The Turk and his lost provinces

by William Eleroy Curtis

Mr. Dickinson, agent of the United States, assuming that the government of Bulgaria was responsible for the safety of foreigners within its jurisdiction, and for the good behavior of its subjects, undertook to compel its authorities to compel the Macedonian Committee to compel the Samakov local committee to compel the conspirators to call in the brigands and release Miss Stone, but his efforts were useless because the Macedonian Committee was determined to avoid the odium of the kidnaping, and is much more powerful than the government. It was not believed then, or now, by those who are well informed, that the present managers of the Macedonian movement had any part in or knowledge of the conspiracy, but there was abundant circumstantial evidence that the plot was arranged and carried out by the former leaders, “the old committee,” as it is called, of which a desperate adventurer named Boris Sarafoff was the chairman and leader. Sarafoff was removed as head of the central committee because he was indicted for murder and gambled away the funds in the treasury. He was also engaged in several blackmailing conspiracies which brought discredit upon the cause. Nevertheless he is one of the most popular heroes in Bulgaria and has more influence with the people than any official of the government or any respectable member of the community.

Sarafoff was suspected of complicity with the conspiracy as soon as Miss Stone’s abduction was reported. The British minister, acting in behalf of the United States, because we have no official representative at Sofia, notified the Bulgarian minister of foreign relations of his suspicions that Sarafoff was implicated and demanded officially that he either be arrested and locked up or placed under surveillance, so that he could not leave the country until an investigation could be made. The government did not touch him, and probably did not dare to do so. Sarafoff left Sofia within a few days and went to Budapest. He was afterwards reported to be in Paris. The police knew his whereabouts, but were more afraid of him than he was of them.

Mr. Dickinson is a gentleman of ability and integrity, and has the entire confidence of the American colony in Constantinople, but from the beginning of the negotiations in behalf of Miss Stone he adopted a policy which was calculated to prevent instead of secure her release. He seems to have imagined that diplomacy could solve the problem, and instead of dealing with the brigands he endeavored to compel the Bulgarian government to interfere, when he should have known that it was absolutely powerless to do so. After two months had passed, and having fully demonstrated his inability to deal with the case, Mr. Dickinson was recalled from Bulgaria and Mr. Leishman, the United States minister at Constantinople, who had been on leave, was ordered back to his post of duty. He arrived at Constantinople about the 1st of January, and, after informing himself as to the situation, proceeded to undertake Miss Stone’s release by the application of business methods and common sense. He abandoned the diplomatic controversy, and, recognizing that the officials of the Bulgarian government were impotent, endeavored to open communication directly with the brigands. He appointed a committee consisting of Mr. Gargiulo, chief dragoman and interpreter of the United States legation at Constantinople; Rev. John Henry House, D.D., formerly of Painesville, Ohio, and for twenty-five years in charge of the mission work of the American Board in Macedonia, with headquarters at Salonika; and W. W. Peet, treasurer of the Bible Society and Missionary Board at Constantinople. These gentlemen managed the business with great skill and tact.

Dr. Peet was the custodian of the fund contributed by citizens of the United States for the ransom, and it amounted to $65,000. Rev. Dr. House commands the confidence of the people of Macedonia to a degree beyond that of any other American, and for that reason Mr. Leishman selected him to negotiate with the brigands. Mr. Gargiulo is more familiar with the methods and habits of the natives of Turkey than any other man whose services could be obtained. He is also upon familiar terms with the officials and knows how to deal with both classes.

Mr. Leishman invited these three gentlemen to take charge of the case, and they went directly to the scene of Miss Stone’s capture.

On the 18th of January Dr. House succeeded in opening communication with Miss Stone from a town called Razlog. She wrote that she was well and kindly treated, and that the alarming reports about Mrs. Tsilka and herself were unfounded. But the brigands would not release her except upon the payment of $65,000, which they were aware had been contributed for the ransom, and was in the hands of the missionaries at Constantinople. They knew to a dollar the extent of the funds raised, and would not listen to any proposition except the payment of the full amount. They had been in constant communication with friends at Sofia and elsewhere, who kept them advised of all the movements of our government and of Mr. Dickinson, and were familiar with the newspaper publications concerning the case in the United States. They declined to surrender Miss Stone in advance of payment and insisted that the money should be paid first.

Mr. Leishman investigated the precedents and found that this had always been customary and that in every case on record the brigands had acted honorably and carried out their part of the agreement. In the case of Colonel Singe, an Englishman who was kidnaped some years ago, his captors not only demanded $60,000 ransom money in advance, but required that his wife and daughter should be delivered as hostages and detained until they had been given twenty-four hours to escape. The money and the women were delivered to a representative of the bandits at a place agreed upon. The hostages remained in absolute seclusion until the following day, when, at the hour appointed, they left the cabin in which they had been placed and returned to their home. If they had attempted to leave before or to communicate with anybody during that time they undoubtedly would have been shot, but they submitted to the exactions of the bandits, and on the following day Colonel Singe was released.

Mme. Branzian, a French lady who was kidnaped in 1896, was released under similar conditions. Her captors demanded £10,000 in advance and three days’ time in which to escape with the money. If they were molested in the meantime they gave notice that she would be killed. Ten thousand dollars was paid as agreed and the conditions were complied with, but at the end of the three days soldiers started in pursuit, four of the brigands were captured and $8,000 of the money recovered.

In every other case that Mr. Leishman could hear of the conditions were the same, and, upon the advice of Dr. House, he decided to accept the terms and authorized the payment of the ransom. There was a little difficulty at first as to the place and the manner in which the money was to be delivered, but in this, as in every other particular, the committee was compelled to submit to the demands of the brigands. The result justified their confidence, and Miss Stone and her companion were surrendered according to the stipulation. On October 25 Dr. Haskell and Dr. Baird, of the Congregational mission at Samakov, had an interview with one of the so-called brigands, and he knew everything that Consul-general Dickinson had done up to that date, as well as the exact amount of the ransom fund that had been contributed in the United States. Rev. Dr. House met three of them by appointment January 22. Two days later Messrs. House, Peet and Gargiulo met several others, discussed the matter of ransom as business men usually discuss commercial transactions, and arranged for the payment of the money on the following day, January 25. The brigands demanded payment in gold coin, and swore the Americans to perpetual secrecy concerning their individuality, the place where the ransom was paid and other circumstances connected with the case. They insisted that the place of payment should remain a secret for fear the people in the neighborhood might be suspected of complicity and be punished by the Turks. The unexpected appearance of a company of Turkish soldiers, who were always on the alert to watch the movements of the rescue committee, prevented the payment of the ransom until the 13th of February. Three men were waiting around the place of rendezvous all this time for a chance to receive the money safely; and, in order to throw the Turkish soldiers off the scent, the missionaries removed the gold from the packages in which it had been brought from Constantinople, filled the packages with stones and sent them back under guard to the railway station.

This ruse proved successful. The Turkish officials and detectives who were watching the missionaries supposed that they had failed to connect with the brigands and had shipped the money to Constantinople. Their vigilance was, therefore, relaxed, and on February 13 the rescue committee paid over $65,000 in gold coin to four brigands, who insisted upon counting it piece by piece, to be sure that they received the full amount demanded. Twelve other brigands were in the immediate neighborhood, within call and on guard, and several of them are known to the missionaries.