Vice-Consul Doughty-Wyllie to Sir G. Lowther.
IN continuation of my last letter, I went to the French school this morning and found about half the buildings destroyed. There had been no loss of life or injury. The fire arose in an empty mosque, used for the storage of cotton, which fills in an angle in the French buildings: the perpetrators unknown.
I went to the konak, but the Vali had never heard that the French school was on fire, but promised immediate help. As I had seen it would be necessary to save what we could of the French property and empty the rest of the building, I called on the Acting-General Mehelet Ali Bey and asked for help. He said he would come at once himself and did so, and sent fifty soldiers, the Brigadier-General commanding the town, several senior officers. All that could be done was, I think, done. Some inquiry should be made into the conduct of the officers’ guard at the French school, who do appear to have done much.
I visited the American schools, consisting of Mr. Chambers’ house and the girls’ school, which are only about 80 yards from the French school. I advised the people in both places to pack up and get ready to move, and sent down some of Mr. Chambers’ private baggage. There are fifteen patients in the girls’ school.
Whilst we were going round, the Brigadier-General and myself discovered another house on fire, from which an explosion occurred. It was said to be a bomb, and was certainly something of the sort, probably a tin of powder. These sort of things set the Turkish troops so much against the Armenians, and so many ugly stories are flying around, that one cannot feel at all sure that the massacre will not begin again.
I think this deliberate attack on the French may easily be followed by attacks on foreigners.
One battalion of Redifs arrived during the night and another this morning.
In the afternoon I went again to the konak to see the Mehelet Ali Bey and gave him a message from Captain Thursby as to the ugly stories set afloat of Alexandretta.
It is said apparently that the troops of the IInd Army Corps had been massacring in Adana. This we will deny by every means in our power; further I told him in Captains Thursby's name and my own of the inflammatory language used by the local paper the “Ittidal.” This paper talks perpetually of further punishment of Armenians and the danger of foreign interference. He promised to send at once to the editor of the “Ittidal” and reprimand him. I told him that to-night Captain Carver would sleep in Mr. Chambers' house, and asked that a Turkish officer might also sleep there, and that by their presence I hoped to restore some confidence in the miserable people of the quarter, as well as to protect British property. He said it was a good idea and he would send an officer and a special guard. They were having some sort of military Court of Inquiry on arms found in houses. All sorts of broken old guns and outlandish looking weapons were lying on the floor.
I am afraid suspected persons are probably being put to the question in various ways. A very large number of Armenians have been arrested, and so far none have come back to tell the tale.
From the konak I went to the American and French schools. Outside the French school I met the Vali, who was walking round to see the damage for himself. I took this as a good sign, that he, at any rate, appears not to be afraid of the absurd stories of Feddai, dynamite, &c., which are in every one's mouths. I took him to Mr. Chambers’ house, introduced Mr. Lawson Chambers, and told him that Captain Carver was going to sleep in the house to-night with a Turkish officer, and he gave special instructions that he should be in every way assisted and protected.
I went to see Miss Webb, and Miss Wallis, an English lady, who are now nursing fifteen sick women and children in the American girls’ school. I had removed from them most of their valuables and as much of Mr. Chambers’ household furniture as could be conveniently carried away. Both these ladies were very cheerful and in good spirits.
Mr. Lawson Chambers and Bombardier Hawes will sleep in the house to-night to help in case of emergency.
There are very strong pickets of troops everywhere, and I do not see how the incendiary can get in without their knowledge.
Every Turk in the town is fully persuaded that the Armenians set light to their own houses, with, I suppose, the idea of bringing about foreign interference. They tell gruesome stories of Armenian atrocities on Moslems, such as poisoning the wells with dead bodies, the burning alive of wounded men, atrocities on women and the like.
It is true that some wounded and corpses have been burned, that many bodies have been thrown into wells, and that very many outrages have been committed, but I cannot think myself that many of these have been done by Armenians, who are always in the minority. There have, of course, been exceptions.
So far as I can find out a number of people varying from 500 to 3,000 were killed in the second massacre. I am afraid that the larger figure is more likely to be right on account of the extensive fires. Many streets were blocked by the blazing ruins, and when there was an outlet people were shot. I fear that a large number of wounded were burnt in some of the churches and schools. It cannot be said that there is any general feeling of sympathy with or sorrow for the Armenian population. The Turks talk still of nothing but punishment. Though there is no killing in the streets there are many stories of murder inside the houses, but I hope that these are exaggerated. The Armenians are now all frightened to death.
The Yeni Mahalli refugees were to-day more or less sheltered by long strips of cloth bought by the Relief Committee. They have all been fed.
M. Trypani has with great difficulty managed to get his mill going, and is grinding flour for us. In his factory, which for some days sheltered about 1,300 people, there has been an enormous quantity of damage done, all his looms are spoilt, some bits of machinery lost or broken, and the stock on hand entirely ruined.
The material loss of British and protected houses will, I am afraid, be very large indeed.
We have been working all day to transport to a place of safety as much of the furniture, pianos, &c., belonging to the French school as had not been burnt.
In the evening all the priests and nuns came down to M. Trypani’s house. A guard was left on the house with a fire pump in case of any further attempt.
Received a telegram from your Excellency that British merchants at Smyrna are sending food and medical appliances to Adana, Consul at Smyrna has telegraphed to me, but has received no reply. I wired back that I had received a telegram through the Consul-General, Smyrna, 207 sacks of flour have been sent here, but not a gift, and that Smyrna had asked for further requirements; that I am trying to get the Turkish authorities to say what help they are prepared to give before spending large sums of money, as I have no news yet of any subscriptions, and that I would wire to Smyrna to this effect.
The funds at present stand: my wife and I provided 150 l., as a gift and 500 l., as a loan.
The American Mission gave 100 l., and 200 l. has been wired by the Armenian Union of Cairo to be divided in this province and that of Aleppo.
This money has already been largely expended, and I hesitate to order food by the shipload till I know where more is to come from. I have made myself personally responsible to pay not only the 207 bags from Smyrna, but have bought something like 750 bags of wheat or flour here, and about 200 l. worth of rice, as well as butter, beans, and olives.
So far I can get no answer out of the Turkish authorities as to what they are prepared to give, although every day they give a certain quantity of flour for the use of refugees.
In my wife’s hospital about 200 cases of wounded are treated daily. In the German hospital about the same number. The cost of this is borne by us and the Germans respectively. Dr. Bokelberg of the German war-ship “Hamburg” is attending to the wounded at the German hospital.
Tuesday, May 3. I received a note from Commander Carver last night, saying that a fire had broken out near the mosque at the Tarsus Gate, about 300 yards from the American school and to leeward. He said there was no danger to the schools so that I did not go up. This morning, I hear three houses are burnt in the place indicated.