"A loaf of bread (about 2 lbs. weight) every day, and some water," was the reply. "However, many of them have friends in the town, and they are supplied with provisions from outside."
"What are the prisoners mostly here for?" I asked.
"For robbery and murder. We have a great many Kurds and Circassians for horse and cattle stealing. Then there are a few Armenians, the latter chiefly for crime connected with money matters."
"How many prisoners are there altogether?" I remarked.
"One hundred and two."
"And how many Christians?"
"Six; all the rest belong to Islam."
As the population of Sivas is fairly divided between the two sects, it was very flattering for the Armenians that there should be so few of their number amongst the prisoners. But, after what I had been told at Yuzgat, my belief in the truthfulness of their community was very much shaken.
In another part of the gaol there were several prisoners without chains. They were walking about in an enclosed courtyard. One of them, an old man who was very much bowed down by years, appealed to us. Taking my hand he touched it with his forehead, and then besought me to speak to the Pacha for him.
"What is he here for?" I inquired.