The remoteness of Harpoot and its proximity to lawless Kurds render the
security of our people there always doubtful.
You have been informed by me that more efficient guards were promised to
me for our people there before the massacre here of the 26th and 27th of
August. This dispatch tells of the measures taken by the local
government to preserve order. The proclamation inclosed was one similar
to those which have already been forwarded to you, and which were
circulated by Imperial command through all of the provinces of Asia
Minor.
[Inclosure in No. 1020.]
Her Britannic Majesty’s
Vice-Consul at Harpoot to the British Ambassador.
Harpoot, September 21,
1896.
Sir: With reference to my telegrams of the
15th and 16th instant, reporting the great and general anxiety
prevailing among the Christians in this town, I have now the honor
to report to your excellency the measure taken by the civil and
military authorities to prevent disturbances here and to allay the
anxiety in question.
On Saturday, the 12th instant, I received a letter from Dr. Barnum
informing me of the terror of the Armenians at Harpoot, owing to the
warnings of friendly Turks and the threatening language of
lower-class Moslems. On the receipt of this letter I thought it my
duty to provide in the first place, as far as possible, for the
safety of the missionaries; accordingly I wrote, as I was ill with
fever at the time, an official note to the vali, of which a copy is
herein inclosed, informing him of the panic among the Armenians, and
demanding that instant measures should be adopted for the adequate
protection of the American mission.
The vali thereupon dispatched the chief of gendarmerie at Mezreh with
a few of his men to Harpoot with orders to augment the guard
attached to the mission, and to consult Dr. Barnum as to what might
further be done to insure the safety of American citizens there.
Toward the evening of the 15th instant the terror at Harpoot and
Mezreh rose to fever point by reason of rumors of disturbances
having occurred at Eghin and elsewhere in this vilayet. Several
persons called upon me after dusk in a state of the greatest
agitation. I did my best to reassure them, and on the following
morning called upon and had long conversations with the vali and
military commandant. I pointed out to them the danger to which the
Protestant mission would be exposed in the event of another
outbreak, owing to the unreasonable though general ill will harbored
by Turks of all classes against the person of Dr. Barnum. I reminded
them that the missionaries barely escaped with their lives during
the last disturbances here, and warned them of the grave
responsibility they would incur should any further mishap befall the
mission, more especially as there was now an English lady residing
there.
I then suggested that the garrison at Harpoot should be increased and
that the officer in command there should be held responsible for any
disturbance that might happen in the town and for the safety of the
mission staff and buildings; that sentinels should be stationed in
both the Armenian and Turkish quarters at Mezreh, and that a
trustworthy officer should be sent round to the various villages in
the neighborhood to order the agas to keep the villagers quiet and
prevent the Turks from menacing and molesting their Christian
neighbors, numbers of whom had already begun to flock into Mesreh
for protection; and that suspicious characters, whether Turkish or
Armenian, should be at once arrested and kept under restraint until
public confidence should be restored.
All the measures suggested by me have been put into force. A
battalion of reserves has also been formed, and the company of
regular troops at Harpoot has been reenforced by a company of
reserves. Besides these troops there is a battalion of regulars
stationed at Mezreh.
An “ilan,” or proclamation, a copy with translation of which I
inclose herewith, has moreover been printed and posted up at the
Konak
[Page 873]
and in other public
places reminding the people that the Sultan desires that all classes
of his people should live peaceably together and ordering them to
keep the peace.
The general uneasiness has now abated somewhat and I do not
anticipate any trouble here. But the calling out of the reserves has
in no way contributed toward reassuring the Armenians, who can not
forget, it seems, the part played by those troops during the
disturbance in this town last winter.
I have, etc.,
