and work in the field for the Turks, -and so they let us have water--all we could drink and carry away. - -When we reached the city of Severeg, half way to Ourfa, we had not had -water for four days. There are three open wells on one side of Severeg, -and they feed an artificial lake, which was filled when we arrived. - -Some of our women were so parched they threw themselves into the lake -and were drowned. Others could not wait until they reached the lake, -and jumped into the wells. - -So many did this they choked the wells, and the Turks, who had come out -to meet us, had to pull them out. We who had kept our senses crowded -around those who were pulled out and moistened our tongues from their -wet clothes. - -After we left Severeg a fever attacked our party. Every day many died -by the wayside. The zaptiehs rode at a distance away from us, and when -any of the men or women dropped behind, they would shoot them. The -fever parched the throats of those who suffered from it so badly that -when we came to the next group of houses where there was a well the men -braved the guns of the Turks and zaptiehs and rushed up to them. - -After that the zaptiehs were wary of persecuting us too much, but we -paid the penalty at Sheitan Deressi, or “Devil’s Gorge,” which we -reached on the twenty-third day out of Diyarbekir. - -When all our party had entered the gorge the zaptiehs left their horses -and climbed above us and opened fire upon us. We were trapped so we -could not turn back and could not escape. The zaptiehs picked off all -the men. From early morning until dark they continued shooting from the -walls of the gorge, and at each shot a man fell. When evening came all -had been killed or mortally wounded. - -When night fell the zaptiehs came down and began killing women with -their knives and bayonets. They picked out the older women first, -and soon all these were dead. When the moon lighted up the gorge the -zaptiehs picked out the young married women--or those who had been -married but now were widows--and amused themselves by mutilating them. -They would not kill them outright, but would cut off their fingers, or -their hands, or their breasts. They tore out the eyes of some. When -dawn came only those who had succeeded in hiding behind rocks, or we -who were young and might be sold to Turks, were alive. During the next -day I counted, and there were only 160 left of the 2,000 who left -Diyarbekir with me. I have heard it said that more than 300,000 of my -people were killed in this spot during the period of the massacres. - -Now that we were so few the zaptiehs made us march faster, and as we -were nearly all young they were more cruel to us. I was glad that -morning when I discovered that the lady who had let me march with her -had survived. She had hid during the night, and had saved her little -girl too. But my gladness for her soon became sorrow. The little girl -was taken with the fever that day. The next day she could not walk any -more. When the zaptiehs discovered she was suffering from the fever -they commanded the mother to leave her at the roadside. The mother laid -the little girl down, but she could not leave her when the child held -out her arms and cried. A zaptieh came up with his bayonet pointed, -ready to kill the mother, and I pulled her away and comforted her. -Every step or two the mother would look back until we could not see her -little girl any more. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -REUNION--AND THEN, THE SHEIKH ZILAN - - -With so few of us to guard, and almost all of us either young or not -so very old, the nights were made terrible by the zaptiehs. For many -days they had been on the road with us, and had tired of ordinary -cruelties and the mere shaming of the girls under cover of darkness at -the camping places. The Turks who had been recruited from the villages -and made guards over us were especially brutal. It was their first -opportunity to visit upon Christians that hatred with which Islam looks -upon the “Unbeliever.” - -When we drew near to Ourfa we were joined by a party numbering, I -think, four or five hundred exiles from the Sandjak of Marash, a -subdistrict north of the Amanus, of which Zeitoun, Albustan and Marash -are the large cities. Nearly all of these were from the city of Marash -itself--some from Zeitoun. The removal of the Armenians from the -Sandjak of Marash was begun later than in other parts of Asia Minor. -When Haidar Pasha first issued the orders for deportation some of the -Armenians who had arms resisted. They refused to leave or submit to the -zaptiehs unless they were given guarantees they would be allowed to -return to their homes after the war. - -Haidar Pasha had few soldiers at his command just then. He sent to -Aleppo for assistance to carry out his wish to send the Armenians away. -From Aleppo came Captain Schappen, a German artillery officer, who was -stationed there with other German officers. Captain Schappen organized -large bodies of zaptiehs and taught them the use of machine guns. He -then led them personally, and with other German officers and their -aides made a raid on the Armenian houses. In quarters where there was -resistance he turned the machine guns on the houses. - -From Marash and nearby cities fourteen thousand of my people, men, -women and children, were sent away, guarded by the zaptiehs, under the -command of this captain. For some reason which none of the Christians -knew, these exiles were not taken directly into the desert toward -Bagdad, as were others from that district, but they were kept many -days, even weeks at a time, in camp with almost no food or water, then -to move on only a few miles and to camp again. They were many weeks -reaching the vicinity of Ourfa. When they joined us, of the fourteen -thousand who were torn from their homes only the three or four hundred -remained alive! No men were left--just mothers and daughters and aunts -and nieces. - -Captain Schappen had returned, after three weeks on the road, to -Aleppo. He took with him a Miss Tchilingarian, who was fifteen years -old, and who had just returned from a private school in Germany, where -her parents had sent her to be educated. She was home on a vacation -when the deportation began. She was very pretty, those who knew her -told me, and had already won honors in music. Her family intended she -should become a singer and take to the Christian world outside Turkey -the beautiful folk ballads of my people. Captain Schappen marked her -during the first night on the road, and had her taken to his tent. He -then designated a zaptieh to be her especial guard until he took her -away with him. He also took with him Mrs. Sarafian, the young wife of -Dr. Dikran Sarafian, who had been educated in Switzerland, and was -one of the most prominent Armenian physicians in central Turkey. Mrs. -Sarafian was a Swiss, and had learned to love Dr. Sarafian while he was -a student in her country. She had come to Marash to marry him just two -years before. Captain Schappen had her taken to his tent also, soon -after they began their march, and when her husband objected the officer -ordered a zaptieh to shoot him. - -When Captain Schappen and his companions decided to return to Aleppo -they sent zaptiehs scouring the country for miles around looking for -donkeys. For these the officers traded girl children. A pretty child -was given for one donkey. Of the children who were plain the officers -gave two, or sometimes three, for a single donkey. Thus they collected -a large herd of donkeys, which probably were needed by the army. - -In another day after this remnant of the Christians of Marash joined -us, we came into sight of Ourfa. We were ordered to camp close to an -artificial lake--such a lake as often is found outside Moslem cities. -The leaders of our zaptiehs rode into the city for instructions. Soon -Turks, in long white coats, came out of the city to look at us. When -they saw that ours was a party of almost all younger women, with girl -children still left, they spread the news in Ourfa, and in a little -while dozens of Turks came out in little groups of four and five. - -They tried to persuade our zaptiehs to let them carry away with them -the young women and children they wanted. The zaptiehs would not permit -this, however, unless they were paid what was then considered high -prices for Christian women. They said they had brought us this far, and -now they intended to profit--that they had only permitted us to live -because they hoped to get “good prices” for the choicest of us in the -Ourfa market. - -The Turks did not want to pay the high prices, and the zaptiehs would -not trade with them. The zaptiehs said there was a good market in Ourfa -for pretty Armenian women, and they preferred to get the Mutassarif’s -permission to hunt purchasers there who would bid against each other. -The Turks went back to the city disappointed. - -That night, just after sundown, these same Turks came out again and -opened the sluices that held the artificial lake, allowing the water to -spread over the plain and flood our camp. We had to run as fast as we -could to scramble to safety, and there was great confusion. Even the -zaptiehs were caught by surprise. - -In this confusion the Turks rushed in among us and helped themselves to -our youngest girls--the prettiest children they could seize. We were -powerless to save them, as each of the Turks carried a heavy stick, -with which they beat down the mothers or relatives who tried to rescue -their little ones. By the time we had escaped the water and assembled -again, and the zaptiehs were recovered from their own panic, the Turks -were gone--and with them fifteen or twenty beautiful little girls. - -Later I learned what was the immediate fate of the children stolen when -the lake was opened on us. Haidar Pasha had seized the ancient Catholic -Armenian monastery there, and had transformed it into a “government -school for refugee children.” Since I have come to America I have -learned that when complaints were made to the Sultan at Constantinople -by foreign ambassadors of the stealing of children the Sultan’s -officials replied that they were taken as a kindly deed by the -government, which wished to place them in comfort in the “government -school” at Ourfa and other cities. - -But this is what the “government school” at Ourfa was: - -Haidar Pasha sent his soldiers, under command of a bey, to take -possession of the monastery, a large stone building. They surrounded it -and forced the monks, among them Father Antone and Father Shiradjian, -two priests who were much beloved by Protestant as well as Catholic -Armenians, to walk in between two rows of soldiers. The soldiers closed -in behind them and marched with them outside the walls of the city. -Then the soldiers halted and the Bey asked how many there were among -the monks who were willing to take the oath of Islam and forswear -Christ. - -When the Bey ceased speaking Father Antone lifted his voice with the -words of an ancient song of the good Saint Thomas Aquinas, and all the -monks joined in. - -While they sang the soldiers shot them down--volley after volley--until -all were dead. The last monk to fall died with the words of the song on -his lips. - -Haidar Pasha then cleared out the monastery of all its relics and -religious symbols. Among these were some things which were very dear to -my people. There was, for instance, a piece of the lance which pierced -the side of Jesus at the Crucifixion. What has become of this and other -things that were associated with Christ, Himself, and kept by the -Fathers in this monastery I do not know. It is said they were taken to -Damascus and placed in a mosque there, to be ridiculed by the Moslems. - -When the monastery was cleared Haidar Pasha gathered from among the -Armenians who were then being taken out of the city, a number of -Armenian girls of the best families and confined them in the monastery. -He then seized hundreds of Armenian girl children, from 7 to 12 years -old, and shut them in the monastery, to be taught the Moslem religion -and raised as Moslems. He compelled the older girls to teach them the -beliefs of Islam, under penalty of the most awful cruelties. To this -monastery then came rich Turks from all over Asia Minor to select as -many little girls as they wished and could buy for their harems--where -they would grow up to be submissive slaves. - -While we were waiting outside the city for the zaptiehs to dispose -of us according to whatever their plans might be I saw coming toward -us, out of a city gate, a company of hamidieh, or Kurd cavalry, with -a supply train of donkeys and arabas, which indicated a long journey -ahead. There must have been a full regiment of the horsemen, as they -filled the plain outside the city while forming their line of march. - -When they drew near, to pass us within a hundred yards or so, I saw a -little group of women and children riding on donkeys and ponies between -the lines of horsemen. I recognized these as Armenians. This was an -unusual sight--Armenians under protection instead of under guard. In -those days my curiosity had been stunted. So many unusual things went -on about me all the time I had lost my sense of interest in anything -that did not actually concern me. But something seemed to hold my -attention to this strange looking company. - -I got up from the ground where I was sitting and went to the edge of -our camp to watch the soldiers passing. The first lines went by. The -Armenian women came nearer. Suddenly all the world about me seemed lost -in a haze. I rushed in between the horses, screaming at the top of my -voice: - -“Mother! Mother! Mother!” - -She heard, and little Hovnan, and Mardiros, and Sarah heard. Mother -slid to the ground as I ran up to her. I tried to throw my arms around -her neck, while my little brothers and sister clung to me. But mother -caught my arms and held them. Her eyes were closed, and she was still -and silent. I cried to her to speak to me. A terrible fear came over -me. Had she gone mad? Had she lost her speech? - -I screamed--this time with anguish. Mother opened her eyes. - -“Be patient, my daughter,” she said, with the dear, sweet gentleness -for which all our friends had loved her. “Be patient, my daughter. I -was just talking with God--thanking Him that my prayers have come -true!” When I had kissed and cried over Hovnan and Mardiros and Sarah I -looked again into mother’s face. - -Little Aruciag--she was not there. Mother saw the question in my eyes. - -“Aruciag has gone. She grew tired one day and could not keep up. A -soldier threw her over a precipice!” - -An officer of the hamidieh came up to learn what was happening, why -mother and the children had dismounted to stand in the way of the -horsemen. Mother explained to him that I was her daughter, who had -come back to her. She said she wished that I might travel with her. -The officer was kind. He gave permission and promised to send another -donkey for me to ride. - -There were four young Armenian girls with mothers and several older -women, whose faces bore the marks of much suffering. As we rode along -mother explained to me. - -When I was stolen from her and our party from Tchemesh-Gedzak, so many -weeks before, she was lying at the roadside, cruelly wounded by the -soldiers. But the thought of the children summoned her back to life. -Friends cared for her, and the next day when the company moved on they -carried her in their arms until she could walk again. - -She passed Malatia, Geulik and Diyarbekir. At last she reached Ourfa. -By this time only eighteen were left of the original four thousand -exiles from Tchemesh-Gedzak. - -At Ourfa there lived my uncle, mother’s cousin, Ipranos Mardiganian, -who had moved from Tchemesh-Gedzak to Ourfa many years ago--before I -was born. Uncle Ipranos had become very wealthy, and had established -a great trading business, which had branches even in Persia and in -Constantinople. - -In the Abdul-Hamid massacres of 1895 Uncle Ipranos was persuaded by -his powerful Turkish friends at Constantinople and in Ourfa to become -Moslem and thus save his life. He pretended to do so, and was rewarded -with a government position of high trust, and rose to high estate among -the Moslems. He adopted a Turkish name, and was known as Ibrahim Agha. -Secretly, though, he still prayed to God and was Christian. - -Mother remembered him when she reached Ourfa with the refugees. She -knew he was in the favor of the Turks, who no longer looked upon him -as Armenian. She asked one of the soldiers with her party if he would -take a letter into the city for her, promising that if he would deliver -the letter secretly he would receive pay. The soldier took the letter -to Ibrahim Agha’s house. In it mother appealed to her cousin for his -assistance in the name of their family, and asked him to give some -money to the soldier. - -Ibrahim Agha was grieved by mother’s letter. He sent her word that -he would help her. He went at once to Haidar Pasha and procured his -permission to bring mother and her children to his house. Then he -came for her and took her to his home. In his house mother found four -Armenian girls. Their mothers were deported from Ourfa, but before -they had left the city they had appealed to Ibrahim Agha to take their -daughters under his protection, thinking to save them. He could not -refuse, although he endangered his own life, and had to keep the girls -hidden from his neighbors. A few older women also were in his house, -hidden in his cellar. He had taken them in from the streets when -soldiers were not looking. - -For more than a month mother and the children were safe in her -cousin’s home. Then, one day, Haidar Pasha sent him word to come to -the government building. He returned with heavy heart. Haidar Pasha -had told him it would not be safe for him to keep his relatives in his -house any longer; that many high military officials were in Ourfa, and -if some of them should hear of refugee Armenians being thus protected -all might be killed, and both he and Ibrahim Agha suffer. - -But Haidar Pasha offered to obtain from the Turkish general at Aleppo -military permission for mother and the children and the other exiles in -his house, of whom my uncle now told him, to travel back to their homes -in the north with soldiers being sent to Moush to join the campaign -against the Russians. For this Haidar Pasha asked one thousand liras -cash--about $5,000--and another thousand liras when mother and the -others had safely reached their homes and had received permission from -their home authorities to remain. This permission the Pasha promised to -arrange also. - -My uncle had to comply. The four girls had no homes or relatives in the -north, but they had to go, too, or be deported and seized by Turks. -Mother agreed to take them to her home in Tchemesh-Gedzak--if they -should really reach there alive. - -At Moush an army corps was assembling. The Turks had retired before the -first advance of the Russians through the Caucasus, and Djevdet Bey, -Vali of Van, was rallying his armies here for a dash at the Russian -flanks, which already had reached Van. Soldiers occupied all the houses -in Moush, from which the Armenians had been ejected, and the hamidieh -officers believed it would be best for us to be quartered outside the -city while arrangements were made for the rest of our journey. Mother -depended upon the papers given her by Haidar Pasha to secure for us an -escort from Moush to Tchemesh-Gedzak--and Ibrahim Agha had said Haidar -would telegraph the authorities at Moush to guarantee our safety. - -We stopped at Kurdmeidan, a village a few miles outside of Moush, -at the foot of Mount Antok. There had been many Armenians in the -village, and there was an Armenian church. All the Christians had been -massacred, however, and their homes were occupied by mouhajirs--Moslem -immigrants from the lost provinces in the Balkans. We went into the -deserted church and prepared to remain there until arrangements -were made for us to leave. The hamidieh officers called the village -Mudir before them and cautioned him that we were to be protected and -fed--that we were “especially favored by the Porte.” - -The villagers treated us kindly--so great is the fear of the population -of anything “official” or governmental. Days went by and we did not -hear from the city. We began to worry. Mother wanted so much to see our -home again at Tchemesh-Gedzak. “Were it not for you and the children,” -she would say to me, “I would be willing to die on my doorstep--if God -would just let me see our home again!” My poor, dear mother! - -We dared not go alone into the city to inquire what was to be done for -us--we could only wait. - -One night, just after the Moslem prayer, the streets of the little city -suddenly became crowded with horsemen. Some Turkish women who were -just outside the church rushed in to get out of the way of the horses’ -hoofs. “It is Sheikh Zilan,” they said. “The Sheikh Zilan of the Belek -tribe, who has been called in from the mountains with his thousand -Kurds to fight for the Turks!” - -The name of Sheikh Zilan was widely known. His horsemen had harried the -countryside for many years. It was said he frequently made raids with -his tribe into Persia, and even into the Russian Caucasus before the -war, to steal women for the secret slave markets in European Turkey. - -The tribe was on its way into Moush. Entrance would be denied them -after dark, they knew, so they had decided to camp for the night in -Kurdmeidan. Some followers of the Sheikh saw the Armenian church -building, and decided to use it as a stable for the horses of the -Sheikh and his chiefs. They broke in the door while mother and the rest -of us crouched in a corner. But we could not hide--the Kurds saw us and -gave the alarm. Soon the church was full of the wild tribesmen. - -Mother showed her letters from Haidar Pasha. This awed the Kurds for a -moment, and they sent for one of their chiefs. When the chief came he -read the letter carefully. Then he examined our party. “The Pasha here -says there is an Armenian woman and her servants and three children, to -whom immunity has been promised and safe conduct. That we will grant, -although the word of a Pasha is not binding upon the will of the great -Sheikh Zilan. But the Pasha’s writing says nothing of five young -Armenian women, too old to be classed as children and too young to be -described as servants. These we will take, lest the Pasha be imposed -upon.” - -They would not believe that I also was mother’s daughter. They took me -and the four girls mother had brought from the house of Ibrahim Agha, -and at the same time forced mother to leave the shelter of the church -and camp in a nearby yard. They took us out of the village, to where -their main camp was. - -With halter ropes they tied our hands behind our backs and then tied -us to each other by looping a rope through our arms. Soon Sheikh Zilan -himself came to look at us. He seemed greatly pleased when he had -looked into our faces. He gave some orders we could not understand, -but which, evidently, had to do with our safety, and walked away. We -spent the night sitting on the ground, for we were bound in such a way -we could not lie down. The Kurds looked at us curiously as they walked -around us, and often one of them would kick us to make us turn our -faces toward him. But otherwise they did not molest us. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -OLD VARTABED AND THE SHEPHERD’S CALL - - -Early in the morning we were taken into the city, tied across horses -which were led just behind the group of chiefs who followed Sheikh -Zilan, himself. Inside the city four horsemen led our horses into one -of the low quarters of the city. Here we were given into the keeping -of a cruel looking Kurd, whom I was soon to know was Bekran Agha, the -notorious slave dealer of Moush. - -Ten thousand Armenian girls, delicate, refined daughters of Christian -homes, college girls, young school teachers, daughters of the rich and -the poor, have experienced the terror of the same feeling that came -over me that day when I realized that I was a captive in the house of -this notorious slave dealer. His slave market had been boldly operated, -in the security of his house, for many years, but never had he enjoyed -such a profitable trade as when the Armenian girls were available to -him. - -Bekran left us in his donkey stable at night. In the morning his hammal -came in to feed the animals. When he had finished this task he ordered -us to follow him. - -Bekran awaited us in his selamlik. I shuddered when I saw him--he was -so old and withered and cruel looking. A negress waited upon him. -He sat on the floor in the old fashion. The selamlik was barren and -ill-kept. Everywhere there was dirt. Bekran’s flowing garments, once of -rich texture, were ragged and frayed. Yet I knew Bekran must be very -rich--from the profits the helplessness of Armenians had brought him. - -We fell upon our knees before him--then we bent into the posture of the -Mohammedans--we wanted so much to make him listen to our pleading. I -had suffered so much, I thought surely I could persuade this old man -to let me go to my mother again. But Bekran did not even speak. His -eyes roved over us--I could feel them. He signed to the hammal and -the man lifted us to our feet, one by one, that his master might see -our height, our size and judge of our attractiveness. Then he gave -another sign and we were taken across the inside court, through a stone -doorway, and into a large room where there were a number of other -Armenian girls, with here and there a Circassian or a Russian from the -Caucasus, among them. - -Soon the hammal came into the room with figs and bread. I could not -eat, neither could any of the four girls who had been of my mother’s -party from Ourfa. Few of the others ate, either--as all had come but -recently into the hands of Bekran and were too downcast. When the -hammal saw that we, who were late comers, did not eat, he said, “That -is well. We will lose no time at the bath.” He then compelled us to -cleanse ourselves as well as we could of the marks of our nights in -the sand and in the donkey stable with water from a fountain in the -courtyard. - -Two men servants who came into the court while we were bathing joined -the hammal. Together they made us stand in a long line. The girls who -had been in the house when we arrived, saved us from the whips the -hammal and his men carried by telling us what to do. - -We were taken into a large room at the back of the house, barren of -any furniture, save a pile of cushions on a rug in one corner. We were -allowed to sit on the floor any place in the room, but in this corner -where the cushions were. Before long Bekran Agha came in and sat on the -cushions. - -All morning purchasers came. As each one spoke to Bekran the porter -would clap his hands and we were made to gather in a circle around the -customer. Many girls were sold--but for only a few pennies apiece. -There were too many in the market to demand large prices! When a girl -was sold she remained until a servant came to take her away. - -Late in the afternoon of the second day a customer to whom Bekran Agha -paid great deference, entered the room. He was a servant, but from his -clothes I knew him to be the servant of a rich man. From those of us -who were left he selected three--and I was one of the three. While we -stood near he bargained with Bekran. At last the terms were agreed -upon. I was bought for one medjidieh--85 cents! - -Outside was an araba. The other two girls and I were placed in this. -We were taken outside the city, to a country house occupied by Djevdet -Bey, Vali of Van, then commander of the Turkish army operating against -the Russians. - -We were taken at once to the haremlik, where there were a number of -other young Armenian women. Before evening the kalfa, or head servant, -came in to us and we were asked, one by one, if we were willing to -become Mohammedans. The kalfa explained that only those could remain in -the care and keeping of Djevdet Bey, the mighty man, and have the honor -of his protection, who willingly adopted the creed of Islam. - -Though he was cruel and, as his deeds show, the most unscrupulous of -all the Turks, Djevdet Bey desired, it was made plain to us, to keep -within the provisions of the fetva issued by Abdul Hamid and still in -effect, which pretends to prohibit the enslaving of Armenian and other -Christian girls unless they first become Mohammedans. - -I did not know what the kalfa would do with me if I refused to accept -the creed of Islam. I feared the punishment would be death, or the -public khan at once, but I could not bring myself to deny Christ, after -having remained faithful to Him so long. I asked Him what I should -do--and His answer came, just as clear and direct as when I was about -to use my knife outside the rocks of Diyarbekir. I seemed to see Father -Rhoupen, the priest, and I even felt his hand on my shoulder again, -just as when he said to me, “Always trust in God and remain faithful -unto Him.” I told the kalfa I could not forswear Jesus Christ. - -One of the other girls who had been brought to Djevdet Bey’s house with -me also refused to give up her religion, even to save her life. The -third girl had suffered so much--her heart and soul were broken. She -gave way. The kalfa put her into another room. In a little while we who -had refused to apostasize were summoned, put into separate arabas, and -driven away. What became of the other little girl I do not know. I was -taken to the house of Ahmed Bey, one of the rich men of Moush. I was a -present to him from Djevdet Bey. - -I cannot forget the depression that came over me when I entered the -courtyard of Ahmed Bey’s house. Twice before, since the deportations -began, had I been taken a captive into the houses of Turks and left -at their mercy. Yet now I felt as if the future were darker than ever -before. Perhaps it was because the house of Ahmed was outside the city, -in the plains--as a prison would be. And there were twenty-four other -girls in the haremlik, each with her own memory of sufferings, more -terrible even, some of them, than had been my own. - -Ahmed Bey, himself, was very old, yet some of these twenty-four girls -had been sacrificed to him. The others had been divided between his two -sons. Ahmed was, perhaps, a truer type of the fanatical Turk than any -whose victim I had yet been. His interest seemed not to be so much in -the young women themselves, as in the children he wanted them to bear -to his sons--children in whom the blood of the noble Armenian race -might be blended with that of the savage Turk, and who might live to -perpetuate and improve the blood of his family. - -I was summoned before Ahmed Bey the next day. I had asked for clothing, -but the haremlik attachés would not give me any, nor would they allow -me to accept garments from other girls in the harem. “Not until Ahmed -indicates his desires,” was the answer of the kalfa to my pleadings. - -Ahmed Bey spoke to me gently, but it was with the gentleness that hurts -worse than blows. “You are to be one of the favored of my women,” -he said, “because you have been sent to my house by His Excellency, -Djevdet Bey.” He gave a sign, and a little slave girl appeared with -the rich dress of a favored Turkish girl. “Many of these and many -ornaments, as well as kindness and affection, shall be yours as long -as you are obedient and respectful,” Ahmed said. “First, you shall -renounce the Christ you have been taught to worship and accept the -forgiveness of Allah and Mohammed, his prophet.” - -I told him I was weary of suffering, but that I had been given into the -keeping of God by my mother, and that I would not desert Him. At this -Ahmed became furious. All his gentleness passed away. He trembled in -his anger. He upbraided me and my people and blasphemed my religion. I -cried with shame at hearing him, but he had no pity. I pleaded with him -to free me, that I might return to my mother’s party, and I told him of -the paper given my mother by Haidar Pasha of Ourfa. But he would not -listen. - -The little slave was sent from the room to summon one of Ahmed’s sons. -The son came in almost immediately. Ahmed called him “Nazim.” “This -is the one sent me by Djevdet Bey, himself. I have set her aside for -you, my son, because of her comeliness and youth. But her spirit -must be broken. I have sent for you that you might look upon her and -decide--what shall be done with her.” - -Ahmed’s son spoke to me, but I did not answer. Then he took my hand, -drew me up before him and lifted my face that he might look into my -eyes. - -“Leave her to me, my father, that I may try to persuade her to be happy -in our house,” Nazim said. - -The little slave led me to an apartment--a small room looking out upon -the inside court, with a divan. I asked her to leave the dress with me, -that I might at least cover myself, but she said she could not do that -without permission. When she had left me Nazim crossed the court from -the selamlik and came at once to me. - -He had the same gentleness as his father--and it hurt in the same way. -He asked me to accept Mohammed that he might make me his “bride.” He -told me my sufferings would be very hard to bear if I refused, but that -I would have many luxuries if I consented. - -I knew I could not escape. My thoughts went to my mother. I told Nazim -that as long as my mother was an exile, doomed to die a wanderer, I -could not speak of being a “bride.” I told him if he would save her, -if he would bring her to me, I would ask her if she thought best that -I sacrifice my religion in return for my life and safety--and if she -would say it would be right, then, with her always near to comfort me, -I would let my soul die that my body and hers might live. - -“You will have to learn it is not the slave’s privilege to bargain,” he -said, as he strode away. - -Hours went by, and I crouched on the divan--waiting. At every step I -feared I was to be summoned again--this time for something I could only -expect to be torture. At last a zaptieh who was one of Ahmed Bey’s -personal retainers came for me. He lifted me roughly and dragged me -with him across the court and into the road in front of the house. A -little way from the garden wall there was a group of other zaptiehs. - -Among them I saw my mother, little Hovnan and Mardiros and little -Sarah, my brothers and sister, and the others of my mother’s party. I -had told Nazim where they were when I pleaded with him to restore them -to me--and he had sent for them. - -I tried to break away, to run toward them. The zaptieh at my side held -me. My mother was kneeling, with her hands lifted to heaven. Sarah ran -toward me, her arms stretched out. “Aurora--Aurora--don’t let them kill -us!” Sarah cried. The zaptieh swung the heavy handle of his whip high -in the air and brought it down on Sarah’s head so that the blow flung -her little body far out of the path. She did not move again. I think -the blow must have crushed in my little sister’s head. - -Mother saw--and so did Hovnan and Mardiros. Mother fell to the ground, -motionless. A zaptieh lifted her and struck her with his whip. - -I fell upon my knees before the chief of the zaptiehs. “Spare my -mother--spare my brothers!” I cried to him. “I will do anything you -wish--I will belong to Allah--I will thank him only--if you will spare -them!” - -“It shall be as Nazim Bey desires,” the zaptieh said. I did not -understand--I clung to him and prayed to him. I tried to touch my -mother, but the zaptieh kicked me to the ground. Then, suddenly, I knew -why they waited. Nazim Bey had come out of the house. When I saw him I -crept to his feet and begged him for mercy. “I will be Turkish--I will -pray to Allah--I will obey--just to save my mother,” I cried to him. - -“That is well--but you shall not only be a Moslem but you also shall be -the daughter of a Moslem--that will be better still”--said Nazim. “What -does the old woman say?” - -A zaptieh jerked mother to her feet again. He lifted his whip. “The -creed--quick!” he said to her. - -“Mother, please--God will forgive you--father is in heaven and he will -understand!” I cried to her. - -Mother was too weak to speak aloud, but her lips moved in a whisper: -“God of St. Gregory, Thy will be done!” - -The zaptieh’s heavy whip descended. Mother sank to the ground. I tried -to reach her, but the zaptiehs held me. I fought them, but they held -me fast. Again and again the whip fell. Mardiros screamed and tried to -save her with his weak little hands. Another zaptieh caught him by the -arm and killed him with a single blow from his whip handle. When they -flung him aside Mardiros’s body fell almost at my feet. - -Hovnan wrapped his arms around the zaptieh who was beating my mother, -but his strength was too feeble. The zaptieh did not even notice him -until my mother’s body relaxed and I knew she was dead. Then he drew -his knife and plunged it into little Hovnan. - -It was only a little while--two minutes, perhaps, or three, that I -stood there, held by the zaptieh. But in those short minutes all that -belonged to me in this world was swept away--my mother, Mardiros and -Hovnan, and Sarah. Their bodies were at my feet. Both mother and Hovnan -died with their eyes turned to me, looking into mine! My eyes see them -now, every day and every night--every hour, almost--when I look out -into the new world about me. I must keep them closed for hours at a -time to shut the vision out. - -I heard Nazim Bey give an order to his zaptiehs. Some of them picked up -the bodies of my dear ones and carried them away, I do not know where. -The others lifted me off the ground--I could not walk--and carried me -to the house and back to the room where the divan was. For two days and -nights no one came near me but the slave girls. All that time I cried; -I could not keep the tears from coming. That was when my eyes gave way; -that is why I cannot see very well now without glasses. - -On the third day Nazim, accompanied by his father, Ahmed, came to my -room. Ahmed spoke with the same cruel gentleness. “What is past is -gone, little one; it is time your thoughts should turn to the future. -Nazim desires you. You are honored. He has punished you for your -stubbornness, and he would forgive you and take you to his heart. That -is as it must be. Your people are gone. There is none to give you -mistaken counsel. You will now accept the favor of Allah and enter into -a state of true righteousness.” - -“I want to die--kill me! I will never listen to your son nor to your -Allah,” I said. - -They took me into another wing of the house, to a dungeon room, with -just one iron-barred window looking out into the courtyard. There was -no divan or cushions, just the floor and the walls. The window was high -in the wall. I could not look out at anything but the sky--that same -sky which covered so much of tragedy in my ravished Armenia. - -Day after day, night after night, went by. Each day the alaiks came -and brought me bread, berries and milk. And each day the hodja, a -teacher-priest, came to ask me if I were ready to accept Islam. But -each day God took me closer into His heart, for I kept up my courage by -talking to Him. - -[Illustration: THE ROADSIDE OF AWFUL DESPAIR - -First the children died, and then the parents, and uncles and aunts. -The grieving parents wrapped the little ones in the sheets they had -brought along, and then lay down beside them to starve. It was a common -scene in the deserts and along the sandy roads over which the exiles -travelled.] - -And then one night, after so many days had passed I had lost count of -them, God reached in through my dungeon window. I was awakened by a -commotion in the courtyard, where, on other nights, it had been very -quiet. Soon I understood what was happening--sheep were being driven in -through the gate. Ahmed’s flock was coming in from the hill pastures, -driven in, perhaps, by military conditions. - -I heard the yard gates swing shut. Then, above the bleating of the -excited, restless sheep, I heard the shepherd whistle his call to quiet -them. I jumped to my feet, my heart throbbing. Breathlessly I listened -for the shepherd to repeat the call. Then I was sure--it was the same -peculiar call, sharp and shrill, which my father always taught his own -shepherds, the call which he had been taught by his own father when, as -a little boy, he learned the ways of his father’s sheep on the great -pastures of Mamuret-ul-Aziz. When I was very young our shepherds used -to laugh at me when I tried to imitate them. I had been a very happy -little girl when, one day, I succeeded so well that suddenly the sheep -in our flock turned away from their grass and came toward me. - -No other shepherds than ours or, at least, one who had come from -Tchemesh-Gedzak, would know that call, I was certain. Ahmed’s sheep -were tired and nervous. The unknown shepherd remained among them, every -now and then repeating that same whistle, softer and softer. I went -close to the window, lifted my face toward the iron-barred window and -repeated the call. Even the sheep seemed to sense something unusual. -They were suddenly quiet. Again I whistled, this time with more -courage. Instantly the shepherd answered--I could almost detect his -note of wonder. - -I had learned that by leaping as high as I could I could catch the -window bars with my hands and lift myself until my face reached above -the window-sill. Often I had caught glimpses of the yard in this way. -But I was not strong enough to hold myself up more than a few seconds -at a time. - -Now I tried this, hoping to catch a glimpse of the shepherd in the -moonlight. As I pulled myself up, I whistled again. Many times I tried -before I attracted his attention to the window. When I had succeeded -and he understood that behind that window there was a captive who was -trying to signal him, he made me understand by repeating his whistle -three times in quick succession directly under the window. - -I dared not call out to him. I tore a great piece of cloth from the -dress that had been given me. I rolled this into a ball and threw -it out. He saw and answered by whistling softly. I hoped he would -understand the torn cloth as a symbol of my imprisonment--and of -my hope that he would save me. I could hardly believe that even an -Armenian shepherd would be left alive, yet it seemed to be so. - -In the morning when the sheep were taken out the shepherd whistled -again under my window and I knew he was trying to attract my -attention. I answered as softly as I could. All that day a new hope -gave me courage. I was sure deliverance was at hand, though I could not -explain why. - -I did not even attempt to sleep that night. The sheep came in early -and the shepherd whistled. An hour later I heard the call again--the -shepherd still was in the yard. It must have been near midnight when I -heard a rattling at the window bars. I looked, and there, framed in the -moonlight, was a face I knew--the face of Old Vartabed, who had come to -our house that Easter morning with his prophecy of ill--the prophecy -that came true. God had sent him to me and had made me to hear and -understand that familiar, whistled call! - -Old Vartabed whispered: “Who is here who comes from the -Mamuret-ul-Aziz?” - -“It is Aurora, the daughter of the Mardiganians of Tchemesh-Gedzak. You -are Old Vartabed, and I am the Aurora you loved so much.” - -Old Vartabed tried to speak, but his voice shook so I could not -understand him. I told him all that I could, quickly. How I had come to -be a captive of Ahmed and why I was in the dungeon. Tears came into Old -Vartabed’s ancient eyes when I told him how all my people were dead. I -asked him how it was that he had been saved. “Old Vartabed is not worth -the slaughter,” he said. “I am of much value, since I have taught -the sheep of Ahmed to behave only for me. Ahmed has forgotten I am an -Armenian, since I bend my knees for every prayer to Allah and thus -prolong my days.” He told me to be patient. He would find a way to save -me. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE MESSAGE OF GENERAL ANDRANIK - - -Two nights went by before Old Vartabed came again. But each night he -signaled and I answered. On the third night, his face was framed again -in the window casement. - -“Be ready, little one--I shall lift you out soon,” he whispered. He -had brought a steel bar with which to pry aside the iron bars in the -window. The bars were very old--perhaps for a hundred years or more -they had served to shut in the prisoners that once had been confined in -this same dungeon room in Ahmed Bey’s big house. I knelt to pray, and I -was on my knees when Vartabed whispered: - -“Come, little one--reach Old Vartabed your hand--he will lift you.” - -The bars were bent aside. There was room for the shepherd to lean -inward and reach down. I caught his hands and he lifted me until I -could catch hold of the iron and help myself. In a moment I leaped down -to the stump which the shepherd had brought to stand on, and from this -to the ground. The sheep, which were resting all about, stirred and -bleated when I fell among them, but Old Vartabed whistled and they -were quiet. - -“We must go quickly; the gate is not locked. You must be far away, to a -place I will tell you of, before morning comes and you are missed,” Old -Vartabed said as he hurried me across the yard. - -When we were outside the gate, Old Vartabed wrapped his coat around me, -for it was cold. Then we struck out across the plains, away from the -town and toward low hills in the distance. - -Old Vartabed did not talk much. He was so old he needed his strength. -He was anxious that I get far away before dawn. When we came to the -hills the shepherd showed me a path and told me to follow it, and go on -alone until I came to the hut of a friendly Kurdish family. - -“But you, Old Vartabed--are you not coming with me? Will not Ahmed Bey -suspect you if you return?” I asked. - -“Old Vartabed is too old to live in the desert, and then, who would -care for my sheep?” the old man replied. - -Poor, dear Old Vartabed! Ahmed Bey had him killed in the morning. - -I ran along the path the shepherd pointed out to me until, after many -hours, I came to the hut of the Kurds, of whom Old Vartabed had told -me. They were shepherd Kurds, and had great respect for Old Vartabed, -who had told them I was the daughter of his one-time master in the -Mamuret-ul-Aziz. They expected me, and were very kind. - -When I thought of Old Vartabed going back to his sheep, and to the -mercy of Ahmed Bey, I cried. The shepherd Kurd’s wife and daughters -were sorry, and the Kurd himself went down toward the plain in which -Ahmed’s house stood, to learn if Old Vartabed still tended his sheep. -That night he came back in great distress. He had learned of Old -Vartabed’s fate. None but the shepherd could have helped me escape, -Ahmed Bey had been sure. He had summoned Old Vartabed before him and -the shepherd had confessed, as there was no other way. Ahmed Bey sent -for his zaptiehs. Old Vartabed was led out to where his flock was -waiting to be taken to the pasture. There was a shot, and he had paid -with his life for his kindness to the little daughter of his one-time -master. - -The Kurd was much alarmed for me. Ahmed Bey had sent zaptiehs to search -in the plains and hills. Perhaps they would soon be at the hut. - -They would not send me away, but I knew that I must go. The hut was too -close to the house of Ahmed, and the zaptiehs might come when least -expected. So they gave me woolen stockings, the best they had, a great -loaf of winter bread, a jug in which to carry water, and a blanket to -wrap about me at night. Then I went out into the hills. - -Beyond these hills was the great Dersim--the highlands of grass and -sand, with hills and mountains everywhere. For many, many miles in -each direction no one lived but Dersim Kurds, some in little villages, -some in roving bands. On each side of the Dersim lived the Turks. Once -Armenians lived in the cities of the Turks, but now the Armenians all -were gone--only Turks were left. - -The inhabitants of the Dersim deserts and wastes are not the vicious -type of Kurds who live in the south in the regions to which we had been -deported from our homes. The Kurds in the south are nomadic tribes, -harsh and cruel. The Dersim Kurds mostly are farmers, and often rebel -against their Turkish overlords. They are fanatical Moslems, and have -their racial hatred of all “unbelievers,” as they look upon Christians. -But they do not have the lust of killing human beings common with the -tribes of the south. To this I owe my life. - -For more than a year I was a captive or a wanderer in the Dersim. For -many days after I left my friends at the news of Old Vartabed’s fate -I hid in the daytime and traveled at night, walking, walking, always -walking; somewhere, and yet nowhere. When a settlement loomed up before -me I turned the other way, trudging aimlessly across the wide plains, -through the hills or over deserts. - -My bread soon gave out, and water was hard to get, for wherever there -was a well or a spring a settlement of Kurds was close. Near one well I -hid throughout one whole day, waiting my chance to slip up unobserved -and cool my parched throat. There was no opportunity in the daylight, -and when night came and I gathered courage to creep near to the well -the dogs from the houses ran out and barked at me. I was too exhausted -to run when the villagers came out to see what had aroused the dogs. -They took me into the settlement and shut me up in a cave for the -night. In the morning the chief of the settlement took me as his slave -and commanded me to obey the orders of his family. - -They made me do the work a man would do. I tended the stock, carried -the water and worked in the fields. When I did not do enough work the -Kurds would beat me with their long, thick sticks and refuse me food. -When I did enough work to please them the women would throw me a piece -of bread. At night I slept on the ground, outside the huts, with rags -and torn blankets to keep out the cold, but never was I warm. - -After weeks passed I was too weak to work any longer. I fell down when -I went to the fields, and could not get up when a Kurd kicked me. So -they gave me half a loaf of bread and told me to go away. I went a -little way and then rested for two days. It was so nice not to have -to drag a plow made of sticks from morning to night, I soon got my -strength back. And then I started to walk again. - -Beyond Erzerum I knew there were Russians--friends of the Armenians. -I tried to keep my face turned to where I thought Erzerum would be--a -hundred miles or more through the Dersim. I kept away from the villages -until I could walk no more for want of food or water. Then I would give -myself up to be a work slave again. Each time the Kurds kept me until -my strength gave way. Then they gave me the half loaf of bread and let -me go away. - -Although it was very cold now, I had no clothes. The Kurds would never -let me have any of the cloth they spun. Snow in the crevices among the -hills gave me water, but all I had to eat for weeks, even months, at a -time was the bark from small trees, weeds that grow in the winter time, -and the dead blades of grass I found under the snow. - -The snow had melted when I reached the edge of the Dersim to the west. -I do not know what month it was, as I had lost all track of time, but -I knew spring was passing because the snow disappeared. I was now in -the neighborhood of Turkish cities. Occasionally I saw Turks, in their -white coats, walking over the plains. I saw flocks of sheep now and -then, and other signs that I was near cities. Yet I knew I must keep -away from these cities or their inhabitants. - -One day from the side of a hill where I was hiding, almost too weak -from hunger to walk, I saw a great line of people with donkeys and -carts and arabas, passing on what seemed to be a road to the south. As -far as I could see, this cavalcade stretched out. For hours it wound -its way across the plains. I wondered what it meant. I crept down from -the hill and, crawling on the ground, drew as near as I could. I saw -the people were Turks, and that they were carrying household goods with -them. I saw, too, that they were excited and seemed to be unhappy. - -I watched the line of Turkish families go by all day. When it was dark -I determined to go the way they had come from. Whatever it was that had -sent the Turks from their homes in the cities further east, it could -not be anything that meant ill for a girl of the Armenians. - -Already I had crossed the Kara River, the farthest branch of the -Euphrates. Along the roads over which the Turks had passed in the -daytime there were scraps of bread, glass jars from which fruits had -been emptied, and other remnants of food. I gathered enough to give me -strength for walking. - -The plains across which I made my way that night were those which once -formed the Garden of Eden, according to the teachings of the priests -and our Sunday school books. The Kara River was one of the Four Rivers. -Nearby were the Acampis of the Bible and the Chorok and the Aras, the -other three. Among these same rocks through which I hurried along as -fast as my strength would allow, Eve herself once had wandered. When I -sat down at times to rest I thought of Eve, and wondered if she were -some place Up Above, looking down upon me, one of the last of the -great race of people which had been the first to accept the teachings -of Christ and which had suffered so much in His name through all the -centuries that have passed since Eve’s gardens blossomed on the plains -and slopes about me. - -The next day there were more lines of Turkish refugees. These appeared -to be belated and hurried in great confusion. Turkish soldiers appeared -among them, and there were many zaptiehs. Far beyond I saw the minarets -of a city. I knew it must be Erzerum. I came near to a village and saw -the inhabitants rushing about from house to house in excitement. - -I was afraid to travel in the daytime. I could not go near one of these -villages, even to beg for water, because I had no clothes, and would be -ashamed, even if I dared to trust that I would not be taken captive. -During the night I crept closer to the distant city. In the morning I -stood at the edge of a plateau, which broke downward in a sheer drop to -the plain. Clinging close to rocks, which hid me from the view of the -refugees who still passed along the roads, I could look down into the -city. - -I saw a great rushing about. Moving bodies of soldiers came and went. -Refugees were streaming out of the city and were joined by others from -villages all around. In the distance I could hear what I knew to be the -firing of guns. - -The firing came closer. Now and then big guns spoke, shaking the ground -about me. I saw explosions in the city. Houses appeared to fall each -time the big guns sounded. Far across the city there suddenly appeared -clouds of dust. They drew nearer. Soldiers fled out of the gates of the -city nearest me, in the wake of the civilians. - -Late in the afternoon the firing ceased. The dust clouds beyond the -city had drawn closer. Out of them suddenly emerged bands of horsemen. -They rode directly toward the far gates. Companies of Turkish soldiers -met them at the city walls. There was a clash. The Turks were driven -back. The horsemen followed. There was rifle firing. Other bands of -horsemen rode down from every direction in the east, in through the -gates and into the city itself. - -_The Russians had come!_ - -In an hour the city was almost quiet again. Far off I saw great columns -of troops moving slowly. Behind the Cossacks the Russian army was -coming. The Turks in the city had surrendered. - -When night fell I went down from the rocks and into the town. I hoped -before dawn came I could find a garment, or a piece of shawl, which -had been thrown away and with which I could cover myself. Terror of the -Cossacks kept indoors the citizens who had been brave enough to remain -in their homes. The streets were deserted in the outskirts, except for -an occasional zaptieh stealing along, as afraid to be seen as I was. - -Suddenly, as I turned the corner of a narrow street, hugging close to -the wall, hoping that this turn, or the next, would bring me near one -of the houses I knew the Russians must have occupied, I saw a beautiful -sight--the American flag. The rays of a searchlight played on it. - -Lights shone from all the windows in the house over which the flag -flew. There, I knew, would be my haven of safety. But not until after -the dawn did I have the courage to go near. Then I saw the figures of -men moving about the yard and near the doorways. I ran out of my hiding -place and fell at the feet of a tall, kindly-looking man, who had just -emerged from the house door, and who stood talking to a Russian officer. - -I felt the tall man stoop down and put his hand upon my head. All at -once the sun seemed to break out of the gray dawn and shine down upon -me. Then I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes again it was many days -after, they told me. I was in a warm bed, and kindly people were all -about me. When they spoke to me, in a strange language, I tried to ask -for the tall man who had lifted me up from the street at the doorstep. -An interpreter came, and then, in a little while, the tall man came in -and smiled gently, and I knew that everything was all right. - -This man, they told me, was a famous missionary physician, Dr. F. W. -MacCallum, who was known for his kindnesses to my people throughout the -Turkish empire. He had been compelled to leave Constantinople when the -war came, but he had come into Erzerum with the Russians--to be among -the first to give succor to my people. The house had once been the -American mission. The missionaries had been compelled to flee, but they -had returned with the Russians. - -Dr. MacCallum, who now is in New York and was the first good friend I -found after my arrival in this country, bought thousands of Armenian -girls out of slavery in those days when the Russians were pushing into -Turkey from the Caucasus. With money supplied by the American Committee -for Armenian and Syrian Relief he purchased these girls from their -Turkish captors for $1. apiece. The Turks, knowing the Russians would -liberate these captive Christian girls if they found them, were glad to -sell them at this price rather than risk losing them without collecting -anything. - -General Andranik, the great Armenian leader, who is our national hero, -came to see me. For many years General Andranik kept alive the courage -of all Armenians. He promised them freedom and constantly endangered -his life to keep up the spirits of my people. The Turks put a price -upon his head, and he was hunted from one end of the empire to the -other--yet he always escaped. He led the Armenian regiments, made up of -Armenians who lived in Russia, in the vanguard of the Russian army sent -against the Turks. - -When I told General Andranik how I had seen my own dear people killed -he felt very sorry for me. He comforted and cheered me, and called me -his “little girl.” I would rather he said that to me than give me all -the riches in the world. - -A Russian officer who could speak Armenian also came to talk with me. -When I had told him everything he left, but in an hour he returned. -This time a very distinguished looking officer, very tall, with a kind -face, came with him. I knew he must be of very high rank, for there was -much excitement when he entered the house. The officer who had talked -with me first repeated to the other many of the things I had told him. -The distinguished looking officer then spoke to me, first in Russian, -and then in French, which I understood. - -“You have been a very unhappy girl,” he said, “and I am very happy to -have arrived in time to save you. We shall take good care of you, and -all Russians will be your friends.” - -When he had gone they told me who he was--the Grand Duke, in command of -the armies in the Caucasus. The officer who had visited me first was -General Trokin, the Grand Duke’s chief of staff. - -When I was well and strong, General Andranik allowed me to help care -for hundreds of Armenian children who had been found in the hands of -the Turks and Armenian refugees who had succeeded in hiding in the -hills and mountains and who now crept in to ask protection of the -Russians. I helped, too, to comfort the girls who had been bought out -of the harems. - -When General Andranik moved on with the advancing Russians the Grand -Duke ordered that I be escorted safely to Sari Kamish, where the -railroad begins, and sent from there to Tiflis, the capital of the -Russian Caucasus. When General Andranik bade me good-by he said: - -“The Grand Duke has indorsed arrangements for you to be sent to -America, where our poor Armenians have many friends. When you reach -that beloved land tell its people that Armenia is prostrate, torn -and bleeding, but that it will rise again--if America will only help -us--send food for the starving, and money to take them back to their -homes when the war is over.” - -As I started away with the escort, toward Sari Kamish, General Andranik -took from his finger a beautiful ring, which, he said, had been his -father’s and his grandfather’s, and put it on my finger. It is the -ring I wear now--all that is left to me of my country. - -From Sari Kamish the Grand Duke’s soldiers sent me to Tiflis. There I -was received by representatives of the American Committee for Armenian -and Syrian Relief, and supplied with funds sufficient to take me, with -the Grand Duke’s passport, to Petrograd, Sweden and America. - -But when I reached Petrograd all was not well within the city. Already -the Czar had been removed and the government of Minister Kerensky was -losing control of the populace. Rioting in the streets had begun, and -the authorities to whom the Grand Duke and the American representatives -at Tiflis had sent me had been removed or executed. - -Again I was friendless and without shelter. I had a great deal of -money, but I could buy hardly any food. For fifty rubles I could -purchase only a loaf of bread. When I became so hungry I stopped kind -looking persons in the street to ask them if they could help me obtain -something to eat, they would look at me sorrowfully, offer me handsful -of paper money, and say they could give me that, but not food. Every -one seemed to have a great deal of money, but things to eat were very -scarce. - -No one dared take me in. I found an Armenian church, empty now and -deserted. All the Armenians who had lived in Petrograd had been -frightened away. They had been the first, because of their experiences -in their own country, to scent the coming of trouble, and had -disappeared. I remained in the deserted church for many days, afraid to -go out in the streets, where there was much killing and robbery. Only -in the early morning, when the streets were more quiet, would I venture -to look for food. - -At last I saw an American passing the church. I ran out and begged -him, in French, to help me. I showed him my passport and he took me -in a droschky to the American Embassy. Here every one was kind to -me. My passports were changed and the next day I was started toward -Christiania. - -The train on which I traveled was stopped many times by bands of -soldiers, who demanded the passports of every one. Although they took -several persons from the train at one stop, my passport was honored and -I went on. The farther we went from Petrograd the quieter the country -became. Then we left all trouble behind and the train speeded on in -what seemed a peaceful and happy land. - -At last we reached Christiania and there I found kind friends. They -gave me the first really satisfying food I had had in many days. In -addition they gave me kindness and the quiet of their home. While -awaiting word from the United States, I rested and won back some -measure of my strength. - -More funds reached me at Christiania, and I soon found myself aboard -an ocean liner bound for Halifax, on my way to the land of freedom. -From Halifax I came direct to New York. As the Statue of Liberty was -pointed out to me as we entered the harbor, I rejoiced not merely -because I, myself, was safe at last, but because I had at last reached -the country where I was to deliver the message that would bring help to -my suffering people. - -Here I found good friends--kindly Americans who have made me as happy -as ever I can be. And, best of all, they are not being kind merely to -one unfortunate girl--they are sending help to those I left behind--to -those who are still alive and lost in the sandy deserts. They have made -it possible for me to tell in this, my book, what General Andranik said -to me: - -“Armenia is trusting to her friends--the people of the United States.” - - THE END - - - - - SUBSCRIBER’S PLEDGE FOR - ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF - - 400,000 ORPHANS ARE STARVING - 4 MILLION PEOPLE ARE DESTITUTE - - M ...................................................... - - Street ................................................. - - City ................................................... - - Date ........................ State .................... - - To provide food for the starving Armenians, Syrians and Greeks - in western Asia, I will give EACH MONTH the amount indicated by - my (X) mark, so long as the need lasts or until canceled by me. - - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ per month ( orphans) | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $1000 per month (200 orphans) | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ 500 per month (100 orphans) | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ 250 per month ( 50 orphans) | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ 100 per month ( 20 orphans) | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ 50 per month ( 10 orphans) | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ 25 per month ( 5 orphans) | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ 10 per month ( 2 orphans) | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ 5 per month ( 1 orphan) | - +--+-------------------------------+ - | | $ per month | - +--+-------------------------------+ - - I herewith pay $.......... on the above pledge - - Make checks or money orders payable to - Cleveland H. Dodge, Treasurer, and mail to - - AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR ARMENIAN AND - SYRIAN RELIEF - - 1 Madison Avenue New York City - - - - -Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story - -By Henry Morgenthau - - -The one man in the civilized world who can tell of what the Near East -suffered during the Great War is Henry Morgenthau. For Mr. Morgenthau -was United States Ambassador in Constantinople when Germany was forcing -Turkey to act as her tool. His narrative is a story of unexampled -political intrigue and unbelievable absence of honor. And the authority -of his statements is unquestioned. - -As a record of what Turkey did to wipe out Armenia from among the -nations, Mr. Morgenthau’s story not only verifies the facts related -by Aurora Mardiganian, but it tells of the cold-blooded plotting of -the statesmen who ordered the crime attempted. For Mr. Morgenthau was -the representative of the United States, and he strove in every way he -could to prevent the tragedy. In these efforts the steps that led up to -the ravishing of Armenia were made plain to him. - -“Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story” is a revelation of events that preceded -the breaking off of diplomatic relations with Turkey previous to our -entrance into the war. It tells of events of which Aurora Mardiganian -knew nothing. It makes clear why she and millions of other Armenians -were made to suffer as she has told you in her pitiful story. - - Obtainable at any book-store or from the publishers - Doubleday, Page & Co. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ravished Armenia, by H. L. Gates - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RAVISHED ARMENIA *** - -***** This file should be named 53046-0.txt or 53046-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/0/4/53046/ - -Produced by Cindy Horton and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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L. Gates - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Ravished Armenia - The Story of Aurora Mardiganian - -Author: H. L. Gates - -Contributor: Nora Waln - -Release Date: September 13, 2016 [EBook #53046] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RAVISHED ARMENIA *** - - - - -Produced by Cindy Horton and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p class="transnote">Transcriber’s Note: Suspected printer errors have been corrected. There -are variations in the spelling of a number of names that have been -transliterated from the Armenian, and these have not been changed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h1>RAVISHED ARMENIA</h1> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 460px;" id="illus1"> - -<img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="460" height="600" alt="" /> - -<p class="caption">THE LONG LINE THAT SWIFTLY GREW SHORTER</p> - -<p class="caption">One of the most striking photographs of the deportations that have -come out of Armenia. Here is shown a column of Christians on the -path across the great plains of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz. The zaptiehs -are shown walking along at one side.</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">RAVISHED ARMENIA</p> - -<p class="titlepage">THE STORY OF<br /> -<span class="larger">AURORA MARDIGANIAN</span><br /> -<br /> -THE CHRISTIAN GIRL WHO LIVED THROUGH<br /> -THE GREAT MASSACRES</p> - -<p class="titlepage"><i>INTERPRETED BY H. L. GATES</i></p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">WITH A FOREWORD BY</span><br /> -NORA WALN</p> - -<p class="titlepage"><i>AND FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS</i></p> - -<div class="figcenter titlepage" style="width: 100px;"> -<img src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="SAVE A LIFE ARMENIAN SYRIAN RELIEF" /> -</div> - -<p class="titlepage">NEW YORK<br /> -KINGFIELD PRESS, <span class="smcap">Inc.</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">Copyright, 1918, by<br /> -<span class="smcap">Kingfield Press, Inc.</span><br /> -New York</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - -<h2>MY DEDICATION</h2> - -<p>To each mother and father, in this beautiful land -of the United States, who has taught a daughter -to believe in God, I dedicate my book. I saw my own -mother’s body, its life ebbed out, flung onto the desert -because she had taught me that Jesus Christ was my -Saviour. I saw my father die in pain because he said -to me, his little girl, “Trust in the Lord; His will be -done.” I saw thousands upon thousands of beloved -daughters of gentle mothers die under the whip, or -the knife, or from the torture of hunger and thirst, -or carried away into slavery because they would not -renounce the glorious crown of their Christianity. -God saved me that I might bring to America a message -from those of my people who are left, and every -father and mother will understand that what I tell in -these pages is told with love and thankfulness to Him -for my escape.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 300px;"> - -<img src="images/signature.jpg" width="300" height="40" alt="(signature)" /> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Aurora Mardiganian.</span></p> - -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The Latham,<br /> -New York City,<br /> -December, 1918.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="movie"> - -<p class="larger">THIS STORY OF<br /> -AURORA MARDIGANIAN</p> - -<p>which is the most amazing narrative ever written<br /> -has been reproduced</p> - -<p>for the American Committee for<br /> -Armenian and Syrian Relief in a</p> - -<p>TREMENDOUS MOTION PICTURE<br /> -SPECTACLE</p> - -<p class="larger">“RAVISHED ARMENIA”</p> - -<p>Through which runs the thrilling yet<br /> -tender romance of this</p> - -<p>CHRISTIAN GIRL WHO SURVIVED<br /> -THE GREAT MASSACRES</p> - -<p>Undoubtedly it is one of the greatest and most<br /> -elaborate motion pictures of the age—every stirring<br /> -scene through which Aurora lives in the book, is<br /> -lived again on the motion picture screen.</p> - -<p>SEE AURORA, HERSELF, IN HER STORY</p> - -<p>Scenario by Nora Waln—Staged by Oscar Apfel</p> - -<p>Produced by Selig Enterprises</p> - -<p>Presented in a selected list of cities</p> - -<p>By the</p> - -<p>American Committee for<br /> -ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdr smaller">CHAPTER</td><td></td><td class="tdr smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td><td><a href="#ACKNOWLEDGMENT"><span class="smcap">Acknowledgment</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td><td><a href="#FOREWORD"><span class="smcap">Foreword</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td><td><a href="#ARSHALUS"><span class="smcap">Arshalus—The Light of the Morning</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">I</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><span class="smcap">When the Pasha Came to My House</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">II</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><span class="smcap">The Days of Terror Begin</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">III</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><span class="smcap">Vahby Bey Takes His Choice</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IV</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><span class="smcap">The Cruel Smile of Kemal Effendi</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">V</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><span class="smcap">The Ways of the Zaptiehs</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VI</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><span class="smcap">Recruiting for the Harems of Constantinople</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VII</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><span class="smcap">Malatia—The City of Death</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VIII</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><span class="smcap">In the Harem of Hadji Ghafour</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_145">145</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IX</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><span class="smcap">The Raid on the Monastery</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">X</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><span class="smcap">The Game of the Swords, and Diyarbekir</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XI</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">“<span class="smcap">Ishim Yok; Keifim Tchok!</span>”</a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XII</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><span class="smcap">Reunion—and Then, the Sheikh Zilan</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIII</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><span class="smcap">Old Vartabed and the Shepherd’s Call</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XIV</td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><span class="smcap">The Message of General Andranik</span></a></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> - -<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table summary="List of Illustrations"> - <tr> - <td>The Long Line that Swiftly Grew Shorter</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#illus1"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Map Showing Aurora’s Wanderings</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#illus2"><i>Page</i> 75</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Waiting They Know Not What</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#illus3"><i>Facing Page</i> 158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Driven Forth on the Road of Terror</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#illus4"><span class="ditto">”</span> <span class="ditto">”</span> 192</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>The Roadside of Awful Despair</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#illus5"><span class="ditto">”</span> <span class="ditto">”</span> 234</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="ACKNOWLEDGMENT">ACKNOWLEDGMENT</h2> - -<p>For verification of these amazing things, which little -Aurora told me that I might tell them, in our own -language, to all the world, I am indebted to Lord -Bryce, formerly British Ambassador to the United -States, who was commissioned by the British Government -to investigate the massacres; to Dr. Clarence -Ussher, of whom Aurora speaks in her story, and -who witnessed the massacres at Van; and to Dr. MacCallum, -who rescued Aurora at Erzerum and made -possible her coming to America. You may read -Aurora’s story with entire confidence—every word -is true. As the story of what happened to one Christian -girl, it is a proven document.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">H. L. Gates.</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="FOREWORD">FOREWORD</h2> - -<p>She stood beside me—a slight little girl with glossy -black hair. Until I spoke to her and she lifted her -eyes in which were written the indelible story of her -suffering, I could not believe that she was Aurora -Mardiganian whom I had been expecting. She could -not speak English, but in Armenian she spoke a few -words of greeting.</p> - -<p>It was our first meeting and in the spring of last -year. Several weeks earlier a letter had come to me -telling me about this little Armenian girl who was -to be expected, asking me to help her upon her arrival. -The year before an Armenian boy had come -from our relief station in the Caucasus and kind -friends had made it possible to send him to boarding -school. I had formed a similar plan to send Aurora -to the same school when she should arrive.</p> - -<p>We talked about education that afternoon, through -her interpreter, but she shook her head sadly. She -would like to go to school, and study music as her -father had planned she should before the massacres, -but now she had a message to deliver—a message<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -from her suffering nation to the mothers and fathers -of the United States. The determination in the child’s -eyes made me ask her her age and she answered -“Seventeen.”</p> - -<p>Tired, and worn out nervously, as she was, Aurora -insisted upon telling us of the scenes she had left behind -her—massacres, families driven out across the -desert, girls sold into Turkish harems, women ravished -by the roadside, little children dying of starvation. -She begged us to help her to help her people. -“My father said America was the friend of the oppressed. -General Andranik sent me here because he -trusted you to help me,” she pleaded.</p> - -<p>And so her story was translated. Sometimes there -had to be intervals of rest of several days, because her -suffering had so unnerved her. She wanted to keep at -it during all the heat of the summer, but by using the -argument that she would learn English, we persuaded -her to go to a camp off the coast of Connecticut for -three weeks.</p> - -<p>You who read the story of Aurora Mardiganian’s -last three years, will find it hard to believe that in our -day and generation such things are possible. Your -emotions will doubtless be similar to mine when I first -heard of the suffering of her people. I remember -very distinctly my feelings, when, early in October of -1917, I attended a luncheon given by the Executive -Committee of the American Committee for Armenian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -and Syrian Relief, to a group of seventeen American -Consuls and missionaries who had just returned from -Turkey after witnessing two years of massacre and -deportation. I listened to persons, the truthfulness -of whose statements I could not doubt, tell how a -church had been filled with Christian Armenians, -women and children, saturated with oil and set on fire, -of refined, educated girls, from homes as good as yours -or mine, sold in the slave markets of the East, of little -children starving to death, and then to the plea for -help for the pitiful survivors who have been gathered -into temporary relief stations.</p> - -<p>I listened almost unable to believe and yet as I -looked around the luncheon table there were familiar -faces, the faces of men and women whose word I -could not doubt—Dr. James L. Barton, Chairman of -the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian -Relief, Ambassadors Morgenthau and Elkus, who -spoke from personal knowledge, Cleveland H. Dodge, -whose daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Huntington is in Constantinople, -and whose son is in Beirut, both helping -with relief work, Miss Lucille Foreman of Germantown, -C. V. Vickrey, Executive Secretary of the American -Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, Dr. -Samuel T. Dutton of the World Court League, George -T. Scott, Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, and -others.</p> - -<p>And you who read this story as interpreted will find<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -it even harder to believe than I did, because you will -not have the personal verification of the men and -women who can speak with authority that I had at -that luncheon. Since then it has happened that nearly -every communication from the East—Persia, Russian -Caucasus and the Ottoman Empire, has passed -through my hands and I know that conditions have -not been exaggerated in this book. In this introduction -I want to refer you to Lord Bryce’s report, to -Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story, to the recent -speeches of Lord Cecil before the British Parliament, -and the files of our own State Department, and you -will learn that stories similar to this one can be told -by any one of the 3,950,000 refugees, the number -now estimated to be destitute in the Near East.</p> - -<p>This is a human living document. Miss Mardiganian’s -names, dates and places, do not correspond -exactly with similar references to these places made -by Ambassador Morgenthau, Lord Bryce and others, -but we must take into consideration that she is only -a girl of seventeen, that she has lived through one of -the most tragic periods of history in that section of -the world which has suffered most from the war, -that she is not a historian, that her interpreter in giving -this story to the American public has not attempted -to write a history. He has simply aimed to give her -message to the American people that they may understand -something of the situation in the Near East<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -during the past years, and help to establish there for -the future, a sane and stable government.</p> - -<p>Speaking of the character of the Armenians, Ambassador -Morgenthau says in a recent article published -in the New York <i>Evening Sun</i>: “From the times of -Herodotus this portion of Asia has borne the name of -Armenia. The Armenians of the present day are the -direct descendants of the people who inhabited the -country 3,000 years ago. Their origin is so ancient -that it is lost in fable and mystery. There are still undeciphered -cuneiform inscriptions on the rocky hills of -Van, the largest Armenian city, that have led certain -scholars—though not many, I must admit—to identify -the Armenian race with the Hittites of the Bible. -What is definitely known about the Armenians, however, -is that for ages they have constituted the most -civilized and most industrious race in the Eastern section -of the Ottoman Empire. From their mountains -they have spread over the Sultan’s dominions, and form -a considerable element in the population of all the -large cities. Everywhere they are known for their industry, -their intelligence and their decent and orderly -lives. They are so superior to the Turks intellectually -and morally that much of the business and industry -has passed into their hands. With the Greeks, the -Armenians constituted the economic strength of the -Empire. These people became Christians in the fourth -century and established the Armenian Church as their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -state religion. This is said to be the oldest Christian -Church in existence.</p> - -<p>“In face of persecutions which have had no parallel -elsewhere, these people have clung to their early Christian -faith with the utmost tenacity. For 1,500 years -they have lived there in Armenia, a little island of -Christians, surrounded by backward peoples of hostile -religion and hostile race. Their long existence -has been one unending martyrdom. The territory -which they inhabit forms the connecting link between -Europe and Asia, and all the Asiatic invasions—Saracens, -Tartars, Mongols, Kurds and Turks—have -passed over their peaceful country.”</p> - -<p>Aurora Mardiganian has come to America to tell the -story of her suffering peoples and to do her part in -making it possible for her country to be rebuilt. She -is only a little girl, but in giving her story to the American -people through the daily newspapers, in this book, -and the motion picture which is being prepared for -that purpose by the American Committee for Armenian -and Syrian Relief, she is, I feel, playing one of the -greatest parts in helping to reëstablish again “peace on -earth, good will to men” in ancient Bible Lands, the -home in her generation of her people. Her mother, -her father, her brothers and sisters are gone, but according -to the most careful estimates, 3,950,000 destitute -peoples, mostly women and children who had been -driven many of them as far as one thousand miles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -from home, turn their pitiful faces toward America -for help in the reconstructive period in which we are -now living.</p> - -<p>Dr. James L. Barton, who is leaving this month -with a commission of two hundred men and women -for the purpose of helping to rehabilitate these lands -from which Aurora came, is a part of the answer to -the call for help from these destitute people. The -American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief -Campaign for $30,000,000, in which it is hoped all of -the people of America will participate, is another part -of the answer.</p> - -<p>You who read this book can play a part also in helping -Aurora to deliver her message, by passing it on -to some one else when you have finished with it.</p> - -<p class="noindent">December 2, 1918<br /> -One Madison Ave., New York</p> - -<p class="right moveup"><span class="smcap">Nora Waln</span>,<br /> -Publicity Secretary,<br /> -American Committee for<br /> -Armenian and Syrian Relief.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="ARSHALUS">ARSHALUS—THE LIGHT OF THE MORNING<br /> -<span class="smcap smaller">A Prologue to the Story</span></h2> - -<p>Old Vartabed, the shepherd whose flocks had -clothed three generations, stood silhouetted against the -skies on the summit of a Taurus hill. His figure was -motionless, erect and very tall. The signs of age were -in every crease of his grave, strong face, yet his hands -folded loosely on his stick, for he would have scorned -to lean upon it.</p> - -<p>To the east and north spread the plains of the -Mamuret-ul-Aziz, with here and there a plateau reaching -out from a nest of foothills. Each Spring, through -twenty-five centuries, other shepherds than Old Vartabed -had stood on this same hilltop to watch the -plains and plateaux of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz turn -green, but few had seen the grass and shrubs sprout -so early as they had this year. Old Vartabed should -have been greatly pleased at such promise of a good -season, and should have spoken to his sheep about it—for -that was his way.</p> - -<p>But the shepherd was troubled. A strange foreboding -had come to him in the night. Even at daybreak -he could not shake it off. He was gazing now,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -not at the stretches of welcome green which soon -would soothe the bleating of his sheep, but across -into the north beyond, where the blue line of the -Euphrates was lost in the haze of dawn. What his -old eyes sought there, he did not know; but something -seemed to threaten from up there in the north.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the lazy, droning call to the Third Prayer, -with which the devout Mohammedan greets the light -of day, floated up from the valley at Old Vartabed’s -feet. It brought the shepherd out of his reverie abruptly. -“There, that was it! That was the sign. -The danger might come from the north, but it would -show itself first, whatever it was to be, in the -city.”</p> - -<p>The shepherd looked down into the valley, onto the -housetops and the narrow, winding streets that separated -them. He caught the glint of the minaret as -the muezzin again intoned his summons. Quickly his -eyes leaped across the city to where the first glimpse -of sunshine played about a crumbled pile of brown -and gray—the ruins of the castle of Tchemesh, an -ancient Armenian king. A piteous sadness gathered -in his face. The minaret still stood; the castle of the -king was fallen. That was why there were two sets -of prayers in the city, and why trouble was coming -out of the north.</p> - -<p>The old man planted his stick upright in the ground -as a sign to his sheep that where the stick stood their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -shepherd was bound to return. Then he picked his -way down the path that led to the lower slopes where -the houses of the city began. With a firm, even step -that belied his many years, he strode through the city -until he came to the streets marked by the imposing -homes of the rich. A short turn along the side of the -park that served as a public square brought him to the -home of the banker, Mardiganian. In this house Old -Vartabed was always welcome. He had been the -keeper of herds belonging to three succeeding heads of -the Mardiganian families.</p> - -<p>A servant woman opened the door in the street wall -and admitted the shepherd to the inner garden. When -she had closed the door again, the visitor asked:</p> - -<p>“Is the Master still within the house, or has he -gone this early to his business?”</p> - -<p>“Shame upon you for the asking!” the woman replied, -with a servant’s quick uncivility to her kind. -“Have you forgotten what day it is, that you should -think the Master would be at business?”</p> - -<p>Amazement showed in the old man’s eyes. The -woman saw that he had, indeed, forgotten. She spoke -more kindly:</p> - -<p>“Do you not know, Vartabed, that this is Easter -Sunday morning?”</p> - -<p>The old man accepted the reminder, but his dignity -quickly reasserted itself. “If you live as many days -as Old Vartabed you will wish to forget more than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -one of them—perhaps one that is coming soon more -than any other.”</p> - -<p>The woman had no patience for the sententiousness -of age, and the veiled threat of coming ill she put -down for petulance. But her sharp reply fell upon -unheeding ears. The shepherd crossed the garden -without further parleys and entered the house.</p> - -<p>The house of the Mardiganians was typical of the -homes of the well-to-do Armenians of to-day. The -wide doorway which opened from the garden was approached -by handsome steps of white marble, and the -spacious hall within was floored with large slabs of -the same material. Outside, the house presented a -rather gloomy appearance, because, perhaps, of the -need of protection against the sometimes rigorous -climate; inside there was every sign of luxury and -opulence. The space of ground occupied was prodigious, -as the rooms were terraced, one above the -other, the roof of one being used as a dooryard garden -for the one above.</p> - -<p>In the large reception room, into which Old Vartabed -strode, there was a great stone fireplace, with a -low divan branching out on either side and running -around three sides of the room. Beautiful tapestry -covers of native manufacture, and silk cushions made -by hand, covered this divan. Soft, thick rugs of -tekke, which is a Persian and Kurdish weave built -upon felt foundations, were strewn over the marble<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -floor. Over the fireplace hung a rare Madonna; a -landscape by a popular Armenian artist, and a Dutch -harbor by Peniers hung on the walls at the side. In -a corner of the room, under a floor lamp, was a piano. -Oriental delight in bright colorings was apparent, but -the ensemble was tasteful and subdued.</p> - -<p>The shepherd waited, standing, in the center of the -room until his employer entered and gave him the -Easter morning greeting which Armenia has preserved -since the world was young:</p> - -<p>“Christ is risen from the dead, my good Vartabed!”</p> - -<p>“Blessed be the resurrection of Christ,” the old -man replied, as the custom dictates. Then he spoke, -with an earnestness which the other man quickly detected, -of that which had brought him to the house.</p> - -<p>It was a vision he had seen during the night. “Our -Saint Gregory appeared to me in my sleep and pressed -his hand upon me heavily. ‘Awake, Old Vartabed; -awake! Thy sheep are in danger, even though they -be favored of God. Awake and save them!’ This, -the good saint said to me. Hurriedly I arose, but -when my old eyes were fully opened the vision was -gone. I rushed out to the fold, but it was only I who -disturbed the flock. They were resting peacefully.</p> - -<p>“But I could not sleep again. Each time my eyes -closed our Saint stood before me, seeming to reprove -my idleness. At dawn I took my sheep to the hills—and -then I remembered!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> - -<p>Here the shepherd hesitated. He had spoken fast, -and was nearly breathless. His employer had listened -with the consideration due one so old, and so faithful, -but not without a trace of amusement in his immobile -face.</p> - -<p>“It is a pity, Vartabed, your sleep was restless. -This morning, of all others, you should be joyful. -Tell me what it was you remembered at dawn, and -then dismiss it from your mind.”</p> - -<p>“Some things, Master, neither you nor I can dismiss -from our minds. I remembered that once before -our Saint appeared to me in my sleep with a warning -of danger. I gave no attention then, for I was -younger, and thoughtless. Those, also, were joyous -times in Armenia, for there was peace and prosperity. -But that very day the holocaust came out of the north; -for that was twenty years ago.”</p> - -<p>Now, the other man started. He was shaken by a -convulsive shudder, and his face blanched. Twenty -years ago—that was when a hundred thousand of his -people were massacred by Abdul Hamid! Without a -word he walked to a window, separated the curtains -and looked out upon the house garden.</p> - -<p>The banker, Mardiganian, was a true type of the -successful, modern Armenian business man. He did -not often smile, but his voice was kind, and his eyes -were gentle. In the Easter morning promenades in -any avenue in Europe or America he would have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -a conventional figure, passed without notice. When -he turned from the window, after a moment, only a -close observer could have detected in his face or manner -that inexplainable, intangible something which, -indelibly, marks a race cradled in oppression.</p> - -<p>“What happened twenty years ago, my Vartabed, -can never happen again. We Armenians have done -nothing to rouse the anger of our overlords, the -Turks. On the contrary, we have proven our willingness -to serve the state. Our young men have been -called into this great war which is ravaging the world. -Even though their sympathies are with the Sultan’s -enemies, they have not shown it. They have freely -given their lives in battle for a cause they hate, that -the Turk may have no excuse to vent his wrath upon -our people. Less than a week ago the Sultan’s minister, -the powerful Enver, expressed his gratitude to us -for the services we are rendering the Crescent. They -dare not molest us again.”</p> - -<p>“But the vision that came to me last night was the -same that would have warned me that night in 1895 -of the tragedy then in store for us.”</p> - -<p>“This time, nevertheless, it was but an idle dream.”</p> - -<p>The banker spoke with the finality of conviction. -The shepherd was affronted by his calm disbelief in -the sign of coming evil, as the shepherd considered it. -The old man left the room and crossed the garden in -high dudgeon. His hand was upon the gate, and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -another moment he would have been gone when a -fresh, youthful voice arrested him.</p> - -<p>“Vartabed—wait; I am coming!”</p> - -<p>The old man stopped abruptly. Looking back he -saw coming toward him the one who was closer to his -heart than any other living thing—Arshalus, a daughter -of the Mardiganians.</p> - -<p>Arshalus—that means “The Light of the Morning.” -There is but one word in America into which -the Armenian name can be translated—“The Aurora.” -And no other would be so fitting. She was a merry-eyed -child of fourteen years, hair and eyes as black -as night; smile and spirit as sunny as the brightest -day. Every sheep in Old Vartabed’s flock was her -pet, especially the black ones.</p> - -<p>When she reached the waiting shepherd Aurora -quickly discovered that he was glum, and she chose to -be piqued about it.</p> - -<p>“Surely you were not going without wishing me the -happiness of the Easter time, or has Old Vartabed -ceased to care for the one who plagues him so much?” -She made a great show of pouting, but the old man’s -hurt could not be so easily mended. Perhaps the -sight of Aurora intensified it.</p> - -<p>“It is idle to wish happiness; it is better to give it. -When one has none to give he has no mission. I have -no joy to give to-day, even to you, my Aurora, and -so I had not thought of seeking you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> - -<p>“That is very wrong, Vartabed. To-day Christ is -risen, and there is joy everywhere. And even more -for me than many others. Just yesterday my father -told me that before another Easter comes I am to -go away to finish my schooling—to Constantinople, -or, perhaps, to Switzerland or Paris. Does that not -make you happy for me, Vartabed?”</p> - -<p>For an instant the old man gazed down upon the -upturned face. Then his hand reached for the gate -again, as if to give support to the tall, straight body -that seemed to droop. Aurora thought she had pained -him. With an impulsive fondness she raised her -hands as if to rest them upon the old man’s breast. -But before she could reach him the shepherd was gone, -and the gate had closed between them.</p> - -<p>An hour later Old Vartabed again stood on the summit -of the hill, looking down upon the city and the -plains of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz, bathed, now, in the -glory of the full morning sun. A few miles to the -south lay the ridges and long abandoned tunnels which, -according to tradition, once were the busy workings of -Solomon’s mines. Harpout, where the caravans stop; -Van, the metropolis, and Sivas, the “City of Hope,” -were far beyond the horizon, outpost cities of a nation -which was born before history. The old man’s -thoughts visited each of these jewel cities in turn, and -pictured the hope and faith with which they celebrated -the coming of Easter. Then he turned again to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -spires and housetops reaching up from the plains below. -For he was thinking not only of Armenia—the -beautiful, golden Armenia of that Easter day in 1914, -but, also, of the child who was named for “The Light -of the Morning.”</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">H. L. Gates.</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> - -<h2>THE STORY OF AURORA MARDIGANIAN</h2> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br /> -<span class="smaller">WHEN THE PASHA CAME TO MY HOUSE</span></h3> - -<p>My story begins with Easter Sunday morning, in -April, 1915. In my father’s house we prepared to -observe the day with a joyous reverence, increased by -the news from Constantinople that the Turkish government -recently had expressed its gratitude for the -loyal and valuable service of the Armenian troops in -the Great War. When Turkey joined in the war, -almost six months before, a great fear spread throughout -Armenia. Without the protecting influence of -France and England, my people were anxious lest the -Turks take advantage of their opportunity and begin -again the old oppression of their Christian subjects. -The young Armenian men would have preferred to -fight with the Sultan’s enemies, but they hurried to -enlist in the Ottoman armies, to prove they were not -disloyal. And now that the Sultan had acknowledged -their sacrifices, the fear of new persecutions at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -hands of our Moslem rulers gradually had disappeared.</p> - -<p>And in all our city, Tchemesh-Gedzak, twenty miles -north of Harpout, the capital of the district of Mamuret-ul-Aziz, -there was none more grateful for the -promise of continued peace in Armenia than my father -and mother, and Lusanne, my elder sister and I. I -was only fourteen years old, and Lusanne was not yet -seventeen, but even little girls are always afraid in -Armenia. I was quite excited that morning over my -father’s Easter gift to me—his promise that soon I -could go to an European school and finish my education -as befits a banker’s daughter. Lusanne was to be -married, and she was bent upon enjoying the last -Easter day of her maidenhood. Even the early visit -that morning of Old Vartabed, our shepherd, who -came just after daybreak, with a prophecy of trouble, -did not dampen our spirits.</p> - -<p>Standing before my looking glass I was rearranging -for the hundredth time the blue ribbons with which -I had dressed my hair with, I must confess, a secret -hope that they would be the envy of all the other girls -at the church service. Lusanne was making use of -her elder sister’s privilege to scold me heartily for my -vanity. Lusanne was always very prim, and quiet. I -was just about to tell her that she was only jealous -because she soon would be a wife and forbidden to -wear blue ribbons any more, when my mother came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -into the room. She stopped just inside the door, and -leaned against the wall. She did not say a word—just -looked at me.</p> - -<p>“Mother, what is it?” I cried. She did not answer, -but silently pointed to the window. Lusanne and I -ran at once to look down into the street. There at the -gate to our yard stood three Turkish gendarmes, each -with a rifle, rigidly on guard. On their arms was the -band that marked them as personal attendants of -Husein Pasha, the military commandant in our district.</p> - -<p>I turned to my mother for an explanation. She had -fallen in a heap on the floor and was weeping. She -did not speak, but pointed downward and I knew that -Husein Pasha had come to our house, and was downstairs. -Then my happiness was gone, and I, too, fell -to the floor and cried. Somehow I felt that the end -had come.</p> - -<p>For a long time the powerful Husein Pasha, who -was very rich and a friend of the Sultan himself, had -wanted me for his harem. His big house sat in the -midst of beautiful gardens, just outside the city. -There he had gathered more than a dozen of the prettiest -Christian girls from the surrounding towns. In -Armenia the Mutassarif, or Turkish commandant, is -an official of great power. He accepts no orders, except -those that come direct from the Sultan’s ministers, -and, as a rule, he is cruel and autocratic.</p> - -<p>It is dangerous for an Armenian father to displease<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -the Mutassarif. When this representative of the -Sultan sees a pretty Armenian girl he would like to -add to his harem there are many ways he may go about -getting her. The way of Husein Pasha was to bluntly -ask her father to sell or give her to him, with a veiled -threat that if the father refused he would be persecuted. -To make the sale of the girl legal and give the -Mutassarif the right to make her his concubine it was -necessary only for him to persuade or compel her to -forswear Christ and become Mohammedan.</p> - -<p>Three times Husein Pasha had asked my father to -give me to him. Three times my father had defied his -anger and refused. The Pasha was afraid to punish -us, as my father was wealthy, and through his friendship -with the British Consul at Harpout, Mr. Stevens, -had obtained protection of the Vali, or Governor, -of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz province. But now the British -Consul was gone. The Vali was afraid of no one. -And Husein Pasha could, I knew, do as he pleased. -Instinctively I knew, too, that his visit to our house, -with his escort of armed soldiers, meant that he had -come again to ask for me.</p> - -<p>I clung to my mother and Lusanne, with my two -younger sisters holding onto my skirt, while we listened -at the head of the stairs to my father and the -governor talking. Husein was no longer asking for -me—he was demanding. I heard him say: “Soon -orders from Constantinople will arrive; you Christian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -dogs are to be sent away; not a man, woman or child -who denies Mohammed will be permitted to remain. -When that time comes there is none to save you but -me. Give me the girl Aurora, and I will take all your -family under my protection until the crisis is past. -Refuse and you know what you may expect!”</p> - -<p>My father could not speak aloud. He was choked -with fear and horror. My mother screamed. I -begged mother to let me rush downstairs and give myself -to the Pasha. I would do anything to save her -and father and my little brothers and sisters. Then -father found his voice, and we heard him saying to -the Pasha:</p> - -<p>“God’s will shall be done—and He would never -will that my child should sacrifice herself to save us.”</p> - -<p>My mother held me closer. “Your father has -spoken—for you and us.”</p> - -<p>Husein Pasha went away in anger, his escort marching -stiffly behind. Scarcely had he disappeared than -there was a great commotion in the streets. Crowds -began to assemble at the corners. Men ran to our -house to tell us news that had just been brought by a -horseman who had ridden in wild haste from Harpout.</p> - -<p>“They are massacring at Van; men, women and -children are being hacked to pieces. The Kurds are -stealing the girls!”</p> - -<p>Van is the greatest city in Armenia. It was once -the capital of the Vannic kingdom of Queen Semiramis.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -It was the home of Xerxes, and, we are taught, -was built by the King Aram in the midst of what was -the first land uncovered after the Deluge—the Holy -Place where the ark of Noah rested. It is very dear -to Armenians, and was one of the centers of our -church and national life. It lies two hundred miles -away from Tchemesh-Gedzak, and was the home of -more than 50,000 of our people. The Vali of Van, -Djevdet Bey, was the principal Turkish ruler in Armenia—and -the most cruel. A massacre at Van -meant that soon it would spread over all Armenia.</p> - -<p>They brought the horseman from Harpout to our -house. My father tried to question him but all he -could say was:</p> - -<p>“Ermenleri hep kesdiler—hep gitdi bitdi!”—“The -Armenians all killed—all gone, all dead!” He -moaned it over and over. In Harpout the news had -come by telegraph, and the horseman who belonged in -our city had ridden at once to warn us.</p> - -<p>I begged my father and mother to let me run at once -to the palace of Husein Pasha and tell him I would -do whatever he wished if he would save my family -before orders came to disturb us. But mother held -me close, while father would only say, “God’s will be -done, and that would not be it.”</p> - -<p>Lusanne was crying. Little Aruciag and Sarah, my -younger sisters, were crying, too. My father was very -pale and his hands trembled when he put them on my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -shoulders and tried to comfort me. I closed my eyes -and seemed to see my father and mother and sisters -and brothers, all lying dead in the massacre I feared -would come, sooner or later. And Husein Pasha -had said I could save them! But I couldn’t disobey -my father. Suddenly I thought of Father Rhoupen.</p> - -<p>I broke away from my mother and ran out of the -house, through the back entrance and into the street -that led to the church where Father Rhoupen was waiting -for his congregation. No one had had the courage -to tell the holy man of the news from Van. When -I ran into the little room behind the altar he was wondering -why his people had not come.</p> - -<p>I fell at his feet, and it was a long time before I -could stop my tears long enough to tell him why I was -there. But he knew something had happened. He -stroked my hair, and waited. When I could speak I -told him of the visit of Husein Pasha, and what he said -to us—and then I told him of the message the horseman -had brought. I pleaded with him to tell me that -it would be right for me to send word to Husein Pasha -that I would be his willing concubine if he would only -save my parents and my brothers and sisters.</p> - -<p>Father Rhoupen made me tell it twice. When I -had finished the second time he put a hand on my head -and said, “Let us ask God, my child!”</p> - -<p>Then Father Rhoupen prayed.</p> - -<p>He asked God to guide me in the way I should go.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -I do not remember all the prayer, for I was crying too -bitterly and was too frightened, but I know the priest -pleaded for me and my people, and that he reminded -the Father we were His first believers and had been -true to Him through many centuries of persecution. -As the priest went on I became soothed, and unconsciously -I began to listen—hoping to hear with my -own ears the answer I felt must surely come down -from up above to Father Rhoupen’s plea.</p> - -<p>When he said “Amen” the priest knelt with me, -and together we waited. Suddenly Father Rhoupen -pressed me close to his breast and began to speak.</p> - -<p>“The way is clear, my child. The answer has come. -Trust in Jesus Christ and He will save you as He -deems best. It were better that you should die, if -need be, or suffer even worse than death, than by your -example lead others to forswear their faith in the -Saviour. Go back to your father and mother and -comfort them, but obey them.”</p> - -<p>All that day and the next messengers rode back and -forth between Harpout and our city, bringing the latest -scraps of news from Van. We were filled with joy -when we heard the Armenians had barricaded themselves -and were fighting back, but we dreaded the consequences. -No one slept that night in our city. All -day and all night Father Rhoupen and his assistant -priests and religious teachers in the Christian College -went from house to house to pray with family groups.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p> - -<p>The principal men in the city waited on Husein -Pasha to ask him if we were in danger. He told them -their fears were groundless—that the trouble at Van -was merely a riot. My father and mother clutched -eagerly at this half promise of security, but Tuesday -we knew we had been deceived. That morning Husein -Pasha ordered the doors of the district jail opened, and -the criminals—bandits and murderers—who were -confined there, released and brought to his palace.</p> - -<p>An hour later each one of these outlaws had been -dressed in the uniform of the gendarmes, given a rifle, -a bayonet and a long dagger and lined up in the public -square to await orders. That is the Turkish way when -there is bad work to do.</p> - -<p>At noon officers of the gendarmes, or, as they are -called, zaptiehs, rode through the city posting notices -on the walls and fences at every street corner. My -father had gone to Harpout early in the morning to -confer with rich Armenian bankers there and to appeal -direct to Ismail Bey, the Vali. Mother was too weak -from worry to go to the corner and read the notices, -so Lusanne and I went at once. The paper read:</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="center">ARMENIANS.</p> - -<p>You are hereby commanded by His Excellency, Husein -Pasha, to immediately go into your houses and remain within -doors until it is the pleasure of His Excellency to again permit -you to go about your affairs. All Armenians found upon -the streets, at their places of business or otherwise absent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -from their homes, later than one hour after noon of this day -will be arrested and severely punished.</p> - -<p class="center">(Signed)</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ali Aghazade</span>, <i>Mayor</i>.</p> - -</div> - -<p>When we reported to our mother she was greatly -worried because of our father’s absence at Harpout. -He might ride into the city at any time during the afternoon, -ignorant of the orders, and be caught in the -streets. Our brother Paul, who was fifteen years old, -was visiting at a neighbor’s. We sent him, through -narrow, back streets, out of the city and onto the plains -where he could watch the road our father must ride -along, and, should he appear before dark, warn him -of the order. We had reason later to be thankful -father was away.</p> - -<p>We could not imagine what the order meant. We -could not bring ourselves to believe it meant a deliberate -massacre was planned, and that this means was -taken to have us all in our homes for the convenience -of the zaptiehs.</p> - -<p>At 4 o’clock gendarmes, among them the prisoners -released from jail, marched up to the homes of the -wealthiest men, with orders for them to attend an audience -with Husein Pasha.</p> - -<p>When mother explained to the officer who came to -our door that my father was out of town the zaptiehs -searched the house, roughly pushing my mother aside -when she got in their way. They then demanded the -keys to my father’s business place. When Lusanne<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -ran upstairs to get them the officer insisted upon going -with her. While she was getting the keys from my -father’s room he embraced her, tearing open her dress -as he did so. When she screamed he slapped her in -the face so hard she fell onto the floor. He left her -there and went out with his men.</p> - -<p>From our windows we could overlook the public -square. Here the zaptiehs gathered fifty of the city’s -leading men. Among them were Father Rhoupen; -the president of the Christian College, which had been -founded by American missionaries; several professors -and physicians; bankers, the principal merchants and -other business men.</p> - -<p>Instead of marching their prisoners toward the palace -of the Pasha, the guards turned them toward the -other part of the city. Then we knew they were being -taken, not to an audience with the commandant, but -to the jail which had been emptied by the Mutassarif -that morning.</p> - -<p>Many women, when they realized where their husbands -were being taken, ignored the order to keep to -their homes, ran into the street and tried to rush up -to their men folk. The gendarmes knocked them -aside with rifle butts. One woman, the wife of a professor, -managed to break through the guard and reach -her husband. A gendarme tried to pull her away, but -she clung tightly, screaming. The soldier turned his -rifle about and drove his bayonet into her. Her husband<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -leaped at the man’s throat and was killed by -another gendarme.</p> - -<p>The prisoners were compelled to march over the -bodies of the professor and his wife, while their children, -who had also run out of their house, stood aside, -wringing their hands and weeping, until the company -passed, when they were permitted to tug the bodies of -their parents into their home. None of us who -watched dared go to the assistance of these little ones.</p> - -<p>The jail is a rambling stone building, built more -than seven centuries ago. Originally it was a monastery, -but the Turks took possession of it in 1580, -and have used it as a prison ever since. It is surrounded -by a high wall and has a large courtyard onto -which the great, barren dungeons open.</p> - -<p>Throughout that afternoon mother, Lusanne and I -waited anxiously for father to come from Harpout. -Toward evening a gendarme came to the house and -asked if father had returned yet, saying that he was -missed “at the audience with the Mutassarif.” -Mother asked him why the men folk were taken to jail, -if the Mutassarif wanted to see them. The soldier -said the governor thought that would be handier, as it -was a long walk to the palace. We were comforted -a little by that explanation, but when evening came and -the men had not returned to their homes we became -worried again. And we began to fear, too, that father -and Paul had been intercepted.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> - -<p>At dark the wives and daughters of the men who -had been taken from their homes could not stand the -suspense any longer. Braving the order to remain indoors -they began to gather in the streets, and little -companies of women and children, and even the more -daring men, moved toward the jails. They waited -outside until well toward midnight, hoping to catch a -glimpse of their relatives or to hear what was going -on inside. At 11 o’clock the prison gates opened and -Husein Pasha, in his carriage and escorted by a heavy -guard of mounted soldiers, came out.</p> - -<p>The women crowded around him, but the soldiers -drove them away. Scarcely had the Pasha’s carriage -disappeared than there was shouting and screaming -in the prison. Lusanne and I, who had stolen up to -the prison wall, ran home frightened. Father and -Paul were there, having reached home late in the evening.</p> - -<p>Father looked very careworn. He took me into his -arms and kissed me in a strange way. Big tears were -in his eyes when I looked into them. I knew, without -asking, that he had not succeeded in his mission to -Harpout for protection. We sat up all that night, -listening to the cries that came from the prison. We -learned the next day what had happened, when the -one man who had escaped crept into his home to be -hidden.</p> - -<p>When Husein Pasha arrived at the prison he told<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -the men who had been gathered that new word had -come from Constantinople that the Armenians were -not loyal to Turkey, and that they had been plotting to -help the Allies. He demanded that the prisoners tell -him what they knew of such plots. Every one of them -assured him there had been no such plotting, that the -Armenians wanted only to live in peace with their -Turkish neighbors, obey the Sultan and do him whatever -service was demanded of them. Husein seemed -at last convinced and went away, saying the men could -all return to their homes in the morning.</p> - -<p>While the prisoners were congratulating each other -upon their promised release, and hoping there might -be some way to get word to their families in the meantime, -gendarmes appeared and drove the men into one -corner of the courtyard. While the others were held -back by the levelled guns and bayonets one prisoner at -a time was pulled into a ring of soldiers and ordered -to confess that he had been conspiring against the -Sultan.</p> - -<p>As each one denied the accusation and declared he -would confess to nothing, he was stripped of his -clothes and the gendarmes fell to beating him on his -naked back with leather thongs. As fast as the men -fainted from the lashing they were thrown to one side -until they revived, when they were beaten again, until -all the soldiers had taken turns with the thongs and -were tired. Eight of the older men died under the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -beatings. Their bodies were thrown into a corner of -the jail yard.</p> - -<p>While they were beating Father Rhoupen an officer -interfered. He said it was a waste of time to beat the -priest, as all priests must be killed anyway. He then -turned to Father Rhoupen and told him he could live -only if he would forswear Christ and become Mohammedan. -If he refused, the officer said, he would be -beaten until he died.</p> - -<p>Poor Father Rhoupen was almost too weak to answer. -When the soldiers dropped him, at the officer’s -command, he fell into a heap on the ground. When -he tried to speak his head shook and the Turk thought -he was signifying he would accept Mohammed.</p> - -<p>“Hold him up—on his feet,” the officer ordered.</p> - -<p>Two soldiers lifted him. The officer commanded -him to repeat the creed of Islam—“There is only one -God, and Mohammed is his prophet.”</p> - -<p>“There is only one God”—Father Rhoupen began, -just as clearly as he could, and with his eyes turned -full upon the cruel officer. He stopped for breath, -and then went on—“and Jesus Christ, His Son, is -my Saviour!”</p> - -<p>The officer drew his sword and cut off Father Rhoupen’s -head.</p> - -<p>Professor Poladian, president of the College, was -next told that he might save his life if he would profess -Mohammed. Professor Poladian was one of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -most loved men in all Armenia. He had studied at -Yale University, in the United States, and had been -highly honored by England and France because of -his noble deeds. He was very old.</p> - -<p>I loved him more than any man besides my father, -because once when I was very little I was sick and -cried when I had to stay away from a Christmas tree -at the College on which Professor Poladian had hung -bags of candy for all the little girls of Tchemesh-Gedzak. -Professor Poladian asked Lusanne, my sister, -why I was not with the other children who gathered -about the tree, and when she told him I was at -home, ill, and that I cried because I couldn’t come, he -drove all the way to our house, almost two miles, -brought me my candy bag and told me the Christmas -story of the birth of Christ. I remember after -that I always wanted to pray to Professor Poladian -after I had prayed to God, until my mother made me -understand why I shouldn’t.</p> - -<p>Professor Poladian was not beaten, but the officer -told him he had been spared only that he might swear -faith in Islam. The Professor was almost overcome -with his suffering at having to witness the treatment of -his friends, but he told the officer he would give his -life rather than deny his religion. The soldiers then -tore out his finger nails, one by one, and his toe nails -and pulled out his hair and beard, and then stabbed -him with knives until he died.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p> - -<p>Throughout the night the screams from the prison -yard continued, and the women waiting outside were -frantic. At dawn soldiers drove the women away, -telling them their husbands would soon be home.</p> - -<p>As soon as the women were out of sight the soldiers -took out the men who had lived through the torture, -and, tying them together with a long rope, marched -them out of the city behind the jail toward the Murad -River, ten miles away. When they reached the river -bank the soldiers set upon the men and stabbed them -to death with bayonets. Only the one escaped by pulling -a dead body on top of him and making believe that -he, too, was dead.</p> - -<p>The next day, Thursday, which is the day before -the Mohammedan Sunday, the soldiers went through -the streets at 9 o’clock, calling for all Armenian men -over eighteen years of age, to assemble in the public -square. In every street an officer stopped at house -doors and told the people that any man over eighteen -who was not in the square in one hour would be killed.</p> - -<p>Mother and Lusanne and I flew to father’s arms. -We each tried to get our arms around his neck. He -was very sad and quiet. “One at a time, my dear -ones,” he said, and made us wait while he kissed and -said good-by to each of us in turn. Little Sarah, who -was seven, and Hovnan, who was six, he held in his -arms a long time. Then he kissed me on the lips, such -as he had never done before. He told mother she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -must not cry, but be very brave. Then he went out.</p> - -<p>Little Paul followed father at a distance, to be near -him as long as possible. When father got to the -square Paul tried to turn back, but a soldier saw him -and caught him by the collar, saying, “You go along, -too, then we won’t have to gather you up with the -women to-morrow.” Father protested that Paul was -only fifteen, but the soldiers wouldn’t listen. So my -brother never came back home.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE DAYS OF TERROR BEGIN</span></h3> - -<p>I had gone upstairs to my window to watch father -crossing the street to the square. Mother had fallen -onto a divan in the reception room downstairs. -Lusanne and my little brothers and sisters stayed with -her, even the little ones trying to make believe that, -perhaps, father would return. When I saw the soldier -take Paul, too, I screamed. Mother heard and came -running upstairs, Lusanne and the others following. -I was the only one who had seen. I would have to -tell them—to tell them that not only father, but that -little Paul, who had wanted to be a priest, when he -grew up, like Father Rhoupen, was gone too. For a -moment I could not speak. Mother thought something -had happened to father in the street, and that I had -seen.</p> - -<p>“Tell me quick—what is it? Have they killed -him?” she cried. I couldn’t answer—except to shake -my head. Suddenly mother missed Paul for the first -time. Something must have told her. She asked -Lusanne: “Where is my boy? Where is Paul? -Why isn’t he here?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p> - -<p>Lusanne started to run downstairs to look in the -yard. I motioned her not to go. I put my arms -around mother and said, between my sobs:</p> - -<p>“They took Paul too—he is with our father!”</p> - -<p>Mother sank upon the floor and buried her face. -Lusanne and I knelt beside her. But she didn’t cry. -Her eyes were dry when she gathered us to her. I -never saw my mother cry after that, even when the -Turkish soldiers, at the orders of Ahmed Bey, were -beating her to death while they made me look on before -returning me to Ahmed’s harem.</p> - -<p>Out of my window we could see the men comforting -each other, or talking excitedly with the leaders, in -the square. By the middle of the afternoon more than -3,000 men and older boys had assembled. The soldiers -and zaptiehs searched our houses that no man over -eighteen might escape. When women clung to husbands -and fathers the soldiers said the men were summoned -only to be addressed by Ishmail Bey, the Vali, -who was coming up from his capital, Harpout. Some -of the women believed this explanation. Others knew -it was not true.</p> - -<p>Not very far from our house was the home of -Andranik, a young man who had graduated from the -American School at Marsovan, and who had come to -our city with his parents to teach in our schools. He -was very popular in the city, and it was to him Lusanne -was to be married. When the Turks conscripted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -young Armenian men they spared Andranik because -of his position as a teacher.</p> - -<p>When his father answered the summons to the -square Andranik remained behind. He disguised himself -in a dress belonging to his sister and made his -way to the edge of the city where he bought a horse -from a Turk whom he knew he could trust. By the -Turk, Andranik sent word to Lusanne that he would -ride to Harpout, where he knew the German Consul-General, -Count Wolf von Wolfskehl, and beg of -this powerful German official to intercede for the Armenians -of Tchemesh-Gedzak.</p> - -<p>Lusanne was much encouraged when she heard Andranik -was safe. All afternoon neighboring women, -some of them wives of wealthy men, came to our house -to look from our windows into the square, hoping to -catch a glimpse of their loved ones. The soldiers -would not let the women gather near the square, nor -communicate with the men.</p> - -<p>One pretty woman, Mrs. Sirpouhi, who had been -married not quite a year to a son of our richest manufacturer, -was just about to become a mother. From -our window she caught sight of her husband. She -could not keep herself from running across to the -square, screaming as she went, “My Vartan—my -Vartan!” Vartan was his name.</p> - -<p>The young husband heard his wife calling and ran -to the edge of the square, holding out his arms to her.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -Just as she was about to throw herself upon him a -zaptieh struck her on the head with his gun. When -this zaptieh and his companions saw the young woman -was almost a mother they took turns running their -bayonets into her. The husband fell to the ground. I -think he fainted. The soldiers carried him off. They -left his bride’s body where it fell.</p> - -<p>At sundown, when nearly all the Christian women -in the city must have cried their eyes dry, as did Lusanne -and I, we heard the muezzin calling the First -Prayer from the minarets of the El Hasan Mosque in -the Mohammedan quarter. It seemed to me the muezzin -was mocking us as he sang: “There is no God -but Allah; come to prayer; come to security!” Without -letting mother know I knelt by myself and asked -our God if He would not think of us—and send our -fathers back. Perhaps He heard me for as soon as -the Mohammedan prayer was over a soldier came to -our door.</p> - -<p>He said father had paid him to bring a message; -that he would be able to speak to us if we should go -at once to the north corner of the square. To prove -his message was true the soldier showed us father’s -ring.</p> - -<p>With my little sisters and brothers holding to our -hands, mother, Lusanne and I ran quickly to the north -corner, and there father and Paul were awaiting us. -For a time he could not speak. Then he said:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p> - -<p>“We are to be driven into the desert!”</p> - -<p>The officers had told them they would be taken only -to Arabkir, sixty miles away, and allowed to camp -there until the Turks were ready for them to return -home again. Father said he hoped this were true—but -he did not believe they would be allowed to return. -He told mother that since little Paul was along he -would like to have her bring him a blanket to wrap up -in at night, and money. He had with him a hundred -liras, or $440. in American money, but perhaps if he -had more, he thought he could bribe the soldiers to let -Paul ride a horse, or perhaps, escape when they began -the march.</p> - -<p>Mother and I hurried to the house. She went into -the basement, where father had hidden a great deal -of money for us. When I went to get a blanket I -thought of my “yorgan,” a birthday blanket father had -brought me from Smyrna when I was ten years old. -It was the most beautiful thing I had. The Ten Commandments -were woven into it, and it had been made, -many people had said, a thousand years ago. I took -this to Paul and another blanket for father. Paul -cried when he saw I had given him my yorgan. We -wrapped dried fruit, and cheese in thin bread, also, to -give them. Mother took 200 liras—almost a thousand -dollars.</p> - -<p>The soldiers would not let us talk long to father the -second time. We stood across the street just looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -at him until it was too dark to see him any more, and -then we went home. We never saw father or Paul -again.</p> - -<p>When we reached our house we found Abdoullah -Bey, the police chief, waiting in the parlor. Abdoullah -always had been a friend of father’s, and we thought -him a kindly man. Perhaps he would have helped us -if he could, but when mother begged him to have Paul, -at least, restored to us, he showed us a written order, -signed by Ismail Bey, the Vali, which had been given -him by Husein Pasha. It read:</p> - -<p>“During the process of deportation of the Armenians -if any Moslem resident or visitor from the surrounding -country endeavors to conceal or otherwise -protect a Christian, first his house shall be burned, -then the Christian killed before his eyes, and then the -Moslem’s family and himself shall be killed.”</p> - -<p>“You see I cannot help you,” Abdoullah Bey said, -“even though I would. But I can advise you as a -friend. You have two daughters who are young. It -is still possible for them to renounce your religion and -accept Allah. I will take word personally, if you wish, -to Husein Pasha that your Lusanne and Aurora will -say the rek’ah (the oath to Mohammed). He is willing -to take them both, and thus spare them and you -many things, which, perhaps, are about to happen. -Soon it may be too late.”</p> - -<p>Husein wanted us both! I remembered Father<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -Rhoupen’s words, “Trust in God and be true to Him.” -But it seemed as if I ought to sacrifice myself. Even -then I would have gone to the Pasha’s house, but -mother said to Abdoullah:</p> - -<p>“Tell the Pasha we belong to God, and will accept -whatever He wills!” Abdoullah respected mother for -her courage. He bowed to her as he went out. “I -am sorry for what may come,” he said.</p> - -<p>That evening Andranik returned from Harpout and -came at once to our house. He still wore his sister’s -dress. When he appeared at the door Lusanne ran -into his arms. I read in his face bad news.</p> - -<p>“I begged of Count von Wolfskehl to save us. He -said the Sultan had ordered that no Christian subject -be left alive in Turkey, and that he thought the Sultan -had done right.”</p> - -<p>Lusanne secretly had thought Andranik would be -successful. She had such confidence in him she did -not think he could fail. She was overcome when her -hope was destroyed, but she thought more of Andranik -than of herself. She begged him to try to escape. -Andranik decided he would remain in his women’s -clothes. Lusanne cut off some of her own hair and -arranged it on his head so bits of it would show under -his shawl and make him look more nearly like a girl. -They thought perhaps he might get out of the city at -night, unmolested, and hide with friendly farmers.</p> - -<p>But, somehow, the authorities learned Andranik had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -not surrendered himself. Early in the evening the -zaptiehs under command of Abdoullah, surrounded his -house and demanded that he come out. When his -mother said he was not there, the gendarme chief replied -that if he did not appear at once the house would -be burned with all who were in it.</p> - -<p>A neighbor woman ran in to tell us. Andranik -threw off his disguise, took an old saber father had -hung on our wall, and rushed out. He cut his way -through the gendarmes and got into his home, where -he found his mother and sister and his other relatives -in a panic of fear. The gendarmes shouted to him to -come out at once. Andranik saw them bringing up -cans of oil. He kissed his mother and sister again -and stepped out into the street. They killed him with -knives on the doorstep. His sister ran out and threw -herself on his body, and they killed her, too. When a -neighbor told us what had happened, Lusanne ran out -to Andranik’s house and helped his mother carry in -the two bodies.</p> - -<p>Father and the other men were taken away that -night. In our house we were sitting in my room trying -to pick them out from the shadows in the square -made by the torches and lanterns of the zaptiehs, when -many new soldiers appeared, and, suddenly, there was -a great shouting. Soon we saw the men, formed into -a long line, march out of the square, with zaptiehs and -soldiers all about them. It was too dark for us to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -identify father and Paul, but we knew they would be -looking up at our window and hoped they could see us.</p> - -<p>They took the men toward the Kara River, which is -a branch of the Euphrates. Many were so old and -feeble they could not walk so far, and fell to the -ground. The zaptiehs killed these with their knives -and left their bodies behind. It was daylight when -they came to the little village of Gwazim, which is on -the river bank twelve miles away. There was a large -building at Gwazim which the Turks sometimes used -as a barracks when there was war with the Kurds, and -at other times as a prison. Half the men were put -into this building and told they would have to stay -until the next day. The zaptiehs then took the others -across the river toward Arabkir.</p> - -<p>At noon of that day the zaptiehs returned to Gwazim. -They had killed all the men they had taken -across the river just as soon as they were out of sight -of the village. When we, in Tchemesh-Gedzak, heard -that part of our men had been left in the prison, hundreds -of women walked the dusty road to Gwazim. -Lusanne and I went, hoping to get one more glimpse -of father and Paul.</p> - -<p>In Gwazim there was an aged Armenian woman -who had lived in our city at the time of the massacre -in 1895. She was pretty then, and when the Kurds -stole her she saved her life by turning Mohammedan. -Then she was sold to a Turkish bey at Gwazim. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -kept her in his harem until she grew old. All the -time, while professing Islam, she secretly was Christian. -The bey had given her the name “Fatimeh.”</p> - -<p>Fatimeh persuaded the guards at the prison to let -her take water to the men. When she told the prisoners -the zaptiehs had returned without the other men -they knew the same fate was in store for them.</p> - -<p>When Fatimeh came out she told me father and Paul -were inside and had sent word to us to be hopeful. -In a little while we saw her going into the prison -again, this time with two big rocks, so heavy she could -hardly carry them, hidden in her water buckets. She -came out again and filled her buckets with coal oil.</p> - -<p>When it was dark the younger men, who were strong -and brave, killed all the older men by hitting their -heads with the rocks Fatimeh had taken them. Father -killed Paul first, because he was so little. When -all the old and feeble men were dead, the young men -prayed that God would think they had done right in -not letting the old men suffer and then they spread the -oil, set it afire, and threw themselves in the flames. -Fatimeh told us what had happened while the prison -burned. The zaptiehs suspected her and carried her -into the burning building and left her.</p> - -<p>It was almost dawn Saturday morning when Lusanne -and I returned to mother. “As God wills, so -be it,” was all she said when we told her what had -happened at the prison. She said there had been a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -great celebration in the El Hasan mosque, in honor -of the Mohammedan Sunday, while we were at Gwazim. -A special imam, or prayer reader, had come all -the way from Trebizond to read special prayers set -aside for such great events as the beginning of a holy -war or massacre of Christians.</p> - -<p>That morning soldiers went through the streets posting -a new paper on the walls. It was what we had -feared—an order from the Governor that all Armenian -Christian women in the city, young and old, must -be ready in three days to leave their homes and be deported—where, -the order did not say.</p> - -<p>As soon as the Turkish residents heard of the new -order many of them began to go about the Armenian -half of the town offering to buy what the Armenian -women wanted to sell. As there were none of the -men left, the women had no one to advise them. To -our house, which was one of the best in the city, there -came many rich Turks, who told us we had better -sell them our rugs and the beautiful laces mother, -Lusanne and I had made.</p> - -<p>Every Armenian girl is taught to make pretty laces. -No girl is happy until she can make for herself a lace -bridal veil. Always the Turks are eager to buy these, -as they sell for much money to foreign traders, but no -Armenian bride will sell her veil unless she is starving. -Lusanne and I had made our veils, and had put -them away until we should need them. We knew we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -could not carry them with us when we were deported, -as they would soon be stolen. So we sold them, and -mother’s, too. The most we could get was a few -piasters. Since I have come to America I have seen -spreads and table covers, made from such bridal veils -as ours, for sale in shops for hundreds of dollars. -Father had brought us many rugs from Harpout, -Smyrna and Damascus. For these mother could get -only a few pennies.</p> - -<p>On the second day after the proclamation, which -was our Sunday, the soldiers visited all the houses. -They walked in without knocking. They pretended to -be looking for guns and revolvers, but what they took -was our silver and gold spoons and vases.</p> - -<p>That afternoon a company of horsemen rode past -our house. We ran to the window and saw they were -Aghja Daghi Kurds, the crudest of all the tribes. -At their head rode the famous Musa Bey, the chieftain -who, a few years before, had waylaid Dr. Raynolds -and Dr. Knapp, the famous American missionaries, -and had robbed them and left them tied together on -the road.</p> - -<p>The Kurds rode to the palace of Husein Pasha. In -a little while they rode away again, and some of the -Pasha’s soldiers rode with them. That meant, we -knew, that the Governor had given the Kurds permission -to waylay us when we were outside the city.</p> - -<p>All that night the women sat up in their homes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -In our house mother went from room to room, looking -at the little things on the walls and in the cupboards -that had been hers since she was a little girl. -She sat a long time over father’s clothes. I got out -my playthings and cried over them. Some of them -had been my grandmother’s toys. Lusanne did not -cry. She thought only of Andranik and the loss of -her bridal veil, and her tears had dried, like mother’s. -Little Hovnan and Mardiros, our brothers, and Sarah -and Aruciag, our sisters, cried very hard when we -told they must say good-by to their dolls and their -kites.</p> - -<p>When morning of the last day came I slipped out -of our home to visit Mariam, my playmate, who lived -a few doors away. Mariam’s family was not very -rich, and mother had said I might give her twenty -liras from our money, that she might have it to bribe -soldiers for protection. But Mariam was not there.</p> - -<p>During the night zaptiehs had entered her house -and taken her out of her bed, with just her nightdress -on, and had carried her away. The soldiers said -Rehim Bey had promised them money if they would -bring Mariam to his house. Mariam’s mother and -little brother were kneeling beside her empty bed when -I found them.</p> - -<p>On my way back to our house a Turk stopped me. -He asked me to go with him. He said I might as well, -as “all the pretty Christian girls would have to give<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -themselves to Turks or be killed anyway.” I broke -away and ran home as fast as I could. I could not -forget the look on that Turk’s face as he spoke to me. -It was the first time I had ever seen such a look in a -man’s face. I tried to explain to mother. She put -her arms around me, but all she said was:</p> - -<p>“My poor little girl!”</p> - -<p>The women had been allowed until noon to assemble -in the square. Already they were arriving there, -with horse, donkey and ox carts, some with as many -of their things as they could heap on their carts, others -with just blankets and comforts, a favorite rug and -bread and fruits. In Armenia every family keeps a -year’s supply of food on hand. The women had to -leave behind all they could not carry.</p> - -<p>When it came time for us to go I thought again of -the look in that Turk’s face. For the first time I realized -just what it would mean to be a captive in one -of the harems of the rich Turks whose big houses look -down from the hills all about the city. I had heard -of the Christian girls forced into haremliks of these -houses, but I had never really understood. Lusanne -was older. She knew more than I. “If only I could -have died with Andranik,” she said.</p> - -<p>Mother thought of a plan she hoped might save Lusanne -and me from the harems or a worse fate among -the Kurds and soldiers. She brought out two yashmaks, -or veils, such as Turkish women wear on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -street, and made us put them on, hiding our faces. -Over these she had us put on a feradjeh, a Turkish -woman’s cloak. We looked quite as if we were Turkish -women, with all our faces hidden.</p> - -<p>“It is only death that faces me, but for you, my -daughters, there are even greater perils,” mother said -to us. “You will be able now to walk in the streets -and the soldiers will think you are Mohammedan -women. Try to reach Miss Graham, at the orphanage. -Perhaps she can hide you until there is a way -for you to escape into the north, where the sea is. -And if you do find safety, thank God, and remember -He is always with you.” Then she kissed us and bade -us go.</p> - -<p>Miss Graham, who was an English girl, had come to -our city from the American College at Marsovan, to -teach in our school for orphaned Armenian girls. She -was very young and pretty. The Turks had seemed -to respect her, and mother thought we would be safe -with her.</p> - -<p>While mother went to the square with Aruciag, -Sarah, Hovnan and Mardiros, Lusanne and I mingled -with Mohammedan women who had gathered to watch -the scenes at the square and to bargain for pieces of -jewelry and other things the Armenian women knew -they must either sell or have stolen from them. We -planned to wait until dark before venturing to reach -Miss Graham’s.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p> - -<p>Soon we saw Turks, both rich citizens and military -officers, walking about in the square roughly examining -the Christian girls. When they were pleased by a -girl’s appearance these beys and aghas tried to persuade -their mothers to let them profess Mohammedanism -and go away with them, promising to save her -relatives from deportation. When mothers refused -the Turks often struck them. Officers killed some -mothers who clung too closely to their daughters.</p> - -<p>Many young girls gave in to the Turks and agreed -to swear faith in Allah for the sake of their mothers, -sisters and brothers. Toward evening the khateeb, or -keeper of the mosque, was brought to receive their -“conversions.”</p> - -<p>More than fifty girls took the oath. Just as soon as -the oaths were all taken the officers signaled to the -zaptiehs and they took all these girls away from their -families and gathered them at one side of the square.</p> - -<p>Then the richer beys began to examine the apostasized -girls. The soldiers would give a girl to the -one who paid them the most money, unless an officer -also wanted her. The higher military officers were -given first choice.</p> - -<p>One by one the soldiers dragged the girls who had -sacrificed their religion in vain to save their mothers -and relatives out of the square and toward the homes -of the Turks. Lusanne and I had gone close to watch -our chance to speak once more to mother. We saw<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -everything. And while they were taking the girls -away we saw a zaptieh carrying Miss Graham in his -arms. She struggled hard, but the zaptieh was too -strong. We learned afterward the soldiers had gone -to her school to get the little Armenian girls, and when -Miss Graham tried to fight them they said her country -couldn’t help her now, and since she was a Christian -they would take her, too.</p> - -<p>It was to Rehim Bey’s house, where Mariam already -had been carried, they took Miss Graham. -They did not even try to make her become a Mohammedan. -Rehim Bey was very powerful, and was a -cousin of Talaat Bey, the Minister of the Interior at -Constantinople.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<span class="smaller">VAHBY BEY TAKES HIS CHOICE</span></h3> - -<p>For a time Lusanne and I debated whether we -should return to the square and join mother, since -Miss Graham had been stolen and could not help us, -or whether we should make an effort to escape since -we had so far escaped notice in our disguises. We -decided that, perhaps, if we could reach the house of -a friendly Turk, outside the city, and we knew of many -of these, we might find a way to help mother. We did -not know how this could ever be done, but we clung -to a hope that surely some one would aid us.</p> - -<p>When it was quite dark we crept through side streets -to our deserted house and succeeded in getting into -the garden without attracting attention. We dared -not make a light, or remain on the lower floors, soldiers -might enter the house at any moment. The -safest place to hide, we thought, would be the attic.</p> - -<p>In the attic there were a number of boxes of old -things of mother’s. We searched until we found some -old clothes, and each of us put on an old dress of -mother’s under the cloaks she had given us. If we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -were discovered, the old clothes, we thought, might -deceive the Turks if we could keep our faces covered.</p> - -<p>Neither Lusanne nor I had slept during the three -days the Turks allowed the Armenian women to prepare -for deportation. Toward morning we were both -so worn out we fell asleep. Suddenly I awoke to find -an ugly zaptieh standing over me, a sword in his hand. -He had kicked me. Three or four others, who, with -the leader, had broken in to search for valuables, were -coming up the ladder into the attic, and the one who -had found us was calling out to them:</p> - -<p>“Mouhadjirler—anleri keselim!”—(“Here are -refugees—let’s kill them!”)</p> - -<p>The zaptieh’s shout awakened Lusanne and she -screamed.</p> - -<p>By this time the Turks had pulled me to my feet, -but when Lusanne screamed they dropped me. -“That’s no old one,” the chief zaptieh said, as he -turned to my sister. “Her voice is young.”</p> - -<p>They kicked me aside while they gathered around -Lusanne, picked her up and carried her down the ladder -to the floor below, where our bedrooms were. -There they found a lamp and lighted it from the torch -one of them carried. They began to examine Lusanne, -who screamed and fought them desperately. I -followed them down the ladder and ran into the room, -but when they saw me one of them struck me with his -fists, and I fell. They thought I at least was as old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -as my clothes looked. One of them said, “Stick the -old one on a bayonet if she don’t keep still.” I could -do nothing but stay on the floor, crouch tight to the -wall and look on.</p> - -<p>A zaptieh tore off Lusanne’s veil and cloak. When -they saw her face and that she was young and good -looking they shouted and laughed. The leader -dropped his gun and laid his sword on a table and then -took Lusanne away from the others and held her in -his arms. She fought so hard the others had to help -hold her while the officer kissed her. Each time he -kissed her he laughed and all the others laughed too. -One by one the zaptiehs caressed her, each passing her -to the other, all much amused by her struggles.</p> - -<p>When Lusanne’s dress was all torn and her screams -grew weak I could not stand it any longer. I crept -up to the men on my knees and begged them to stop. -I knew there was no longer any hope that we might -escape, so I pleaded: “Please take us to the square -to our relatives; we will get money for you if you -will only spare us.”</p> - -<p>They allowed us to leave the house, but followed -across the street to the square. It was daylight now -and the women were stirring about, sharing with each -other the bread and meats some had brought with -them. The zaptiehs made Lusanne stay with them -while I searched for mother. She was caring for a -baby whose mother had died during the night. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -first thing she asked was, “Where is Lusanne—have -they got her?”</p> - -<p>Mother gave me two liras. The zaptiehs took them -and shoved Lusanne away. She fainted when she -realized they had released her.</p> - -<p>During the first day and night no one knew what -was to happen. Such of the soldiers as would answer -questions said only that the Pasha had ordered the -women deported. None knew how or when. During -the first night three of the mothers of girls who had -been taken by the Turks the day before died. One of -them killed herself while her other children were sleeping -around her. So many were crowded into the -square not all could find room to lie down and the -soldiers killed any who attempted to move into the -street.</p> - -<p>In the center of the square there was a band-stand, -where the Mutassarif’s band often played in the summer -evenings. In this band-stand the soldiers had -put the little girls and boys taken from the Christian -Orphanage when they carried off Miss Graham. -There were thirty little girls, none of them more than -twelve years old, and almost as many boys.</p> - -<p>The children were crying bitterly when Lusanne -and I, at mother’s suggestion, went to see if we could -not help care for them. There was no food for them -except what the women could spare from their own -stores. The Turks never give food to their prisoners.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> - -<p>Toward noon of that day Vahby Bey, the military -commandant of the whole vilayet, who had under -him almost an army corps, rode into the city with -his staff and a company of hamidieh, or Kurdish -cavalry. He was on his way to Harpout, from -Erzindjan, a big city in the north, where he had -attended a council of war with Enver Pasha, the -Turkish Commander-in-Chief.</p> - -<p>Vahby Bey walked from his headquarters into the -public square, accompanied by his staff. Hundreds -of women crowded around him, but his staff officers -beat them away with swords and canes. The general -walked at once to the band-stand and looked at -the children. Abdoullah Bey, the chief of the gendarmes, -was with him, and they talked in low voices.</p> - -<p>When Vahby Bey had gone, several officers began -to ask Armenian girls if they would like to accompany -the orphans and take care of them in the place -where the government would put them. The officers -said they would take several girls for this purpose, -and thus save them the terrors of deportation and -death, or worse, if they would first agree to become -Mohammedan.</p> - -<p>Many mothers thought this the only way to save -their daughters from the harem. Some of the -younger women, among them brides whose husbands -had been killed, were so discouraged and frightened -they were eager to accept this chance. The officers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -said only young girls would be accepted, and bade -all who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity -to gather at the band-stand. More than two hundred -assembled, with mothers and relatives hanging -onto them. I don’t think any of them really was -willing to forswear Christ, but they thought they -would be forgiven if they seemed to do so to save -themselves from being massacred, stolen in the desert -or forced to be concubines.</p> - -<p>A hamidieh officer, looking smart and neat in his -costly uniform, went to the stand to select the girls. -He chose twelve of the very prettiest. One girl who -was tall and very handsome, and whose father had -been a rich merchant, refused to take the Mohammedan -oath unless her two sisters, both younger, also -were accepted. The officer consented. The three -girls had no mother, only some younger brothers, -and these the officers said might accompany the orphans. -The three sisters were very glad they were -to be saved. One of them was a friend of Lusanne’s, -and to her she said: “Our God will know why we -are doing this; we will always pray to Him in secret.”</p> - -<p>Esther Magurditch, daughter of Boghos Artin, a -great Armenian author and poet, who lived in our -city, also was willing to take the oath, and was -chosen. Esther had been one of my playmates. -Her mother was an English woman, who had married -her father when he was traveling in Europe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -Esther had married Vartan Magurditch, a young -lawyer, just a week before. When both her father -and husband were taken from her she almost lost her -mind.</p> - -<p>When all the fourteen girls had said the Mohammedan -rek’ah, soldiers took them with the orphans to -the big house in which Esther’s family had lived. It -was the largest Armenian home in the city.</p> - -<p>As soon as the children and the apostasized girls -entered the house Esther prepared a meal for them -from the bread and other food that had been left. -While the children were eating the girls were summoned -to another part of the house, where an aged -Mohammedan woman awaited them with yashmaks, -or Turkish veils, which she told them they must put -on, as they had become Mohammedan women and -must not let their faces be seen.</p> - -<p>The young women were then told to seat themselves -until an officer came to give further instructions. -They still were waiting in the room when childish -voices in the other part of the house were lifted up -in screams. The girls rushed to the door, only to -find it locked.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the door opened and Vahby Bey, with -his chief of staff, Ferid Bey, and Ali Riza Effendi, the -Police Commissary, whose headquarters were in Harpout, -entered. With them were a number of other -smartly dressed officers, who had been traveling with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -General Vahby. The girls fell to their knees before -the officers, and asked them, in Allah’s name, to let -them go to the children. The officers laughed. The -three sisters, who had taken their little brothers with -the other children, appealed to General Vahby to tell -them what had happened to their little ones. Vahby -Bey did not answer, but pointed to the taller one of -the three girls, the one who was so handsome, and -said to the chief of staff: “This one I will take; -guard her carefully.” Ferid Bey, the chief officer, -then called some soldiers, who picked up the girl and -carried her upstairs to a room which Vahby Bey had -occupied. Vahby Bey followed. Ferid Bey then selected -Esther, and soldiers carried her up to another -room. Ferid Bey followed and dismissed the -soldiers, with orders to place a guard outside his -door and another outside the door of Vahby Bey’s -room.</p> - -<p>Downstairs the other officers of Vahby Bey’s staff -each selected a girl, the officers of higher rank taking -first choice. There were three girls left, one of them -the youngest sister of the girl Vahby Bey had taken, -and the soldiers took possession of these, not even -removing them from the room.</p> - -<p>How long these three girls lived I cannot tell. It -was Esther who told us what happened that afternoon -in her house, for she was the only one of the -fourteen who escaped alive. Before she got away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -from the house she looked into the room where the -soldiers had been, and saw that the three girls were -dead.</p> - -<p>Esther tried to resist Ferid Bey, and to plead with -him; but he threatened to kill her. When she told -him she would rather die he opened the door so she -could see the men standing guard in the hall, and said -to her:</p> - -<p>“Very well then; if you do not be quiet I will give -you to the soldiers!”</p> - -<p>Surely God will not blame Esther for shrinking -away from the sight of those many men and allowing -Ferid Bey, who was only one man, to remain.</p> - -<p>The officers busied themselves with the girls until -evening. When Ferid Bey left her Esther begged -him again to at least tell her where the children were, -that she might go to them. He had assured her during -the afternoon that the orphans were safe, and -that the girls could return to them later. Now he -pretended no longer. “We have no time to bother -with the children of unbelievers,” he said. “We -drowned them in the river!”</p> - -<p>Ferid Bey told the truth. We found some of their -bodies when we passed that way later on. The soldiers -had tied the children together with ropes in -groups of ten and had driven them to Kara Su, also -a branch of the Euphrates, ten miles away. Those -who were too little to walk or keep up with the others,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -the soldiers had killed with their bayonets or gun -handles. They left their bodies, still tied together, -at the roadside. On the river banks we found other -bodies that had been washed up.</p> - -<p>As soon as Ferid Bey had gone and Esther heard -the other officers assembling on the floor below, something -warned her to try to escape immediately. Her -clothes had been nearly all torn away, but she dared -not wait even to cover herself. She climbed onto the -roof by a small stairway which the Turks were not -guarding, and hid herself there.</p> - -<p>General Vahby and his officers went to their quarters. -The soldiers hunted out the girls they had -left behind. Esther heard them fighting among themselves -over the prettiest ones. After a time most -of the girls died. The soldiers killed the rest with -their swords when they were finished with them. -From what Esther heard them saying to each other -as they did this, she believed they had been ordered -not to leave any of the young women alive as witnesses -to Vahby Bey and his officers having done such -things openly.</p> - -<p>Esther crept out of the house and crawled through -a back street to the square. She found my mother -and fell into her arms. When daylight came a soldier -saw her and recognized her as one of the girls -who had apostasized the day before, and the zaptiehs -carried her away.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p> - -<p>At noon more soldiers came to the square, with -zaptiehs and hamidieh, and officers began to go among -us, saying that within one hour we were to march. -They told us we were to be taken to Harpout, but -we soon saw our destination was in the direction of -Arabkir.</p> - -<p>That last hour in our city, which had been the home -of many of our family ancestors for centuries, and -beyond the borders of which but few of our neighbors -ever had traveled, was spent by most of the -mothers and their children in prayer. There was -almost no more weeping or wailing. The strong, -young women gathered close to them the aged ones -or frail mothers with very young babies. Each of -us who had more strength than for our own needs -tried to find some one who needed a share of it.</p> - -<p>We were encouraged a little when the time came -for us to move by the apparent kindness of some of -the new Turkish soldiers, who seemed to want to make -us as comfortable as possible. It was at the suggestion -of these that many aged grandmothers whose -daughters had more than one baby were placed together -in a group of ox carts, each with a grandchild -that had been weaned. The soldiers said this plan -would relieve the young mothers of so many children -to watch over, and would let the old women have -company, while, being together, the soldiers could -keep them comfortable.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;" id="illus2"> - -<img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="450" height="650" alt="" /> - -<p class="caption">THIS MAP SHOWS AURORA’S WANDERINGS</p> - -<p class="caption">The black line indicates the route covered by Miss Mardiganian, who -during two years walked fourteen hundred miles.</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p> - -<p>When we were three hours out from town these ox -carts fell behind. Presently the soldiers that had -been detailed to stay with them joined the rest of the -party ahead. When we asked where the grandmothers -and the babies were, the soldiers replied: -“They were too much trouble. We killed them!”</p> - -<p>It was very hot, and the roads were dusty, with no -shade. Many women and children soon fell to the -ground exhausted. The zaptiehs beat these with their -clubs. Those who couldn’t get up and walk as fast -as the rest were beaten till they died, or they were -killed outright.</p> - -<p>Our first intimation of what might happen to us -at any time came when we had been on the road four -hours. We came then to a little spot where there -were trees and a spring. The soldiers who marched -afoot were themselves tired, and gave us permission -to rest a while, and get water.</p> - -<p>A woman pointed onto the plain, where, a little -ways from the road, we saw what seemed to be a -human being, sitting on the ground. Some of us -walked that way and saw it was an Armenian woman. -On the ground beside her were six bundles of different -sizes, from a very little one to one as large as I -would be, each wrapped in spotless white that -glistened in the sun.</p> - -<p>We did not need to ask to know that in each of the -bundles was the body of a child. The mother’s face<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -was partially covered with a veil, which told us she -had given up God in the hope of saving her little ones—but -in vain!</p> - -<p>She did not speak or move, only looked at us with -a great sadness in her eyes. Her face seemed familiar -and one of us knelt beside her and gently lifted -her veil. Then we recognized her—Margarid, wife -of the pastor, Badvelli Moses, of Kamakh, a little city -thirty miles to the north. Badvelli Moses once had -been a teacher in our school at Tchemesh-Gedzak. -He was a graduate of the college at Harpout, and -Margarid had graduated from a Seminary at Mezre. -They were much beloved by all who knew them. -Often Badvelli Moses had returned, with his wife and -Sherin, their oldest daughter, who was my age, to -Tchemesh-Gedzak to visit and speak in our churches.</p> - -<p>Besides Sherin, there were five smaller girls and -boys. All were there, by Margarid’s side, wrapped -in the sheets she had carried with her when the people -of her city were deported.</p> - -<p>“There were a thousand of us,” Margarid said -when we had brought her out of the stupor of grief -which had overcome her. “They took us away with -only an hour’s notice. The first night Kurdish bandits -rode down upon us and took all the men a little -ways off and killed them. We saw our husbands die, -one by one. They stripped all the women and children—even -the littlest ones—so they could search<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -our bodies for money. They took all the pretty girls -and violated them before our eyes.</p> - -<p>“I pleaded with the commander of our soldier -guards to protect my Sherin. He had been our -friend in Kamakh. He promised to save us if I -would become a Moslem, and for Sherin’s sake, I did. -He made the bandits allow us to put on our clothes -again, and Sherin and I veiled our faces.</p> - -<p>“The commander detailed soldiers to escort us to -Harpout and take me to the governor there. When -we left the Kurds and soldiers who were tired of -the girls were killing them, and the others as well. -When we reached here the soldiers killed my little -ones by mashing their heads together. They violated -Sherin while they held me, and then cut off her -breasts, so that she died. They left me alive, they -said, because I had become Moslem.”</p> - -<p>We tried to take Margarid into our party, but she -would not come. “I must go to God with my children,” -she said. “I will stay here until He takes -me.” So we left her sitting there with her loved -ones.</p> - -<p>It was late at night and the stars were out when we -arrived at the banks of the Kara Su. Here we were -told by the soldiers we could camp for the night. In -the distance we could see the light on the minaret in -the village of Gwazim, where father and Paul had -died in the burning prison.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> - -<p>All along the road zaptiehs killed women and children -who could not keep up with the party, and -many of the pretty girls had been dragged to the -side of the road, to be sent back to the party later -with tears and shame in their faces. Lusanne and -I had daubed our faces with mud to make us ugly, and -I still wore my cloak and veil.</p> - -<p>For a time it seemed as if we were not to be molested, -as the guards remained in little groups, away -from us. Only the scream now and then of a girl -who had attracted some soldier’s attention reminded -us we must not sleep.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE CRUEL SMILE OF KEMAL EFFENDI</span></h3> - -<p>During the night Turkish residents from cities -near by came to our camp and sought to buy whatever -the women had brought with them of value. -Many had brought a piece of treasured lace; others -had carried their jewelry; some even had brought -articles of silver, and rugs. There were many horse -and donkey carts along, as the Turks encouraged all -the women to carry as much of their belongings as -they could. This we soon learned was done to swell -the booty for the soldiers when the party was completely -at their mercy.</p> - -<p>As the civilian Turks went through the camp that -night, they bargained also for girls and young -women. One of them urged mother to let him take -Lusanne. When mother refused he said to her:</p> - -<p>“You might as well let me have her. I will treat -her kindly and she can work with my other servants. -She will be sold or stolen anyway, if she is not killed. -None of you will live very long.” Several children -were stolen early in the night by these Turks. One -little girl of nine years was picked up a few feet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -away from me and carried screaming away. When -her relatives complained to the soldiers, they were -told to be glad she had escaped the long walk to the -Syrian desert, where the rest of the party was to be -taken.</p> - -<p>Dawn was just breaking, and we were thankful -that the sleepless, horrible first night was so nearly -over, when, in a great cloud of sand and dust, the -Aghja Daghi Kurds, with Musa Bey at their head, -rode down upon us. The soldiers must have known -they were coming, for they had gathered quite a way -from the camp, and were not surprised. Perhaps it -was arranged when Musa Bey visited Husein Pasha, -in Tchemesh-Gedzak, just before we were taken away.</p> - -<p>The horses of the Kurds galloped down all who -were in their way, their hoofs sinking into the heads -and bodies of scores of frightened women. The -riders quickly gathered up all the donkeys and horses -belonging to the families, and when these had been -driven off they dismounted and began to walk among -us and pick out young women to steal. Lusanne and -I clung close to mother, who tried to hide us, but -one of three Kurds who walked near us saw me.</p> - -<p>He stopped and tore my veil away. When he saw -the mud and dirt on my face he roughly rubbed it -off with his hands, jerking me to my feet, to look -closer. When he saw I really was young, despite my -disguise, he shouted. One of the other Kurds turned<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -quickly and came up. When I looked up into his -face I saw it was Musa Bey himself!</p> - -<p>The bey clutched at me roughly, tore open my -dress and threw back my hair. Then he gave a short -command, and, so quickly, I had hardly screamed, he -threw me across his horse and leaped up behind. In -another instant he was carrying me in a wild gallop -across the plains. His band rode close behind, each -Kurd holding a girl across his horse. I struggled -with all my strength to get free. I wanted to throw -myself under the horse’s hoofs and be trampled to -death. But the bey held me across his horse’s shoulder -with a grip of iron, as he galloped to the west, -skirting the banks of the river.</p> - -<p>I screamed for my mother. The other girls’ -screams joined with mine. Behind us I could hear -the shouts and cries of our party. I thought I heard -my mother’s voice among them. Then the shouts -died away in the distance. Soon I lost consciousness.</p> - -<p>When I came to I was lying on the ground, with -the other girls who had been stolen. The Kurds had -dismounted. Some were busy making camp, while -others were in groups amusing themselves with such -of the girls as were not exhausted. Musa Bey was -absent.</p> - -<p>My clothes were torn and my body ached from -the jolting of the horse. My shoes and stockings -were off when the Kurds came down upon us, so my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -feet were bare. For a long time I lay quietly, fearing -to move lest I attract attention and suffer as -some of the girls already were suffering. When I -could look around I saw that among the girls were -several whom I had known, and some I recognized as -young married women. Some I knew were mothers -who had left babies behind.</p> - -<p>On the ground near me was quite a little girl, -Maritza, whose mother had been killed by the zaptiehs -just after we left Tchemesh-Gedzak. She had carried -a baby brother in her arms during all the long -walk of the first day on the road. She was weeping -silently. I crawled over to her.</p> - -<p>“When they picked me up I was holding little -Marcar,” she sobbed. “The Kurds tore him out of -my arms and threw him out on the ground. It killed -him. I can’t see anything else but his little body -when it fell.”</p> - -<p>It was several hours before Musa Bey came back. -A party of Turks on horseback rode up with him. -They came from the West where there were many -little villages along the river banks, some of them the -homes of rich Moslems.</p> - -<p>When they dismounted, Musa Bey began to exhibit -the girls he had stolen to the Turks. Some of the -Turks, I could tell, were wealthy farmers. Others -seemed to be rich beys or aghas (influential citizens). -Musa Bey made us all stand up. Those who didn’t<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -obey him quick enough he struck with his whip. -When I got up off the ground he caught me by the -shoulder and threw me down again. “You lie still,” -he said. I saw that he did the same thing to two -or three other girls.</p> - -<p>The Turks brutally examined the girls Musa Bey -showed them, and began to pick them out. Those -who were farmers chose the older ones, who seemed -stronger than the rest. The others wanted the prettiest -of the girls, and argued among themselves over -a choice.</p> - -<p>The farmers wanted the girls to work as slaves in -the field. The others wanted girls for a different -purpose—for their harems or as household slaves, -or for the concubine markets of Smyrna and Constantinople. -Musa Bey demanded ten medjidiehs, or -about eight dollars, American money, apiece. I -thought, as I lay trembling on the ground, what a -little bit of money that was for a Christian soul.</p> - -<p>Little Maritza, who stood close to me, was taken by -a Turk who seemed to be very old. Another man -wanted her, but the old one offered Musa Bey four -medjidiehs more, and the other turned away to pick -out another girl. The Turk who bought Maritza -was afraid to take her away on his horse, so he bargained -with Musa Bey until he had promised two -extra medjidiehs if a Kurd would carry her to his -house. Musa Bey gave an order and a Kurd climbed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -onto his horse, lifted Maritza in front of him and -rode away by the side of the man who had bought -her. She did not cry any more, but just held her -hands in front of her eyes.</p> - -<p>After a while all the girls were gone but me and -the few others whom Musa Bey had not offered for -sale. The ones who were bought by the farmers -were destined to work in the fields, and they were -the most fortunate, for sometimes the Turkish farmer -is kind and gentle. Those who were bought for the -harem faced the untold heartache of the girl to whom -some things are worse than death.</p> - -<p>When the last of the Turks had gone with their -human property, Musa Bey spoke to his followers -and some of them came toward us. We thought we -had been reserved for Musa Bey himself, and we -began to scream and plead. They picked us up -despite our cries and mounted horses with us. Musa -Bey leaped onto his horse and we were again carried -away, with Musa Bey leading.</p> - -<p>I begged the Kurd who carried me to tell me where -we were going. He would not answer. We had ridden -for two hours, until late in the afternoon, when -we came to the outskirts of a village. We rode into -the yard of a large stone house surrounded by a -crumbling stone wall. It was a very ancient house, -and before we had stopped in the courtyard I recognized -it from a description in our school books, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -a castle which had been built by the Saracens, and -restored a hundred years ago by a rich Turk, who -was a favorite of the Sultan who then reigned.</p> - -<p>I remembered, as the Kurds lifted us down from -their horses, that the castle was now the home of -Kemal Effendi, a member of the Committee of Union -and Progress, the powerful organization of the Young -Turks. He was reputed throughout our district as -being very bitter toward Christians, and there were -many stories told in our country of Christian girls -who had been stolen from their homes and taken to -him, never to be heard from again.</p> - -<p>Only a part of the castle had been repaired so it -might be lived in, and it was toward this part of the -building the Kurds took us when they had dismounted. -I tried to plead with the Kurd who had -me, but he shook me roughly. We were led into a -small room. There were servants, both men and -women, in this room, and they began to talk about -us and examine us. Musa Bey drove them to tell -their master he had arrived.</p> - -<p>In a little while Kemal Effendi entered. He was -very tall and middle aged. His eyes made me tremble -when they looked at me. I could only shudder as I -remembered the things that were said of him.</p> - -<p>When Kemal Effendi had looked at all of us for -minutes that seemed torturing hours he seemed satisfied. -He spoke to Musa Bey and the Kurds went out,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -followed by him. I do not know how much Musa Bey -was paid for us.</p> - -<p>Women came into the room and tried to be kind -to us. One of them put her arms around me and -asked me to not weep. She told me I was very fortunate -in falling into such good hands as Kemal -Effendi. “He will be gentle to you. You must -obey him and be affectionate and he will treat you as -he does his wife. He will not be cruel unless you are -disobedient,” the woman said. I do not know what -was her position in the house, but I think she was a -servant who had been a concubine when she was -younger.</p> - -<p>Until then I had tried to keep myself from thinking -that I had lost my mother and sisters and -brothers. What the woman told us was to happen to -us in the house of Kemal took away my hopes of -ever seeing them again. I told her I would kill myself -if I could not go back to my relatives.</p> - -<p>It was late in the evening before Kemal Effendi -summoned us. He had eaten and seemed to be gracious. -One of the girls, who had been a bride, threw -herself on the floor before him, weeping and begging -him to set us free. Kemal Effendi lost his good -humor at once. He called a man servant and told -him to take the girl away. “Shut her up till she -learns when to weep and when to laugh,” he ordered. -The man carried the girl out screaming.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p> - -<p>Kemal then asked us about our families, how old -we were, and if we would renounce our religion and -say the Mohammedan oath. One girl, whose name I -do not know, but whom I had often seen in our Sunday -school at Tchemesh-Gedzak was not brave enough -to refuse. The Kurds had treated her cruelly, and the -one who had carried her away had beaten her when -she cried. She moaned, “Yes, yes, God has deserted -me. I will be true to Mohammed. Please don’t beat -me any more.”</p> - -<p>When she had said this Kemal smiled and put his -hand on her head. “You are wise. You will not be -punished if you continue so.”</p> - -<p>The second girl would not forsake Christ. “You -may kill me if you wish,” she said, “and then -I will go to Jesus Christ.” As soon as she had said -this a man servant dragged her out of the room. I -looked at Kemal Effendi, but he was still smiling, -as soft and smoothly as if he could not be otherwise -than very gentle. I could see that he was more cruel -even than people had said of him.</p> - -<p>When Kemal Effendi spoke to me his voice was -very soft. I can still remember it made me feel as if -some wild animal’s tongue was caressing my face.</p> - -<p>“And you, my girl,” he said, “are you to be wise -or foolish?”</p> - -<p>“God save me,” I whispered to myself again, and -then something seemed to whisper back. I heard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -myself saying, without thinking of the words, “I will -try to be as you wish.”</p> - -<p>“That is very good. You will be happy,” Kemal -replied. “You will acknowledge Allah as God and -Mohammed as his prophet? Then I will be kind to -you.”</p> - -<p>“I will do that, Effendi, and I will be obedient, if -you will save my family also,” I said.</p> - -<p>“And if I do not?” Kemal asked.</p> - -<p>“Then I will die,” I replied.</p> - -<p>The Effendi looked at me a long time. Then he -asked me to tell him of my family. I told him of my -mother, my sister, Lusanne, and of my other sisters -and brothers. He made me stand close to him. He -put his hands on me. I stood very straight and -looked into his face. I promised that if he would -take my mother and sisters and brothers also I would -not only renounce my religion, but obey him in all -things. And for each thing I promised I whispered -to myself, “Please, God, forgive me.” But I could -think of no other way. I was afraid that even now, -perhaps, my mother, brothers and sisters were being -murdered. It seemed as if my body and soul were -such little things to give for them.</p> - -<p>Kemal kept me with him more than an hour, I -think. Each time he tried to touch me I shrank -away from him. It amused him, for he would laugh -and clap his hands, as if very pleased. “I will die<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -first,” I said each time, “unless you save my -family.”</p> - -<p>I had begun to lose hope; to think Kemal was but -playing with me. I could hardly keep my tears back, -yet I did not want to weep for I knew he would be -displeased. Then, suddenly, he appeared to have -made up his mind. He arose and looked down at me.</p> - -<p>“Very well. The bargain is made. I will protect -your relatives. I prefer a willing woman to a sulky -one. We will go to-morrow and bring them.”</p> - -<p>I would have been happy, even in my sacrifice, had -it not been that Kemal Effendi smiled as he said this—that -cruel, wicked smile. I would have believed -in him if he had not smiled. But I felt as plain as -if it were spoken to me that behind that smile was -some wicked thought.</p> - -<p>I begged him to go with me then to bring my people -before it was too late. He said it would not be too -late in the morning; that he would go with me after -sunrise; that I need have no further fears. When -he left the room the woman who had spoken to me -earlier came in to me. She took me into the haremlik, -or women’s quarters, where there were many other -women.</p> - -<p>I think the harem women would have been sorry -for me had they dared. They tried to cheer me. -They asked much about our religion, and why Armenians -would die rather than adopt the religion of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -the Turks. I could not talk to them, because I could -think only of the morning—whether I would be in -time—and wonder what could be behind that smile -of the Effendi’s.</p> - -<p>They put me in a small room, hardly as large as -an American closet. They told me an Imam would -come the next day to take my oath.</p> - -<p>They did not know the Effendi had promised to -save my relatives and bring them to the house.</p> - -<p>I had not been alone in my room very long when -a pretty odalik, a young slave girl, slipped silently -through the curtained door and took my hand in hers. -She was a Syrian, she told me, whose father had -sold her when she was very young. She had been -sent from Smyrna to the house of Kemal. She was -the favorite slave of the Effendi. She wanted to tell -me that if I needed some one to confide in when her -master had made me his slave, too, I could trust her. -She said she was supposed to have become Mohammedan, -but that secretly she was still Christian. She -did not know many prayers she explained, for she -was so young when her father had been compelled -to sell her. She wanted me to teach her new ones.</p> - -<p>It was so comforting to have some one to whom I -could talk through the long hours of waiting until -sunrise. I told the little odalik I had promised to -be a Moslem only to save my mother and sisters and -brothers. I told her what Kemal had promised,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -how he had smiled and how I feared something I could -not explain.</p> - -<p>“When he smiles he does not mean what he says,” -the girl said, sadly. “Often when he is displeased -with me he smiles and pets me. Soon afterwards I am -whipped. When the Kurd, Musa Bey, who brought -you, came to tell the Effendi he had stolen some girls -and wished to sell the prettiest to him, the Effendi -smiled and said, ‘Be good to the best appearing -ones, and bring them here.’ I would not trust him -to keep his promise.”</p> - -<p>Early in the morning the Effendi sent for me and -asked me to describe my relatives. I told him it -would be impossible for him to find them in so large -a party. He agreed I should go with him and we -set out, he riding his horse while I walked beside him. -I tried to convince him I was contented with the bargain -we had made—even that I was glad of the opportunity -to have his protection. Yet I knew that -behind his smile was his resolve to have my family -killed as soon as he had brought about my “conversion” -and had obtained the willing sacrifice he -desired.</p> - -<p>Kemal knew the party in which my family was -would be taken across the river at the fording place -to the north. We went in that direction, but they -had not yet arrived and we turned back to meet them.</p> - -<p>When we came close to the river bank, which was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -high and cliff-like, I looked down at the water and -saw it was running red with blood, with here and -there a body floating on the surface. I screamed -when I saw this, and sank to the ground. I shut -my eyes, yet I seemed to see what had happened—a -company of Armenians taken to the river bank and -massacred, cut with knives and sabres before they -were thrown into the river, else they would not have -stained the river for many miles.</p> - -<p>The Effendi reproached me.</p> - -<p>“Christians are learning their God cannot save -their blood. It is what they deserve. Why should -you weep now, my little one, when already you have -decided to give your faith to Islam?” I could not -look at him, but somehow I could feel that in his eyes -there would be the gleam of that terrible smile.</p> - -<p>I gathered strength and replied firmly: “I am not -used to blood, Effendi.”</p> - -<p>We went on, close by the river, looking for the -vanguard of my people who would come from the -south. The river banks reached higher, and the river -narrowed until it was almost a solid red with the -blood. Afterwards I learned seven hundred men and -boys from Erzindjan had been convoyed to the river -and killed by zaptiehs. The zaptiehs stabbed them -one by one and then threw them into the river. And -this river was a part of the Euphrates of the Bible, -with its source in the Garden of Eden!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p> - -<p>Kemal rode close to the high banks. I walked at -his side. Below me the river seemed to call me to -security. If I went on I knew Kemal would only -feed false hopes by promising protection to my relatives -he would soon tire of giving. And I would -have to make the sacrifice he demanded in vain. I -waited until we were at the very edge of the cliff. -Then I jumped. I heard the curse of Kemal Effendi -as I struck the red water. When I came to the -surface I saw him sitting on his horse at the top of -the cliff, looking down at me. I was glad I could -not tell if he were smiling.</p> - -<p>I had learned to swim when I was very young. -Unconsciously I struck out for the opposite shore -and reached it safely. The banks were not so high -on that side. Soon I was free. It must have been -that Kemal did not have a revolver or he would have -shot me. I did not look back, but ran onto the plain. -I did not know if Kemal would send searchers for -me, so I hid in the sand, covering myself so Kurds -or zaptiehs could not see me if they rode near, until -I saw the long line of my people from Tchemesh-Gedzak -approaching on the other side of the river.</p> - -<p>I remained through the rest of the day and night, -while the refugees camped at the fording place. -When they crossed the river the next morning I managed -to get in among them during the confusion. My -mother was so happy she could not speak for a long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -time. Kemal Effendi had ridden up to them, she -told me, and had demanded that the leader of the -zaptiehs find my relatives and punish them for my -escape. Mother bribed the soldiers and they told -Kemal my relatives were not among the party.</p> - -<p>The party was given no opportunity to rest after -the laborious fording of the river, but was made to -push on toward Arabkir. Little Hovnan and Mardiros, -and Aruciag and Sarah, already were almost -exhausted. Their little feet were torn and bleeding, -and mother and Lusanne kept them wrapped in cloths. -There were no more babies in the party, for just before -they forded the river the zaptiehs made the -mothers of the youngest babies leave them behind. -The mothers nursed them while they were waiting to -be taken over the river and then laid them in little -rows on the river bank and left them.</p> - -<p>The soldiers said Mohammedan women would come -out from a nearby village to take the babies and care -for them, but none came while we still could see the -spot where they were left, and that was for several -hours. Several of the mothers, when they realized -the promise of the soldiers was just a ruse, jumped -into the river to swim back. The soldiers shot them -in the water. After that we were not allowed to go -near the river, even to drink.</p> - -<p>Late that day we came to a khan, or travelers’ rest -house, such as are found along all the roads in Asia<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -Minor, maintained after an ancient custom of the -Turks as stopping places for caravans. We were -told we could rest there for the remainder of the day -and night, but when we drew near the khan a party -of soldiers came out and halted us. We could not -go to the building, our guards were told, as it was -occupied by travelers being taken north to Shabin -Kara-Hissar, a large city in the district of Trebizond -near the Black Sea.</p> - -<p>Soon we learned who these travelers were. They -were a company of “turned” Armenians, as the -Turks call Christians who have given up their religion. -The company was from Keban-Maden, a -city thirty miles south. The company arrived at the -khan that morning, having traveled twenty miles the -day before.</p> - -<p>The zaptiehs who guarded our party and the soldiers -who had come from Keban-Maden with the -others, soon became friends and talked earnestly with -each other. They had forbidden us to go near the -khan, and we wondered why the “turned” Christians -were not to be seen. Presently a slim young girl -crept out of the house and, unseen by the soldiers, -crawled along the ground until she came to the outskirts -of our camp. She was naked and her feet -were cut and bruised.</p> - -<p>She was a bride, she said, who had “turned” with -her young husband. The Mutassarif of Keban-Maden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -had promised all the Armenians in his city -that their lives would be saved if they accepted Islam, -the child-bride said, and more than four hundred of -them, mostly the younger married people, agreed.</p> - -<p>Then they were told, she said, they would have to -go to Shabin Kara-Hissar. As soon as they were -outside the city the soldiers robbed them of everything -worth taking. Then most of the soldiers returned -to Keban-Maden so as not to miss the looting -there of the Armenian houses. The soldiers that -remained tied the men in groups of five and made -them march bound in this way. During their first -night on the road, the bride said, the soldiers stripped -all the women of their clothing and made them march -after that naked.</p> - -<p>Terrible things happened during that night, the -girl said. Nearly all the women were outraged, and -when husbands who were still tied together, and were -helpless to interfere while they looked on, cried out -about it, the soldiers killed them. The little bride -had come over to us to ask if some of us would not -give her a piece of clothing to cover her body. Many -of our women offered her underskirts and other garments, -and she crawled back to the khan with as many -as she could carry, for herself and other women.</p> - -<p>They did not know what was going to happen to -them. They did not believe the soldiers who said -they would be permitted to live at Shabin Kara-Hissar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -in peace. Their guards already were grumbling, -she said, at having to take such a long march -with them just because they had “turned.”</p> - -<p>That night a dozen or more of our youngest girls, -from eight to ten years old, were stolen by the soldiers -and taken to the khan. We didn’t know what -became of them, but we feared they were taken to be -sold to Mohammedan families, or to rich Turks. -Mother slept that night, she was so worn out, but -Lusanne and I took turns keeping guard over our -sisters and brothers, keeping them covered with dirt -and bits of clothing, so the soldiers as they prowled -among us, would not see them.</p> - -<p>Before daylight the Armenians in the khan were -taken away. We had not been upon the road next -day but a few hours when we came upon a long row -of bodies along the roadside, we recognized them as -the men of the party of “turned” Armenians. A -little farther on we came to a well, but we found -it choked with the naked corpses of the rest of the -party—the women. The zaptiehs had killed all the -party, and to prevent Armenians deported along that -road later, from using the water, had thrown the -bodies of the women into it.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE WAYS OF THE ZAPTIEHS</span></h3> - -<p>While we stood, in groups, looking with horror -into the well, I suddenly heard these words, spoken by -a woman standing near me:</p> - -<p>“God has gone mad; we are deserted!”</p> - -<p>I turned and saw it was the wife of Badvelli Markar, -a pastor who had been our neighbor in Tchemesh-Gedzak. -When the men of our city were massacred -the Badvelli’s wife was left to care for an aged -mother, who was then ill in bed with typhoid fever, -and three children—a baby, a little girl of three, -and a boy who was five. She had begged the Turks -to let her remain in her home to care for her mother, -but they refused. They made the aged woman leave -her bed and take to the road with the rest of us. She -died the first day.</p> - -<p>During the first days we were on the road the Badvelli’s -wife was very courageous. Then her little boy -died. The guards had compelled her to leave her -baby at the river crossing and now her little girl, the -last of her children, was ill in her arms. When we -passed the bodies of the Armenians from the khan,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -laid along the road, the Badvelli’s wife suddenly lost -her mind.</p> - -<p>“God has gone mad, I tell you—mad—mad—mad!”</p> - -<p>This time she shrieked it aloud and ran in among -the others in our company, crying the terrible thing -as she went. A woman tried to stop her, to take the -little girl out of her arms, but she fought fiercely -and held on to the child.</p> - -<p>I have heard how sometimes a sickness like the -plague will spread from one person to another with -fatal quickness. That was how the madness of the -Badvelli’s wife spread through our party. It seemed -hardly more than a minute before the awful cry was -taken up by scores, even hundreds, of women whose -minds already were shaken by their inability to understand -why they should be made to suffer the things -they had to endure at the hands of the Turks.</p> - -<p>It was the mothers of young children, mostly, who -gave in to the madness. Some of these threw their -children on the ground and ran, screaming, out of -the line and into the desert. Others ran wild with -their children hanging to their arms. Their relatives -tried to subdue them, but were powerless.</p> - -<p>I think there were more than 200 women whose -minds gave way under this sudden impulse, stirred by -the crazed widow of the pastor.</p> - -<p>The zaptiehs who were in charge of us could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -understand at first. They thought there was a revolt. -They charged in among us, swinging their -swords and guns right and left, even shooting point -blank. Many were killed or wounded hopelessly before -the zaptiehs understood. Then the guards were -greatly amused, and laughed. “See,” they said; -“that is what your God is—He is crazy.” We -could only bow our heads and submit to the taunt. -Some of the women recovered their senses and were -very sorry. Those who remained crazed the zaptiehs -turned onto the plains to starve to death. They -would not kill an insane person, as it is against their -religion.</p> - -<p>We had been told we were to go to Arabkir, but -soon after leaving the khan we changed our direction. -It was apparent we were headed in the direction -of Hassan-Chelebi, a small city south of Arabkir. -None of our guards would give us any definite -information.</p> - -<p>The zaptiehs made us march in a narrow line, but -one or two families abreast. The line of weary -stragglers stretched out as far as I could see, both -ahead and behind. We had but little water, as the -zaptiehs would not allow us to go near springs or -streams, but compelled us to purchase water from -the farmer Kurds who came out from villages along -the way. The villagers demanded sometimes a lira -(nearly $5.) a cup for water, and always the boys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -we sent out to buy it were sure to receive a beating -as well as the water. We who had money with us -had to share with those who had none. Sometimes -the villagers would sell the water, collect the money, -and then tip over the cups.</p> - -<p>After we were on the road a week we were treated -even more cruelly than during the first few days. -The old women, and those who were too ill to keep -on, were killed, one by one. The soldiers said they -could not bother with them. When children lagged -behind, or got out of the line to rest, the zaptiehs -would lift them on their bayonets and toss them -away—sometimes trying to catch them again as they -fell, on their bayonet points. Mothers who saw their -young ones killed in this way for the sport of our -guards could not protest. We had learned that any -sort of a protest was suicide. They had to watch -and wring their hands, or hold their eyes shut while -the children died.</p> - -<p>Our family had been especially fortunate because -none of our little ones became ill. Although Hovnan -was only six years old, he seemed to realize what was -going on. My youngest aunt, Hagenoush, who was -with us, was carried off from the road by a zaptieh, -who beat her terribly when she tried to resist him. -When he had outraged her he buried his knife in her -breast and drove her back to us screaming with the -fright and pain. I think I was never so discouraged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -as when we had treated Hagenoush and eased her pain.</p> - -<p>News of the massacres and deportations had not -yet reached all the villages we passed, as the road -was little traveled. We came upon one settlement -of Armenians where the women were at their wash -tubs, in the public washing place, only partly clothed, -as is the way in country villages in Turkey. Our -guards surrounded the women at once and drove -them, just as they were, into our party. Then they -gathered the men, who did not know why they were -molested until we told them. We rested on the road -while the soldiers looted all the houses in that village. -Then they set fire to it.</p> - -<p>We were now in a country where there were many -Turkish villages, as well as settlements of Kurds. -We camped at night in a great circle, with the -younger girls distributed for protection inside the -circle as widely as possible. Each day young women -were carried away to be sold to Turks who lived -near by, and at night the zaptiehs selected the most -attractive women and outraged them.</p> - -<p>The night after the Armenian village had been -surprised we had hardly more than made our camp -when the captain of the soldiers ordered the men who -had been taken from the village during the day to -come before him, in a tent which had been pitched -a little way off. The captain wanted their names, -the soldiers explained. We had hoped these men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -would remain with us. There were seventy-two of -them, and we felt much safer and encouraged with -them among us. But we knew what the summons -meant. The men knew, too, and so did their womenfolk.</p> - -<p>Each man said good-by to his wife, or daughters, -or mother, and other relatives who had been gathered -in at the village. The captain’s tent was just -a white speck in the moonlight. Around it we made -out the figures of soldiers and zaptiehs. The women -clung to the men as long as they dared, then the -men marched out in a little company. Our guards -would not allow us to follow. We watched, hoping -against hope.</p> - -<p>Soon we saw a commotion. Screams echoed across -to us. Figures ran out into the desert, with other -figures in pursuit. Only the pursuers would return. -Then it was quiet. The men were all dead.</p> - -<p>That was the first time the officers had raised a -tent. We wondered at their doing this, as usually -they slept in the open after their nightly orgies with -our girls. After that we shuddered more than ever -whenever we saw the soldiers put up a tent for the -night.</p> - -<p>After the massacre of the men, the soldiers who -had participated came into the camp and, with those -which had remained guarding us, went among us -selecting women whose husbands had belonged to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -more prosperous class and ordering them to go to -the tent. The captain wished to question them, the -soldiers said. They summoned my mother and many -women who had been our neighbors or friends, until -more than two hundred women whose husbands had -been rich or well-to-do were gathered. With my -mother my Aunt Mariam, whose husband had been a -banker, was taken.</p> - -<p>As soon as the women had arrived at the tent the -captain told them they were summoned to give up the -money they had brought with them, “for safe keeping -from the Kurds,” he said. The women knew -their money would never be returned to them and -that they would suffer terribly without it. They refused -to surrender it, saying they had none. Then -the zaptiehs fell upon them. They searched them all, -first tearing off all their clothes.</p> - -<p>One woman, who was the sister of the rich man, -Garabed Tufenkjian, of Sivas, and who had been -visiting in our city when the deportations began, was -so mercilessly beaten she confessed at last that she had -concealed some money in her person. She begged -the soldiers to cease beating her that she might give it -them. The soldiers shouted aloud with glee at this -confession and recovered the money themselves, cutting -her cruelly with their knives to make sure they -had missed none.</p> - -<p>The soldiers then searched each woman in this way.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -My Aunt Mariam was to become a mother. When -the soldiers saw this they threw her to the ground -and ripped her open with their bayonets, thinking, -in their ignorant way, she had hidden a great amount -of money. They were so disappointed they fell upon -the other women with renewed energy.</p> - -<p>Of the two hundred or more who were subjected -to this treatment, only a little group survived. When -they crawled back into the camp and into the arms -of their relatives they had screamed so much they -could not talk—they had lost their voices. My poor -mother had given up all the money she had about -her, but had not admitted that others of her family -had more. She was bleeding from many cuts and -bruises when she reached us, and fainted as soon as -she saw Lusanne and me running to her. We carried -her into the camp and used the last of our drinking -water, which we had treasured from the day before, -to bathe her wounds.</p> - -<p>When the soldiers and zaptiehs had divided the -money which they had taken, they came in among us -again to pick out young women to take to the officers’ -tent. The moonlight was so bright none of -us could conceal ourselves. Lusanne was sitting with -the children, comforting them, while I had taken my -turn at attending mother’s wounds. A zaptieh caught -her by the hair and pulled her to her feet.</p> - -<p>“Spare me, my mother is dying—spare me!”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -Lusanne cried, but the zaptieh was merciless. He -dragged her along. I could not hold myself. I ran -to Lusanne and caught hold of her, pleading with the -zaptieh to release her. Lusanne resisted, too, and the -zaptieh became enraged. With an oath he drew his -knife and buried it in Lusanne’s breast. The blade, -as it fell, passed so close to me it cut the skin on my -cheek, leaving the scar which I still have. Lusanne -died in my arms. The zaptieh turned his attention -to another girl he had noticed.</p> - -<p>Mother had not seen—she was still too exhausted -from her own sufferings. Aruciag and Hovnan, my -little brother and sister, saw it all, however, and had -run to where I stood dazed, with Lusanne’s limp -body in my arms. I laid her on the ground and wondered -how I could tell mother.</p> - -<p>A woman who had been standing near took my -place at mother’s side. I led the little ones away and -asked another woman to keep them with her, then I -returned to my sister’s body. I could not make myself -believe it. I counted on my fingers—father, -mother, Paul, Lusanne, Aruciag, Sarah, Mardiros, -Hovnan and my two aunts. With me that made -eleven of us—eleven in our family. Then I counted -father, Paul, Aunt Mariam, and now Lusanne—four -already gone!</p> - -<p>I cried over Lusanne a long time. Then I realized -I must do something. I was afraid a sudden shock<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -might kill mother, so I must have time, I knew, to -prepare her. With the help of some other women I -carried Lusanne to the side of the camp and with -our hands we dug her grave—just a shallow hole in -the sand. I made a little cross from bits of wood we -found after a long search, and laid it in her hands.</p> - -<p>When morning came mother had gathered her -strength, with a tremendous effort, and was able to -stand and walk. Some strong young women, offered -to help carry her, even all day if necessary, if she -could not walk. Mother insisted upon walking some -of the time, though, leaning upon my shoulder.</p> - -<p>She asked for Lusanne as soon as we began preparation -to take up the day’s march. I tried to make -her believe Lusanne was further back in the company—“helping -a sick lady,” I said. But mother -read my eyes—she knew I was trying to deceive her.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be afraid, little Aurora,” she said to me, -oh, so very gently; “don’t be afraid to tell me whatever -it is—have they stolen her?”</p> - -<p>“They tried to take her,” I said, “but—”</p> - -<p>I stopped. Mother helped me again. “Did she -die? Did they kill her? If they did it was far better, -my Aurora.”</p> - -<p>Then I could tell her. “They killed her—very -quickly—her last words were that God was good to -set her free.”</p> - -<p>We saw the zaptieh who killed Lusanne, during the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -day, and little Aruciag recognized him. “There is -the man who killed my sister,” she cried. Mother -put her hands over her eyes and would not look at -him.</p> - -<p>We all were in great fear of what might happen -to us at Hassan-Chelebi. Some of the young women -who had been taken during the night to the tent of -the officers reported that the officers had told them -during the orgie that some great beys were coming -from Sivas to meet us at Hassan-Chelebi, and that -something was to be done about us there. We were -afraid that meant that all our girls were to be stolen.</p> - -<p>When the city loomed up before us our young -women began to tremble with dread, and many of -them fell down, unable to walk, so great was their -anguish. The soldiers whipped them up, though, and -we were guided into the center of the town. Hundreds -of our women were wholly nude, especially -those who had been stripped and beaten when the -soldiers robbed them. The zaptiehs would not allow -them to cover themselves, seeming to take an especial -delight in watching that those who were without -clothes did not obtain garments from others. These -poor women were compelled to walk through the -streets of Hassan-Chelebi with their heads bowed with -shame, while the Turkish residents jeered at them -from windows and the roadside.</p> - -<p>At the square the Turkish officials from Sivas came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -out to look at us. Among them were Muamer Pasha, -the cruel governor of Sivas; Mahir Effendi, his aide -de camp; Tcherkess Kior Kassim, his chief hangman, -who, we afterward learned, had superintended the -massacre of 6,000 Armenian Christians at Tchamli-Bel -gorge, near Sivas; a captain of zaptiehs and a -Hakim, or judge. Two of these officials were noted -throughout Armenia—Muamer Pasha and his hangman, -for their characteristic cruelties toward Christians.</p> - -<p>After the officials had walked among us, closely -surrounded by soldiers so that none could approach -them, the Mudir, or under-mayor of the city, came -with the police to get all boys over eight years of -age. The police said the mayor had provided a school -for them in a monastery, where they would be kept -until their mothers had been permanently located -somewhere and could send for them. Of course, we -knew this was a false reason.</p> - -<p>I greatly feared for Mardiros, but he was so small -they did not take him. There must have been 500 -boys with us who were between eight and fifteen, and -these all were gathered.</p> - -<p>The little fellows were taken to the mayor’s palace. -Then soldiers marched them away, all the little ones -crying and screaming. We heard the cries a long -time. When we arrived at Arabkir we were told by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -other refugees there that all the boys were killed as -soon as they had crossed the hills into the valley just -outside Hassan-Chelebi. The soldiers tied them in -groups of ten and fifteen and then slew them with -swords and bayonets. Refugees passing that way -from Sivas saw their bodies on the road.</p> - -<p>Before we left Hassan-Chelebi, Tcherkess Kior -Kassim, the hangman, came among us, with a company -of zaptiehs and picked out twelve very young -girls—most of them between eight and twelve years -old. The hangman was going soon to Constantinople, -the soldiers said, and wanted young girls to sell to -rich Turks of powerful families, among whom it is -the custom to buy pretty girls of this age, whenever -possible, and keep them in their harems until they -mature. They are raised as Mohammedans and are -later given to sons of their owners, or to powerful -friends.</p> - -<p>Just outside Hassan-Chelebi, which we left in the -afternoon, we were joined by a party of 3,000 refugees -from Sivas. They, too, were on their way to Arabkir, -and had encamped outside the city to wait for us. -Among them was a company of twenty Sisters of -Grace. These dear Sisters, several of whom were -Europeans, had been summoned at midnight from -their beds by the Kaimakam, or under-governor. -When the Turkish soldiers went for them they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -disrobed, sleeping. The soldiers would not permit -them to dress, but took them as they were, barefooted -and in their nightgowns.</p> - -<p>They had managed, during the long days out of -Sivas, to borrow other garments, but none had shoes -and their feet were torn and bleeding. They were -very delicate and gentle, and all had received their -education in American or European schools. They -had demanded exemption from the deportation under -certain concessions made their convent by the Sultan, -but the soldiers ignored their pleas.</p> - -<p>Instead of arousing some slight respect upon the -part of their guards because of their holy station, -these Sisters had been subjected to the worst possible -treatment. They told us that every night after their -party left Sivas the soldiers and zaptiehs took them -away from the party and violated them. They begged -for death, but even this was refused them. Two of -them, Sister Sarah and Sister Esther, who had come -from America, had killed themselves. They had only -their hands—no other weapons, and the torture and -agonies they endured while taking their own lives -were terrible.</p> - -<p>The refugees from Sivas included the men. There -were more than 25,000 Armenians in that city, and all -were notified they were to be taken away. The party -which joined ours was the first to be sent out. They -had passed many groups of corpses along the road,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -they reported, the reminder of deportations from other -cities.</p> - -<p>When we arrived at Arabkir we were ordered to -encamp at the edge of the city. Parties of exiles -from many villages between Arabkir and Sivas already -were there. Some of them still had their men -and boys with them, others told us how their men had -been killed along the route.</p> - -<p>The Armenians of Arabkir itself were awaiting -deportation, herded in a party of 8,000 or more, near -where we halted. They had been waiting five days, -and did not know what had happened to their homes -in the city.</p> - -<p>A special official came from Sivas to take charge -of the deportations at Arabkir. With him came a -company of zaptiehs. Halil Bey, a great military -leader, with his staff, also was there, on his way to -Constantinople where he was to take command of an -army.</p> - -<p>In the center of the city there was a large house -which had been used by the prosperous Armenian -shops. On the upper floors were large rooms which -had been gathering places. Already this house had -come to be known as the Kasab-Khana—the “butcher-house”—for -here the leading men of the city had -been assembled and slain.</p> - -<p>Shortly after the special official’s arrival soldiers -summoned all the men still with the Sivas exiles,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -to a meeting with him on the Kasab-Khana. -The men feared to go, but were told there would be -no more cruelties now that high authority was represented. -The men went, two thousand of them, and -were killed as soon as they reached the Kasab-Khana. -Soldiers were in hiding on the lower floors and as -the men gathered in the upper rooms the doors were -closed and the soldiers went about the slaughter. -Men leaped out of the windows as fast as they could, -but soldiers caught them on their bayonets.</p> - -<p>The bodies were thrown out of the house later in -the day. The next morning they were still piled in -the streets when the official called for the girls -who had been attending the Christian colleges and -schools at Sivas, and the Mission at Kotcheseur, an -Armenian town near Sivas. There were two hundred -of these girls, all of them members of the better -families, and all between fifteen and twenty years old. -The soldiers said the official had arranged for them -to be sent under the care of missionaries to a school -near the coast, where they would be protected.</p> - -<p>The girls were summoned to the Kasab-Khana. It -was then we learned, for the first time, what had happened -to the men the day before. They stood in line -but a few yards from the great piles of the bodies -still lying in the street.</p> - -<p>The official received them in a room on the upper -floor of the house, which still bore the stains of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -blood on the walls and floors. He asked them to -renounce Christ and accept Allah. Only a few agreed—these -were taken away, where, I do not know. -The rest were left in the room by the official and -his staff. As soon as the officers had left the building -the soldiers poured into the room, sharing the girls -among them. All day and night soldiers went into -and came out of the house. Nearly all the girls died. -Those who were alive when the soldiers were weary -were sent away under an escort of zaptiehs.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<span class="smaller">RECRUITING FOR THE HAREMS OF CONSTANTINOPLE</span></h3> - -<p>The exiles from my city were kept in a camp outside -Arabkir. On the third day the hills around us -suddenly grew white with the figures of Aghja Daghi -Kurds. They waited until nightfall then they rode -down among us. There were hundreds of them, and -when they were weary of searching the women for -money, they began to gather up girls and young -women.</p> - -<p>I tried to conceal myself when a little party of the -Kurds came near. But I was too late. They took -me away, with a dozen other girls and young wives -this band had caught. They carried us on their horses -across the valley, over the hills and into the desert -beyond. There they stripped us of what clothes still -were on our bodies. With their long sticks they subdued -the girls who were screaming, or who resisted -them—beat them until their flesh was purple with -flowing blood. My own heart was too full—thinking -of my poor, wounded mother. I could not cry. -I was not even strong enough to fight them when they -began to take the awful toll which the Turks and -Kurds take from their women captives.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p> - -<p>When the Kurds were tired of mistreating us they -hobbled us, still naked, to their horses. Each girl, -with her hands tied behind her back, was tied by the -feet to the end of a rope fastened around a horse’s -neck. Thus they left us—neither we nor the horses -could escape.</p> - -<p>I have often wondered since I came to America, -where life is so different from that of my country, -if any of the good people whom I meet could imagine -the sufferings of that night while I lay in the moonlight, -my hands fastened and my feet haltered to the -restless animal.</p> - -<p>There seems to be so little of tragedy in this country—so -little of real suffering. I can hardly believe -yet, though I have been free so many months now, -that there is a land where there is no punishment for -believing in God.</p> - -<p>When the dawn broke the Kurds came out to untie -their horses. It is characteristic of even the fiercest -Kurds that their captives always are fed. The Kurds -will rob and terribly mistreat their victims, especially -the women of the Christians, but they will not steal -their food. When their captives have no food they -will even share with them. The Kurd is more of a -child than the Turk, and nearly all the wickedness -of these bandits of the desert is inspired by their -Turkish masters.</p> - -<p>When we had eaten of the bread and drank the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -water they brought for us, the Kurds lifted us upon -their horses and galloped toward the north. There -were more girls than Kurds, and we were shifted -frequently that double burdens might be shared among -the horses.</p> - -<p>We did not know where we were being taken, nor -to what. After many hours of riding I was shifted -to the care of a Kurd who—either because he was -kinder or liked to talk—answered my pleading -questions. He told me a great Pasha was at Egin, -a city to the north, who had come down from Constantinople -especially to take an interest in Armenian -girls. This Pasha, the Kurd said, even paid money -to have Christian girls who were healthy and pleasing -brought before him.</p> - -<p>Egin is on the banks of the Kara Su. From Erzindjan, -Shabin Kara-Hissar and Niksar, large northern -cities, thousands of Armenians had been brought -to Egin. Here special bands of soldiers had been -stationed to superintend the massacres of these Christians. -All around the hills and plains outside the -city huge piles of corpses were still uncovered. We -passed long ditches which had been dug by convicts -released from Turkish prisons for that purpose, and -in which an attempt had been made to bury the bodies -of the Armenians. But the convicts had been in such -a hurry to get done the work for which they were to -be given their liberty, that the legs and arms of men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -and women still stuck out from the sand which had -been scraped over them.</p> - -<p>There had been many rich Armenian families in -Egin. It was the meeting place of the rich caravans -from Samsoun, Trebizond and Marsovan, bound for -Harpout and Diyarbekir. For many years the Turkish -residents and the Armenians had been good neighbors. -When the first orders for the deportation and -massacres reached Egin the rich Armenian women ran -to their Turkish friends, the wives of rich aghas and -beys, and begged them for an intercession in their -behalf. There was at that time an American missionary -at the hospital in Egin who had been an interpreter -attached to the American Embassy at Constantinople. -He procured permission from the Kaimakam -to appeal by the telegraph to the American Ambassador, -Mr. Morgenthau, for the Christian residents -of the city.</p> - -<p>In the meantime the rich Armenian women gave all -their jewels and household silver and other valuables -to the wives of the Turkish officials, and in this way -obtained promises that they would not be molested -until word had come from Constantinople. The -American Ambassador secured from Talaat Bey, the -Minister of the Interior, and Enver Pasha, the Minister -of War, permission for the Armenians of Egin -to remain undisturbed in their homes.</p> - -<p>There was great rejoicing then among the Christians<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -of Egin. A few days later the first company -of exiles from the villages to the west reached the city -on their way to the south. They had walked for three -days and had been cruelly mistreated by the zaptiehs -guarding them. Their girls had been carried off and -their young women had been the playthings of the -soldiers. They were famished also for water and -bread, and the Turks would give them none.</p> - -<p>The Armenians of Egin were heart-stricken at the -condition of these exiles, but they feared to help them. -The refugees were camped at night in the city square. -During the night the zaptiehs and soldiers made free -with the young women still among the exiles and their -screams deepened the pity of the residents. In the -morning the Armenian priest of the city could stand -it no longer—he went into the square with bread and -water and prayers. The Kaimakam had been watching -for just such an occurrence!</p> - -<p>He sent soldiers to bring the priest before him. -He also sent for twenty of the principal Armenian -business men and had them brought into the room. -As soon as the Armenians arrived his soldiers set upon -the priest and began to torture him, to pull out his -hair and twist his fingers and toes with pincers, which -is a favorite Turkish torture. The soldiers kept asking -him as they twisted their pincers:</p> - -<p>“Did you not advise them to resist? Did you not -take arms to them concealed in bread?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p> - -<p>The priest screamed denials. The twenty men had -been lined up at one side of the room. In his trickery -the Kaimakam had stationed his soldiers at a distance -from the Armenians. When the torture of the -priest continued and his screams died away into groans -the Armenians could stand it no longer. They threw -themselves upon the torturers—not to assault them, -but to beg mercy for the holy man. Then the soldiers -leaped upon them and killed them all.</p> - -<p>The Kaimakam reported to Constantinople that it -was impossible longer to obey the Ministry’s orders to -allow the Armenians in Egin to remain—that they -had revolted and attacked his soldiers and that he had -been forced to kill twenty of them. Talaat Bey sent -back the famous reply which now burns in the heart -of every Armenian in the world—no matter where he -or she is—for they all have heard of it. Talaat -Bey’s reply was:</p> - -<p>“Whatever you do with Christians is amusing.”</p> - -<p>After this reply from Talaat Bey, the Kaimakam -issued a proclamation giving the Armenians of Egin -just two hours to prepare for deportation. The -women besieged the officers and said to them: “See, -we have given our precious stones to your wives, and -we have given them many liras to give to you. Your -wives promised us protection, and we have done nothing -to abuse your confidence. Our men did not attack -your soldiers in violence.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> - -<p>But the officers would only make light of them. -“We would have gotten your jewels and your money -anyway,” they replied.</p> - -<p>In two hours they had assembled—all the Armenians -in the city. The soldiers went among them -and seized many of the young women. These they -took to a Christian monastery just outside the city, -where there were several other Armenian girls residing -as pupils.</p> - -<p>The Armenians had many donkeys and horse carriages. -The mayor had told them they might travel -with these. The soldiers tied the women in bunches -of five, wrapped them tightly with ropes, and threw -one bunch in each cart. Then they drove away the -donkeys and horses and forced the men to draw these -carts in which their womenfolk were bound. The -soldiers would not let husbands or brothers or sons -talk to their womenfolk, no matter how loudly they -cried as the carts were pulled along.</p> - -<p>An hour outside the city the soldiers killed the men. -Then they untied the women and tormented them. -After many hours they killed the women who survived.</p> - -<p>The Kaimakam sent his officers to the monastery -where the young women were imprisoned. They took -with them Turkish doctors, who examined the captives -and selected the ones who were healthy and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -strong. Of these, the Turks required all who were -maidens to stand apart from those who were not. -The brides and young wives then were told they would -be sent to Constantinople, to be sold there either as -concubines or as slaves to farmer Turks. The maidens -were told they might save their lives if they would -forswear their religion and accept Mohammed. Some -of them were so discouraged they agreed. An Imam -said the rek’ah with them, and they were sent away -into the hopeless land—to be wives or worse.</p> - -<p>One maiden, the daughter of an Armenian leader -who had been a deputy from that district to the -Turkish Parliament, was especially pretty, and one -of the officers wanted her for himself. He said to -her:</p> - -<p>“Your father, your mother, your brother and your -two sisters have been killed. Your aunts and your -uncles and your grandfather were killed. I wish to -save you from the suffering they went through, and -the unknown fate that will befall these girls who are -Mohammedan now, and the known fate which will -befall those who have been stubborn. Now, be a good -Turkish girl and you shall be my wife—I will make -you, not a concubine, but a wife, and you will live -happily.”</p> - -<p>What the girl replied was so well remembered by -the Turks who heard her that they told of it afterward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -among themselves until it was known through -all the district. She looked quietly into the face of the -Turkish officer and said:</p> - -<p>“My father is not dead. My mother is not dead. -My brother and sisters, and my uncle and aunt and -grandfather are not dead. It may be true you have -killed them, but they live in Heaven. I shall live -with them. I would not be worthy of them if I -proved untrue to their God and mine. Nor could -I live in Heaven with them if I should marry a man -I do not love. God would not like that. Do with -me what you wish.”</p> - -<p>Soldiers took her away. No one knows what became -of her. The other maidens who had refused to -“turn” were given to soldiers to sell to aghas and -beys. So there was none left alive of the Christians -of Egin, except the little handful of girls in the -harems of the rich—worse than dead.</p> - -<p>When the Kurds carried me and the other girls they -had stolen with me, into Egin they rode into the center -of the city. We begged them to avoid the crowds -of Turkish men and women on the streets because of -our nakedness. They would not listen.</p> - -<p>We were taken into the yard of a large building, -which I think must have been a Government building. -There we found, in pitiable condition, hundreds of -other young Armenian women, who had been stolen -from bands of exiles from the Erzindjan and Sivas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -districts. Some had been there several days. Many -were as unclothed as we were. Some had lost their -minds and were raving. All were being held for an -audience with the great Pasha, who had arrived at -Egin only the night before.</p> - -<p>This Pasha, we learned soon after our arrival, was -the notorious Kiamil Pasha, of Constantinople. He -was very old now, surely not less than eighty years, -yet he carried himself very straight and firm. Once, -many years before, he had been the governor of Aleppo -and had become famous throughout the world for his -cruelties to the Christians then. It was said he was -responsible for the massacres of 1895, and that he had -been removed from office once at the request of England, -only to be honored in his retirement by appointment -to a high post at Constantinople.</p> - -<p>With Kiamil Pasha there was Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir -Bey, who, I afterward learned, was an emissary -of Talaat Bey and Enver Pasha.</p> - -<p>A regiment of soldiers had come from Constantinople -with Kiamil Pasha, and had camped just outside -the city. This regiment later became known as the -“Kasab Tabouri,” the “butcher regiment,” for it participated -in the massacre of more than 50,000 of my -people, under Kiamil Pasha’s orders.</p> - -<p>Kiamil Pasha and Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir Bey came -to the building where we were kept and sat behind a -table in a great room. We were taken in twenty at a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -time. Even those who were nude were compelled to -stand in the line which faced his table.</p> - -<p>The pasha and the bey looked at us brutally when -we stood before them. That which happened to those -who went to the audience with me, was what happened -to all the others.</p> - -<p>“His Majesty the Sultan, in his kindness of heart, -wishes to be merciful to you, who represent the girlhood -of treacherous Armenia,” said Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir, -while Kiamil looked at us silently. “You -have been selected from many to receive the blessing -of His Majesty’s pity. You are to be taken to the -great cities of Islam, where you will be placed under -imperial protection in schools to be established for -you, and where you may learn of those things which -it is well for you to know, and forget the teachings -of unbelievers. You will be kindly treated and given -in marriage as opportunity arises into good Moslem -homes, where your behavior will be the only measure -of your content.”</p> - -<p>Those were his words, as truly as I can remember -them. No girl answered him. We knew better than -to put faith in Turkish promises, and we knew what -even that promise implied—apostasy.</p> - -<p>“Those of you who are willing to become Moslems -will state their readiness,” the bey continued.</p> - -<p>Though I cannot understand them, I cannot blame -those who gave way now. The Pasha and the Bey<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -said nothing more. They just burned us with their -cold, glittering eyes, and waited. The strain was too -terrible. Almost half the girls fell upon their knees -or into the arms of stronger girls, and cried that they -would agree.</p> - -<p>Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir waved his hand toward the -soldiers, who escorted or carried these girls into another -room. We never heard of them again. Kiamil -still looked coldly and silently at those of us who had -refused. The Bey said not a word either, but raised -his hand again. Then soldiers began to beat us with -long, cruel whips.</p> - -<p>We fell to the floor under the blows. The soldiers -continued to beat us with slow, measured strokes—I -can feel them now, those steady, cutting slashes with -the whips the Turks use on convicts whom they bastinado -to death. A girl screamed for mercy and -shouted the name of Allah. They carried her into the -other room. Another could not get the words out of -her throat. She held out her arms toward the Pasha -and the Bey, taking the blows from the whip on her -hands and wrists until they saw that she had given in. -Then she, too, was carried out. Others fainted, only -to revive under the blows that did not stop.</p> - -<p>Twice I lost consciousness. The second time I did -not come to until it was over and, with others who -had remained true to our religion, had been left in -the courtyard.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p> - -<p>I think there were more than four hundred young -women in the yard when I first was taken into it. -Not more than twenty-five were with me now—all -the rest had been beaten into apostasy. No one can -tell what became of them. It was said Kiamil and -Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir sent more than a thousand -Armenian girls to Kiamil’s estates on the Bosphorus, -where they were cared for until their prettiness had -been recovered and their spirits completely broken, -when they were distributed among the rich beys and -pashas who were the political associates of Kiamil, -Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir Bey, and Djevdet Bey of Van.</p> - -<p>We were kept in the courtyard four days, with -nothing to eat but a bit of bread each day. Three of -the young women died of their wounds. Often Turkish -men and women would come to look into the yard -and mock us. Turkish boys sometimes were allowed -to throw stones at us.</p> - -<p>On the fourth day we were taken out by zaptiehs -to join a party of a thousand or more women and -children who had arrived during the night from Baibourt. -All the women in this party were middle-aged -or very old, and the children were very small. What -girls and young women were left when the party -reached Egin, had been kept in the city for Kiamil and -Boukhar-ed-Din-Shakir Bey to dispose of. The older -boys had been stolen by Circassians. There were almost -no babies, as these either had died when their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -mothers were stolen or had been killed by the soldiers.</p> - -<p>With this party we went seven hours from the city -and were halted there to wait for larger parties of -exiles from Sivas and Erzindjan, which were to meet -at that point on the way to Diyarbekir.</p> - -<p>Both these parties had to pass through Divrig -Gorge, which was near by. The exiles from Erzindjan -never reached us. They were met at the gorge by -the Kasab Tabouri, the butcher regiment, and all were -killed. There were four thousand in the party. Just -after this massacre was finished the exiles from Sivas -came into the gorge from the other side.</p> - -<p>The soldiers of the Kasab Tabouri were tired from -their exertions in killing the 4,000 exiles from Erzindjan -such a short time before, so they made sport out -of the reception of those from Sivas, who numbered -more than 11,000 men, women and children.</p> - -<p>Part of the regiment stood in line around the bend -of the gorge until the leaders of the Armenians came -into view. Panic struck the exiles at once, and they -turned to flee, despite their guards. But they found -a portion of the regiment, which had been concealed, -deploying behind them and cutting off their escape -from the trap.</p> - -<p>As the regiment closed in, thousands of the women, -with their babies and children in their arms, scrambled -up the cliffs on either side of the narrow pass, -helped by their men folk, who remained on the road<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -to fight with their hands and sticks against the armed -soldiers.</p> - -<p>But the zaptiehs who accompanied the party surrounded -the base of the cliffs and kept the women -from escaping. Then the Kasab Tabouri killed men -until there were not enough left to resist them. -Scores of men feigned death among the bodies of their -friends, and thus escaped with their lives.</p> - -<p>Part of the soldiers then scaled the cliffs to where -the women were huddled. They took babies from the -arms of mothers and threw them over the cliffs to comrades -below, who caught as many as they could on -their bayonets. When babies and little girls were all -disposed of this way, the soldiers amused themselves -awhile making women jump over—prodding them -with bayonets, or beating them with gun barrels until -the women, in desperation, jumped to save themselves. -As they rolled down the base of the cliff soldiers below -hit them with heavy stones or held their bayonets so -they would roll onto them. Many women scrambled -to their feet after falling and these the soldiers forced -to climb the cliffs again, only to be pushed back over.</p> - -<p>The Kasab Tabouri kept up this sport until it was -dark. They were under orders to pass the night at -Tshar-Rahya, a village three hours from the gorge, -so when darkness came and they were weary even of -this game they assembled and marched away singing, -some with babies on their bayonets, others with an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -older child under their arms, greatly pleased with such -a souvenir. Some salvaged a girl from the human -débris and made her march along to unspeakable -shame at the Tshar-Rahya barracks.</p> - -<p>Only 300 of all the 11,000 exiles lived and were able -to march under the scourging of the handful of zaptiehs -who remained to guard them. They joined us -where we had halted.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> -<span class="smaller">MALATIA—THE CITY OF DEATH</span></h3> - -<p>Seven days after the massacre at Divrig Gorge, -those of us who survived the cruelties of our guards -along the way, saw just ahead of us the minarets of -Malatia, one of the great converging points for the -hundreds of thousands of deported Armenians on their -way to the Syrian deserts which, by this time, I knew -to be the destination of those who were permitted to -live. When the minarets came into view, I was much -excited by the hope that perhaps my mother’s party -might have reached there and halted, and that I might -find her there.</p> - -<p>When we drew close to the city we passed along -the road that countless other exiles had walked before. -At the side of the road, in ridicule of the Crucifixion -and as a warning to such Christian girls as lived to -reach Malatia, the Turks had crucified on rough -wooden crosses sixteen girls. I do not know how long -the bodies had been there, but vultures already had -gathered.</p> - -<p>Each girl had been nailed alive upon her cross, great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -cruel spikes through her feet and hands. Only their -hair, blown by the wind, covered their bodies.</p> - -<p>“See,” said our guards with great satisfaction; -“see what will happen to you in Malatia if you are -not submissive.”</p> - -<p>In the vicinity of Malatia, and in the city itself, -there were more than twenty thousand refugees waiting -to be sent on. Kurds were camped outside in little -bands, each with its “Claw chief,” waiting to waylay -and plunder the exiles. Arabs rode about the hills in -the distance—outlaw bands, who swooped down upon -the Christians in the night and stole the strongest of -the women and girls for the harvesting in the fields. -Turkish beys and aghas, with here and there a dignified -pasha, rode out along the road to inspect each -band of exiles as it approached the city, their cruel, -sensual eyes trying to pierce the veils the younger -girls wrapped about their faces to conceal their youth -and prettiness.</p> - -<p>From Sivas, Tokat, Egin, Erzindjan, Kerasun, -Samsoun and countless smaller cities in the north, -where the Armenians had had their homes for centuries, -they had all been started toward Malatia. All -the rivers in between were running red with blood; -the valleys were great open graves in which thousands -of bodies were left unburied; mountain passes were -choked with the dead, and every rich Turk who kept a -harem between the Black Sea and the River Tigris,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -had one or more, sometimes a score, of new concubines—Armenian -girls who had been stolen for them -along the road to this city.</p> - -<p>I often wonder if the good people of America know -what the Armenians are—their character. I sometimes -fear Americans think of us as a nomad people, -or as people of a lower class. We are, indeed, different. -My people were among the first converts to -Christ. They are a noble race, and have a literature -older than that of any other peoples in the world.</p> - -<p>Very few Armenians are peasants. Nearly all are -tradesmen, merchants, great and small, financiers, -bankers or educators. In my city alone there were -more than a score of business men or teachers who -had received their education at American colleges. -Hundreds had attended great European universities. -My own education was received partly at the American -college at Marsovan and partly from private -tutors. Many Armenians are very wealthy. Few -Turks are as fortunate in this respect as the great -Armenian merchants.</p> - -<p>Of the twenty thousand Christians herded in Malatia, -in camps outside the city, in the public square -or in houses set apart by the Turks for that purpose, -I think much more than half were the members of -well-to-do families, girls who had been educated either -in Europe or in great Christian colleges at home, such -as that at Marsovan, Sivas or Harpout, or in schools<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -conducted by the Swiss, the Americans, the English -and the French. These girls had been taught music, -literature and art.</p> - -<p>I want to tell what happened to one group of school -girls near Malatia, as it was told me by one of them.</p> - -<p>At Kirk-Goz, a small city outside Malatia, there had -been a German school, where young Armenian women -from all over the district were sent to be taught by -German teachers. The rule of the school was that -the money received from the rich Armenian girls for -their tuition was used in paying the expenses of poor -girls. There were more than sixty pupils at this -school when the attack on the Armenians began. As -the school was under German protection, these girls -considered themselves safe, and their families were -happy to think they were protected. Aziz Bey, the -Kaimakam, sent soldiers, however, with orders to -bring all the girls into Malatia, to be deported or -worse. Mme. Roth, the principal, refused to open -the gates. She declared Eimen Effendi, the German -consular agent in that district, would demand reparation -if any attack on the school’s pupils were made.</p> - -<p>Mme. Roth—who was a German and old—herself, -went to Malatia to consult Eimen Effendi. -He told her Turkey was an ally of Germany, that -Turkey declared Armenians to be obnoxious, and that -Germany, therefore, must support the Sultan. He -said the pupils would have to be surrendered. Then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -the soldiers took them away. Each girl was permitted -to have a donkey, which the teachers bought in the -city for them. They started west, to Mezre, where, -the authorities promised, the girls would be taken care -of in a dervish monastery.</p> - -<p>Mme. Roth went, herself, before Aziz Bey and -pleaded for the girls. She told him she was ashamed -of being a German since Eimen Effendi had allowed -such a horrible thing to be perpetrated with the consent -of Germany. She offered the Bey all her personal -possessions, all the money she had with her at -Kirk-Goz, if he would return the girl pupils and allow -her to keep them with her. Mme. Roth was very -wealthy. She had more than 1,000 liras, and jewels -worth much more. Aziz Bey accepted the bribe and -sent her, with an escort of soldiers, after the young -women.</p> - -<p>Two days later Mme. Roth and her escort approached -the crossing of the river Tokma-Su, at the -little village Keumer-Khan. There were tracks on -the plain which showed the party they sought had -passed that way but a little while before. Suddenly -down the road toward them came an unclothed girl, -running madly and screaming in terror. When she -came near Mme. Roth and recognized her, the girl -cried, “Teacher, teacher, save me! Save me!”</p> - -<p>The girl, whose name was Martha, and whose parents -were rich people of Zeitoun, threw herself on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -ground at her teacher’s feet and clasped them. “Save -me! Save me!” she continued to scream. Mme. -Roth gave her drops of brandy from a bottle she had -carried with her, and tried to quiet her. Two zaptiehs -from the guard which the bey had sent with the -school girls came running up. When Martha saw -them she went mad again and became unconscious. -The zaptiehs tried to take possession of her limp body, -but Mme. Roth defied them. Her escort persuaded -the zaptiehs to go away. When Mme. Roth knelt -again by the girl she was dead. Marks on her body -and bruises and wounds and her torn hair were evidences -of the struggle she had made to save herself.</p> - -<p>Mme. Roth hurried on. She heard more screams as -she neared the river banks. She came upon two zaptiehs, -sitting on the sand, prodding with a pointed stick -the bare shoulders of a girl whom they had buried in -the earth above her elbows. This was a favorite -pastime of the zaptiehs of the Euphrates provinces. -They had commanded the girl to submit to them -quietly and she had fought them. To punish her and -break her spirit they buried her that way and tortured -her. She screamed with pain and fright, and this -amused them greatly. When they wished the zaptiehs -would take her out, and then bury her again. It was -from such torture as this Martha had escaped.</p> - -<p>The soldiers of Mme. Roth’s escort rescued the -girl, at her command. Mme. Roth left her with three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -soldiers and crossed the river. She could hear -screams from the other side. Once zaptiehs on the -raft taking them across the river broke into a loud -guffaw. The oarsmen steered the raft so as to escape -two floating objects, and it was these which amused -them. Mme. Roth saw the bodies of two of her girls -floating down the river from where the screams came.</p> - -<p>“Look—look there,” shouted a laughing zaptieh; -“two more Christians whom their Christ forgot!”</p> - -<p>On the other side Mme. Roth found all who were -left of her sixty or more pupils—only seventeen. -Their lives were saved only because the zaptiehs had -become weary. They were, too, the least pretty of -the original party. Mme. Roth took them all back to -Malatia, where the Kaimakam insisted that she house -them. They were living there in constant fear of -being taken away again when I was taken from the -city.</p> - -<p>It was said by those who knew, that Mme. Roth refused -to receive Eimen Effendi when he called upon -her after her return with her surviving pupils. It is -said she sent word to him that she was no longer German, -and would ask no protection except that which -she could buy with gold liras as long as she could obtain -them from her relatives.</p> - -<p>In every open space in the city and in every empty -building Armenian refugees were camped, hungry, -footsore and dying, with little food or water. In all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -our company there were not ten loaves of bread when -we entered the city. When we asked at the wells of -Turks for water we were spat at, and if soldiers were -near the Turks would call them to drive us away. -Each day thousands of the refugees were taken away, -and each day thousands of others arrived from the -north.</p> - -<p>Inside the city there was no attempt to care for the -arriving exiles. Some of the men in our party finally -led the way to a great building which had been a barracks, -but in which many thousands of Christians had -taken refuge. We seldom ventured out on the streets, -for Turkish boys and Kurds and Arabs thronged the -streets and threw stones or sticks at us, or, in the case -of girls as young as I, carried them into Turkish shops -or low houses, and there outraged them.</p> - -<p>When we had passed the second day in Malatia I -could rest no longer without seeking my mother—hoping -that she and the Armenians of Tchemesh-Gedzak -might be among the other refugees. I went -into the street at night and went from place to place -where exiles were herded. Nowhere could I find -familiar faces—people from my own city.</p> - -<p>When morning came I could not find my way back -to the building I had left. Morning comes quickly in -the midst of the plains, and soon it was light, and I -was in a part of the city where there were no exiles.</p> - -<p>The streets of Malatia are very narrow, and there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -are few byways. My bare feet were tired from walking -all night on cobblestones and pavements. I felt -very tired—not as if I really were but little over -fourteen. I knew I would soon be carried into one -of these Turkish houses and lost, perhaps forever, if -soldiers or gendarmes should catch me at large. I -hid in a little areaway.</p> - -<p>Suddenly I realized that I was hugging the walls of -a house over which hung the American flag. A feeling -of relief came over me. The American flag is -very beautiful to the eyes of all Armenians! For -many years it has been to my people the promise of -peace and happiness. We had heard so much of the -wonderful country it represented. Armenia always -has thought of the United States as a friend ever -ready to help her.</p> - -<p>When the street was clear I left my hiding place -and went to the door of the house. I rapped, but -Turks entered the street just then and spied me. -They were citizens, not soldiers, but they shouted and -started to run at me, recognizing me perhaps from -the bits of garments which I had managed to gather to -cover my body, as an Armenian.</p> - -<p>I screamed and pushed at the door. It opened, and -I found myself in the arms of a woman who was -hurrying to let me in.</p> - -<p>I was too frightened to explain. The Turks were -at the door. I thought I would be carried away.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -One of them pushed himself inside the door. Another -followed, and they reached out their hands to take me.</p> - -<p>The woman, who was not Turkish, stepped in front -of me. “What do you want?—Why are you here?” -she asked in Turkish. “The girl—we want her. -She has escaped,” they said.</p> - -<p>The woman startled me by refusing to allow me to -be taken. She told the Turks they had no authority. -When the men motioned as if to take me by force -she stepped in front of me and told them to remember -that I was her guest. One of the men said:</p> - -<p>“The girl is an Armenian. She has run away from -the rest of her people. She has no right to be at large -in the city. The Kaimakam has ordered citizens to -take into custody all Christians found outside quarters -set aside for them to rest in while halting on their way -past the city.”</p> - -<p>“Your Kaimakam’s orders have nothing to do with -me. I shall protect the girl. You dare not harm an -American!” said my new friend. The Turks, grumbling -among themselves, and threatening vengeance, -went out.</p> - -<p>The young woman told me she was Miss McLaine, -an American missionary. The house was the home -of the American consul at Malatia, but he had taken -his wife, who was ill, to Harpout. Miss McLaine -kept the flag flying while they were gone. She had -tried to persuade the officials to be less cruel to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -refugees, but could do very little. She had been a -pupil of Dr. Clarence Ussher, the noted American -missionary surgeon, of New York, and Mrs. Ussher, -both of whom were famous throughout Armenia for -their kindness to our people during the massacres at -Van. Mrs. Ussher lost her life at Van.</p> - -<p>Late that day a squad of soldiers came from the -Kaimakam to the consul’s house and demanded that I -be given up. Miss McLaine again refused to surrender -me. The soldiers declared they had orders to -take me by force. Miss McLaine asked that they take -her to the Kaimakam that she might ask his protection -for me. To this the soldiers agreed, and I was left -alone in the house.</p> - -<p>When Miss McLaine returned she was crying. The -soldiers returned with her. The Kaimakam had said -I must rejoin the exiles, but that I might be taken to -a house where a large company of women who had -embraced Mohammedanism were confined, with their -children. This company, the mayor said, was to be -protected until they reached a place selected by the -government.</p> - -<p>So Miss McLaine could do nothing more. She -kissed me, and the soldiers led me away to the house -where the apostasized women with their children were -quartered.</p> - -<p>These apostasized Armenians were nearly all women -from small cities between Malatia and Sivas. None<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -of them really had given up Christianity, but they -thought they were doing right, as nearly all the -women were the mothers of small children who were -with them. They wanted to save the lives of their -little ones. They did not know what was to become -of them, but the beys had promised they would be -taken care of by the government.</p> - -<p>This party of exiles was fed by the Turks—bread, -water and coarse cakes. We were not allowed out of -the house, but the Turks did not bother us. I soon -had occasion to realize that the Kaimakam really had -given me at least some protection when he allowed me -to join this party.</p> - -<p>In some of the companies waiting in Malatia the -men had not been killed. One day the soldiers gathered -all of these into one big party. The mayor -wanted them to register, the soldiers said, so allotments -of land could be made them at their destination -in the south. So earnest were the soldiers the -men believed them. Many went without even putting -on their coats. They were marched to the building -in which I had first been quartered, and from which -other refugees had been taken out the night before.</p> - -<p>Almost 3,000 men were thus assembled. Outside -soldiers took up their station at the doors and windows. -Other soldiers then robbed the men of their -money and valuables—such as they had saved from -Kurds along the road, and then began killing them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -When bodies had piled so high the soldiers could not -reach survivors without stumbling in blood, then they -used their rifles, and killed the remainder with bullets.</p> - -<p>That afternoon soldiers visited all the camps of -refugees and took children more than five years old. -I think there must have been eight or nine thousand -of these. The soldiers came even to the house in -which I was with the “turned” Armenians, and despite -the promises of the mayor took all our boys and -girls. When mothers clung to their little ones and -begged for them the soldiers beat them off. “If they -die now your God won’t be troubled by having to look -after them till they grow up,” the soldiers said—and -always with a brutal laugh.</p> - -<p>They took the children to the edge of the city, where -a band of Aghja Daghi Kurds was waiting. Here the -soldiers gave the children into the keeping of the -Kurds, who drove them off toward the Tokma -River, just outside the city. The Kurds drove the -little ones like a flock of sheep. At the river banks -the boys were thrown into the river. The girls were -taken to Turkish cities, to be raised as Mohammedans.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<span class="smaller">IN THE HAREM OF HADJI GHAFOUR</span></h3> - -<p>After the massacre of the men all the exiles waiting -in Malatia were told to prepare for the road again. -We were assembled outside the city early one morning. -Only women and some children, with here and -there an old man, were left. We were told we were -to be taken to Diyarbekir, a hundred miles across the -country. Very few had hopes of surviving this stage -of the journey, as the country was thickly dotted with -Turkish, Circassian and Kurdish villages, and inhabited -by most fanatical Moslems. Civilians were more -cruel to the deportees along the roads between the -larger cities, than the soldiers. Some of the treatment -suffered by our people from these fanatical residents -of small towns was such that I cannot even -write of it.</p> - -<p>When the column was formed, outside Malatia, it -was made up of fifteen thousand women, young and -old. Very few had any personal belongings. Few -had food. Many had managed to hold onto money, -however, and these were ready to share what they had -with those who had none. Money was the only surety<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -of enough food to sustain life on the long walk, and -the only hope of protection against a zaptieh’s lust -for killing.</p> - -<p>The company of apostates which I had been permitted -to join was placed at the head of the column, -with a special guard of soldiers. Zaptiehs guarded -the other companies, but there were very few assigned. -Most of the zaptiehs in that district had been placed -in the Mesopotamian armies. My party of apostates, -of which there were about two hundred, was the best -guarded. The others were wholly at the mercy of -Kurds and villagers.</p> - -<p>It was now late in June, and very hot. Scores of -aged women dropped to the ground, prostrated by heat -and famished for water, of which there was only that -which we could beg from farmers along the way. -The mother of two girls in my party, who, with her -daughters, already had walked a hundred miles into -Malatia, was beaten because she fell behind. She fell -to the ground and could not get up. The soldiers -would not let us revive her. Her two daughters could -only give her a farewell kiss and leave her by the -roadside.</p> - -<p>One of these two girls was a bride—a widowed -bride. She had seen her husband and father killed -in the town of Kangai, on the Sivas road, and when -the Kurds were about to kill her mother because she -was old, she begged a Turkish officer, who was near<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -by, to save her. The officer had asked her if she -would renounce her religion to save her mother, and -she consented—she and her younger sister.</p> - -<p>The sisters walked on with their arms about each -other. They dared not even look around to where -their mother lay upon the ground. When we could -hear the woman’s moans no longer I walked over to -them and asked them to let me stay near them. I -knew how they must feel. I wondered if my own -mother and my little brothers and sisters had lived. -A soldier in Malatia had told me exiles from Tchemesh-Gedzak -had passed through there weeks before -and had gone, as we were going, toward Diyarbekir. -Perhaps, he said, they might still be there when we -arrived—if we ever did.</p> - -<p>A few hours outside the city we were halted. We -were much concerned by this, as such incidents usually -meant new troubles. This time was no exception. -As soon as we stopped villagers flocked down upon us -and began to rob us.</p> - -<p>Just before sundown a loud cry went up. We -looked to the east, where there was a wide pass -through the hills, and saw a band of horsemen riding -down upon us. They were Kurds, as we could tell -from the way they rode. The villagers shouted—“It -is Kerim Bey, the friend of Djebbar. It is well -for us to scatter!” They then scrambled back into -the hills, afraid, it seemed, the Kurd chieftain would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -not welcome their foraging among his prospective -victims.</p> - -<p>To say that Kerim Bey was “a friend of Djebbar” -explained his coming with his band. Djebbar Effendi -was the military commandant of the district, sent by -the government at Constantinople to oppress Armenians -during the deportations. His word was law, -and always it was a cruel word. Kerim Bey was the -most feared of the Kurd chiefs—he and Musa Bey. -Both were of the Aghja Daghi Kurds. Kerim Bey -and his band ruled the countryside, and frequently revolted -against the Turks. To keep him as an ally -Djebbar Effendi had given into his keeping many companies -of exiled Armenians sent from Malatia to -Diyarbekir and beyond.</p> - -<p>There were hundreds of horsemen in Kerim’s band. -They had ridden far and were tired, too tired to take -up the march in the moonlight, but not too tired to -begin at once the nightly revels which kept us terrorized -for so many days after. Scarcely had they hobbled -their horses in little groups that stretched along -the side of the column when they began to collect their -toll. Screams and cries for mercy and the groans of -mothers and sisters filled the night.</p> - -<p>I saw terrible things that night which I cannot tell. -When I see them in my dreams now I scream, so even -though I am safe in America, my nights are not peaceful. -A group of these Kurds so cruelly tortured one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -young woman that women who were near by became -crazed and rushed in a body at the men to save the -girl from more misery. For a moment the Kurds -were trampled under the feet of the maddened women, -and the girl was hurried away.</p> - -<p>When they recovered, the Kurds drew their long, -sharp knives and set upon the brave women and -killed them all. I think there must have been fifty of -them. They piled their bodies together and set fire to -their clothes. While some fanned the blaze others -searched for the girl who had been rescued, but they -could not find her. So, baffled in this, they caught -another girl and carried her to the flaming pile and -threw her upon it. When she tried to escape they -threw her back until she was burned to death.</p> - -<p>When the Kurds approached my party of apostates, -the soldiers with us turned them away. “You may do -as you wish with the others—these are protected,” -said the Turkish officer in charge. But this same -officer was not content to be only a spectator while -the Kurds were reveling.</p> - -<p>Five soldiers came from his tent and sought a young -woman they thought would please their chief. They -tore aside the veils of women whose forms suggested -they might be young, until they came upon a girl from -the town of Derenda, toward Sivas. She was very -pretty, but one of the soldiers, when they were dragging -her off, recognized her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Kah!” he grunted to his comrades. “This one -will not do. She is no longer a maid!” They pushed -her aside and sought further. But each girl they laid -their hands on after that cried to them, “I, too, am -not a virgin!” Each one was given a blow and -thrust aside when she claimed to have been already -shamed.</p> - -<p>Soon the soldiers saw they were being cheated of -the choicest prey. They turned upon some older -women and seized three. One of them they forced to -her knees and two of the soldiers held her head back -between their hands until her face was turned to the -stars. Another soldier pressed his thumbs upon her -eyeballs, and said:</p> - -<p>“If there be no virgin among you, then by Allah’s -will this woman’s eyes come out!”</p> - -<p>There was a cry of horror, then a shriek. A girl -who must have been of my own age, and whom I had -often noticed because her hair was so much lighter -than that of nearly all Armenian girls, threw herself, -screaming, upon the ground at the soldiers’ feet. -Winding her hands about the legs of the soldier whose -thumbs were pressing against the woman’s eyes, she -cried:</p> - -<p>“My mother! my mother! Spare her—here I am—I -am still a maid!”</p> - -<p>The soldiers seized the girl, guffawing loudly at the -success of their plan. As they lifted her between them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -she flung out her hands toward the woman, who had -fallen in a heap when the soldiers released her. -“Mother,” the girl screamed, “kiss me—kiss me!”</p> - -<p>The poor woman struggled to her feet and reached -out her arms, but her eyes were hurt and she could not -see. The girl begged the soldiers to carry her to her -mother. “I will go—I will go, and be willing—but -let me kiss my mother!” she cried. But the soldiers -hurried her away.</p> - -<p>The mother stood, leaning on those who crowded -close to comfort her. Then, suddenly, she drooped -and sank to the ground. When we bent over her she -was dead. We sat by the body until the daughter -came back—after the moon had crossed the sky, and -it must have been midnight. The girl hid her face -when she came near, until she could bury it in her -mother’s shawl. She sat by the body until morning, -when we took up our march again.</p> - -<p>Every night such things happened.</p> - -<p>Other parties along that road had fared the same. -Sometimes I counted the bodies of exiles who had preceded -us until I could count no longer. They lay at -the roadside, where their guards had left them, for -miles.</p> - -<p>On the eleventh day we came to Shiro, the Turkish -city where caravans for Damascus spend the night in -a large khan and then turn southward. There are -even more caravans now than there used to be, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -now they travel only to the Damascus railway and -then return. Shiro is the home of many Turks, who -profit from traders, or who have retired from posts of -power and profit at Constantinople. It is not a large -town, but more a settlement of wealthy aghas.</p> - -<p>We camped outside this little city. Early the next -morning military officers came out. Kerim Bey met -them, and there was a short conference. Then the -Kurds began to gather the prettiest girls. They tore -them from their relatives and half dragged, half carried -them to where guards were placed to take charge -of them.</p> - -<p>All morning the Kurds carried young women away -until more than a hundred had been accepted by the -officer from the city. Then the apostates were ordered -to join these weeping girls, and we were marched -into the town.</p> - -<p>The narrow streets were crowded with Turks and -Arabs. They hooted at us, and made cruel jests as -we passed. Among the apostates were many old -women, whose daughters had sworn to be Mohammedans -to save them. When the crowds saw these they -laughed with ridicule. Once the citizens swooped -down upon the party and, unhindered by our guards, -seized four of the older women, stripped off their -clothing and carried them away on their shoulders, -shouting in great glee. We never heard what became<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -of these. I think they were just tossed about by the -crowd until they died.</p> - -<p>We were taken to a house which we soon learned -was the residence of Hadji Ghafour, one of the largest -houses in the city. Only devout Moslems who have -made the pilgrimage to Mecca may be called “Hadji.” -Hadji Ghafour was looked up to as one of the most -religious of men.</p> - -<p>In the house of Hadji Ghafour we were crowded -into a large room, with bare stone walls, where camels -and dromedaries were often quartered over night.</p> - -<p>Hadji Ghafour came into the room, accompanied -by soldiers. We of the apostate party had been put -into one corner with Kurds to watch us. Hadji Ghafour -gave an order to his servants and they separated -the most pleasing girls and younger women from the -others. Of these, with me among them, there were -only thirty. We were taken out of the room and -into another, not so large, on another floor of the -house. The fate of those who were not satisfactory -to Hadji Ghafour I never learned. A soldier told one -of us they were allowed to rejoin the deportation -parties.</p> - -<p>Those of us who had been chosen were taken to the -hamman, or bath chamber, and garments were brought -for those whose clothes were frayed or, as it was -with some, who had almost none at all. Turkish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -women and negro slave girls watched us in the bath -and locked us up again.</p> - -<p>At the end of an hour we heard steps. The door -was opened and a huge black slave, with other negroes -behind him, summoned us. Frightened and too cowed -to ask questions or hold back, we followed the slave -through halls and up stairways, until we came to a -huge rug-strewn chamber, brilliantly lighted with -lamps and candles. On divans heavy with cushions, -at one side of the room, sat Hadji Ghafour and a -group of other Turks who were of his class, all middle -aged or older, none with a kindly face.</p> - -<p>Those of us who had been taken from the apostasized -party stood to one side, while a servant said, -to the others:</p> - -<p>“It is the will of Hadji Ghafour, whose house has -given you refuge, that you repay his kindness in saving -you from the dangers that confront your people by -repenting of your unbelief and accept the grace of -Islam.”</p> - -<p>The Turks made sounds of approval, and a turbanned -Khateeb, or priest of the mosque, entered the -chamber, with an attendant who carried the prayer -rug. Behind him was a negro servant carrying a whip -of bull’s hide. The prayer rug was spread, and the -Khateeb waited.</p> - -<p>The Turks pointed to a shrinking girl and the servants -pulled her out “What say you?” the officer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -asked. “I belong to Christ—in His keeping I must -remain,” the girl replied. The negro’s whip fell -across her shoulders. When she screamed for mercy -the Khateeb bared his feet, stepped upon the prayer -rug and turned to Mecca. “Allah is most great; there -is no God but Allah!” his voice droned. The negro -flung the girl onto the carpet. He held his cruel whip -ready to strike again if she did not quickly kneel. Her -face also turned to Mecca as she stumbled to her knees. -Her flesh already was torn and bleeding. Terror of -the whip was in her heart. To escape it she could -only say the rek’ah—“There is no God but Allah and -Mohammed is his prophet.”</p> - -<p>When the last one had recited the sacrilegious creed -the Khateeb folded the prayer rug and left the room. -Hadji Ghafour, smiling now, ordered us all to stand -before his guests again. All were apostates now except -me, whom the Turks thought had previously taken -the oath, else I would not have been in the party -which I had joined. The law as well as Hadji Ghafour’s -piousness allowed them to do with us now as -they chose.</p> - -<p>One by one they selected us, according to their fancies—Hadji -Ghafour first, and then his guests. How -they had arranged the order of choice I do not know, -but they had agreed among themselves. There were -five or six girls for each of the Turks. I was among -those ordered aside for Hadji Ghafour, who had also<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -chosen the two daughters who had been compelled to -leave their mother dying on the Sivas road.</p> - -<p>The two sisters had been very quiet all that day. -They had spoken but little to any of the rest of us since -we were taken into the house of Hadji Ghafour. Nor -had they cried—afterwards I remembered how their -faces that day seemed to be bright with a great courage.</p> - -<p>The girls chosen by the guests of Hadji Ghafour -were taken away in separate groups to the houses of -those who claimed their bodies. When these guests -and their captives had gone Hadji Ghafour again summoned -us. It was one of the sisters, the elder, to -whom he spoke first. His words were terrible. He -asked her, oh, so cruelly low and soft, if she were willing -to belong to him, body and soul, to live contented -in his house, to be obedient and—affectionate in her -submission.</p> - -<p>The girl waited not an instant. “I had renounced -my God to save my mother, but it availed me nothing. -Her life was taken. I have given myself to God—and -I will not betray Him again!”</p> - -<p>Hadji Ghafour motioned to his negro slave, who -caught the girl in his arms and carried her out of the -room. Her sister had been standing near her. Hadji -Ghafour’s eyes fell upon her next.</p> - -<p>“And you, my little one,” he said, just as low and -soft. And he repeated the questions to her he had -spoken to her sister. She spoke softly, too—softer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -than had her sister, yet just as firmly. “She was my -sister. With her I saw my mother die, and now you -have taken her. You may kill me also, but I will never -submit to you.”</p> - -<p>Those of us who watched looked with terror at -Hadji Ghafour. This time his eyes narrowed and -glittered. “You have spoken well, my little one,” he -said, still so gently he might have been speaking to a -beloved daughter. “Perhaps I had better kill you as -a warning to my other little ones.”</p> - -<p>The negro with the whip stood near. Hadji Ghafour -did not even speak to him—just motioned with -his hands. Two other servants sprang forward. -Quickly they stripped the girl of her clothes. And -then the whip fell upon her naked body.</p> - -<p>I shut my eyes so I could not see, but I could not -shut out the sound of the whip cutting into the flesh, -again and again, until I lost count. Even when the -girl screamed no more and her moans died away the -whip did not stop for a long time. Then suddenly -I realized the blows had ceased. I opened my eyes -and saw one of the servants lifting the girl’s body -from the floor. He held her by the waist, and her -arms and bleeding legs hung limp. She was dead.</p> - -<p>None of us had courage after that. We gave Hadji -Ghafour our promises. We were taken out another -door, this time to the women’s apartments, where -women of the household were waiting to receive us.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE RAID ON THE MONASTERY</span></h3> - -<p>The women of the haremlik had retired, except the -three who awaited our coming. These took us through -a long, narrow corridor, lit only by a single lamp, to a -separate wing of the house. Through a curtained -doorway we entered a series of small stone-floored -rooms, in which women were sleeping. At last we -came to a wooden door, which one of the women -opened, pushing us through. One of them lit a taper.</p> - -<p>The room was barren, with not even a window. On -the floor was a row of sleeping rugs, but there were -neither cushions nor pillows. The women told us to -remove our clothing, and took it from us as we obeyed. -Without another word the women left us, taking the -taper with them and locking the door.</p> - -<p>Through the long night we waited—for what we -did not know. We were afraid to sleep, even if we -could.</p> - -<p>We knew morning had come when we heard the -faint call to prayer from some neighboring minaret. -Soon the haremlik was astir. We trembled as we -waited for the door to open.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;" id="illus3"> - -<img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="600" height="325" alt="" /> - -<p class="caption">WAITING THEY KNOW NOT WHAT</p> - -<p class="caption">The Armenians of a prosperous city assembled in front of the government building, by order of the -authorities. They are waiting to be deported. Just outside the city they were massacred.</p> - -</div> - -<p>It was a big negro who finally swung it wide, letting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -into the room the light from the windows that -opened from the other rooms of the haremlik. One -of the servant women who had received us the night -before entered after him.</p> - -<p>For each of us the woman brought an entareh, -or Turkish house dress, and slippers and stockings. -The dresses were of satin and linen, but very plain. -Though I wanted something with which to cover myself, -I could not help shrinking from the hated Turkish -dresses. The woman saw me and seemed to understand.</p> - -<p>“You will have prettier things after a while—after -your betrothal!”</p> - -<p>After my betrothal!</p> - -<p>When we had dressed, with the aid of the woman, -she ordered us to follow the negro. “What you will -see now, according to the desire of Hadji Ghafour, -will serve to guide your conduct in the haremlik,” the -woman said.</p> - -<p>The slave led us through a smaller room into a large -chamber, in which were gathered many excited women -crowded about a window.</p> - -<p>At the window-sill the slave peered out and then -ordered us to draw nearer. The window opened upon -a wide court. Across the court were many small windows. -For a moment I saw nothing but the bleak -stone wall. Then my eyes lifted to a window higher -up. I shrieked and recoiled.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p> - -<p>The dead body of the elder sister of the girl who had -been beaten to death, the one who had been carried -away when she defied Hadji Ghafour, was hanging by -its feet from a rope attached to the window-sill. The -girl’s arms had been tied behind her back and now -hung away from her body. Her hair was hanging -from her swaying head. A bandage, still tied over her -mouth, had muffled her screams.</p> - -<p>One of the girls with me, Lusaper, who had cried -all night, fell to her knees and became hysterical. -The slave lifted her and tried to make her look again. -When he saw she was half mad he carried her to a -couch at the other side of the room and two little negro -slave girls immediately began to comfort her. Other -women crowded around her, too. The slave left us -then, as did the woman servant who had been with us.</p> - -<p>The women of the haremlik seemed to want to be -very kind. The Turkish women were older than the -apostate women. Hadji Ghafour’s two wives were -not among them, as their apartments were elsewhere, -and I do not know what the relationship of the other -women to him was, whether as concubines or relatives. -Nearly all the younger women were Armenian -girls who had been stolen. They were very sorry for -us.</p> - -<p>Food was brought in this chamber, and we ate together. -Already I had made up my mind to be as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -brave as I could and to hope and pray that I might be -delivered from that house.</p> - -<p>All the Armenian girls in the haremlik had at one -time passed through just such experiences as had been -ours the night before in the presence of Hadji Ghafour. -There were eight of them, and all had apostasized -with the hope of saving relatives, only to be -taken to Hadji Ghafour’s house upon their arrival at -Geulik. Only one of them knew what had become of -her family. This one had seen her mother killed and -her sister taken by the Kurds on the road from Malatia.</p> - -<p>Four days I remained in the haremlik without being -summoned by Hadji Ghafour. On the third day one -of the other of the “new” girls came back to us in -the morning, quiet and ashamed, with her eyes downcast. -That same day the harem slaves took away her -plain entareh and gave her a richly embroidered dress. -Such was the sign of her having been “betrothed.”</p> - -<p>We were not allowed outside the haremlik. Each -night we were compelled to say the Mohammedan -prayers. I learned to say them aloud and translate -them in my mind into the words of Christian prayers. -The head servant of the haremlik, an elderly Turkish -woman, who was as kind to us as she could be, took -occasion every day to warn us that if we wished to live -and be happy we must be pleasing to Hadji Ghafour.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -Other women told us of girls who had come into the -harem, never to appear again after their “betrothal” -to the master. When these things were spoken of we -could not help thinking of the body we saw hanging -from the window across the court—that was Hadji -Ghafour’s way of teaching us to be submissive.</p> - -<p>We were not put in the dark, windowless room again. -Once one of Hadji Ghafour’s wives came into the -harem to see us. She was middle-aged, and from -Bagdad. She once had been very beautiful, I think, -but seemed to be cruel and without affection. She -had us brought before her and questioned each one of -us about our experiences in the deportations. She -seemed to want to trap us into admissions that we had -not truly become Mohammedans.</p> - -<p>Among the Armenian girls in the harem was one -who came from Perri, a village between my own city -and Harpout. During the nights she told me of the -massacres in her village, and how the Turks had -spared her because she accepted Islam, until they -reached Malatia. There she had been stolen, taken -first to the home of a bey and then sent with other -Armenian girls to Geulik. She, too, had been taken -straight to the house of Hadji Ghafour. She had gone -through with her “betrothal,” and had found some -favor in the eyes of the Turk.</p> - -<p>This little girl was Arousiag Vartessarian, whose -father, Ohannes, had owned much land. She had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -educated at Constantinople. In Constantinople she -learned of the American, Mr. Cleveland Dodge, of -New York, who has done so much for education in -Turkey. Since I have come to America I have learned -that this same Mr. Cleveland Dodge is the best friend -the Armenians have in all the world.</p> - -<p>Arousiag was secretly Christian still. But she did -not hope ever to escape from the harem. She told me -Hadji Ghafour kept Armenian girls only until he had -tired of them or until prettier ones were available. -Then he sent them to his friends, or to be sold to Turkish -farmers. She had tried to please him, so she would -not be sold into an even worse state, for sometimes a -girl who falls into the slave market will be sold into -a public house for soldiers and zaptiehs.</p> - -<p>On the evening of the fifth day my heart sank and -my knees grew weak when a little negro slave girl -came to tell me Hadji Ghafour had sent for me.</p> - -<p>The servant women gathered around me, each professing -not to understand why I was not elated. Only -when my tears fell did they cease their jesting at the -arrival—“at last,” they said, of the hour of my supreme -torture—my “good fortune” they called -it.</p> - -<p>While I was being dressed I closed my eyes and -prayed—not to be saved, for that was too late, but -for strength and for the joy of knowing that God -would be watching over me. One of the harem women<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -walked with me down the narrow corridor and through -the door I had not passed since I left Hadji Ghafour’s -presence five days before.</p> - -<p>The lights of many lamps glowed in the room. Just -inside the door the big negro was waiting. Across, -on his cushions, with his nargilleh on the floor beside -him, sat Hadji Ghafour. His eyes were full upon -me when I stopped at the sound of the door closing -behind me.</p> - -<p>He motioned for me to approach and sit upon a -cushion at his feet. Involuntarily I shrank back and -threw my hands before my eyes. An instant later I -felt the negro’s hand gripping my arm. I tried to hold -back and I tried to gather courage to go forward—I -knew my hopes of a happier future depended upon my -submission.</p> - -<p>The negro tightened his grip. Under his breath he -murmured, “Be a good little one. You will be the -better for it.” I could not look up, but I went and -sat upon the cushion at Hadji Ghafour’s feet!</p> - -<p>It is needless to say more of that terrible night!</p> - -<p>To Arousiag I confided the next day that I must, -somehow, escape from Hadji Ghafour’s house. To -remain meant more tortures and lessened such chance -as there might be that I would find my mother at -Diyarbekir, where refugees with money were allowed -by the Vali to remain just outside the city—provided -they paid liberally for the privilege. When their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -money was gone they were sent away with other exiles -into the Syrian desert.</p> - -<p>I had tried to coax Hadji Ghafour to send messengers -to Diyarbekir to rescue my family if they could -be found there, or to learn what had become of them. -He would not grant me this favor. “You are a Turkish -girl now,” he said, “and you must forget all past -associations with unbelievers.”</p> - -<p>Arousiag feared for me the consequences of my -being caught in an attempt to escape. Captives who -had tried to run away before had been sold into the -public houses, where they soon died. When I had -made her understand, though, that I would risk anything -rather than remain in Hadji Ghafour’s house, -she promised to help me. It was then she told me, -when we were alone in our couches that night, that -to the west, across the plains, toward the Euphrates, -was a monastery, founded ages ago by Roman Catholic -Dominican Fathers, who came into Armenia as missionaries. -During all the centuries Armenian religious -refugees had been received in this monastery, -Arousiag told me, and from there many teachers were -sent into Syria and even to Kurdistan.</p> - -<p>A man from Albustan, who really was an Armenian -Derder, or priest, but who was disguised as a Turk -and making his way to the Caucasus, where he hoped -to get aid for the exiles from the Russians, had told -Arousiag of the monastery while she was being kept<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -in Malatia. Many Armenian girls had found safety -there, the Derder had said, as the Fathers in the monastery -had not been molested, and their refuge was -far off the track of the companies of deported Christians. -Many years ago, the Derder told Arousiag, the -monastery Fathers had saved the life of a famous -chieftain, and there were legends about it which kept -the Kurds from attacking the monastery. For some -reasons the Turks had not molested it, either.</p> - -<p>Arousiag confided to me that she had often planned -to escape from the house and try to go alone to the -monastery. There, she was sure, there would be -safety—for a time at least. But each time her courage -deserted her. Now she was willing to make the -effort, since I, too, would rather risk everything than -remain a victim of Hadji Ghafour.</p> - -<p>The windows of the sleeping apartments were high, -and were not barred, as they opened only into a courtyard. -Arousiag knew of a passageway from the courtyard -into the divan-khane, or reception chamber, which -opened onto the street. Often the servants of the -haremlik went into the street through this passageway.</p> - -<p>A night came when Hadji Ghafour sent early for -the girl he desired. It was long before the haremlik’s -retiring hour. Arousiag and I slipped away and let -ourselves down from a window into the courtyard. -We hurried through the divan-khane and into the -streets. We had veiled ourselves, and, with Turkish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -slippers, we were mistaken for Turkish girls or harem -slaves hurrying home to escape a scolding.</p> - -<p>When we came to the gates of the city we were -frightened lest we be stopped—but the Turkish soldiers -guarding the gate had stolen for themselves -some Armenian girls from refugees camped near the -city, and were too busy amusing themselves with these -girls to notice us. Soon we were beyond the city, alone -in the night. The sands cut through our thin slippers, -and we were afraid that every shadow was that of a -lurking Kurd.</p> - -<p>It was twenty miles or more, Arousiag believed, to -the monastery. For three days we traveled, hiding -most of the days in the sand for fear of wandering -villagers or Kurds, and walking as far as we could at -night. We had no bread or other food, and only late -at night, when the dogs in the villages were asleep, -could we dare to approach a village well for water.</p> - -<p>Arousiag suffered much from thirst on the fourth -day. She was so famished for water, of which we -had none the night before, that when I cried she moistened -her tongue with my tears. At last she could go -no further and sank to the earth. In the distance was -an Arab village. The Arabs are not like the Kurds—they -are very fierce sometimes, and do not like the Armenians, -but unless they are in the pay of Turkish -pashas they are not always cruel. To save Arousiag’s -life I left her and went into the village.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Arab women gathered around me, and to them -I appealed for food and water, as best I could. The -women pitied me, and when the Arab men came to -inspect me they, too, felt sorry. They brought a gourd -of cool water, and bread, and some of the women went -with me to where Arousiag lay. The water revived -and strengthened her, and it gave me strength too. -Our clothes were mostly torn away, and the Arab -women gave us other garments and sandals for our -feet. The monastery, they said, was but a few miles -further on, and they showed us the nearest way. An -Arab boy went with us to tell the men of other villages -that we must not be harmed. Also the boy guided us -away from a Circassian village, where we would have -been made captives.</p> - -<p>When the gray stone walls of the convent rose before -us in the distance Arousiag and I knelt down on -the earth and thanked our Savior. The Arab boy -turned and ran back when he saw we were praying to -the Christ of the “unbelievers.” But we were very -grateful to him.</p> - -<p>It was almost evening, and the monks were at prayer. -We stood at the gate until some of them heard our -call, and then they let us in. The monks were very -kind. They gathered around us and listened to our -story. Then they took us into their little chapel and -knelt down around us, while the prior chanted a prayer -of thankfulness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p> - -<p>When the prayer was finished a monk led us to a -part of the monastery separated from the main buildings. -Here we were astonished to find more than half -a hundred Armenian girls and widowed brides, who, -like us, had found refuge among the monks. Nearly -all these girls and young women were from Van, the -largest of the Armenian cities, or from districts near -by. Some were from Bitlis, where thousands of my -people had been killed in a single hour, only the girls -and brides being left alive for the pleasure of the -Turks. Some had escaped from Diyarbekir.</p> - -<p>All had been directed to the monastery as a refuge -by friendly Arabs or Armenian Derders. One by one -or in groups of two and three they had applied at the -monastery gates just as had Arousiag and I, and the -monks had taken them in, disregarding the great danger -to themselves.</p> - -<p>We all were cautioned not to show ourselves outside -the smaller building which the monks had given over -to us, lest wandering Kurds or soldiers chance to see -us and thus discover that the monastery was the retreat -of escaped refugees. The monks prayed with us -twice every day and nursed back to health those who -were ill. Little Arousiag became very glad when the -prior assured her that God had understood, when she -renounced Him, that in her heart she was still loyal to -Him. When the aged prior knelt with her alone and -prayed especially that God forgive her every blasphemous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -prayer she had made to Allah while under the -eyes of the watchful harem women in the house of -Hadji Ghafour, she was happy again.</p> - -<p>For two weeks we were safe in the monastery. -Then, suddenly, our peace was ended. One night, -long after every one in the monastery had gone to -sleep, we, were awakened by a great shouting and -pounding at the gates. From our windows we could -look into the yard, but we could not see the gate itself. -While we huddled together in fright we saw the little -company of monks, hastily robed, led by their aged -prior, carrying a lighted candle, move slowly across -the yard. When they had passed out of our sight toward -the gate the shouting suddenly stopped, and we -heard voices demanding that the gate be opened.</p> - -<p>I think the monks refused. The shouting began -again, and we saw the monks retreating across the -yard. An instant later a horde of strange figures, -which we recognized as those of Tchetchens, or Circassian -bandits, pushed across the yard to the monastery -doors. When the monks refused to open the iron -gates they had climbed the walls.</p> - -<p>Tchetchens are even more cruel and wicked than the -Kurds. They are constantly at war, either with the -Kurds and Arabs, or the Turks themselves. During -the massacres the Turks had propitiated them by giving -them permission to prey upon the bands of Armenian -exiles in their district and to steal as many Christian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -girls as they wished. Always in the past it has -been the Tchetchens who have brought to the harems -of the pashas their prettiest girls, as they do not hesitate -to steal the daughters of their own people, the -Circassians, for the slave markets of Constantinople -and Smyrna.</p> - -<p>The monks tried to barricade themselves in their -chapel. The prior pleaded through the iron barred -windows with the Tchetchen leader, appealing to him -for the same consideration even the Kurds had always -given the monastery. But the Tchetchen chief had -learned in some manner that Armenian girls had been -concealed in the monastery, and he demanded that we -be surrendered as the price of mercy for the monks.</p> - -<p>The monks refused to open their chapel doors or to -reveal our hiding place. But the chapel doors were of -wood—they gave way when the Tchetchens rushed -against them. We heard the shrieks of our friends, -the monks. There were cries for mercy, prayers to -God and brutal shouts from the Tchetchens. In a little -while there were no more screams, no more prayers—just -the shouting of the bandits.</p> - -<p>There was no escape for us. The Tchetchens were -swarming about the yard below and through the chambers -of the monastery proper. The only way out of -the buildings the monks had set aside for us was -through passages or windows leading directly into the -yard. We heard one band of Tchetchens breaking in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -the door that opened into the rooms on the floor below -us. We crowded into a corner and waited, trembling, -too frightened even to pray.</p> - -<p>The Tchetchens climbed the stone stairway. They -were cursing their ill fortune at not having found us. -One of them pushed in the door of the room in which -we had gathered. The moon was shining through the -windows and the bandits saw us. Then the spell of -our silent fear was broken—we screamed. In an instant -the Tchetchen band came pouring into the room.</p> - -<p>They called terrible jests to each other. Arousiag -and I were kneeling, with our arms around each other. -A Tchetchen caught my hair in one hand and that of -Arousiag in the other and dragged us down the stairway. -The others were either dragged out in the same -way or carried into the yard tossed across a Tchetchen’s -shoulder.</p> - -<p>About the steps of the chapel we saw the bodies of -the monks. All had been driven out of the chapel into -the moonlight and then killed. The Tchetchens -dragged us outside the monastery gate. They then -gathered up their horses and drove them into the yard, -where they could be left for the night. Then the -Tchetchens returned to us.</p> - -<p>Each claimed the girl or girls he had captured and -dragged through the yard. Those who were not satisfied -with their prizes, in comparing their beauty with -those who had fallen to the lot of others, quarreled.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -Little Arousiag’s arm was broken when one Tchetchen, -seeing that the bandit who had captured us had two -girls, pulled her away from him. Her captor paid -no attention to her screams of pain. He subdued her -by twisting her broken arm until she was unconscious.</p> - -<p>When daylight came and the Tchetchens could see -our faces more plainly they selected those whom they -considered the prettiest, and killed the rest. They -killed Arousiag because of her broken arm. Then they -lifted us onto their horses and took us to Diyarbekir.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE GAME OF THE SWORDS, AND DIYARBEKIR</span></h3> - -<p>From the edge of a sandy plateau I caught my first -view of Diyarbekir, once the capital of our country. -For two days we had ridden with the Tchetchens. -We knew that some new peril awaited us in this ancient -city which, centuries before, had been one of the -most glorious cities of Christ.</p> - -<p>When the Tchetchens drew up at the edge of the -plateau, the walls of the city spread out far below us, -with here and there a minaret rising over the low -roofs. Just beyond the city was the beautiful, blue -Tigris—the River Hiddekel, of the Bible. And as -far as I could see, dotting the great plains that are -watered by the Tigris, were Christian refugees from -the north and east and west, thousands and thousands -of them. Some had walked hundreds of miles. -Nearly all the Armenians who were permitted to live -that long were brought to Diyarbekir, where those who -were not massacred in the city or outside the walls -were turned south into the Syrian and Arabian deserts, -to be deserted there.</p> - -<p>More than one million of my people were started<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -toward Diyarbekir when the deportations and massacres -began. Only 100,000, I have heard, lived to reach -the ancient city on the Tigris. And of these more -than half were massacred within the city and outside -the walls. Only young women and some of the children -were saved, and these were lost in harems, or, as -with the children, placed in Dervish monasteries to be -taught Mohammedanism, so they might be sold as -slaves when they grew up.</p> - -<p>Nail Pasha, the Vali of Diyarbekir, was very -wicked. Inside the city there are several ancient -forts, built centuries ago—one of them in the days -of Mohammed, and two great prisons. Already more -than 3,000 Russian prisoners of war had been marched -from the Caucasus to Diyarbekir for confinement in -these prisons. Nail Pasha had taken away all the -clothing of these prisoners, and had compelled them, by -refusing to give them food, to work as masons on a -large house the pasha was building for himself.</p> - -<p>When the refugees began to arrive at Diyarbekir in -great numbers Nail Pasha crowded the Russians into -one of the fortresses so closely they had almost no -room to lie down at night. The other prisons he then -filled with the Armenian men who had been permitted -to accompany their women from some of the smaller -Armenian villages in the north. When the prisons -were full of these exiles he had his soldiers massacre -them. Outside the city their women waited on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -plains or were taken away without even being told -what had been the fate of their husbands, sons and -brothers.</p> - -<p>When more Russian prisoners arrived Nail Pasha -crowded Armenians into the prisons in the daytime and -killed them, and then compelled the Russians to carry -out the bodies and remove the blood before they could -lie down to rest from their day’s labor in the fields or -on the stonework of his new house. The soldiers of -Nail Pasha told with great enjoyment how the bodies -of little Armenian children had been mixed in with -cement and built into the walls of the new house to -fill the spaces between the stones.</p> - -<p>The Tchetchens who had stolen us from the monastery -decided to enter the city by its southern gate—where -the walls reach down almost to the river banks. -But when they had galloped around that way soldiers -from the gate came out and told them the Vali -had issued orders that no more refugees were to be -brought into the city until some of those already within -the walls were “cleared out”—massacred or sent -away.</p> - -<p>Afterward I learned why the city itself was crowded -with refugees while so many others were camped -outside the walls. The Vali promised protection -from further deportation to all who had managed to -preserve enough money to bribe him. These he allowed -to go within the city and occupy deserted houses.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -When their money ran out the “protection” ceased, -and they were sent out of the city in little companies—always -to be killed at the gates by Tchetchens, who had -been notified to wait for them.</p> - -<p>When the Tchetchens saw they could not enter the -city with us at once, they lifted us from their horses -and ordered us to sit in a circle so they could guard -us easily. Of the two hundred in the monastery, only -twenty-seven of us still lived. Three of the girls were -younger than I. None was more than twenty, although -several had been brides when the massacres -came.</p> - -<p>The bandit leader then went into the city by himself. -All that day, and the next, and most of the day after -that, we sat in the sand in the burning sun. The Tchetchens -foraged bread and berries and gave us just a -little of what they did not want themselves. Only -once each day would they let us have water. On the -second day one of the girls became hot with fever. -She cried for water, and when a Tchetchen would have -slapped her for her cries she showed him her tongue, -which had begun to swell. When the Tchetchen saw -this he called to his comrades, and they were afraid -lest the fever spread to others of us. They paid no -attention to the poor girl’s pleading for water, but -dragged her a hundred feet away and left her. Once -she got to her feet and seemed to be trying to get back -to us. A Tchetchen went out to her and struck her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -down with the end of his gun. She could not get up -again, and we saw her rolling about in the sand until -she died.</p> - -<p>On the evening of our second day of waiting outside -the walls there was a great commotion at the city’s -southern gate, and presently a stream of refugees, all -women, came pouring out onto the plain. All that -day groups of Tchetchen horsemen had been gathering -from the surrounding country and taking up positions -nearby. Now we knew why these horsemen had come—they -had been notified a company of refugees was to -be sent out of the city.</p> - -<p>The Turks themselves seldom massacred women in -a wholesale way. Constantinople had not authorized -the killing of submissive women—the work was left -to Kurds and other bands.</p> - -<p>I think there must have been more than 2,000 women -and some children in this company. They began to -come out of the gate before sundown, and were still -coming long after it was dark. The Tchetchens -herded them into a circle about one mile from the -walls. They were half a mile or more from us, but -when the moon came up we could plainly hear the -shouts and screams that told us the Tchetchens had -begun their evil work.</p> - -<p>All night long we heard the screams. Sometimes -they would be very near, as if fugitives were coming -our way. Then we would hear shouts and the hoofbeats<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> -of horses. There would be piercing shrieks and -then only the sound of hoofbeats growing fainter. -The Tchetchens who guarded us did not bother us, -they seemed to be saving us for something else. But -we could not sleep that night. Sometimes even now -I cannot sleep, although I am safe forever. Those -screams come to me in the night time, and even with -my friends all about me I cannot shut them out of -my ears.</p> - -<p>When the first gray mist of dawn spread over the -plain the excitement was still at its height. Then, suddenly, -everything was quiet. We were too far from -the city to hear the voices on the minarets, but we knew -that silence meant that the hour for the Prayer of -Islam had arrived. Even in the midst of their awful -work the Tchetchens instinctively heard the call and -stopped to kneel toward Mecca. I remember how I -wondered that morning, while the bandits were reciting -their prayer to their Allah for his grace and commendation, -how my Christ would feel if His people -should come to Him in prayer at the sunrise after -such a night’s work as that.</p> - -<p>More than ever before I loved Jesus Christ and -trusted Him that morning while the Mohammedan -bandits were praying to him they call Allah.</p> - -<p>I think less than 300 of that company of Armenians -were alive when the sun came up and we could see -across the plain. One little group we saw moving<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -about, huddled together. All around them were the -Tchetchens searching the bodies scattered over a -great circle—making sure in the daylight they had -missed nothing of value in the massacre and robbery -during the night.</p> - -<p>During the morning the Tchetchens busied themselves -with the young women who had been permitted -to survive the night. We could see them go up to the -little group of survivors and drag some of them away.</p> - -<p>It was when the Tchetchens began to tire of this -that we saw them preparing, a little way from where -we were, in a flat place on the plain, for one of the -pastimes for which wild Circassian tribes are famous, -and which they frequently repeated, as I afterward -learned, as long as my people lasted.</p> - -<p>They planted their swords, which were the long, -slender-bladed swords that came from Germany, in a -long row in the sand, so the sharp pointed blades rose -out of the ground as high as would be a very small -child. When we saw these preparations all of us knew -what was going to happen. When Armenian children -are bad their mothers sometimes tell them the Tchetchens -will come and get them if they don’t be good. -And when the children ask, “And when the Tchetchens -come, what will they do?” their mothers say:</p> - -<p>“The Tchetchens are very wicked robber horsemen, -who like to sharpen their swords with little boys and -girls.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p> - -<p>Already I was trembling with sickness of heart because -of the awful night before and the things I had -seen that morning when daylight came. The other -women beside me were trembling, too, and felt as if -they would rather die than see any more. We begged -our Tchetchens to take us away—to take us where we -could not look upon those sword blades—but they -only laughed at us and told us we must watch and be -thankful to them we were under their protection.</p> - -<p>When the long row of swords had been placed the -Tchetchens hurried back to the little band of Armenians. -We saw them crowd among them, and then -come away carrying, or dragging, all the young women -who were left—maybe fifteen or twenty—I could -not count them.</p> - -<p>Each girl was forced to stand with a dismounted -Tchetchen holding her on her feet, half way between -two swords in the long row. The captives cried and -begged, but the cruel bandits were heedless of their -pleadings.</p> - -<p>When the girls had been placed to please them, one -between each two sword blades, the remaining Tchetchens -mounted their horses and gathered at the end -of the line. At a shouted signal the first one galloped -down the row of swords. He seized a girl, lifted her -high in the air and flung her down upon a sword point, -without slackening his horse.</p> - -<p>It was a game—a contest! Each Tchetchen tried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> -to seize as many girls as he could and fling them upon -the sword points, so that they were killed in the one -throw, in one gallop along the line. Only the most -skillful of them succeeded in impaling more than one -girl. Some lifted the second from the ground, but -missed the sword in their speed, and the girl, with -broken bones or bleeding wounds, was held up in the -line again to be used in the “game” a second time—praying -that this time the Tchetchen’s aim would be -true and the sword put an end to her torture.</p> - -<p>In the meantime the Jews of Diyarbekir had come -out from the city, driven by gendarmes, to gather up -the bodies of the slain Armenians. They brought -carts and donkeys with bags swung across their backs. -Into the carts and bags they piled the corpses and took -them to the banks of the Tigris, where the Turks made -them throw their burdens into the water. This is one -of the persecutions the Jews were forced to bear. -The Mohammedans did not kill them, but they liked to -compel them to do such awful tasks.</p> - -<p>Late in the afternoon the chief of our Tchetchens -came out from the city. His men drew off to one side -and talked with him excitedly. When it grew dark -they lifted us upon their horses and carried us into -the city through the south gate. At the gate the -Tchetchen chief showed to the officers of the gendarmes -a paper he had brought from the city, and the -Tchetchens were permitted to enter. We passed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -through dark narrow streets until we came to a house -terraced high above the others, with an iron gate leading -into a courtyard off the street. A hammal, or -Turkish porter, was waiting at the gate and swung it -open.</p> - -<p>The bandits dismounted outside the gate to the -house and lifted us to the ground. The leader waved -us inside. With half a dozen of his men he entered -behind us and the gate closed. Some of the Tchetchens -went into the house. In a few minutes they -came out, followed by a foreign man, whose uniform -I recognized as that of a German soldier.</p> - -<p>Servants followed with lighted lamps, and the soldier -looked into our faces and examined us shamefully. -Only eight of the girls pleased him. I was -among these. We were pushed into the house and -the door was closed behind us. Then we heard the -Tchetchens gather up the other girls and take them -into the street. I do not know what became of them.</p> - -<p>The soldier and the servants, all of whom were foreigners, -whom I afterward discovered were Germans, -took us into a stone floored room which had been used -as a stable for horses.</p> - -<p>It must have been two or three hours afterward—after -midnight, I think; we could not keep track of the -time—when the soldier and the servants came for us. -Before they took us from the stable room they took -away what few clothes we had. They led us, afraid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -and ashamed, into a room where were three men in the -uniforms of German officers. The soldiers saluted -them. The officers seemed very pleased when they -had looked at us. We tried to cover ourselves with -our arms and to hide behind each other, but the soldier -roughly drew us apart. The officers laughed at our -embarrassment, and then dismissed the soldier, saying -something to him in German, which I do not understand.</p> - -<p>The officers talked among themselves, also in German. -They tried to caress us. It amused them -greatly when we pleaded with them to spare us, to let -us have clothes and to have mercy, in God’s name.</p> - -<p>Almost two weeks I was a prisoner in this house. -The principal officer’s name was Captain August Walsenburg. -He was middle-aged, I think, and very bald. -After awhile I learned many things about him. He -had been connected with a German trading company, -the “Oriental Handelsgellschaft,” in the city of Van.</p> - -<p>He was a reserve army officer and had been called -into service. He helped the Turkish officials at Van -mobilize an army there and had taken part in the Armenian -massacres at that city. He had been ordered -to report to a German general whose name I do not -remember at Aleppo, where the German commander -was organizing Turkish soldiers for the Mesopotamian -armies. But when he reached Diyarbekir there was -news of the Russian advance in the Caucasus, and he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -had been ordered, by telegraph, to wait at Diyarbekir -for instructions. The two other officers were lieutenants, -who had accompanied him from Van, and -they, too, were awaiting instructions.</p> - -<p>They were the only German officers at Diyarbekir -at that time. The Vali was very friendly with them. -He had set aside for them the house to which we were -taken as captives. To this house were brought many -pretty Armenian girls stolen by the Kurds and -Tchetchens. When they tired of them they sent them -away to the refugee camps outside the city or to be -sold to Turks.</p> - -<p>The German captain asked me to be submissive. I -fought him with all my might. I told him he might -kill me. This amused him. It was while I was his -prisoner I tasted, for the first and only time in my life -that which I have learned in America is called -“whiskey”. It was bitter and terrible. The officers -had brought some of this from Van. They drank -much of it, and it made them very brutal. One night -they assembled all the girls in the house into a room -where they were eating and forced them to sit on a -table and drink this awful whiskey. They were delighted -when it made us ill.</p> - -<p>One by one the other girls who had been stolen with -me from the monastery were sent away, after the -officers had wearied of them, and their places were -taken by new ones. I think I was kept because I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -fought so hard when one of them approached me. -The captain always clapped his hands and laughed -aloud when I fought.</p> - -<p>There was another girl, who had been a prisoner -in the house longer than others—since before I was -taken there. She had especially pleased one of the -under-officers. She told me of one night when the -officers had taken much of their whiskey and were -particularly cruel. She said they sent for some of the -girls then in the house and, standing them sideways, -shot at them with their pistols, using their breasts as -targets. Afterward I was told this thing was done -very often by the Turks in the Vilayet of Van when -they massacred our people there.</p> - -<p>At last orders came to the officers to leave Diyarbekir. -I understood they would have to go to Harpout. -They prepared to leave immediately and set -out the next morning. They had in the house many -rugs and articles of valuable jewelry they had bought -from Kurds and Tchetchens, who had stolen them -from Armenians, and all of this booty they carefully -packed in boxes to be kept for them by the Vali until -a caravan bound for the railway at Ras-el-Ain came -through.</p> - -<p>They were so hurried they paid little attention to -us. When they left all their servants accompanied -them, riding donkeys behind their masters’ horses. -So we were alone in the house.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p> - -<p>We would have been happy in our deliverance had -it not been for the danger which threatened us at the -hands of the Turkish gendarmes, who would be sure -to discover us. We searched until we found where -the servants had hidden our clothes in a dark room, -into which the clothes of all Armenian girls who had -been brought to the house had been thrown. We each -took something with which to cover ourselves.</p> - -<p>We spent a day and night in constant terror of discovery. -We were afraid to venture into the streets -and afraid to stay where we were. There were many -foreign missionaries in the city, including Americans, -but they lodged in a different quarter, and we never -could have reached them. The gendarmes came the -third day after the officers left. I do not think they -expected to find any one in the house, but came to -look for things the Germans might have left unpacked.</p> - -<p>We saw them entering through the courtyard gate. -There was no place we could hide, as the house was -built in tiers. We could only huddle in a corner and -put off our capture till the last minute. The gendarmes -saw us from the courtyard and rushed after us -with shouts.</p> - -<p>When I ran through the room that had been occupied -by one of the officers I saw a knife he had left -behind. I seized this and hid it in my clothes. It was -the first time I had held a knife in my hands or other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> -weapon since I was taken from my home in Tchemesh-Gedzak.</p> - -<p>A gendarme cornered me in one of the rooms, just -as all the other girls were trapped. He caught me -by the arms. He was taking me into another room -when the officer of the gendarmes saw me. He halted -the man, took me from him and ordered him to “find -another one for himself.” The officer pushed me into -the room.</p> - -<p>But when he tried to pinion my arms I turned on -him with the knife. I know God guided my hand, for -I am sure I killed him. He fell at my feet.</p> - -<p>In other parts of the house and in the courtyard the -gendarmes were giving their attention to the girls they -had found. I reached the street without being seen. -I looked in each direction and could see no one except -a Turkish woman, who came out of her gate on the -opposite side of the street. For an instant I thought -I would be caught, and I gripped the knife, which I -still kept under my clothes.</p> - -<p>But the Turkish woman was kind. She pitied me. -She stepped back into her gate and motioned me to -follow. I was afraid, yet I trusted her. She closed -the gate and took me in her arms. She was sorry for -me and my people, she said, and would help me. But -she dared not take me into her house. She told me -I could hide in her yard till night, when I might slip -out of the city to where the refugees were.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p> - -<p>During the day she brought me food. At dark she -came to take leave of me, and kissed me, and gave me -three liras, which was all she could spare without -earning a scolding from her husband. “Go out by the -north gate, not by the south gate,” she said to me. -“All the refugees who are taken around by the south -gate are killed; those who are camped beyond the -north gate may live. But do not join them while it -still is night, or you may be caught in a massacre. -Hide among the rocks in the pass through the Karajah -hills, a mile from the city. If the Armenians are -allowed to pass these rocks when they are taken away, -it means they will be allowed to live through another -stage of their journey.”</p> - -<p>I reached the north gate without being stopped, as -I was careful to keep in the shadows. Gendarmes -guarded the gate, but they were not very watchful. I -ran onto the plain and followed the directions the -friendly Turkish lady had given me until I came to -the rocks which marked the road through the low hills -that skirted the city on the north. Along this road -the refugees sent to the southern deserts from Diyarbekir -must pass.</p> - -<p>I waited at the rocks through the night. In the -morning I thought to walk along the road to where I -would not be seen by soldiers, Kurds or Tchetchens -roving on the plains near the city, and where I could -wait until a company of my people passed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p> - -<p>But while I was picking my way through the narrow -pass between the rocks I saw a little group of zaptiehs -coming toward me along the road beyond. I had not -expected to meet any one. I screamed before I could -stop myself. The zaptiehs heard me and I ran back -into the shelter of the rocks and drew out my knife, -which I had kept so I might kill myself rather than -be stolen again. But I was afraid God would not -approve. While the zaptiehs searched the rocks I -knelt in a crevice and asked God to tell me what I -should do—if He would blame me if I killed myself -before the zaptiehs found me. “Dear God, tell me, -shall I come now to You or wait until You call?” I -asked of Him.</p> - -<p>I know He heard me, and I know He answered. -For something told me to throw the knife far away—and -I did.</p> - -<p>That was God’s will, I know, for after awhile He -was to lead me into the arms of my mother that I -might be with her once again before the Turks killed -her.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI<br /> -<span class="smaller">“ISHIM YOK; KEIFIM TCHOK!”</span></h3> - -<p>I threw the knife away and stood up. The zaptiehs -soon found me. I was resigned for whatever -was to happen, and did not run from them.</p> - -<p>I told them I had come out from the city; that I -wanted to join some of my people; that if they would -not harm me I would not give them any trouble. I -still had the three liras, or three pounds, which the -good Turkish lady had given me, but I knew if I gave -it to them they would only search me for more and -then, perhaps, kill me. So I told them I would get -money for them from my people if they would let me -join a company that was not to be killed.</p> - -<p>“Maybe all will be killed; maybe not all. We do -not know. Come with us. Get us money and we -will let you live,” one of them said to me.</p> - -<p>I walked with them a little ways, until we saw coming -toward us a long line of refugees. Then the zaptiehs -halted, and from what they said to each other I -knew they had been sent from a village a little way -behind us to join the guards escorting this party.</p> - -<p>Soon the party drew near. The zaptiehs said I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -must stay near the front of the line, and that they -would come after a while and hunt for me, and that I -must have money or they would take me off and kill -me. They came to me a few hours later, and I gave -them the three liras, and they kept their promise and -did not molest me again.</p> - -<p>The party of refugees I had joined was from Erzeroum -and the little cities in that district. My heart -leaped with joy when I saw among them a few Armenian -men. It was the first time I had seen men of -my people for so long, and I was so happy for the -women whose husbands and fathers could still be with -them. When I was led up to this party by the zaptiehs -the first women to see me held out their arms to -me. They thought I was one of the girls of their own -party who had been stolen the night before. When I -told them I had escaped from Diyarbekir they were -glad for me, and one lady who had lost her sixteen-year-old -daughter to the Turks said I might take this -daughter’s place and march with her. Another little -daughter, six years old, was with her still.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;" id="illus4"> - -<img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="600" height="325" alt="" /> - -<p class="caption">DRIVEN FORTH ON THE ROAD OF TERROR</p> - -<p class="caption">The old and the very young just leaving their homes in an ancient city, on their way to the desert. In -the foreground is a zaptieh, who has stolen an armful of rugs from the exiles.</p> - -</div> - -<p>There were two thousand, or a few more, in this -party. They were all that were left of 40,000 Armenian -families who had been deported from Erzeroum -and nearby villages. Erzeroum is 150 miles directly -north of Diyarbekir, but the Armenians there had been -sent to Diyarbekir in two directions. Some had come -by way of Erzindjan and Malatia. These had walked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -almost 300 miles. Others had come by way of -Khnuss and Bitlis, and these had walked 250 miles. -The survivors of both parties reached Diyarbekir at -almost the same time as those who came by way of -Bitlis had been kept for many days at towns along -the route.</p> - -<p>The only friend the Armenians at Erzeroum had -when they were being assembled for deportation was -the good Badvelli, Robert Stapleton, the American -vice-consul, whose home is in New York City. Dr. -Stapleton took all the Armenian girls he could crowd -into his house at Erzeroum, and when the Turks came -for them he showed the Turks the American flag over -his door, and ordered them away. There were many -mothers in this party when I joined it who were glad -their daughters had been among those who were left -under Dr. Stapleton’s protection, and they wondered -if they still were safe.</p> - -<p>Many months later I learned the good American -Badvelli kept them all safely until the Russians came -to Erzeroum and took them under their care.</p> - -<p>There were almost 75,000 men, women and children -in the parties that went by way of Erzindjan. Of -these only 500 reached Diyarbekir. All the prettiest -and youngest girls had been stolen by the Kurds or -zaptiehs and given to Turks along the way. The girl -children under ten years old had all been either killed, -if they were not strong and pretty, or sold to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> -Turks, who kept them to raise as Moslems for their -harems or sent them to Constantinople to be sold into -the harems of wealthy Turks there. Many of the -younger women who were not stolen had been outraged -to death. All the grandmothers and women -who were ill had been abandoned at the roadside, or -killed outright. So only the 500 remained.</p> - -<p>Of the other parties, which had numbered 50,000 -individuals, and who had mostly come from the -smaller cities near Erzeroum, with many rich families, -including teachers, bankers, merchants and professional -men from the city itself among them, only 1,500 -were left—about 300 men, I think.</p> - -<p>When the different parties recognized each other in -camp outside Diyarbekir, they rejoiced greatly, and -they were allowed to move their camps together. -They remained outside Diyarbekir eleven days, because -all of them had been robbed of their money and -all valuables, so they could not bribe the Vali to let them -stay inside the city.</p> - -<p>Each night while they were camped outside Diyarbekir -Turks came forth from the city to steal girls, and -soldiers came out to borrow girls and young women -for a little while. They had no food except one loaf -of bread for each person, every other day, sent out by -the Vali, and occasionally something which American -missionaries in the city managed to smuggle out -to them by bribing Turkish water carriers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p> - -<p>During the night, while I was hiding in the rocks, -they were told they were to be taken away again in the -morning, this time to Ourfa. They had begged the -Turkish officers to let them stay a while longer, because -so many of them were suffering with swollen -feet, which had grown more painful, even to bursting, -during their eleven days of rest. They asked to be -allowed to wait until their feet were better again, but -the Turks would not grant this.</p> - -<p>So they had started early in the morning, and now I -was with them, and before me lay the long walk to -Ourfa, 200 miles further toward the Arabian deserts—unless -I suffered the harder fate of being stolen -again along the way.</p> - -<p>For the first time since I had been taken from my -home that Easter Sunday morning, so many weeks -before, I learned, when I joined this party on the way -to Ourfa, where my people were being taken—those -who were allowed to live. Soldiers who went out to -the refugee camps from Diyarbekir had told these -exiles that all who reached Aleppo, a large city on the -Damascus railway, were to be taken from there to the -Der-el-Zor district, on the southern Euphrates, and -there put to building military roads through the deserts. -As only a few men lived to reach there, the strong -women were to be used.</p> - -<p>But always there was hope of deliverance. So -many Armenians had friends in America, sons and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -brothers who had left our country to go to the wonderful -United States. They prayed every night that -from America would come help before all were dead. -There were rumors even then that help was coming; -that good people in the United States were sending -money and food and clothing and trying to get the -Turks to be more merciful. It was this hope that kept -thousands alive.</p> - -<p>When I joined this party it could only move along -very slowly, because of swollen feet. When we came -to the rocks where I had been discovered it was very -painful for those whose feet were broken open to pass -between them, because the pass was very narrow and -the stones sharp. For more than a mile we had to -walk along this rocky defile—then we came into the -open again. I had a pair of sandals, with leather -bottoms, which I had saved from the house of the -Germans. These I gave to the lady who had asked -me to march with her, for her own feet were bleeding. -No one else in the party had shoes or slippers or any -covering for their feet, except rags which some could -spare from their clothing.</p> - -<p>Outside Diyarbekir some of the refugees had traded -laces which they had saved by wrapping them around -their bodies, for donkeys and arabas (ox carts). They -had been told they might keep these until they reached -Ourfa. In the arabas they had hidden many small -pieces of bread which they had saved from their occasional<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -rations at Diyarbekir, hoping thus to provide -against the sufferings of starvation along the road. -But when they reached the rocks the pass was so narrow -there was great trouble getting the arabas through.</p> - -<p>Some Turkish villagers from the other side had -come to the rocks, and when they saw the trouble the -refugees were having with their arabas they asked -the zaptiehs guarding us why they could not have the -donkeys and the carts. The zaptiehs told them if they -would give some money to be divided among the -guards they could take them.</p> - -<p>So the villagers paid money to the zaptiehs and then -swooped down upon us and took away our animals and -carts. They would not allow us to take what few -belongings were in the carts, and the pieces of bread, -saying they had bought everything the carts contained -from the zaptiehs.</p> - -<p>In one of the carts were two little girl twins, nine -years old, whose mother had died at Diyarbekir. They -were being taken care of by their aunt, who had three -times bribed soldiers to let them alone, until she had -nothing more to bribe with. She had hidden them in -her araba, thinking she could save them and spare -them the weary walking. The villagers who took her -cart refused to let her take them out. He said they -went with the cart.</p> - -<p>The woman was crazed, and screamed loudly. She -attacked the villagers with her hands. An Armenian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -man was near, and he and many women rushed at the -Turk, who was alone. Three zaptiehs rushed up, but -the women and the man were determined, and the -zaptiehs were afraid to help the villagers. They told -him to let the aunt have the two little girls.</p> - -<p>Although there were about 2,000 refugees in this -party, I could count only eleven zaptiehs sent along -as guards. As many men as could be spared by the -Turks at Diyarbekir had been sent north to the army, -and the supply of guards for refugees was very short. -Had there been more zaptiehs they would not have -hindered the Turk from stealing the little girls.</p> - -<p>At the next village the zaptiehs decided they would -have to have more help if they were to enjoy the -license customary among them along the road. At this -village they stopped us and held a long conversation -with the Mudir, or village chief. Soon after the Mudir -approached, followed by twenty or thirty of the most -evil looking Turks I ever saw. Each one of them carried -a gun and wore on his sleeve a strip of red woolen -cloth, the badge of police authority.</p> - -<p>When we went on these Turks were distributed -among us by the zaptiehs as additional guards.</p> - -<p>During the second day upon the road we met a party -of mounted Turkish soldiers, escorting a group of -very comfortable looking covered arabas, such as are -used by the wealthy for traveling in the interior of -Turkey. In these arabas there were forty hanums,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> -or Turkish wives, who were on their way with the -soldier escort to Erzeroum, to join their husbands, who -were high military officers with the army in the great -military fortress there. They had come from Damascus, -Beirut and Aleppo.</p> - -<p>When our party approached, the arabas of the -hanums halted, and the soldiers ordered our guards -to halt us also. Then we saw that several of the -arabas were occupied by young Armenian girls, from -eight to twelve years old, all very sweet and gentle -looking, as if they were the daughters of wealthy families. -Some of them waved their little hands from -under the curtains, and that is how we discovered them. -From six to ten were crowded in each of their arabas, -and each of the hanum’s arabas hid others.</p> - -<p>The little girls told us they were from Ourfa and -Aleppo. Their parents and relatives all had been -killed, and they had been given to the hanums, who, -they understood, intended to put a part of them in -Moslem schools at Erzeroum, so they could have them -for sale when they were a little older. The others the -hanums would keep as servants or to sell at once to -friends among rich Turks.</p> - -<p>The hanums descended from their arabas and asked -our zaptiehs if there were any very pretty girl children -among us. The zaptiehs did not approve of losing -girl children to these Turkish wives, who, they -thought, would take them without paying for them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -So they said there were none. But one of the hanums -saw a little girl holding onto her mother, and insisted -upon having her brought to her. When she looked at -the little girl closely she saw she was pretty, and commanded -one of the soldiers to take her into her carriage.</p> - -<p>The child’s mother held onto it desperately, and when -the hanum, with her soldier near, put her hands on -the little girl to pull it away the mother lost her reason -and struck at her.</p> - -<p>The soldier immediately caught hold of the woman -and asked of the hanum, “What shall I do with her?” -The hanum said, “Have we any oil to burn her?” -The soldier said, “I do not think so.” Then the -hanum held out her hand and the soldier gave her his -pistol. The Turkish woman went up to the mother -and shot her with her own hands. She then caught the -little girl’s hand and led her to the arabas. The little -one wanted to kiss her mother, but the hanum jerked -her away.</p> - -<p>With our party was the wife of Abouhayatian Agha, -the great scholar, of Van, who had escaped, when the -massacres began, to Diyarbekir. Her husband had -been a friend of Djevdet Bey. When the soldiers were -turned loose upon the Armenians at Van, so Mrs. -Abouhayatian told me, her husband went to Djevdet -Bey and remonstrated with him. His reply, now -famous all over Turkey, was:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Ishim yok; Keifim tchok,” which means, “I have -no work to do; I have much fun!” After that, -whenever regular soldiers were sent to slaughter Armenians, -they called out to each other:</p> - -<p>“Ishim yok; keifim tchok!”</p> - -<p>Over this same path I walked, more than 400,000 of -my people had trod—some of them having walked a -thousand miles or more to get there. And of these, -sole survivors of the millions who were deported from -their homes, those who are alive to-day are lost in the -deserts, where there is no bread or food.</p> - -<p>God grant that I may soon go back to this desert, -from which I escaped, with money and food for those -of my people who may still be alive!</p> - -<p>When we camped near a village at night our zaptiehs -would invite the village gendarme and his friends -to come out, and they would sell young women to them -for the night. The mother or other relatives of these -young women dared not even object, for if they did -the zaptiehs would kill them. Sometimes there would -be better class Turks in some of these villages, and -they would pick out girl children and buy them. They -would pay our guards for the child they fancied and -take it out of its mother’s arms. These children now -are being taught to be Moslems, and, if they are old -enough, made to work in the fields. Some of them are -concubines besides.</p> - -<p>Three babies were born during the first days of this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -journey. The mothers were not allowed to rest along -the way, neither before nor after. They were made to -keep up with the party until the little ones were born. -Sometimes the men would carry the mother a little way, -but when the zaptiehs saw them doing this they would -make them put her down. They would say the woman -didn’t deserve to be carried because she was bringing -an unbeliever into the world.</p> - -<p>These events always amused the zaptiehs greatly. -When one of them discovered a baby was about to be -born he would call his comrades, and they would walk -near the poor woman, making her keep on her feet -until the last minute. Then they would stand close -to her and laugh and jest. As soon as the baby was -born the mother would have to get upon her feet and -walk. If she could not walk the zaptiehs would leave -her on the road and make the party move on.</p> - -<p>Almost always the zaptiehs killed the babies. The -first two born near me they took from the mothers -and threw up in the air and caught them like a ball. -They did this four or five times and then threw them -away. The mothers saw, but they had to walk on. -The third baby was not killed. It was born in the -evening, just after we had camped. The zaptiehs -were busy with their horses and did not notice. This -one was a sweet little boy. Its father was dead. Its -mother was so happy—and so sad, both together—when -she first held it in her arms. She asked God to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -let it live, but there was no way. She had had so little -food herself she could not nurse it. The little thing -starved to death in her arms.</p> - -<p>When we left the district where the villages were -we began to suffer for water. The zaptiehs carried -great water bags over their saddles, but they would -give none of it to us. For days at a time we marched -without a drop of moisture to quench our thirst. Then -we would come to a group of houses where Turks -lived around a well, or spring. The Turks always -would refuse to let us go near the wells, demanding -pay for each gourd of water. Men would stand guard -at the wells with guns and sticks to drive us off if we -went near.</p> - -<p>But no one in our party had anything left to pay -with. Our women would go as near to the houses as -they dared, and get down on their knees and beg for -just a swallow of the precious water. Sometimes the -Turks would let us go to the wells when they were -convinced we had nothing to give them. But not always. -At one place the head man, who had been a -pilgrim and was called Hadji, demanded that if we -could not give him money or rugs, we must give him -for the community three strong men who could help -till the fields which were watered from his spring.</p> - -<p>We appealed to our guards, but they would not take -our part. They stood by the Turks, and said if we -wanted water we should be willing to pay. At least<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -thirty of our party had died that day for want of drink. -Some of the women’s tongues were so swollen they -could not talk. There was talk of rushing on the -spring in a body, but we knew this would cost many -lives, for our zaptiehs stood near with their guns, and -we knew, too, it would be held against us and probably -cause a massacre.</p> - -<p>Finally Harutoune Yegarian, who had been a student -at Erzeroum, said he would sacrifice himself. He -asked if there were two other men who would give -themselves. Two men whose wives had died, and -who had no daughters, at once said they were willing. -Many women embraced them. Harutoune was standing -near me, and I cried for him. He saw me.</p> - -<p>“Don’t weep for me, little girl,” he said to me. -“Every Armenian in the world should be glad to give -himself for his people.” Then he kissed me, and I -think his kiss was the kiss of God.</p> - -<p>The three men said they would stay and work in the -field for the Turks, and so they let us have water—all -we could drink and carry away.</p> - -<p>When we reached the city of Severeg, half way to -Ourfa, we had not had water for four days. There -are three open wells on one side of Severeg, and they -feed an artificial lake, which was filled when we arrived.</p> - -<p>Some of our women were so parched they threw -themselves into the lake and were drowned. Others<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -could not wait until they reached the lake, and jumped -into the wells.</p> - -<p>So many did this they choked the wells, and the -Turks, who had come out to meet us, had to pull them -out. We who had kept our senses crowded around -those who were pulled out and moistened our tongues -from their wet clothes.</p> - -<p>After we left Severeg a fever attacked our party. -Every day many died by the wayside. The zaptiehs -rode at a distance away from us, and when any of the -men or women dropped behind, they would shoot them. -The fever parched the throats of those who suffered -from it so badly that when we came to the next group -of houses where there was a well the men braved the -guns of the Turks and zaptiehs and rushed up to them.</p> - -<p>After that the zaptiehs were wary of persecuting us -too much, but we paid the penalty at Sheitan Deressi, -or “Devil’s Gorge,” which we reached on the twenty-third -day out of Diyarbekir.</p> - -<p>When all our party had entered the gorge the zaptiehs -left their horses and climbed above us and opened -fire upon us. We were trapped so we could not turn -back and could not escape. The zaptiehs picked off -all the men. From early morning until dark they -continued shooting from the walls of the gorge, and -at each shot a man fell. When evening came all had -been killed or mortally wounded.</p> - -<p>When night fell the zaptiehs came down and began<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> -killing women with their knives and bayonets. They -picked out the older women first, and soon all these -were dead. When the moon lighted up the gorge the -zaptiehs picked out the young married women—or -those who had been married but now were widows—and -amused themselves by mutilating them. They -would not kill them outright, but would cut off their -fingers, or their hands, or their breasts. They tore out -the eyes of some. When dawn came only those who -had succeeded in hiding behind rocks, or we who were -young and might be sold to Turks, were alive. During -the next day I counted, and there were only 160 left -of the 2,000 who left Diyarbekir with me. I have -heard it said that more than 300,000 of my people were -killed in this spot during the period of the massacres.</p> - -<p>Now that we were so few the zaptiehs made us -march faster, and as we were nearly all young they -were more cruel to us. I was glad that morning when -I discovered that the lady who had let me march with -her had survived. She had hid during the night, and -had saved her little girl too. But my gladness for her -soon became sorrow. The little girl was taken with -the fever that day. The next day she could not walk -any more. When the zaptiehs discovered she was suffering -from the fever they commanded the mother to -leave her at the roadside. The mother laid the little -girl down, but she could not leave her when the child -held out her arms and cried. A zaptieh came up with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -his bayonet pointed, ready to kill the mother, and I -pulled her away and comforted her. Every step or -two the mother would look back until we could not see -her little girl any more.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII<br /> -<span class="smaller">REUNION—AND THEN, THE SHEIKH ZILAN</span></h3> - -<p>With so few of us to guard, and almost all of us -either young or not so very old, the nights were made -terrible by the zaptiehs. For many days they had -been on the road with us, and had tired of ordinary -cruelties and the mere shaming of the girls under -cover of darkness at the camping places. The Turks -who had been recruited from the villages and made -guards over us were especially brutal. It was their -first opportunity to visit upon Christians that hatred -with which Islam looks upon the “Unbeliever.”</p> - -<p>When we drew near to Ourfa we were joined by a -party numbering, I think, four or five hundred exiles -from the Sandjak of Marash, a subdistrict north of the -Amanus, of which Zeitoun, Albustan and Marash are -the large cities. Nearly all of these were from the -city of Marash itself—some from Zeitoun. The removal -of the Armenians from the Sandjak of Marash -was begun later than in other parts of Asia Minor. -When Haidar Pasha first issued the orders for deportation -some of the Armenians who had arms resisted. -They refused to leave or submit to the zaptiehs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -unless they were given guarantees they would be -allowed to return to their homes after the war.</p> - -<p>Haidar Pasha had few soldiers at his command just -then. He sent to Aleppo for assistance to carry out -his wish to send the Armenians away. From Aleppo -came Captain Schappen, a German artillery officer, -who was stationed there with other German officers. -Captain Schappen organized large bodies of zaptiehs -and taught them the use of machine guns. He then -led them personally, and with other German officers -and their aides made a raid on the Armenian houses. -In quarters where there was resistance he turned the -machine guns on the houses.</p> - -<p>From Marash and nearby cities fourteen thousand -of my people, men, women and children, were sent -away, guarded by the zaptiehs, under the command of -this captain. For some reason which none of the -Christians knew, these exiles were not taken directly -into the desert toward Bagdad, as were others from -that district, but they were kept many days, even -weeks at a time, in camp with almost no food or water, -then to move on only a few miles and to camp again. -They were many weeks reaching the vicinity of Ourfa. -When they joined us, of the fourteen thousand who -were torn from their homes only the three or four -hundred remained alive! No men were left—just -mothers and daughters and aunts and nieces.</p> - -<p>Captain Schappen had returned, after three weeks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> -on the road, to Aleppo. He took with him a Miss -Tchilingarian, who was fifteen years old, and who had -just returned from a private school in Germany, where -her parents had sent her to be educated. She was -home on a vacation when the deportation began. She -was very pretty, those who knew her told me, and -had already won honors in music. Her family intended -she should become a singer and take to the -Christian world outside Turkey the beautiful folk -ballads of my people. Captain Schappen marked her -during the first night on the road, and had her taken to -his tent. He then designated a zaptieh to be her especial -guard until he took her away with him. He also -took with him Mrs. Sarafian, the young wife of Dr. -Dikran Sarafian, who had been educated in Switzerland, -and was one of the most prominent Armenian -physicians in central Turkey. Mrs. Sarafian was a -Swiss, and had learned to love Dr. Sarafian while he -was a student in her country. She had come to -Marash to marry him just two years before. Captain -Schappen had her taken to his tent also, soon after -they began their march, and when her husband objected -the officer ordered a zaptieh to shoot him.</p> - -<p>When Captain Schappen and his companions decided -to return to Aleppo they sent zaptiehs scouring the -country for miles around looking for donkeys. For -these the officers traded girl children. A pretty child -was given for one donkey. Of the children who were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> -plain the officers gave two, or sometimes three, for a -single donkey. Thus they collected a large herd of -donkeys, which probably were needed by the army.</p> - -<p>In another day after this remnant of the Christians -of Marash joined us, we came into sight of Ourfa. -We were ordered to camp close to an artificial lake—such -a lake as often is found outside Moslem cities. -The leaders of our zaptiehs rode into the city for instructions. -Soon Turks, in long white coats, came out -of the city to look at us. When they saw that ours was -a party of almost all younger women, with girl children -still left, they spread the news in Ourfa, and in a -little while dozens of Turks came out in little groups -of four and five.</p> - -<p>They tried to persuade our zaptiehs to let them -carry away with them the young women and children -they wanted. The zaptiehs would not permit this, -however, unless they were paid what was then considered -high prices for Christian women. They said -they had brought us this far, and now they intended -to profit—that they had only permitted us to live -because they hoped to get “good prices” for the -choicest of us in the Ourfa market.</p> - -<p>The Turks did not want to pay the high prices, and -the zaptiehs would not trade with them. The zaptiehs -said there was a good market in Ourfa for pretty -Armenian women, and they preferred to get the -Mutassarif’s permission to hunt purchasers there who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> -would bid against each other. The Turks went back -to the city disappointed.</p> - -<p>That night, just after sundown, these same Turks -came out again and opened the sluices that held the -artificial lake, allowing the water to spread over the -plain and flood our camp. We had to run as fast as -we could to scramble to safety, and there was great -confusion. Even the zaptiehs were caught by surprise.</p> - -<p>In this confusion the Turks rushed in among us and -helped themselves to our youngest girls—the prettiest -children they could seize. We were powerless to save -them, as each of the Turks carried a heavy stick, with -which they beat down the mothers or relatives who -tried to rescue their little ones. By the time we had -escaped the water and assembled again, and the zaptiehs -were recovered from their own panic, the Turks -were gone—and with them fifteen or twenty beautiful -little girls.</p> - -<p>Later I learned what was the immediate fate of the -children stolen when the lake was opened on us. -Haidar Pasha had seized the ancient Catholic Armenian -monastery there, and had transformed it into a -“government school for refugee children.” Since I -have come to America I have learned that when complaints -were made to the Sultan at Constantinople by -foreign ambassadors of the stealing of children the -Sultan’s officials replied that they were taken as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> -kindly deed by the government, which wished to place -them in comfort in the “government school” at Ourfa -and other cities.</p> - -<p>But this is what the “government school” at Ourfa -was:</p> - -<p>Haidar Pasha sent his soldiers, under command of -a bey, to take possession of the monastery, a large -stone building. They surrounded it and forced the -monks, among them Father Antone and Father Shiradjian, -two priests who were much beloved by Protestant -as well as Catholic Armenians, to walk in between two -rows of soldiers. The soldiers closed in behind them -and marched with them outside the walls of the city. -Then the soldiers halted and the Bey asked how many -there were among the monks who were willing to take -the oath of Islam and forswear Christ.</p> - -<p>When the Bey ceased speaking Father Antone lifted -his voice with the words of an ancient song of the good -Saint Thomas Aquinas, and all the monks joined in.</p> - -<p>While they sang the soldiers shot them down—volley -after volley—until all were dead. The last monk -to fall died with the words of the song on his lips.</p> - -<p>Haidar Pasha then cleared out the monastery of all -its relics and religious symbols. Among these were -some things which were very dear to my people. -There was, for instance, a piece of the lance which -pierced the side of Jesus at the Crucifixion. What has -become of this and other things that were associated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -with Christ, Himself, and kept by the Fathers in this -monastery I do not know. It is said they were taken -to Damascus and placed in a mosque there, to be -ridiculed by the Moslems.</p> - -<p>When the monastery was cleared Haidar Pasha -gathered from among the Armenians who were then -being taken out of the city, a number of Armenian girls -of the best families and confined them in the monastery. -He then seized hundreds of Armenian girl children, -from 7 to 12 years old, and shut them in the monastery, -to be taught the Moslem religion and raised as Moslems. -He compelled the older girls to teach them the -beliefs of Islam, under penalty of the most awful -cruelties. To this monastery then came rich Turks -from all over Asia Minor to select as many little girls -as they wished and could buy for their harems—where -they would grow up to be submissive slaves.</p> - -<p>While we were waiting outside the city for the zaptiehs -to dispose of us according to whatever their -plans might be I saw coming toward us, out of a city -gate, a company of hamidieh, or Kurd cavalry, with a -supply train of donkeys and arabas, which indicated -a long journey ahead. There must have been a full -regiment of the horsemen, as they filled the plain outside -the city while forming their line of march.</p> - -<p>When they drew near, to pass us within a hundred -yards or so, I saw a little group of women and children -riding on donkeys and ponies between the lines of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -horsemen. I recognized these as Armenians. This -was an unusual sight—Armenians under protection -instead of under guard. In those days my curiosity -had been stunted. So many unusual things went on -about me all the time I had lost my sense of interest -in anything that did not actually concern me. But -something seemed to hold my attention to this strange -looking company.</p> - -<p>I got up from the ground where I was sitting and -went to the edge of our camp to watch the soldiers -passing. The first lines went by. The Armenian -women came nearer. Suddenly all the world about me -seemed lost in a haze. I rushed in between the horses, -screaming at the top of my voice:</p> - -<p>“Mother! Mother! Mother!”</p> - -<p>She heard, and little Hovnan, and Mardiros, and -Sarah heard. Mother slid to the ground as I ran up to -her. I tried to throw my arms around her neck, while -my little brothers and sister clung to me. But mother -caught my arms and held them. Her eyes were closed, -and she was still and silent. I cried to her to speak to -me. A terrible fear came over me. Had she gone -mad? Had she lost her speech?</p> - -<p>I screamed—this time with anguish. Mother -opened her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Be patient, my daughter,” she said, with the dear, -sweet gentleness for which all our friends had loved -her. “Be patient, my daughter. I was just talking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -with God—thanking Him that my prayers have come -true!” When I had kissed and cried over Hovnan and -Mardiros and Sarah I looked again into mother’s face.</p> - -<p>Little Aruciag—she was not there. Mother saw the -question in my eyes.</p> - -<p>“Aruciag has gone. She grew tired one day and -could not keep up. A soldier threw her over a -precipice!”</p> - -<p>An officer of the hamidieh came up to learn what was -happening, why mother and the children had dismounted -to stand in the way of the horsemen. Mother -explained to him that I was her daughter, who had -come back to her. She said she wished that I might -travel with her. The officer was kind. He gave permission -and promised to send another donkey for me -to ride.</p> - -<p>There were four young Armenian girls with mothers -and several older women, whose faces bore the marks -of much suffering. As we rode along mother explained -to me.</p> - -<p>When I was stolen from her and our party from -Tchemesh-Gedzak, so many weeks before, she was -lying at the roadside, cruelly wounded by the soldiers. -But the thought of the children summoned her back -to life. Friends cared for her, and the next day when -the company moved on they carried her in their arms -until she could walk again.</p> - -<p>She passed Malatia, Geulik and Diyarbekir. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -last she reached Ourfa. By this time only eighteen -were left of the original four thousand exiles from -Tchemesh-Gedzak.</p> - -<p>At Ourfa there lived my uncle, mother’s cousin, -Ipranos Mardiganian, who had moved from Tchemesh-Gedzak -to Ourfa many years ago—before I was -born. Uncle Ipranos had become very wealthy, and -had established a great trading business, which had -branches even in Persia and in Constantinople.</p> - -<p>In the Abdul-Hamid massacres of 1895 Uncle -Ipranos was persuaded by his powerful Turkish friends -at Constantinople and in Ourfa to become Moslem -and thus save his life. He pretended to do so, -and was rewarded with a government position of -high trust, and rose to high estate among the Moslems. -He adopted a Turkish name, and was known as Ibrahim -Agha. Secretly, though, he still prayed to God and -was Christian.</p> - -<p>Mother remembered him when she reached Ourfa -with the refugees. She knew he was in the favor of -the Turks, who no longer looked upon him as Armenian. -She asked one of the soldiers with her party if -he would take a letter into the city for her, promising -that if he would deliver the letter secretly he would -receive pay. The soldier took the letter to Ibrahim -Agha’s house. In it mother appealed to her cousin for -his assistance in the name of their family, and asked -him to give some money to the soldier.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ibrahim Agha was grieved by mother’s letter. He -sent her word that he would help her. He went at -once to Haidar Pasha and procured his permission to -bring mother and her children to his house. Then -he came for her and took her to his home. In his -house mother found four Armenian girls. Their -mothers were deported from Ourfa, but before they -had left the city they had appealed to Ibrahim Agha -to take their daughters under his protection, thinking -to save them. He could not refuse, although he endangered -his own life, and had to keep the girls hidden -from his neighbors. A few older women also were -in his house, hidden in his cellar. He had taken them -in from the streets when soldiers were not looking.</p> - -<p>For more than a month mother and the children were -safe in her cousin’s home. Then, one day, Haidar -Pasha sent him word to come to the government building. -He returned with heavy heart. Haidar Pasha -had told him it would not be safe for him to keep his -relatives in his house any longer; that many high military -officials were in Ourfa, and if some of them should -hear of refugee Armenians being thus protected all -might be killed, and both he and Ibrahim Agha suffer.</p> - -<p>But Haidar Pasha offered to obtain from the Turkish -general at Aleppo military permission for mother and -the children and the other exiles in his house, of whom -my uncle now told him, to travel back to their homes -in the north with soldiers being sent to Moush to join<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -the campaign against the Russians. For this Haidar -Pasha asked one thousand liras cash—about $5,000—and -another thousand liras when mother and the -others had safely reached their homes and had received -permission from their home authorities to remain. -This permission the Pasha promised to arrange -also.</p> - -<p>My uncle had to comply. The four girls had no -homes or relatives in the north, but they had to go, -too, or be deported and seized by Turks. Mother -agreed to take them to her home in Tchemesh-Gedzak—if -they should really reach there alive.</p> - -<p>At Moush an army corps was assembling. The -Turks had retired before the first advance of the Russians -through the Caucasus, and Djevdet Bey, Vali of -Van, was rallying his armies here for a dash at the -Russian flanks, which already had reached Van. Soldiers -occupied all the houses in Moush, from which -the Armenians had been ejected, and the hamidieh -officers believed it would be best for us to be quartered -outside the city while arrangements were made for the -rest of our journey. Mother depended upon the -papers given her by Haidar Pasha to secure for us an -escort from Moush to Tchemesh-Gedzak—and Ibrahim -Agha had said Haidar would telegraph the authorities -at Moush to guarantee our safety.</p> - -<p>We stopped at Kurdmeidan, a village a few miles -outside of Moush, at the foot of Mount Antok. There<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -had been many Armenians in the village, and there was -an Armenian church. All the Christians had been -massacred, however, and their homes were occupied -by mouhajirs—Moslem immigrants from the lost -provinces in the Balkans. We went into the deserted -church and prepared to remain there until arrangements -were made for us to leave. The hamidieh officers -called the village Mudir before them and cautioned -him that we were to be protected and fed—that we -were “especially favored by the Porte.”</p> - -<p>The villagers treated us kindly—so great is the fear -of the population of anything “official” or governmental. -Days went by and we did not hear from the -city. We began to worry. Mother wanted so much -to see our home again at Tchemesh-Gedzak. “Were -it not for you and the children,” she would say to me, -“I would be willing to die on my doorstep—if God -would just let me see our home again!” My poor, -dear mother!</p> - -<p>We dared not go alone into the city to inquire what -was to be done for us—we could only wait.</p> - -<p>One night, just after the Moslem prayer, the streets -of the little city suddenly became crowded with horsemen. -Some Turkish women who were just outside the -church rushed in to get out of the way of the horses’ -hoofs. “It is Sheikh Zilan,” they said. “The Sheikh -Zilan of the Belek tribe, who has been called in from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -the mountains with his thousand Kurds to fight for the -Turks!”</p> - -<p>The name of Sheikh Zilan was widely known. His -horsemen had harried the countryside for many years. -It was said he frequently made raids with his tribe -into Persia, and even into the Russian Caucasus before -the war, to steal women for the secret slave markets in -European Turkey.</p> - -<p>The tribe was on its way into Moush. Entrance -would be denied them after dark, they knew, so they -had decided to camp for the night in Kurdmeidan. -Some followers of the Sheikh saw the Armenian -church building, and decided to use it as a stable for the -horses of the Sheikh and his chiefs. They broke in -the door while mother and the rest of us crouched in a -corner. But we could not hide—the Kurds saw us -and gave the alarm. Soon the church was full of the -wild tribesmen.</p> - -<p>Mother showed her letters from Haidar Pasha. -This awed the Kurds for a moment, and they sent for -one of their chiefs. When the chief came he read the -letter carefully. Then he examined our party. “The -Pasha here says there is an Armenian woman and her -servants and three children, to whom immunity has -been promised and safe conduct. That we will grant, -although the word of a Pasha is not binding upon the -will of the great Sheikh Zilan. But the Pasha’s writing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> -says nothing of five young Armenian women, too -old to be classed as children and too young to be described -as servants. These we will take, lest the Pasha -be imposed upon.”</p> - -<p>They would not believe that I also was mother’s -daughter. They took me and the four girls mother -had brought from the house of Ibrahim Agha, and -at the same time forced mother to leave the shelter of -the church and camp in a nearby yard. They took -us out of the village, to where their main camp was.</p> - -<p>With halter ropes they tied our hands behind our -backs and then tied us to each other by looping a rope -through our arms. Soon Sheikh Zilan himself came -to look at us. He seemed greatly pleased when he had -looked into our faces. He gave some orders we could -not understand, but which, evidently, had to do with -our safety, and walked away. We spent the night sitting -on the ground, for we were bound in such a way -we could not lie down. The Kurds looked at us curiously -as they walked around us, and often one of them -would kick us to make us turn our faces toward him. -But otherwise they did not molest us.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII<br /> -<span class="smaller">OLD VARTABED AND THE SHEPHERD’S CALL</span></h3> - -<p>Early in the morning we were taken into the city, -tied across horses which were led just behind the group -of chiefs who followed Sheikh Zilan, himself. Inside -the city four horsemen led our horses into one of the -low quarters of the city. Here we were given into -the keeping of a cruel looking Kurd, whom I was soon -to know was Bekran Agha, the notorious slave dealer -of Moush.</p> - -<p>Ten thousand Armenian girls, delicate, refined -daughters of Christian homes, college girls, young -school teachers, daughters of the rich and the poor, -have experienced the terror of the same feeling that -came over me that day when I realized that I was a -captive in the house of this notorious slave dealer. -His slave market had been boldly operated, in the -security of his house, for many years, but never had -he enjoyed such a profitable trade as when the Armenian -girls were available to him.</p> - -<p>Bekran left us in his donkey stable at night. In the -morning his hammal came in to feed the animals. -When he had finished this task he ordered us to follow -him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p> - -<p>Bekran awaited us in his selamlik. I shuddered -when I saw him—he was so old and withered and -cruel looking. A negress waited upon him. He sat -on the floor in the old fashion. The selamlik was barren -and ill-kept. Everywhere there was dirt. Bekran’s -flowing garments, once of rich texture, were -ragged and frayed. Yet I knew Bekran must be very -rich—from the profits the helplessness of Armenians -had brought him.</p> - -<p>We fell upon our knees before him—then we bent -into the posture of the Mohammedans—we wanted -so much to make him listen to our pleading. I had -suffered so much, I thought surely I could persuade -this old man to let me go to my mother again. But -Bekran did not even speak. His eyes roved over us—I -could feel them. He signed to the hammal and -the man lifted us to our feet, one by one, that his master -might see our height, our size and judge of our -attractiveness. Then he gave another sign and we -were taken across the inside court, through a stone -doorway, and into a large room where there were a -number of other Armenian girls, with here and there -a Circassian or a Russian from the Caucasus, among -them.</p> - -<p>Soon the hammal came into the room with figs and -bread. I could not eat, neither could any of the four -girls who had been of my mother’s party from Ourfa. -Few of the others ate, either—as all had come but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -recently into the hands of Bekran and were too downcast. -When the hammal saw that we, who were late -comers, did not eat, he said, “That is well. We will -lose no time at the bath.” He then compelled us to -cleanse ourselves as well as we could of the marks of -our nights in the sand and in the donkey stable with -water from a fountain in the courtyard.</p> - -<p>Two men servants who came into the court while we -were bathing joined the hammal. Together they made -us stand in a long line. The girls who had been in the -house when we arrived, saved us from the whips the -hammal and his men carried by telling us what to do.</p> - -<p>We were taken into a large room at the back of the -house, barren of any furniture, save a pile of cushions -on a rug in one corner. We were allowed to sit on -the floor any place in the room, but in this corner -where the cushions were. Before long Bekran Agha -came in and sat on the cushions.</p> - -<p>All morning purchasers came. As each one spoke -to Bekran the porter would clap his hands and we -were made to gather in a circle around the customer. -Many girls were sold—but for only a few pennies -apiece. There were too many in the market to demand -large prices! When a girl was sold she remained -until a servant came to take her away.</p> - -<p>Late in the afternoon of the second day a customer -to whom Bekran Agha paid great deference, entered -the room. He was a servant, but from his clothes I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> -knew him to be the servant of a rich man. From -those of us who were left he selected three—and I -was one of the three. While we stood near he bargained -with Bekran. At last the terms were agreed -upon. I was bought for one medjidieh—85 cents!</p> - -<p>Outside was an araba. The other two girls and I -were placed in this. We were taken outside the city, -to a country house occupied by Djevdet Bey, Vali of -Van, then commander of the Turkish army operating -against the Russians.</p> - -<p>We were taken at once to the haremlik, where there -were a number of other young Armenian women. -Before evening the kalfa, or head servant, came in to -us and we were asked, one by one, if we were willing -to become Mohammedans. The kalfa explained that -only those could remain in the care and keeping of -Djevdet Bey, the mighty man, and have the honor of -his protection, who willingly adopted the creed of -Islam.</p> - -<p>Though he was cruel and, as his deeds show, the -most unscrupulous of all the Turks, Djevdet Bey -desired, it was made plain to us, to keep within the -provisions of the fetva issued by Abdul Hamid and -still in effect, which pretends to prohibit the enslaving -of Armenian and other Christian girls unless they first -become Mohammedans.</p> - -<p>I did not know what the kalfa would do with me if -I refused to accept the creed of Islam. I feared the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -punishment would be death, or the public khan at -once, but I could not bring myself to deny Christ, after -having remained faithful to Him so long. I asked -Him what I should do—and His answer came, just -as clear and direct as when I was about to use my knife -outside the rocks of Diyarbekir. I seemed to see Father -Rhoupen, the priest, and I even felt his hand on -my shoulder again, just as when he said to me, “Always -trust in God and remain faithful unto Him.” I -told the kalfa I could not forswear Jesus Christ.</p> - -<p>One of the other girls who had been brought to -Djevdet Bey’s house with me also refused to give up -her religion, even to save her life. The third girl had -suffered so much—her heart and soul were broken. -She gave way. The kalfa put her into another room. -In a little while we who had refused to apostasize were -summoned, put into separate arabas, and driven away. -What became of the other little girl I do not know. -I was taken to the house of Ahmed Bey, one of the -rich men of Moush. I was a present to him from -Djevdet Bey.</p> - -<p>I cannot forget the depression that came over me -when I entered the courtyard of Ahmed Bey’s house. -Twice before, since the deportations began, had I been -taken a captive into the houses of Turks and left at -their mercy. Yet now I felt as if the future were -darker than ever before. Perhaps it was because the -house of Ahmed was outside the city, in the plains—as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -a prison would be. And there were twenty-four -other girls in the haremlik, each with her own memory -of sufferings, more terrible even, some of them, than -had been my own.</p> - -<p>Ahmed Bey, himself, was very old, yet some of these -twenty-four girls had been sacrificed to him. The -others had been divided between his two sons. Ahmed -was, perhaps, a truer type of the fanatical Turk than -any whose victim I had yet been. His interest seemed -not to be so much in the young women themselves, as -in the children he wanted them to bear to his sons—children -in whom the blood of the noble Armenian -race might be blended with that of the savage Turk, -and who might live to perpetuate and improve the -blood of his family.</p> - -<p>I was summoned before Ahmed Bey the next day. -I had asked for clothing, but the haremlik attachés -would not give me any, nor would they allow me to -accept garments from other girls in the harem. “Not -until Ahmed indicates his desires,” was the answer of -the kalfa to my pleadings.</p> - -<p>Ahmed Bey spoke to me gently, but it was with the -gentleness that hurts worse than blows. “You are to -be one of the favored of my women,” he said, “because -you have been sent to my house by His Excellency, -Djevdet Bey.” He gave a sign, and a little slave girl -appeared with the rich dress of a favored Turkish -girl. “Many of these and many ornaments, as well<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> -as kindness and affection, shall be yours as long as you -are obedient and respectful,” Ahmed said. “First, -you shall renounce the Christ you have been taught to -worship and accept the forgiveness of Allah and Mohammed, -his prophet.”</p> - -<p>I told him I was weary of suffering, but that I had -been given into the keeping of God by my mother, and -that I would not desert Him. At this Ahmed became -furious. All his gentleness passed away. He trembled -in his anger. He upbraided me and my people -and blasphemed my religion. I cried with shame at -hearing him, but he had no pity. I pleaded with him -to free me, that I might return to my mother’s party, -and I told him of the paper given my mother by Haidar -Pasha of Ourfa. But he would not listen.</p> - -<p>The little slave was sent from the room to summon -one of Ahmed’s sons. The son came in almost immediately. -Ahmed called him “Nazim.” “This is the -one sent me by Djevdet Bey, himself. I have set her -aside for you, my son, because of her comeliness and -youth. But her spirit must be broken. I have sent -for you that you might look upon her and decide—what -shall be done with her.”</p> - -<p>Ahmed’s son spoke to me, but I did not answer. -Then he took my hand, drew me up before him and -lifted my face that he might look into my eyes.</p> - -<p>“Leave her to me, my father, that I may try to -persuade her to be happy in our house,” Nazim said.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span></p> - -<p>The little slave led me to an apartment—a small -room looking out upon the inside court, with a divan. -I asked her to leave the dress with me, that I might -at least cover myself, but she said she could not do -that without permission. When she had left me -Nazim crossed the court from the selamlik and came -at once to me.</p> - -<p>He had the same gentleness as his father—and it -hurt in the same way. He asked me to accept Mohammed -that he might make me his “bride.” He told -me my sufferings would be very hard to bear if I refused, -but that I would have many luxuries if I consented.</p> - -<p>I knew I could not escape. My thoughts went to -my mother. I told Nazim that as long as my mother -was an exile, doomed to die a wanderer, I could not -speak of being a “bride.” I told him if he would save -her, if he would bring her to me, I would ask her if -she thought best that I sacrifice my religion in return -for my life and safety—and if she would say it would -be right, then, with her always near to comfort me, I -would let my soul die that my body and hers might live.</p> - -<p>“You will have to learn it is not the slave’s privilege -to bargain,” he said, as he strode away.</p> - -<p>Hours went by, and I crouched on the divan—waiting. -At every step I feared I was to be summoned -again—this time for something I could only -expect to be torture. At last a zaptieh who was one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> -of Ahmed Bey’s personal retainers came for me. He -lifted me roughly and dragged me with him across the -court and into the road in front of the house. A little -way from the garden wall there was a group of other -zaptiehs.</p> - -<p>Among them I saw my mother, little Hovnan and -Mardiros and little Sarah, my brothers and sister, and -the others of my mother’s party. I had told Nazim -where they were when I pleaded with him to restore -them to me—and he had sent for them.</p> - -<p>I tried to break away, to run toward them. The -zaptieh at my side held me. My mother was kneeling, -with her hands lifted to heaven. Sarah ran toward -me, her arms stretched out. “Aurora—Aurora—don’t -let them kill us!” Sarah cried. The zaptieh -swung the heavy handle of his whip high in the air -and brought it down on Sarah’s head so that the blow -flung her little body far out of the path. She did not -move again. I think the blow must have crushed in -my little sister’s head.</p> - -<p>Mother saw—and so did Hovnan and Mardiros. -Mother fell to the ground, motionless. A zaptieh -lifted her and struck her with his whip.</p> - -<p>I fell upon my knees before the chief of the zaptiehs. -“Spare my mother—spare my brothers!” I cried to -him. “I will do anything you wish—I will belong to -Allah—I will thank him only—if you will spare -them!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> - -<p>“It shall be as Nazim Bey desires,” the zaptieh said. -I did not understand—I clung to him and prayed to -him. I tried to touch my mother, but the zaptieh -kicked me to the ground. Then, suddenly, I knew -why they waited. Nazim Bey had come out of the -house. When I saw him I crept to his feet and begged -him for mercy. “I will be Turkish—I will pray to -Allah—I will obey—just to save my mother,” I cried -to him.</p> - -<p>“That is well—but you shall not only be a Moslem -but you also shall be the daughter of a Moslem—that -will be better still”—said Nazim. “What does the -old woman say?”</p> - -<p>A zaptieh jerked mother to her feet again. He -lifted his whip. “The creed—quick!” he said to -her.</p> - -<p>“Mother, please—God will forgive you—father -is in heaven and he will understand!” I cried to her.</p> - -<p>Mother was too weak to speak aloud, but her lips -moved in a whisper: “God of St. Gregory, Thy will -be done!”</p> - -<p>The zaptieh’s heavy whip descended. Mother sank -to the ground. I tried to reach her, but the zaptiehs -held me. I fought them, but they held me fast. -Again and again the whip fell. Mardiros screamed -and tried to save her with his weak little hands. -Another zaptieh caught him by the arm and killed -him with a single blow from his whip handle. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -they flung him aside Mardiros’s body fell almost at -my feet.</p> - -<p>Hovnan wrapped his arms around the zaptieh who -was beating my mother, but his strength was too feeble. -The zaptieh did not even notice him until my -mother’s body relaxed and I knew she was dead. Then -he drew his knife and plunged it into little Hovnan.</p> - -<p>It was only a little while—two minutes, perhaps, -or three, that I stood there, held by the zaptieh. But -in those short minutes all that belonged to me in this -world was swept away—my mother, Mardiros and -Hovnan, and Sarah. Their bodies were at my feet. -Both mother and Hovnan died with their eyes turned -to me, looking into mine! My eyes see them now, -every day and every night—every hour, almost—when -I look out into the new world about me. I must -keep them closed for hours at a time to shut the vision -out.</p> - -<p>I heard Nazim Bey give an order to his zaptiehs. -Some of them picked up the bodies of my dear ones -and carried them away, I do not know where. The -others lifted me off the ground—I could not walk—and -carried me to the house and back to the room -where the divan was. For two days and nights no -one came near me but the slave girls. All that time -I cried; I could not keep the tears from coming. That -was when my eyes gave way; that is why I cannot see -very well now without glasses.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> - -<p>On the third day Nazim, accompanied by his father, -Ahmed, came to my room. Ahmed spoke with the -same cruel gentleness. “What is past is gone, little -one; it is time your thoughts should turn to the future. -Nazim desires you. You are honored. He has punished -you for your stubbornness, and he would forgive -you and take you to his heart. That is as it must be. -Your people are gone. There is none to give you -mistaken counsel. You will now accept the favor of -Allah and enter into a state of true righteousness.”</p> - -<p>“I want to die—kill me! I will never listen to -your son nor to your Allah,” I said.</p> - -<p>They took me into another wing of the house, to -a dungeon room, with just one iron-barred window -looking out into the courtyard. There was no divan -or cushions, just the floor and the walls. The window -was high in the wall. I could not look out at anything -but the sky—that same sky which covered so much -of tragedy in my ravished Armenia.</p> - -<p>Day after day, night after night, went by. Each -day the alaiks came and brought me bread, berries and -milk. And each day the hodja, a teacher-priest, came -to ask me if I were ready to accept Islam. But each -day God took me closer into His heart, for I kept -up my courage by talking to Him.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;" id="illus5"> - -<img src="images/illus5.jpg" width="600" height="425" alt="" /> - -<p class="caption">THE ROADSIDE OF AWFUL DESPAIR</p> - -<p class="caption">First the children died, and then the parents, and uncles and aunts. The grieving -parents wrapped the little ones in the sheets they had brought along, and then lay -down beside them to starve. It was a common scene in the deserts and along the -sandy roads over which the exiles travelled.</p> - -</div> - -<p>And then one night, after so many days had passed -I had lost count of them, God reached in through my -dungeon window. I was awakened by a commotion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> -in the courtyard, where, on other nights, it had been -very quiet. Soon I understood what was happening—sheep -were being driven in through the gate. Ahmed’s -flock was coming in from the hill pastures, driven in, -perhaps, by military conditions.</p> - -<p>I heard the yard gates swing shut. Then, above the -bleating of the excited, restless sheep, I heard the -shepherd whistle his call to quiet them. I jumped to -my feet, my heart throbbing. Breathlessly I listened -for the shepherd to repeat the call. Then I was sure—it -was the same peculiar call, sharp and shrill, which -my father always taught his own shepherds, the call -which he had been taught by his own father when, as -a little boy, he learned the ways of his father’s sheep -on the great pastures of Mamuret-ul-Aziz. When I -was very young our shepherds used to laugh at me -when I tried to imitate them. I had been a very happy -little girl when, one day, I succeeded so well that suddenly -the sheep in our flock turned away from their -grass and came toward me.</p> - -<p>No other shepherds than ours or, at least, one who -had come from Tchemesh-Gedzak, would know that -call, I was certain. Ahmed’s sheep were tired and -nervous. The unknown shepherd remained among -them, every now and then repeating that same whistle, -softer and softer. I went close to the window, lifted -my face toward the iron-barred window and repeated -the call. Even the sheep seemed to sense something<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -unusual. They were suddenly quiet. Again I whistled, -this time with more courage. Instantly the shepherd -answered—I could almost detect his note of -wonder.</p> - -<p>I had learned that by leaping as high as I could I -could catch the window bars with my hands and lift -myself until my face reached above the window-sill. -Often I had caught glimpses of the yard in this way. -But I was not strong enough to hold myself up more -than a few seconds at a time.</p> - -<p>Now I tried this, hoping to catch a glimpse of the -shepherd in the moonlight. As I pulled myself up, I -whistled again. Many times I tried before I attracted -his attention to the window. When I had succeeded -and he understood that behind that window there was -a captive who was trying to signal him, he made me -understand by repeating his whistle three times in -quick succession directly under the window.</p> - -<p>I dared not call out to him. I tore a great piece of -cloth from the dress that had been given me. I rolled -this into a ball and threw it out. He saw and answered -by whistling softly. I hoped he would understand -the torn cloth as a symbol of my imprisonment—and -of my hope that he would save me. I could -hardly believe that even an Armenian shepherd would -be left alive, yet it seemed to be so.</p> - -<p>In the morning when the sheep were taken out the -shepherd whistled again under my window and I knew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -he was trying to attract my attention. I answered as -softly as I could. All that day a new hope gave me -courage. I was sure deliverance was at hand, though -I could not explain why.</p> - -<p>I did not even attempt to sleep that night. The -sheep came in early and the shepherd whistled. An -hour later I heard the call again—the shepherd still -was in the yard. It must have been near midnight -when I heard a rattling at the window bars. I looked, -and there, framed in the moonlight, was a face I knew—the -face of Old Vartabed, who had come to our -house that Easter morning with his prophecy of ill—the -prophecy that came true. God had sent him to me -and had made me to hear and understand that familiar, -whistled call!</p> - -<p>Old Vartabed whispered: “Who is here who -comes from the Mamuret-ul-Aziz?”</p> - -<p>“It is Aurora, the daughter of the Mardiganians of -Tchemesh-Gedzak. You are Old Vartabed, and I am -the Aurora you loved so much.”</p> - -<p>Old Vartabed tried to speak, but his voice shook so -I could not understand him. I told him all that I -could, quickly. How I had come to be a captive of -Ahmed and why I was in the dungeon. Tears came -into Old Vartabed’s ancient eyes when I told him how -all my people were dead. I asked him how it was that -he had been saved. “Old Vartabed is not worth the -slaughter,” he said. “I am of much value, since I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -have taught the sheep of Ahmed to behave only for -me. Ahmed has forgotten I am an Armenian, since I -bend my knees for every prayer to Allah and thus -prolong my days.” He told me to be patient. He -would find a way to save me.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE MESSAGE OF GENERAL ANDRANIK</span></h3> - -<p>Two nights went by before Old Vartabed came -again. But each night he signaled and I answered. -On the third night, his face was framed again in the -window casement.</p> - -<p>“Be ready, little one—I shall lift you out soon,” -he whispered. He had brought a steel bar with which -to pry aside the iron bars in the window. The bars -were very old—perhaps for a hundred years or more -they had served to shut in the prisoners that once -had been confined in this same dungeon room in Ahmed -Bey’s big house. I knelt to pray, and I was on my -knees when Vartabed whispered:</p> - -<p>“Come, little one—reach Old Vartabed your hand—he -will lift you.”</p> - -<p>The bars were bent aside. There was room for the -shepherd to lean inward and reach down. I caught his -hands and he lifted me until I could catch hold of -the iron and help myself. In a moment I leaped down -to the stump which the shepherd had brought to stand -on, and from this to the ground. The sheep, which -were resting all about, stirred and bleated when I fell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -among them, but Old Vartabed whistled and they were -quiet.</p> - -<p>“We must go quickly; the gate is not locked. You -must be far away, to a place I will tell you of, before -morning comes and you are missed,” Old Vartabed -said as he hurried me across the yard.</p> - -<p>When we were outside the gate, Old Vartabed -wrapped his coat around me, for it was cold. Then -we struck out across the plains, away from the town -and toward low hills in the distance.</p> - -<p>Old Vartabed did not talk much. He was so old -he needed his strength. He was anxious that I get -far away before dawn. When we came to the hills -the shepherd showed me a path and told me to follow -it, and go on alone until I came to the hut of a friendly -Kurdish family.</p> - -<p>“But you, Old Vartabed—are you not coming with -me? Will not Ahmed Bey suspect you if you return?” -I asked.</p> - -<p>“Old Vartabed is too old to live in the desert, and -then, who would care for my sheep?” the old man -replied.</p> - -<p>Poor, dear Old Vartabed! Ahmed Bey had him -killed in the morning.</p> - -<p>I ran along the path the shepherd pointed out to me -until, after many hours, I came to the hut of the -Kurds, of whom Old Vartabed had told me. They -were shepherd Kurds, and had great respect for Old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -Vartabed, who had told them I was the daughter of his -one-time master in the Mamuret-ul-Aziz. They expected -me, and were very kind.</p> - -<p>When I thought of Old Vartabed going back to his -sheep, and to the mercy of Ahmed Bey, I cried. The -shepherd Kurd’s wife and daughters were sorry, and -the Kurd himself went down toward the plain in which -Ahmed’s house stood, to learn if Old Vartabed still -tended his sheep. That night he came back in great -distress. He had learned of Old Vartabed’s fate. -None but the shepherd could have helped me escape, -Ahmed Bey had been sure. He had summoned Old -Vartabed before him and the shepherd had confessed, -as there was no other way. Ahmed Bey sent for his -zaptiehs. Old Vartabed was led out to where his flock -was waiting to be taken to the pasture. There was a -shot, and he had paid with his life for his kindness to -the little daughter of his one-time master.</p> - -<p>The Kurd was much alarmed for me. Ahmed Bey -had sent zaptiehs to search in the plains and hills. -Perhaps they would soon be at the hut.</p> - -<p>They would not send me away, but I knew that I -must go. The hut was too close to the house of -Ahmed, and the zaptiehs might come when least expected. -So they gave me woolen stockings, the best -they had, a great loaf of winter bread, a jug in which -to carry water, and a blanket to wrap about me at -night. Then I went out into the hills.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span></p> - -<p>Beyond these hills was the great Dersim—the highlands -of grass and sand, with hills and mountains -everywhere. For many, many miles in each direction -no one lived but Dersim Kurds, some in little villages, -some in roving bands. On each side of the Dersim -lived the Turks. Once Armenians lived in the cities -of the Turks, but now the Armenians all were gone—only -Turks were left.</p> - -<p>The inhabitants of the Dersim deserts and wastes -are not the vicious type of Kurds who live in the south -in the regions to which we had been deported from -our homes. The Kurds in the south are nomadic -tribes, harsh and cruel. The Dersim Kurds mostly -are farmers, and often rebel against their Turkish -overlords. They are fanatical Moslems, and have -their racial hatred of all “unbelievers,” as they look -upon Christians. But they do not have the lust of -killing human beings common with the tribes of the -south. To this I owe my life.</p> - -<p>For more than a year I was a captive or a wanderer -in the Dersim. For many days after I left my friends -at the news of Old Vartabed’s fate I hid in the daytime -and traveled at night, walking, walking, always -walking; somewhere, and yet nowhere. When a settlement -loomed up before me I turned the other way, -trudging aimlessly across the wide plains, through the -hills or over deserts.</p> - -<p>My bread soon gave out, and water was hard to get,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> -for wherever there was a well or a spring a settlement -of Kurds was close. Near one well I hid throughout -one whole day, waiting my chance to slip up unobserved -and cool my parched throat. There was no -opportunity in the daylight, and when night came and -I gathered courage to creep near to the well the dogs -from the houses ran out and barked at me. I was too -exhausted to run when the villagers came out to see -what had aroused the dogs. They took me into the -settlement and shut me up in a cave for the night. In -the morning the chief of the settlement took me as his -slave and commanded me to obey the orders of his -family.</p> - -<p>They made me do the work a man would do. I -tended the stock, carried the water and worked in the -fields. When I did not do enough work the Kurds -would beat me with their long, thick sticks and refuse -me food. When I did enough work to please them the -women would throw me a piece of bread. At night I -slept on the ground, outside the huts, with rags and -torn blankets to keep out the cold, but never was I -warm.</p> - -<p>After weeks passed I was too weak to work any -longer. I fell down when I went to the fields, and -could not get up when a Kurd kicked me. So they -gave me half a loaf of bread and told me to go away. -I went a little way and then rested for two days. It -was so nice not to have to drag a plow made of sticks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -from morning to night, I soon got my strength back. -And then I started to walk again.</p> - -<p>Beyond Erzerum I knew there were Russians—friends -of the Armenians. I tried to keep my face -turned to where I thought Erzerum would be—a hundred -miles or more through the Dersim. I kept away -from the villages until I could walk no more for want -of food or water. Then I would give myself up to be -a work slave again. Each time the Kurds kept me -until my strength gave way. Then they gave me the -half loaf of bread and let me go away.</p> - -<p>Although it was very cold now, I had no clothes. -The Kurds would never let me have any of the cloth -they spun. Snow in the crevices among the hills gave -me water, but all I had to eat for weeks, even months, -at a time was the bark from small trees, weeds that -grow in the winter time, and the dead blades of grass -I found under the snow.</p> - -<p>The snow had melted when I reached the edge of -the Dersim to the west. I do not know what month -it was, as I had lost all track of time, but I knew -spring was passing because the snow disappeared. I -was now in the neighborhood of Turkish cities. Occasionally -I saw Turks, in their white coats, walking -over the plains. I saw flocks of sheep now and then, -and other signs that I was near cities. Yet I knew -I must keep away from these cities or their inhabitants.</p> - -<p>One day from the side of a hill where I was hiding,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> -almost too weak from hunger to walk, I saw a great -line of people with donkeys and carts and arabas, -passing on what seemed to be a road to the south. -As far as I could see, this cavalcade stretched out. -For hours it wound its way across the plains. I wondered -what it meant. I crept down from the hill and, -crawling on the ground, drew as near as I could. I -saw the people were Turks, and that they were carrying -household goods with them. I saw, too, that they -were excited and seemed to be unhappy.</p> - -<p>I watched the line of Turkish families go by all day. -When it was dark I determined to go the way they -had come from. Whatever it was that had sent the -Turks from their homes in the cities further east, it -could not be anything that meant ill for a girl of the -Armenians.</p> - -<p>Already I had crossed the Kara River, the farthest -branch of the Euphrates. Along the roads over which -the Turks had passed in the daytime there were scraps -of bread, glass jars from which fruits had been -emptied, and other remnants of food. I gathered -enough to give me strength for walking.</p> - -<p>The plains across which I made my way that night -were those which once formed the Garden of Eden, -according to the teachings of the priests and our Sunday -school books. The Kara River was one of the -Four Rivers. Nearby were the Acampis of the Bible -and the Chorok and the Aras, the other three. Among<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -these same rocks through which I hurried along as -fast as my strength would allow, Eve herself once had -wandered. When I sat down at times to rest I thought -of Eve, and wondered if she were some place Up -Above, looking down upon me, one of the last of the -great race of people which had been the first to accept -the teachings of Christ and which had suffered so -much in His name through all the centuries that have -passed since Eve’s gardens blossomed on the plains -and slopes about me.</p> - -<p>The next day there were more lines of Turkish refugees. -These appeared to be belated and hurried in -great confusion. Turkish soldiers appeared among -them, and there were many zaptiehs. Far beyond I -saw the minarets of a city. I knew it must be Erzerum. -I came near to a village and saw the inhabitants -rushing about from house to house in excitement.</p> - -<p>I was afraid to travel in the daytime. I could not -go near one of these villages, even to beg for water, -because I had no clothes, and would be ashamed, even -if I dared to trust that I would not be taken captive. -During the night I crept closer to the distant city. In -the morning I stood at the edge of a plateau, which -broke downward in a sheer drop to the plain. Clinging -close to rocks, which hid me from the view of the -refugees who still passed along the roads, I could look -down into the city.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p> - -<p>I saw a great rushing about. Moving bodies of -soldiers came and went. Refugees were streaming -out of the city and were joined by others from villages -all around. In the distance I could hear what I knew -to be the firing of guns.</p> - -<p>The firing came closer. Now and then big guns -spoke, shaking the ground about me. I saw explosions -in the city. Houses appeared to fall each time -the big guns sounded. Far across the city there suddenly -appeared clouds of dust. They drew nearer. -Soldiers fled out of the gates of the city nearest me, -in the wake of the civilians.</p> - -<p>Late in the afternoon the firing ceased. The dust -clouds beyond the city had drawn closer. Out of them -suddenly emerged bands of horsemen. They rode directly -toward the far gates. Companies of Turkish -soldiers met them at the city walls. There was a -clash. The Turks were driven back. The horsemen -followed. There was rifle firing. Other bands of -horsemen rode down from every direction in the east, -in through the gates and into the city itself.</p> - -<p><em>The Russians had come!</em></p> - -<p>In an hour the city was almost quiet again. Far off -I saw great columns of troops moving slowly. Behind -the Cossacks the Russian army was coming. The -Turks in the city had surrendered.</p> - -<p>When night fell I went down from the rocks and -into the town. I hoped before dawn came I could find<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -a garment, or a piece of shawl, which had been thrown -away and with which I could cover myself. Terror -of the Cossacks kept indoors the citizens who had been -brave enough to remain in their homes. The streets -were deserted in the outskirts, except for an occasional -zaptieh stealing along, as afraid to be seen as -I was.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, as I turned the corner of a narrow street, -hugging close to the wall, hoping that this turn, or -the next, would bring me near one of the houses I -knew the Russians must have occupied, I saw a beautiful -sight—the American flag. The rays of a searchlight -played on it.</p> - -<p>Lights shone from all the windows in the house -over which the flag flew. There, I knew, would be my -haven of safety. But not until after the dawn did I -have the courage to go near. Then I saw the figures -of men moving about the yard and near the doorways. -I ran out of my hiding place and fell at the feet of -a tall, kindly-looking man, who had just emerged from -the house door, and who stood talking to a Russian -officer.</p> - -<p>I felt the tall man stoop down and put his hand upon -my head. All at once the sun seemed to break out of -the gray dawn and shine down upon me. Then I fell -asleep. When I opened my eyes again it was many -days after, they told me. I was in a warm bed, and -kindly people were all about me. When they spoke to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -me, in a strange language, I tried to ask for the tall -man who had lifted me up from the street at the doorstep. -An interpreter came, and then, in a little while, -the tall man came in and smiled gently, and I knew -that everything was all right.</p> - -<p>This man, they told me, was a famous missionary -physician, Dr. F. W. MacCallum, who was known for -his kindnesses to my people throughout the Turkish -empire. He had been compelled to leave Constantinople -when the war came, but he had come into Erzerum -with the Russians—to be among the first to give succor -to my people. The house had once been the American -mission. The missionaries had been compelled to -flee, but they had returned with the Russians.</p> - -<p>Dr. MacCallum, who now is in New York and was -the first good friend I found after my arrival in this -country, bought thousands of Armenian girls out of -slavery in those days when the Russians were pushing -into Turkey from the Caucasus. With money supplied -by the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian -Relief he purchased these girls from their Turkish -captors for $1. apiece. The Turks, knowing the Russians -would liberate these captive Christian girls if -they found them, were glad to sell them at this price -rather than risk losing them without collecting anything.</p> - -<p>General Andranik, the great Armenian leader, who -is our national hero, came to see me. For many years<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> -General Andranik kept alive the courage of all Armenians. -He promised them freedom and constantly endangered -his life to keep up the spirits of my people. -The Turks put a price upon his head, and he was -hunted from one end of the empire to the other—yet -he always escaped. He led the Armenian regiments, -made up of Armenians who lived in Russia, in the vanguard -of the Russian army sent against the Turks.</p> - -<p>When I told General Andranik how I had seen my -own dear people killed he felt very sorry for me. He -comforted and cheered me, and called me his “little -girl.” I would rather he said that to me than give me -all the riches in the world.</p> - -<p>A Russian officer who could speak Armenian also -came to talk with me. When I had told him everything -he left, but in an hour he returned. This time -a very distinguished looking officer, very tall, with a -kind face, came with him. I knew he must be of very -high rank, for there was much excitement when he -entered the house. The officer who had talked with -me first repeated to the other many of the things I had -told him. The distinguished looking officer then spoke -to me, first in Russian, and then in French, which I -understood.</p> - -<p>“You have been a very unhappy girl,” he said, “and -I am very happy to have arrived in time to save you. -We shall take good care of you, and all Russians will -be your friends.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span></p> - -<p>When he had gone they told me who he was—the -Grand Duke, in command of the armies in the Caucasus. -The officer who had visited me first was General -Trokin, the Grand Duke’s chief of staff.</p> - -<p>When I was well and strong, General Andranik allowed -me to help care for hundreds of Armenian children -who had been found in the hands of the Turks -and Armenian refugees who had succeeded in hiding -in the hills and mountains and who now crept in to -ask protection of the Russians. I helped, too, to comfort -the girls who had been bought out of the harems.</p> - -<p>When General Andranik moved on with the advancing -Russians the Grand Duke ordered that I be escorted -safely to Sari Kamish, where the railroad begins, -and sent from there to Tiflis, the capital of the -Russian Caucasus. When General Andranik bade me -good-by he said:</p> - -<p>“The Grand Duke has indorsed arrangements for -you to be sent to America, where our poor Armenians -have many friends. When you reach that beloved land -tell its people that Armenia is prostrate, torn and -bleeding, but that it will rise again—if America will -only help us—send food for the starving, and money -to take them back to their homes when the war is -over.”</p> - -<p>As I started away with the escort, toward Sari Kamish, -General Andranik took from his finger a beautiful -ring, which, he said, had been his father’s and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -grandfather’s, and put it on my finger. It is the ring -I wear now—all that is left to me of my country.</p> - -<p>From Sari Kamish the Grand Duke’s soldiers sent -me to Tiflis. There I was received by representatives -of the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian -Relief, and supplied with funds sufficient to take me, -with the Grand Duke’s passport, to Petrograd, Sweden -and America.</p> - -<p>But when I reached Petrograd all was not well -within the city. Already the Czar had been removed -and the government of Minister Kerensky was losing -control of the populace. Rioting in the streets had -begun, and the authorities to whom the Grand Duke -and the American representatives at Tiflis had sent -me had been removed or executed.</p> - -<p>Again I was friendless and without shelter. I had -a great deal of money, but I could buy hardly any -food. For fifty rubles I could purchase only a loaf -of bread. When I became so hungry I stopped kind -looking persons in the street to ask them if they could -help me obtain something to eat, they would look at -me sorrowfully, offer me handsful of paper money, -and say they could give me that, but not food. Every -one seemed to have a great deal of money, but things -to eat were very scarce.</p> - -<p>No one dared take me in. I found an Armenian -church, empty now and deserted. All the Armenians -who had lived in Petrograd had been frightened away.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -They had been the first, because of their experiences -in their own country, to scent the coming of trouble, -and had disappeared. I remained in the deserted -church for many days, afraid to go out in the streets, -where there was much killing and robbery. Only in -the early morning, when the streets were more quiet, -would I venture to look for food.</p> - -<p>At last I saw an American passing the church. I -ran out and begged him, in French, to help me. I -showed him my passport and he took me in a droschky -to the American Embassy. Here every one was kind -to me. My passports were changed and the next day -I was started toward Christiania.</p> - -<p>The train on which I traveled was stopped many -times by bands of soldiers, who demanded the passports -of every one. Although they took several persons -from the train at one stop, my passport was -honored and I went on. The farther we went from -Petrograd the quieter the country became. Then we -left all trouble behind and the train speeded on in what -seemed a peaceful and happy land.</p> - -<p>At last we reached Christiania and there I found -kind friends. They gave me the first really satisfying -food I had had in many days. In addition they gave -me kindness and the quiet of their home. While -awaiting word from the United States, I rested and -won back some measure of my strength.</p> - -<p>More funds reached me at Christiania, and I soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> -found myself aboard an ocean liner bound for Halifax, -on my way to the land of freedom. From Halifax -I came direct to New York. As the Statue of -Liberty was pointed out to me as we entered the harbor, -I rejoiced not merely because I, myself, was safe -at last, but because I had at last reached the country -where I was to deliver the message that would bring -help to my suffering people.</p> - -<p>Here I found good friends—kindly Americans -who have made me as happy as ever I can be. And, -best of all, they are not being kind merely to one -unfortunate girl—they are sending help to those I -left behind—to those who are still alive and lost in -the sandy deserts. They have made it possible for -me to tell in this, my book, what General Andranik -said to me:</p> - -<p>“Armenia is trusting to her friends—the people of -the United States.”</p> - -<p class="titlepage">THE END</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="pledge"> - -<p class="center">SUBSCRIBER’S PLEDGE FOR<br /> -<span class="larger">ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF</span></p> - -<p class="center">400,000 ORPHANS ARE STARVING<br /> -4 MILLION PEOPLE ARE DESTITUTE</p> - -<div class="monospace"> -M ......................................................<br /> -<br /> -Street .................................................<br /> -<br /> -City ...................................................<br /> -<br /> -Date ........................ State ....................<br /> -</div> - -<p>To provide food for the starving Armenians, Syrians -and Greeks in western Asia, I will give EACH MONTH -the amount indicated by my (X) mark, so long as the need -lasts or until canceled by me.</p> - -<div class="monospace"> - -<table class="donation"> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ per month ( orphans) </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$1000 per month (200 orphans) </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ 500 per month (100 orphans) </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ 250 per month ( 50 orphans) </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ 100 per month ( 20 orphans) </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ 50 per month ( 10 orphans) </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ 25 per month ( 5 orphans) </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ 10 per month ( 2 orphans) </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ 5 per month ( 1 orphan) </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td> </td><td>$ per month </td> - </tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<p>I herewith pay $.......... on the above pledge</p> - -<p class="center">Make checks or money orders payable to<br /> -Cleveland H. Dodge, Treasurer, and mail to</p> - -<p class="center">AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF</p> - -<p class="noindent">1 Madison Avenue</p> - -<p class="right moveup">New York City</p> - -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p class="center larger">Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story</p> - -<p class="center">By Henry Morgenthau</p> - -<p>The one man in the civilized world who can tell of -what the Near East suffered during the Great War is -Henry Morgenthau. For Mr. Morgenthau was United -States Ambassador in Constantinople when Germany -was forcing Turkey to act as her tool. His narrative -is a story of unexampled political intrigue and unbelievable -absence of honor. And the authority of his -statements is unquestioned.</p> - -<p>As a record of what Turkey did to wipe out Armenia -from among the nations, Mr. Morgenthau’s story not -only verifies the facts related by Aurora Mardiganian, -but it tells of the cold-blooded plotting of the statesmen -who ordered the crime attempted. For Mr. Morgenthau -was the representative of the United States, and -he strove in every way he could to prevent the tragedy. -In these efforts the steps that led up to the ravishing of -Armenia were made plain to him.</p> - -<p>“Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story” is a revelation -of events that preceded the breaking off of diplomatic -relations with Turkey previous to our entrance into the -war. It tells of events of which Aurora Mardiganian -knew nothing. It makes clear why she and millions of -other Armenians were made to suffer as she has told -you in her pitiful story.</p> - -<p class="center">Obtainable at any book-store or from the publishers<br /> -Doubleday, Page & Co.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Ravished Armenia, by H. L. 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