Neither age nor sex were spared. A final refusal to deny Christ and accept Islam sealed the fate of the Armenian. Women torn from their homes and outraged, and hundreds of young girls forcibly carried off, fiendishly used and wantonly slain, and other horrors unnamable and unfit to print, were some of the methods employed with the Sultan’s permission, in upholding the glory of Islam.
The following narrative, was also obtained from Armenian sources: “Andakh was besieged in August. Gorgo, with his followers, strengthened their position and defended it heroically for six days, generally fighting with stones and daggers. The women often took the places of these who had been killed. The position becoming untenable, Gorgo left the women to defend it, and took his troops out to forage for food and ammunition. The women maintained the defence twenty-four hours, then yielded to greater numbers after being surrounded on all sides. Their condition was terrible. Many carried babies on their backs, while the elder children stood beside them. The women saw that they never could fight their way through the ranks of the enemy. Gorgo’s wife stepped on a high rock and cried, ‘Sisters, you must choose between two things: Either fall into the hands of the Turks and forget your husbands, homes, and your holy religion to adopt Islam, and to be violated, or you must follow my example.’ Thereupon, holding her young child in her arms, she dashed herself into the abyss. Others followed her, falling without cry or groan. The children followed their mothers, and the ravine was soon filled with corpses. Those who jumped last were not hurt, as their companions’ bodies were piled high. About fifty women and one hundred children were taken prisoners. The women bore their tortures silently, and refused to betray Gorgo and his brave followers. Gorgo’s wife was named Schakhe.”
The following accounts gave in realistic language, some of the sufferings of the native Christians, who met death bravely rather than purchase life by denying their Saviour.
A man from Central Dalvorig, said: His family numbered twelve; of these six had been killed. His wife, a son six years of age, and a little girl, a brother, a daughter five years old, and son aged ten. These children tried to flee, but being greatly reduced by hunger, were unable to escape from the soldiers pursuing them. A brother, Shemo, survived, and with his wife and children found refuge in a monastery. He saw a group of three brothers, while hidden behind some trees, surprised by soldiers and brutally murdered. They were boys about three, seven, and ten years of age. Their anguished mother, from Hodwink, utterly powerless to rescue her children, witnessed the awful deed from her place of concealment, and after the soldiers had gone, went and buried them. The same writer repeatedly heard women say, “We will be a sacrifice for our nation, but we cannot deny our faith.”
A man from Galigozan said that he had an uncle and three cousins killed in the massacre—all were shot and one was mutilated with the sword. Another nephew, thirty-five years of age, was burned in a house from which he could not escape. His wife and two children remained for five weeks in the covert afforded by the rocks and holes of a mountain side. On seeing soldiers approach one day, a man nearly strangled his little daughter, four years of age, to suppress her cries for food. She died a few days afterward from the effects of his treatment. The niece was betrothed to a young man from Semel who, with three others from the same house, came to Galigozan when the soldier called to surrender, promising safety. But on appearing there the whole company were told that they must either embrace Islam or meet instant death. The four men above referred to with forty others, were there pitilessly slaughtered, and thrown into the pit which had been dug.
From Spughawk, a village near Dalvorig, a man gave an account of the fate of his family. A Kurdish Sheik with fifteen hundred followers came and the terrified people fled to the mountain. In the attempt to escape many were killed. Afterwards soldiers came and with the Kurds surrounded the village, plundered and burned it. Its fine church built of hewn stone laid in lime and having an arched roof, was razed to the ground. This man’s brother Arakil was shot and then pierced with twelve bayonet wounds. His nephew was killed with the bayonet and a niece who was about to be married was decapitated.
A woman and her two sons (thirty and seven years of age), were discovered by soldiers. They first attacked the woman, inflicting dangerous, though as it proved, not fatal wounds, and then killed her two sons. After the departure of the soldiers the mother with one hand, (the fingers of the other had been mangled), scraped shallow holes in the ground using sharp stones and then dragging the bodies of her sons thither, covered them with earth and stones. One man said that his family consisted of twelve persons. His brother was one of the chief men of the place, conspicuous at all times for his ability and courage. The soldiers had heard of this man and were anxious to find him. Finally they discovered his hiding place and attacked him fiercely saying: “At last we have found you, infidel!” With cursing and dreadful language they literally hacked him to pieces, his son, and his brother’s wife hidden among rocks near by, paralyzed with terror, saw the awful deed. His son Sarkis was afterward slain, as also his nephews.
A woman from Dalvorig said: “Of the twelve in my family, three were killed in the massacre, my husband (forty years), daughter (ten years), and Hukhit, my infant son. A brother-in-law was taken captive, and after suffering much from cruel treatment, died in Moush prison. When we saw the smoke of the burning villages we hastily fled. We had buried our most valuable household goods some days previous, but the Kurds found and carried off everything. While concealed among the rocks and thickets we heard the sound of trumpets, and fearing lest we should be hunted down by the soldiery, about one hundred refugees got together and we then decided to go to the Hinatsee tribe of Kurds; (they were the aghas of our province), and implore their protection. We set out early in the morning and soon met five Kurds who said to us: ‘Come to the camp, to the surrender; there is peace.’ Thus saying, one of them seized a mule, the only animal we had with us, and rode away to betray us as it afterward proved. We followed the four Kurds till we came near a river. Then we saw two large companies of Kurds approaching us, one some distance below us, the other on the opposite side of the river. These soon surrounded us. They were led by a mollah, one of the followers of the noted Sheikh of Zeelon. They drove us into a ravine. One of our company attempted to escape, but was instantly cut down with the sword. The Kurds gave us the alternative of accepting the Moslem faith or death. With one accord we all said, ‘We cannot deny our Christ.’ Immediately they seized the men, there were only eleven in our company, bound their arms with cords, and then took from us women and children all clothing worth removing. Many were left with a single garment. One aged woman near us was left stark naked. After this the mollah sent a letter to the Turkish camp, which was about half an hour distant from Dalvorig village, inquiring as to what should be done with us. I heard them talk about the letter. Soon after this I heard the Kurds plotting to take the young women and send the others away to the mountains.
“They did not unite in this plan, and as the darkness came on they counted us and set a watch and lay down to rest on the ground about the ravine. The next day towards noon they decided to take us to the Turkish camp and ordered us to set out. Our husbands and brothers who had been bound the night before were in a pitiable condition,—their arms and hands badly swollen. Shortly after this the Kinds dispersed and we made our escape to the mountains. One day while hiding among the rocks I saw my husband, and son-in-law, Kevork, bound by cords and cruelly murdered. My husband was cut limb from limb—literally hacked to pieces. Too terrified to move I stood gazing at the awful sight, when suddenly five Kurds sprang upon me. They did not harm me but wanted my child. I threw myself upon the ground to shield him, but they drugged me to one side and stabbed him with a dagger. (Her twelve-year old daughter was not far away. She was greatly terrified, having witnessed the murder of her father and brother.) I ran to her and tried to pull her along as we fled, but she soon stopped and exclaiming, ‘mother, I am dying,’ fell dead at my feet. I did not dare to linger and fled over the rocks until I found my other children, one of whom was the wife of Kevork, my son-in-law, who had just been murdered. The next day we turned back to bury the body of my daughter. We did not dare to go further then, as there were many soldiers and Kurds around. Twenty days later I returned and buried the remains of my husband and son-in-law. While I was hiding among the rocks I saw soldiers barbarously kill a woman, removing the yet unborn child and thrusting it through with a bayonet.”
What she saw and endured during those weary days of wandering would fill many pages. At length all the surviving members of the family reached Shadald, a district near Moush.