One of them even sent out messengers, who returned with hopeful letters which he himself had written. But this impostor and his colleagues were not satisfied with the general disloyalty of the inhabitants, and felt that some deed should be committed which would absolutely debar the people from any hope of mercy from the Government. Accordingly they assembled the refugees driven in by Ali Pasha, and repaired with them to the Konak, where the imprisoned garrison was quartered, and proceeded to murder them with bestial cruelty. It must be remembered that this piece of villainy can in no way be imputed to the population of Zeitun, but to the disgraceful ruffianism of the revolutionaries and the crazy fanaticism of the exasperated and hopeless villagers. It must also be recorded to the credit of the Zeitunlis themselves, that after this abominable butchery several crept into the yard and rescued some seventy soldiers, who survived beneath the corpses of their comrades: fifty-seven of these were handed over at the end of the war. It is a relief to find in all these bloody tales of Armenia such noble deeds of kindness on the part of Christians to Moslems, and Moslems to Christians, and that every massacre can bring similar cases to light.
After that foolish slaughter the revolutionary agents may have plumed themselves on a striking piece of policy. Zeitun was compromised beyond recall, and the town prepared to withstand the siege to the last; but here the chapter of Zeitun closes, for within three weeks Edham Pasha, a noble example of what a cultivated Turk can be, arrived on the scene, and with the assistance of the European Consuls concluded an honourable peace with the town; containing, alas! a clause by which the miserable causes of all this unhappiness and bloodshed were allowed to return unmolested to Europe, where they probably eke out an existence as distinguished as their military adventures.
It would appear a grave fault on the part of the Powers to have allowed the revolutionary agents to escape.
As to how far the Turks were in the wrong, who can judge? They have a side which should be considered, as it is impossible for them to allow a revolution to be impending in the heart of their country, when threatening enemies appear on every frontier. They have their own homes to consider, and if they allowed the revolutionaries to continue their intrigues, there is little doubt that a formidable insurrection would have broken out whenever the moment was favourable. Also it must be borne in mind, that in the event of an Armenian rebellion it was the intention of the conspirators to have perpetrated similar massacres.
The necessary killing in India after the Mutiny, although carried out more formally, was just as merciless; and from all one can gather, the gentle Skobeleff pacified Central Asia much as the Turks aborted the Armenian revolution.
It is also a fact that the Armenians have an extraordinary habit of running into danger without having the courage to face it, and the revolutionists from abroad were always prepared to provoke a massacre in order to induce the Powers to assist them. I have good reason to know that these wretches actually schemed to murder American missionaries, hoping that America would declare war on the supposition that the Turks were the criminals.
The same writer points out that the massacres of Malatia, in the year 1896, were an exception to the general rule, because in this instance the Moslems struck first, fearing a general rising and slaughter of their wives and families.
‘Odysseus’ says:
Perhaps this frame of mind will be more intelligible if we try to imagine what would be the feelings of Anglo-Indians, if they supposed that the natives, under the influence of Russian intrigues, were preparing to repeat the horrors of the Mutiny. Probably the orders issued to the local Ottoman authorities warned them to be on their guard against any revolutionary movement of the Armenians, and should there he any reason to apprehend one, to at once take the offensive.
Sir Mark Sykes’s remarks also deserve quotation: