Your Committee considers it a special and precious privilege to be permitted to help so many of these afflicted people under the inspiring auspices of the American National Red Cross. We once more appeal for further funds.
MEDICAL RELIEF WORK IN ADANA
The Adana massacre was in two sections, the first massacre lasting from the morning of Wednesday, April 14, for three days, until Friday afternoon, April 16; the second followed after an interval of eight days, and lasted for two days, Sunday and Monday, April 25 and 26. The second massacre was followed by occasional killing of Armenians for five or six days more.
The feature of the first day was the plundering of the shops in the Armenian quarter by the Moslem mob. There was much shooting in the city, and some killing on both sides.
Thursday the shooting and killing was continued with more violence. The resistance of the Armenians in the Armenian section of the city was, to a certain extent, successful in preventing the pillaging of a large part of the Armenian quarter. But in the suburbs, where the Christian houses stood isolated, in their little vineyards or gardens the mob and pillaging soldiers had full play. Houses were entered, their inhabitants shot regardless of sex or age, and then, after having been plundered, the buildings were set on fire. On this Thursday afternoon the first assistance to the wounded was given by Mrs. Doughty-Wylie, the wife of Major C. H. M. Doughty-Wylie, British Consul at Mersine. These two had come up on the last regular train from Mersine the previous day because of the report of trouble at Adana. However much of credit may have been, and rightly, given to the Major for a heroism and courage in these days of terror that was the means of saving the lives of thousands, his wife is no less deserving of credit for a brave and tireless devotion to the needs of the wounded, which has done much to mitigate the suffering that followed these awful massacres. To this work she brought not only a love for the details of nursing, but a genius for organization as well, and a training that prepared her in a peculiar way to fill the need. She had seen service as army nurse in the Boer war, and for six years she personally supported and conducted a hospital in Bombay, where she has nursed through famine and through plague. It surely was a special Providence that brought these two to Adana at such a time.
RUINS IN ADANA.
Thursday afternoon it was reported at the Consulate that nine wounded women and children from the ruined houses of the adjoining suburb had been brought into the Turkish guard house near the Consulate. A message to the guard house to ask if medical help could be given was answered by the curt reply that no assistance was needed as all would be dead by morning. There was firing on the street and murder abroad, but Mrs. Doughty-Wylie, taking with her a Greek woman and Dr. Danielides, who had taken refuge at the Consulate, went over to the guard house. The nine wounded were on the floor of a small room, lying in pools of blood. In an adjoining room were two wounded soldiers, one with a broken leg and one with a flesh wound. After a trip back to the Consulate for dressings, Mrs. Doughty-Wylie and the doctor dressed the wounds, caring first for the wounded soldiers. The women and children were then brought over and placed in a woodshed adjoining the Consulate, while the soldiers were left to the care of the proper military authorities. This formed the nucleus of the hospital relief work. There might have been ten instead of nine in this nucleus but for the fact that even while Mrs. Doughty-Wylie was at work in the guard house a wounded Armenian seeking its protection was stabbed to death by the bayonets of the soldiers in full view of the English Consulate. Of the nine, two died of peritonitis in the course of a few days; two were discharged cured within two weeks, and others were convalescing in the hospital five weeks later.
A tenth was added to the list of wounded in the Consulate that afternoon by the wounding of Major Doughty-Wylie in the right forearm, who, in the role of peacemaker, was frequently between the fire of the contending parties.