Chapter II: Part 2

A share in the Adana relief work has been a privilege not alone as an opportunity for service, but it has been a still greater privilege to see the men and women there who, in sublime unconsciousness of self, are daily giving themselves to fill the swarming needs of thousands of destitute people. Especially is this true of Major Doughty-Wylie and Mr. Nesbit Chambers. Credit for the high personal bravery shown by them at the time of the massacres is surpassed by admiration for their devotion now that, acting as directors of the Adana relief work, and showing foresight, discretion, and economy, they have established themselves to bear the burden through the hot days of the long summer. Honor may well be given to those who couple courage in danger with humanity in time of need.

(Signed) HARRY G. DORMAN, M. D.,
_Of the Adana Relief Delegation of the
American Red Cross Committee in Beirut._

THE SACK OF KESSAB

By STEPHEN VAN R. TROWBRIDGE.

Kessab was a thrifty Armenian town of about 8,000 inhabitants, situated on the landward slope of Mount Cassius (Arabic, Jebel Akra), which stands out prominently upon the Mediterranean seacoast, halfway between Alexandretta and Latakia. Kessab is now a mass of blackened ruins, the stark walls of the churches and houses rising up out of the ashes and charred timbers heaped on every side. What must it mean to the 5,000 men and women and little children who have survived a painful flight to the seacoast and have now returned to their mountain home, only to find their houses sacked and burned! There were nine Christian villages which clustered about Kessab in the valleys below. Several of these have been completely destroyed by fire. All have been plundered and the helpless people driven out or slain.

On Thursday, April 22, serious alarm reached the people of Kessab. It was known that a massacre of the Armenians had taken place in Antioch, 36 miles to the north, and that attacks were being planned on the Christian villages of the mountains. A parley was arranged with the Mudir (magistrate) of Ordou, the nearest seat of government, and a telegram asking for military protection was dispatched to the Governor of Aleppo. The Mudir, whose name is Hassein Hassan Agha, met the Kessab delegation halfway down the mountainside and assured them that he had already scattered the mobs that had gathered with evil intention. But his pledges soon proved to be idle tales, because that very Thursday evening he permitted crowds of armed Moslems to come into Ordou from Jissr Shoughr, Kusayr, Antioch, and even from Idlib, far to the east. Early the next morning, after entertaining the raiders overnight, he sent them on their way to the sack of Kessab. Moreover, the Mudir detained the eleven gendarmes which were ordered by the Aleppo government to protect American and Italian interests in Kessab. The Mudir instructed the gendarmes that they should remain in Ordou.

Thursday evening the Kessab scouts brought word into the town that great crowds of armed Turks and Arabs had gathered in the nearest Moslem village. It was an anxious night. Before daylight, Friday morning, rifle shots told of the enemy’s advance. By three separate mountain trails, from the north, northeast, and east, thousands of armed Moslems came pouring up the valley. Their Martini rifles sent the bullets whizzing into the Kessab houses, while the shotguns of the 300 Christians who were posted on the defense could not cover the long range. It was a desperate struggle, and the Kessab men realized their straits. The plan which they thereupon made is to their honor and credit. They resolved to hold out as many hours as possible, so as to furnish time for the women and children to escape into the clefts and caves of the mountains to the south. For five hours the fusillade continued with fierce determination. By midafternoon Turks from the Antioch villages had circled around Jebel Akra on the north, so as to command a position above Kessab. The Arabs had flanked the town on the southeast. Meanwhile the vanguard of the Ordou Moslems had captured and burned the adjacent villages just below Kessab, and had set fire to three of the houses at that end of the town. Their cries and frantic threats could be heard distinctly. The women and girls gathered up the little children on their backs and in their arms, hastened along the west trail over the ridge toward Kaladouran, and clambered up into the cliffs and crevices which overlook the sea at an altitude of 5,000 feet. Some in small groups, others entirely alone, hid themselves underneath the thorny underbrush or in the natural caves. Toward evening the men had been compelled by the overwhelming odds to give up the defense. They fell back without any panic or noise. And the Turks and Arabs who rushed into the streets of the town were so seized with the lust of plunder that they did not pursue the rear guard of the Christians. Angry must have been the scenes as the plunderers fought with one another over the stores of raw silk, the chief product of Kessab. Cattle, mules, copper kettles, bedding, clothing, and rugs were carried out by the Turks in feverish haste, as one after another the houses were set on fire. Some of the aged Armenians, who had not the strength to flee, were caught in their houses and barbarously put to death. Others, who had delayed flight in order to gather up and rescue a few valuables, were likewise put to the sword. Axes and knives finished up what the rifles had spared. But the instinct to escape had been so strong among the Christians, and the greed of plunder so absorbing among the Mohammedans, that in all the day’s fray only 153 Armenians and a handful of Turks were killed.

A Kessab girl named Feride, 20 years of age, had a remarkable escape. She had gone over to the village of Ekizolook (Twin Hollows) to save the little bridal trousseau of one of her friends. It was well on in the afternoon when she had gathered up the garments into a bundle. And when she hurried out into the street to join the fugitives she found, to her dismay, that everyone had gone beyond sight and hearing. A moment more and she saw a host of Arabs rush up through the street. She dashed through several little gardens and reached the rocks and underbrush above the village. On and on she made her way without being discovered. In a deep cleft between the rocks she hid and listened. She had dropped the precious bundle, but kept in her hand her New Testament, which was more precious than anything else. As she listened and watched many Arabs and Turks ranged past the entrance to the cleft. Then came one who peered in closely. Their eyes met. He gave a cry to his comrades, “There is a maiden here!” and sprang forward. She summoned her whole strength and leaped up the side of a great rock which rises up above the village. It was a feat which no athlete could commonly have done. At first the Arab could not follow her. He cried again to his companions. They replied by shouting to one another, “Surround her! Surround her!” She was now standing on top of the rock in full sight of fifteen or sixteen Arabs, all in her pursuit. They called fiercely to her to come down. She answered in Arabic, “You may shoot me, but I will never give myself up.” Then they ordered her to throw down to them the purse she had in her hand. She told them it was not her purse, but her Holy Gospel. And she held out her hands in prayer to God. Just then the Arab who had first seen her made a spring up the side of the rock. She leaped in the opposite direction down into some brushwood, but was caught at the side of the rock by branches of briar. The Arab came on over the top of the rock and had reached out his arm to seize her, when a Christian young man, who had taken refuge in another part of the brushwood, fired and shot him dead. He gave a long groan, threw up his arms, and fell prostrate upon the rock. The other Moslems were startled by the unexpected shot and retreated for a time. This gave Feride time to escape into the caves farther up the mountainside, where she remained entirely alone all night and part of the next day. When I was in Ekizolook the Arab had not yet been buried. I took his headdress—a coil of black wool and the “keifiyye” which goes with it—as a trophy. Feride herself told me the story of her escape. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed as she recalled the dangers through which she had passed. She said that after she was discovered in that cleft of the rocks all fear left her. A strange courage came over her, and she felt sure that God would save her from being captured.

One of the school teachers, named Mariam, was caught by the Arabs not far from where Feride had hidden. The Arab who captured her ordered her to become a Moslem. When she refused he threatened to kill two little boys she was trying to protect. Then he raised the axe which he carried and placed the edge against Mariam’s neck, threatening her three separate times. Each time she said she would never become a Mohammedan, nor deny her faith in Christ, nor surrender her honor. The Arab snatched the money which she had with her and tore off the dress and shoes which she was wearing. He told her he would make her his slave. Just then some Turks from Ordou came up and recognized among the women the wife of Dr. Apelian. The doctor had often served these Turks medically. A sharp skirmish ensued, which ended in the defeat of the Arabs. The women were that night taken in safe conduct by these Turks to a Greek house in Ordou, where they were kindly cared for until the fighting was over and they could return to Kessab.

One of the saddest experiences was that of Azniv Khanum, wife of the preacher in Kaladouran. Ten days before the massacre she had given birth to twin children, a boy and a girl. When the flight to the mountains took place she had not the strength to climb with the others, so her husband hid her and their four children among the rocks near the edge of the village. The babies were wrapped in a little quilt and the other children clung to their mother, while the father hid in a cave close by. Before long Azniv Khanum and the children were discovered by the Turks. One of the plunderers snatched up the quilt, despite the mother’s entreaties. The two babies rolled out, one in one direction and one in another, over the rough stones. Then the Turk rudely laid hold of the mother, and, holding his revolver against her breast, ordered her to become a Moslem. She bravely refused. “You are my slave,” he said, and beat her with the flat of his sword. He commenced to drag her down in order to tie her on his horse. Her foot tripped, she fell, and rolled over and over for about eight yards. There she lay on the rocks, bruised and exhausted, in the hot sun. The Turk seeing a chance to plunder, abandoned her. Afterwards other Turks took her money and her dress and shoes and her little girl about four years old. It is wonderful that she lived through it all. One of the little babies lived a week, the other about ten days, after that. When I was in Kaladouran we buried the little boy. It was a very touching service out under the trees.

Now, to return to the narrative. Friday evening it occurred to Dr. Apelian that if he could reach the seaport of Latakia, forty miles to the south, he could telegraph for assistance by sea. With a trusty guide he set out that same evening for the house of a Moslem chief in the mountains. This Turk agreed to ride with him to Latakia, and thus give him protection along the way. Without this escort the doctor could never have made this trip. Even as it was he took his life in his hands. They arrived in Latakia at 2 o’clock at night, called the British and French consuls to Dr. Balph’s home, sent telegrams to Alexandretta and Aleppo, and at dawn notified the Mutasarrif (Lieutenant-Governor) of the attack on Kessab. Turkish soldiers were dispatched at once, and a Messageries steamer started to the rescue from Alexandretta.

Meanwhile, all day Saturday the sacking and burning went on. The large village of Kaladouran was devastated. The Moslems increased in numbers as raiders from distant villages arrived. In the afternoon Selhan Agha, captain of gendarmerie, arrived with forty cavalrymen. He joined in the sack of the town, taking for himself and his company the most valuable share of the booty, the raw silk found in the merchants’ shops. He and the cavalrymen were afterward intercepted at Idlib, on their way to Aleppo, and their saddlebags were found to be crammed full of plunder. Selhan Agha, with the forty horsemen, had been dispatched from Jissr by orders from Aleppo, Thursday afternoon, to go at once to protect Kessab from any mob violence. He could have gone in eight hours, or even less, from Jissr to Kessab. At that time the attack had not yet commenced. Instead of going directly to Kessab he went to Sheikh Keoy and spent the night there. The next day all the Moslems from that village were out on the warpath, while Selhan Agha turned far out of his way and made a sixty-mile detour to many other Mohammedan villages and to the city of Antioch. Finally he reached Kessab, forty-eight hours after receiving his orders, and when he arrived he did not stop the burning and looting, but himself became a plunderer. This whole disgraceful affair has been probed by the Aleppo Commission, and their findings substantiate all of the above statements. I have most of the evidence, however, directly from one of the gendarmes named Mehmet Ali.

By Saturday night there was not much valuable plunder left. The iron bars were wrenched out from the windows and the household pottery smashed to pieces out of sheer vandalism. As the loot became exhausted the Moslems commenced to range the mountainsides, exploring the caves, and firing into the bushes in the effort to exterminate the Christians. One woman’s husband was cut to pieces before her very eyes, and she herself was severely wounded in the side. She escaped to the deep ravines near the summit of Mount Cassius and lived on snow for twelve days. She is now in the American hospital at Latakia.

All the tradesmen’s shops and merchants’ storehouses in Kessab are burned. In fact, the whole market is in ashes. The Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches are completely burned. The latter was a spacious building, seating a congregation of 1,800. The American Mission residence, occupied by Miss E. M. Chambers, was burned; so, also, the Girls’ High School (American property), the Boys’ Grammar School, and the Protestant parsonage; 530 houses, including the homes of all the well-to-do families in Kessab, are also destroyed by fire. The 700 houses which remain, plundered, but not burned, are small one-room or two-room houses, belonging to laborers and other poor people. In Ekizolook 38 homes are burned; 22 remain. In Kaladouran 65 are gone; 135 are left. In Duz Aghaj 24 are burned; 1 remains. In Keorkine 55 are burned; 45 remain.

On Saturday one of the Latin priests, Father Sabatine, made the journey to Latakia, at considerable risk, in order to appeal for help. Whether it was by the influence of his telegrams or the ones sent twenty-four hours before by the Protestant physician, Dr. Apelian, I do not know, but at all events on Sunday morning a Messageries Maritime steamer came down the coast toward the cove at Kaladouran, at the foot of Mount Cassius. The news was carried from mouth to mouth to all the hiding places among the crags and ravines, so that within a few hours the fugitives began to pour in streams down the Kaladouran gorge to the seashore. The painfulness of that descent can scarcely be imagined. Most of the people had not had anything to eat for two days. Many of them had become separated from their families and were now plodding down toward the sea with a strange blend of hope and despair. The suffering of many of the women was severe indeed. Fourteen children were born during that flight, and the mothers had no alternative but to press onward as best they could in the wake of the multitude.

An 8-year-old little boy was captured by the Turks and carried off to become a Moslem. He was given a Mohammedan name and made to wear a little turban. He acted very demurely and kept quiet. But when a chance offered, as he had permission to go to a nearby well, he ran for dear life and got away. With an instinct as keen as that of a wild creature of the woods, he made his way among the mountains and across the maritime plain forty miles, to Latakia, where he found his mother.

The Messageries steamer took aboard about 3,000 and brought them to Latakia, where they were divided up among several churches and schools. On Monday, a French cruiser brought 4,000 more. The largest number were cared for in the grounds of the American Presbyterian Mission. The hospital was crowded with wounded and sick under the care of Dr. James Balph. Miss Elsey, the trained nurse, opened a maternity ward, and all the Americans worked hard in relief measures. The days in Latakia, under the hot sun and with the constant fear that the Turks of the town might rush in and attack them, were days of exile and hardship, in spite of all that could be done for safety and health. They gathered quietly in the evenings for prayer and for the singing of the hymns that they all know by heart. After a few days sickness began breaking out rapidly. Several smallpox cases were discovered, and the crowded conditions threatened still further disorders. The Mutasarrif, who is chief magistrate in Latakia, had from the start done everything in his power to protect and provide for these fugitives. He himself patrolled the streets at night, and, with the few soldiers at his command, dispersed the angry Moslem mobs which repeatedly made attempts at disorder. He furnished a ration of flour for all and expressed his sympathy with those who were in sorrow. When he saw the rapid increase of sickness he advised that they should all return to Kessab, and to give the people assurance of safety on the road he went with them in person. The courageous and kind-hearted action of this Turk saved Latakia, and the thousands of Kessab people sheltered there, from the dreadful event of a massacre. His conduct stands out in strong contrast with the criminal behavior of Hassein Hassan Agha, the Mudir of Ordou.

Can you imagine the feelings of the Kessab people as they climbed on foot the long trail up the mountain, and then as they came over the ridge into full view of their charred and ruined dwellings? Their stores of wheat, barley, and rice had been burned; clothing, cooking kettles, furniture, and tools had gone; their goats, cows, and mules had been stolen; their silk industry stamped out; their beloved churches reduced to smouldering heaps. The bodies of their friends and relatives who had been killed had not been buried. And yet the love of home is so strong that the people have settled down there with the determination to clear up the debris and rebuild their houses. If generous gifts arrive from England and America the Local Relief Committee hopes to put into the hands of the Kessab men such tools as shall enable them to earn their usual livelihood by one of the trades or by farming. For the present food supplies and clothing must also be forwarded from Latakia and Beirut. But as soon as a man begins to earn a daily wage, no matter how small, his name is struck off the ration lists. I insisted upon this rule in the case of muleteers, who were paid for carrying up the first shipment of relief supplies. Two capable doctors are ready to give their services for the sick, but they have lost all medical and surgical supplies. It would be of the utmost benefit to furnish them with instruments and medicines. In this, as in other needs, we heartily appreciate the prompt cooperation of the Beirut Relief Committee. Miss E. M. Chambers, who was in Adana during these troubles, has now returned to Kessab. She has lost everything, but is quite ready to share the lot of the people. She is secretary for the Kessab Relief Committee, of which Dr. James Balph, Latakia, is chairman and treasurer.

On Sunday afternoon, May 23, the first preaching service for four weeks was held out under the trees near the burned church. My heart went out to the people as I spoke to them and looked into their faces. I realized then a little what they had been through during the past month. May God’s blessing be richly poured out upon them!

_Supplementary Report._

For the first few weeks we were all compelled to do emergency work, the doctors to treat the wounded, the rest of us to secure flour, rice, and water for the throngs of homeless people. But now the attention of all of us is directed to construction work, providing for the industrial needs of the sufferers, rebuilding wherever possible and reorganizing the agricultural work of the peasants. For the orphan children homes are being established, chiefly by the missionaries, and for the widows whose livelihood has been cut off by the killing of husbands, fathers, and sons, the establishment of embroidery, rug making, and silk culture, the materials and tools furnished by the relief committees, the wages to be paid daily to the earners. Where many men have survived, the common trades of carpentry, masonry, stonecutting, tailoring, and weaving may be reestablished by a sufficient financial backing from relief societies. There is also great need of men to specialize in relief work and administer the large funds required. Missionaries can not rightly give up all their regular work, nor can navy officers nor consuls, but a few American volunteers, such as those sent to southern Italy and Sicily after the earthquake, could do a wonderful amount of good.

Perhaps the most effective and wide-reaching relief work thus far has been done by Dr. F. D. Shepard and his wife in the large villages of Hassan Beyli and Baghche. This American surgeon could use to excellent advantage a staff of young men from the homeland. The work of the Beirut Relief Committee in providing hundreds of the men who survived the Kessab attack with tools and implements, so that they might commence earning a living at once, deserves note as a typically American plan, financed chiefly through the generosity of the American National Red Cross. To avoid pauperizing the people is one of the most difficult feats. Here in the city of Aintab, where there has been practically no loss of life, but great economic loss and resulting increase of poverty, I have furnished some of the unemployed weavers with twelve looms for six months. Twelve stonecutters, who were out of work since April 16, I have set to work digging pits or holes in the limestone of the hospital grounds, so that trees may be planted in the pits next spring. The earth is only a few inches deep here.

Although the American people have helped very generously, the work of relief has only just begun, and a more thorough effort to put the people here on their feet again and to make kindly provision for all the helpless persons, the old women and little children, requires large plans and large appropriations from such societies as the American National Red Cross.

_An English Woman’s Heroism._

Mrs. Doughty-Wylie, wife of the British Vice-Consul, in a letter to her mother, describes with the vividness of an eye witness the horrors of the last days of the rule of the late Sultan, Abdul Hamid.

Major Doughty-Wylie, a soldier who has taken part in many campaigns, was severely wounded while engaged in the work of rescue. His heroic services have won from the American missionaries laurels that will not fade. Mrs. Doughty-Wylie also, according to impartial witnesses, displayed the courage of her race, and by her devotion and energy saved many lives.

From a letter from Mrs. Doughty-Wylie we make the following extracts:

“We are having a perfectly hideous time here. Thousands have been murdered—25,000 in this province, they say; but the number is probably greater, for every Christian village was wiped out. In Adana about 5,000 have perished. After Turks and Armenians had made peace and the Armenians had given up their arms, the Turks came in the night with hose and kerosene and set fire to what remained of the Armenian quarter. Next day the French and Armenian schools were fired. Nearly everyone in the Armenian school perished, anybody trying to escape being shot down by the soldiers.

“In the French school a large number of Fathers and Sisters, with 2,000 Armenians, were rescued by Dick (Major Doughty-Wylie). Thirty, who tried to escape, were shot. Dick found their bodies at the gate, but he got the survivors out of the schools and brought them right through the Turkish quarter without losing a soul. Altogether he got several thousand people out of the burning quarter and encamped them near our temporary dwelling.

“I have the hospital—sixty-five beds so far and about 150 outpatients requiring surgical dressings. Fifteen thousand starving people are to be fed and we are running into debt nicely.

“The Turkish authorities do nothing except arrest unoffending Armenians, from whom by torture they extort the most fanciful confessions. Even the wounded are not safe from their injustice. A man was being carried in to me yesterday when he was seized and taken off to gaol. I dare not think what his fate may be.

“Nobody is safe. They murder babies in front of their mothers; they half murder men and violate their wives while the husbands are lying there dying in pools of blood. Then they say it is the fault of the Armenians, because there existed a revolutionary society of about sixty members, who talked and wrote a good deal of rot.

“We arrived in Adana from Mersine the first day of the massacre, April 14. The murderers boarded the train. There was a rush of Armenian passengers into our compartment. While I tried to buck them up a bit Dick went and tackled an assassin who was just going to shoot somebody else. At Tarsus they murdered two men who were coming from the station just behind us. One man made a rush and gained the guardhouse, but the soldiers shoved him out and watched him done to death in the road.

“Dick got into uniform the moment he arrived, and we saw no more of him till 11 at night. He had been rescuing all the foreign subjects he could find. The following day I saw more brutal murders. An Armenian quarter near us was attacked by Arab soldiers from our guard and was practically wiped out. Their officers and one or two decent soldiers stuck to the guardhouse and took no part in the murders. The officers, at my earnest appeal, even saved some women and children—but how dreadfully shot they were.

“After an hour’s argument I got a Greek doctor to come out with me to the guardhouse and dress the wounded women and children. The room was a puddle of blood, and while we were working there a wounded Armenian, who was staggering in to be dressed, was stabbed to death by some of the soldiers. I saw many murders, and nobody seemed to care.

“The authorities did nothing, and the soldiers were worse than the crowd, for they were better armed.

“One house in our quarter was burned with 115 people inside. We counted the bodies. The soldiers set fire to the door, and as the windows had iron bars nobody could get out. Everybody in the house was roasted alive. They were all women and children and old people. It was in that part of the town that Dick was wounded. They told him that some wounded Turkish soldiers were lying among the burning houses, and he went to rescue them, which they certainly did not deserve. The house from which he was shot had a garden filled with dead women and children, and I have no doubt that some Armenian, who had lost entire family and most of his friends, shot him in a sort of mad fit, probably taking him for a Turk.

_Slaughter in the Fields._

“Outside Adana every Christian village—Greek, Syrian, or Armenian—has been burned and every soul in them killed. Unfortunately, it was just before harvest, and thousands of peasants from the mountains and other districts were there to start work. From 100 to 200 men and women were murdered on every farm. Turkish farms were not burned or looted, but the Armenian servants were killed. I know of only one farmer—a friend of ours—who had the nerve to save his Armenians.

“The French engineer and an English traveler gallantly did some saving. They had escorts, and the Frenchman stood a three-days’ siege and made his escort fight some Circassians to save a dozen Armenians. It was gallantly done. The Englishman, whose name is Gunter, refused to save himself unless the Armenians who had thrown themselves on his protection were saved. It was touch and go for the lot, but British pluck won and he got his own terms.

“The Germans, however, who were shut up in a place called Bagche gave up the Armenians in their house as the price of their own safety. Here the Germans are working splendidly on relief work. They are all Saxons and had a factory full of Armenians, which held out all right. When the Armenians were being brought out of the factory to the camp, as soon as things were supposed to be quiet, the soldiers started killing them. I happened to be at the guardhouse and got my little officer to go to the rescue, and all were brought in safely except three, who had been already shot.

“Things are still very unsettled. Murders and fires continue; but, of course, it is not like the first days of horror.

“We have 15,000 people starving and without shelter. All we can give them is a fragment of bread or a handful of rice. We have nothing more to give. No milk for the babies—nothing. And measles and dysentery are rife.”

REPORT OF F. G. FREYER, SECRETARY-TREASURER OF THE BEIRUT RELIEF COMMITTEE.

BEIRUT, SYRIA, July 12, 1909.

Mr. E. G. Freyer, Secretary-Treasurer of the Relief Committee, with his financial statements sends a special appeal for Kessab. He also says, in regard to the Committee’s work as American Red Cross Agents:

We realized, first, that under the American National Red Cross our Committee would take the field as a distinctively American undertaking, even though recognizing the principle which governs all Red Cross work—that its benefits should reach all in need, irrespective of nationality or creed.

Secondly, it gave the Committee a standing, a guarantee before the public which enabled it to raise funds in quarters where remittances under other circumstances might not have been forthcoming.

The sending of doctors and nurses to Adana in the name and under the protection of the Red Cross flag was not only a source of satisfaction to the Committee, but of the very greatest help and blessing to the many who at that time required immediate medical aid.

Those of us who have lived in the Orient for years have become accustomed to the remark, and in many cases have allowed ourselves to believe, that the native will not help himself, much less others, but that he is willing to be dependent on the charity of the outside world. Be this as it may under ordinary conditions, the present crisis has fully demonstrated that the native can and will rise to the occasion and help not only himself but his neighbor as well.

In looking over the summary of receipts it is more than gratifying to note the very generous response which has come to our appeal from the Syrians, or those whom we designate as “natives.” When we consider that out of a total of 564,538 piasters received fully one-third has come from native sources, this fact in itself may be considered a success commensurate with any relief and help which the money itself has brought to the sufferers. It is proverbial that it is difficult to get money from the native. It is a satisfaction to know that he is sympathetic, and that he can and will help.

Many cases can be cited where sacrifices have been made to help along the work of relief. One man who had saved his metallic pieces (1 cent plus) for nearly three years, and who had his small box nearly full, handed it over with the remark, “Here, I have saved these for three years. I know not what the box contains. Take it for the fund.” The proceeds of that box netted the fund 385 piasters, or $13.75. The children brought their pennies, school girls went without portions of their meals, the poor gave of their little, and by these acts of self-denial helped to feed and clothe their fellow-countrymen.

We have esteemed it a privilege to work under Red Cross auspices, even though our funds have come also from many other sources.

From England we have received many contributions, large and small. The latter are numerous, and indicate the desire many have had to help.

_A Special Appeal for Kessab._

Relief work at Kessab, as in many of the disturbed districts of northern Syria, has been going on since the end of April last. During that time the Beirut Relief Committee has been able to aid in feeding and clothing the many widows and orphans who were left entirely destitute, while tools for carpenters, blacksmiths, and masons, also plows and farming implements, have been sent there so that the work of reconstruction might begin.

Until now relief work has consisted chiefly in feeding the hungry; more could not be undertaken on a large scale. The summer months have proved favorable in that the people did not require special housing. Improvised tents and shelters of various kinds were constructed, and for the present these have served their purpose well, but the great question which confronts all who are engaged in this work is, how these people are to be housed and sheltered during the bleak winter months. It must be remembered that the winters at Kessab are exceptionally severe. Situated on the side of a mountain at a high altitude, the winds and rains not infrequently cause the place to be entirely covered with ice and snow.

Then, again, how are they to be provided with food to tide over the winter, or until they can raise their next crop of silk worms, the chief industry of Kessab? We can not go on feeding them indefinitely, yet it is a duty to feed and house this people until, under ordinary conditions, they can provide their own support and repair their homes.

In regard to providing shelter, it is thought that it may be feasible to erect two or three large barracks to give at least temporary shelter to the women and children. Conference with those on the field and those who know the conditions which hold good at Kessab may prove that this is not a feasible plan, but that it would be better to roof over some of the larger buildings. While practically all the houses in Kessab were destroyed by fire, the walls of most of them are standing and in good condition. It may be found more advantageous to roof over several of these large houses, or even the Protestant and Armenian Churches. The latter could be used by the constituents of either sect, and under such conditions as the Relief Committee may see fit to make. Unless some such measure of relief is adopted immediately great will be the suffering and privation of the people of Kessab during the coming winter months.

The very lowest estimate places the cost of the construction work at $10,000 and the cost of a sufficient quantity of wheat to sparingly supply the needs of the people at $5,000.

In view of the foregoing facts a special appeal is therefore made for $15,000, $10,000 of which to be specifically designated as intended for and to be applied to constructive work.

It is hoped that these specific objects for which funds are so urgently needed, and the receipt of which will do untold good, may appeal to many who are in a position to give.

_Abstract of First Financial Statement, Beirut Relief Committee, June 24, 1909._

Your Committee has long felt the necessity of rendering at least a preliminary statement, showing amounts received and expended, in connection with the relief work made possible through your generosity.

Without the aid of regularly paid assistants it has, however, been impossible for the Committee to render such an account earlier, feeling that its first efforts should be directed toward the work of relief rather than that of accounts.

It is a pleasure to acknowledge with thanks the gifts of so many who have responded to our call for aid. Considerable has been done to alleviate the sufferings and wants of the sick and destitute, but from all accounts from the stricken districts the work of relief is far from completed. Until we can get sufficient funds wherewith to purchase tools, etc., the people can not be set to work at their various trades. This, and this only, can solve the problem of reconstruction which confronts all engaged in this work.

Very truly, yours,

G. BIE RAVNDAL,
_American Consul-General, Chairman._

GEO. E. POST, M. D.
E. G. FREYER,
_Secretary and Treasurer_.

RECEIPTS.

_Piasters._
Syria 136,581.10
Palestine 28,012.05
Asia Minor 17,505.00
Cyprus 1,322.35
Egypt 35,667.25
Belgium 815.25
France 543.30
England 51,658.25
America 223,930.25
-----------
Grand Total 496,037.20
£3,627 6s. 7d.
$17,715.62

EXPENDITURES.

_Piasters._
Adana 60,088.10
Kessab 76,960.10
Alexandretta 81,006.25
Latakia 7,000.00
Antioch 26,029.20
Tarsus 14,099.05
Aintab 12,462.20
Marash (Americans) 79,193.20
Marash (Germans) 23,253.30
Deaconesses, Beirut 4,404.00
Miscellaneous 31,575.00
-----------
Grand total 416,072.20
===========
Beirut currency: _Piasters._
Total receipts 496,037.20
Total expended 416,072.20
-----------
June 24, 1909. Balance on deposit in bank 79,965.00

E. G. FREYER, _Treasurer_.

SUMMARY OF DISTRIBUTION.

8,783 pieces of clothing and 182 pairs of shoes, sent in by 152 donors.
3,600 blankets purchased by Committee.
1,100 quilts purchased by Committee.
130 sacks of rice purchased by Committee.
23 sacks of wheat purchased by Committee.
197 sacks of flour purchased by Committee.
_Piasters._
Cash 198,942.10
Medicines and medical supplies 13,371.25
Blankets 29,295.00
Quilts 21,548.10
Foodstuffs 50,000.20
Clothing 26,012.40
Miscellaneous, including carpenters’, masons’, and farming
tools; sewing machines, tin pots, pans, spoons, copper
pots, blacksmiths’ tools, plows, pickaxes, spades,
needles, thread, buttons, administration, etc. 76,903.15
----------
416,072.20

I have examined the above accounts, compared the same with vouchers, and hereby certify that they are correct.

W. R. GLOCKLER, _Auditor_.

BEIRUT, SYRIA, June 24, 1909.

_Abstract of Second Financial Statement, Beirut Relief Committee, July 26, 1909._

_Piasters._
Credit by balance brought forward
June 24, 1909 79,965.00

Additions:
Syria 2,759.30
Palestine 316.25
Asia Minor 664.35
Egypt 1,317.10
Cyprus 136.15
Denmark 69.10
England 83,728.10
America 79,929.00
Interest, bank account 564.15
-----------
Total 249,450.30
===========

Expended for account:
Adana 13,344.30
Kessab 30,715.30
Alexandretta 27,082.30
Antioch 485.35
Antab 12,462.20
Oorfa 411.10
Marash 18,264.30
Miscellaneous 4,520.00
-----------
Total 107,287.25
-----------
Credit by balance on hand
July 26, 1909 142,163.05

_Piasters._
Total of all receipts to date 665,523.10 or $23,768.68
Total of all expenditures to date 523,360.05 or 18,691.43
------------------------
Credit by balance carried forward
to new account 142,163.05 or 5,077.25

Respectfully submitted,

E. G. FREYER, _Treasurer_.

I have examined the above accounts, have compared them with vouchers, and hereby certify that they are correct.

W. R. GLOCKLER, _Auditor_.

_Supplementary Statement or Cash Memorandum, Beirut Relief Committee, July 28, 1909._

_Piasters._
Credit by balance brought forward July 26 142,163.05
Cash received per C. A. Wilson, Alexandria 13,962.25
Cash received from Isper Bayoud, Amatour 160.00
Cash received from N. Berouti, Jaffa 217.20
-----------
Total 156,502.50
===========
Debtor to—
T. L. 300, transferred to Dr. Balph for purchase of
wheat and storage of same 37,387.20
Telegram to Dr. Balph 22.10
225 pieces kham for Kessab 9,344.00
600 blankets, tinware, etc., for Kessab 9,263.30
40 dozen each of crockery plates and bowls 1,203.20
Medical supplies for Kessab 1,436.10
Cost of packing bales for Kessab 23.05
Cost of sending cash to Dr. Balph 30.20
Miscellaneous shipping, telegram fees, etc. 118.30
-----------
Total 58,829.25
-----------
Balance, approximately, T. L. 783 97,673.25

_Turkey-Armenian Relief Fund._

RECEIPTS.

Advanced from General Emergency Fund $12,500.00
Contributions, _Christian Herald_ (New York) 12,500.00
Contributions, Armenian Relief Committee (New York) 3,500.00
Contributions, miscellaneous 1,187.01
-----------
Total receipts 29,687.01

DISBURSEMENTS.

By cable to the American Ambassador, Constantinople $28,000.00
Repayment to General Emergency Fund 1,500.00
-----------
Total disbursements 29,500.00
-----------
Balance September 1, 1909 187.01

NOTE.—The Red Cross wishes to invite the attention of its members and friends to the amount contributed by the _Christian Herald_ for this fund. Our readers will remember the large amounts contributed by this paper in the past to various Red Cross Relief Funds, especially the following: Japanese Famine Fund, $200,000; Chinese Famine Fund, $250,000 in money and a Government transport load of food supplies, and to the Italian Earthquake Fund, $55,000.—_Editor._

ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF

From Mr. Lloyd Griscom and Lieutenant-Commander Belknap final reports have been received of the American Red Cross Relief work in Italy. A printed report of Mr. Griscom’s American Relief Committee in Rome, together with all the vouchers and correspondence of this Committee, have been sent to the American Red Cross at Washington for permanent filing in its archives. The vouchers for all expenditures have been revised and certified to by the Banca Commerciale Italiana at Rome. The vouchers for all the expenditures connected with the American Red Cross Relief Ship _Bayern_ are already on file at Washington.

SUMMARY OF CONSTRUCTIVE WORK TO JUNE 11.

_Messina._

Cottages of standard type, built 16×20×9 feet 1,039
Grand Hotel Regina Elena, 75 bedrooms, two stories and partial
third story; 100 feet central part with two wings, each 132
feet long, all finished except plaster, plumbing, lighting,
Eternit roofing, and inside paint; material used equivalent to 178
Building suitable for church, material used equivalent to 24
Building attached to church, material used equivalent to 15
Laboratorio, material used equivalent to 12
Two school buildings, together equivalent in material to 12
------
Total buildings at Messina, equivalent in material to 1,280
Material remaining at Messina for continuing construction of
houses 350

_Reggio-Calabria._

Cottages of standard type 500

_Villagio Regina Elena._

Cottages of semidetached type, each 16×20 75
Hospital Elizabeth Griscom, equivalent in material used to
30 houses; plumbing, lighting, and furnishing done by Her
Majesty’s staff 30

_Palmi and District._

Cottage of special smaller type built, 13×16×10, as a model,
complete, and frame for a second built 1
Material sent to this district for other such houses 500

_Ali and Surrounding District._

Portable houses erected 49
Houses of Palmi type built as models 5
Roccalumera 3, Santa Teresa Riva 2, Nizza-Sicilia 2 (models
of Palmi type built) 7
Material sent to this district for houses of this type 300
------
Total built by American construction party 1,898
Total number of houses furnished 3,097

Captain Belknap, on the 10th instant, consigned the completed work at Messina to the Ministry of Public Works, who then assumed charge.

Ensign Robert W. Spofford, U. S. N., remained to direct the work in general until it had become well organized under the new direction. He will also supervise the completion of certain work being done by contract not yet completed.

_Commander Belknap’s Work._

Mr. Griscom says: “The report of Captain Belknap is worthy of careful study. Its only fault is that it does not do justice to his work. I feel that it is incumbent upon me to endeavor to express to you the admiration I have for the manner in which Lieutenant-Commander Belknap has performed his duty. The magnitude of the task could only be appreciated by one who has been on the spot and seen the difficulties as they arose and witnessed the courageous and adroit manner in which he overcame all obstacles and carried to successful conclusion a work which is truly remarkable. The departure of Lieutenant-Commander Belknap from Messina was a veritable personal triumph. All the highest military and civil authorities were present at the steamship landing, together with a military band, and he was given full military honors and received a remarkable and spontaneous public demonstration of admiration. He and several of his assistants were formally made citizens of Messina. To-day he has been formally received by their majesties, the King and Queen of Italy, and had extended to him their majesties’ personal expressions of gratitude.”

_Commander Belknap’s Tributes to His Assistants._

Before closing this report, I beg to mention those who have labored so energetically and faithfully to bring about results which have been kindly commended by all who have visited the camps.

The special prominence of the services rendered by Tonente di Vascello Alfredo Brofferio stand apart from all else. He worked unremittingly in the closest association with us, his duties touching every feature of the work, and it would be impossible to place too high a value upon his far-seeing, conscientious, and self-sacrificing devotion to our success.

The Italian authorities’ cordial attitude toward us and hospitable care made away with innumerable difficulties. To their magnanimity and their earnest devotion to their own duties was due their sincere appreciation of our efforts and their frank and grateful acknowledgment of our gift to their cities.

Commander Harry P. Huse, U. S. N., commanding the U. S. S. _Celtic_, established us on a living and working basis in our camp at Messina, the _Celtic_ serving as our base until the first group of houses were ready for us, and he was most felicitous in all that he did to promote a genuine feeling of cordiality in our relations with the authorities.

Lieutenant-Commander George Wood Logan, commanding the U. S. S. _Scorpion_, gave his most cordial support and interest in the undertaking from the first, and placed every facility at our disposal.

Lieutenant Allen Buchanan, U. S. N., was the mainstay in the executive work, and I was always able to rely on his good judgment on the frequent occasions when taking counsel was necessary. He discharged his duty with unremitting industry and exemplary zeal, and he left behind him in Messina and among the members of our organization a feeling of the most uniform good will and admiration for his character and ability as an officer.

Ensign John W. Wilcox was in charge of the Reggio division of the work, which he managed with exceptional skill. He had many difficulties to contend against, but solved them with an ease and discernment that an officer of long experience might envy.

Ensign Robert W. Spofford, U. S. N., had charge of the unloading of steamers. He has done excellent work and is left in charge of the work being completed at Messina. To Assistant Surgeon Donelson, U. S. N., for medical supervision of the camp, and to Pay Inspector J. A. Mudd, U. S. N., for the care taken in the shipment of the building materials from America, Captain Belknap gives high praise. The enlisted men of the Navy performed their work most faithfully, and Captain Belknap mentions many of them by name. This country may well be proud of the splendid work of the officers and men of our Navy so far outside their regular duties. Captain Belknap says also that thanks are due to Mr. John Elliott, who was a most devoted worker, and left his beautifying touch on every part of the work. Mr. H. W. C. Bowdoin and Mr. Charles King Wood were among the other tireless and efficient volunteer workers to whom our thanks are due. And finally, many of the master carpenters sent from America gave most satisfactory and valuable service under difficult conditions.

_Committee on American Offerings._

Of this committee Mr. Griscom says: “As you already know, after consultation with his excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Signor Tittoni, I placed the sum of 256,250 lire (the equivalent of $50,000) in the hands of a committee appointed by Mr. Tittoni, of which his wife, Donna Bice Tittoni, was Chairman. This committee has to-day handed to me its report and accompanying vouchers, which are transmitted to you herewith under separate cover. I am satisfied that this committee carried out some of the best rehabilitation work which has been done since the earthquake. It was done in a rapid and businesslike way.”

_The American Red Cross Orphanage._

Signor Bruno Chimirri, Chairman of the Committee on Orphans, called the “Patronato Regina Elena,” reports: “Being desirous of expediting the plant of the colony before the departure of the Ambassador from Rome, and not wishing to touch one single lire of the American capital, the Patronato voted 200,000 lire (about $40,000) for the building of the colony. This depended upon us, and it has been done. As to the choice of a site upon which it will be erected, it is not a question of choosing any piece of land, but a ground within the jurisdiction of the Itinerant Chair of Agriculture, in order to secure not only gratuitous teaching but also the very best obtainable. With this end in view, two months ago I addressed myself to the Minister of Agriculture, upon whom depends the Itinerant Chair that has to choose a suitable locality. I have finally brought the matter before the House of Deputies. Nor is this all. In order to facilitate the negotiations for the purchase of the land, since the Ministry would not consider the price of the proprietor, I have induced the municipality of Nicastro to contribute to the expense by paying the difference, as you will see by a copy of their decision appended hereto. As soon as we receive an answer we shall send the Professor of the Itinerant Chair to visit the proffered land, and, if his report is favorable, we shall hasten to secure possession and lay the cornerstone before Mr. Griscom’s departure.”

The Italian government consented to pay $4,800 for the land, and the District of Nicastro voted to contribute the balance of the $6,000 which was asked.

In regard to this Orphanage there is given an open letter to the American Red Cross from Mr. Anthony Matre, Secretary of the American Federation of Catholic Societies. This letter was published in some of the prominent Roman Catholic papers before it even reached the hands of the officers of the American Red Cross, an act that can hardly be considered courteous. It was referred by the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the American Red Cross to our Ambassador at Rome, and his reply is embodied in an answer to Mr. Matre. As the Roman Catholic Church made appeals for the Italian sufferers, and the offerings it received in reply were sent to the Pope, it is probable that but a very small percentage of the contributions received by the Red Cross, possibly 5 or 10 per cent, came from members of the Roman Catholic Church. The receipts show many contributions from Protestant Churches and Sunday Schools, but none from any Roman Catholic institution, and yet, according to Mr. Matre’s figures, some 97 per cent, and, according to Mr. Griscom’s letter, 99 per cent, of these contributions must have been expended in Italy for the people of this faith. Of the funds sent to our Ambassador, a generous contribution was made to the Pope for the relief work in which he was interested, and other moneys were placed in the hands of bishops and priests in the stricken district to aid them in their work for the earthquake sufferers. The Red Cross considers neither race nor creed; its mission is to mitigate, as far as lies within its power, the sufferings of the sick and wounded in the misfortune of war or of the victims of fire, flood, famine, earthquake, pestilence, and other great disasters.

The following copies of correspondence will be of interest:

ST. LOUIS, MO., March 22, 1909.

_To the President, Secretary, and Officers of the American Red Cross Association_:

GENTLEMEN: The American Federation of Catholic Societies, representing millions of American Catholics, desire official information regarding the dispatch published in the papers of the United States on February 8th, and referring to an appropriation made by your society. The dispatch reads: