A Tale Of Horror: Massacre Of The Nestorian Christians

Wc learn says the New York Courier, through the correspondenco of the London Morning Chronicle, trom Cunstantinople, that another terrible massacre has occured among the Nestoiians. In his lettsr booring date Nov. 17, h? says that the fact of sucii an event haying occurred was known at Constantinople, but great pains were taken to conccal the particulars. In his letter of the 9th, he givesfurthcr details. Anout a month before, Beder Kham Bey, knowing that the efforts of the Turkish Government to thwart his designs must prove futile, collected various detachmcts of troops under the command of the Beys of Haikarai and Bevari, and hirnself taking comrnnd of a large body of Kurds, marched into the country of the Nestor ians Knowing that he would meet with no rooistance, he divided his Ibrce into small bands nnd sent them in various directions to f.'.ll on the deffinceless Nesiorian vi!l:ges. Of the result of this expediiion, the correspondent gives he following detni): Thirty-six of these ViÍlags at the ht have been thus made the scènes of tho Diost harrowiug wholfsnle mjr'lers. To speak of ihi r haviug hren sacked, plundereJ nnd bujjit to the ground, would be to draw attention tó an incident of sin-.l! imporiance in the Hice of the greater horrors which these Moody larbarianscommi:ted. Men, W)men and children crying for morcy ; the wonnen and chiHren, in the agn:es of terror, were put to death by every specir. f torlure which cruelty cuuld inverit. Mnppy wero tliose who were sh'.t, or who feli by the sword, who hid not theirbwe!s ripped out of them while living, or who were not impnled amidst the shoats nnd laughter of the murderer-. Two of the bisiiops of the Nestorians, if not more, were impaled, and aeveral of the priestó. Whatpaling is, 1 suppose your readers to unkrötiind. But tlmt wasnot the worst torïuic ihat was inflicted. Children werc torn from their molhers, some from their molhers' brensls, and in presence of their mothers, who were obliged, screeching, to look on, put to death in the most schncking manner. The mot hors afterwíirdá were sacrificed. The youth of both sexes undervvent sacrifices which cannot be mentioned, before thoir throats in disgust and satiety, were cut. The pen refuses to record more of those atrocities, though I might go on, andaliude to abominiitions of cruehy, and worse than crueltv, which cali fur a retribulion as nearly equtvl to thoir be.sti.nl rnihlessnss in severity as can be inflicted ! Threcthousand of the Nestcrians havcperisked in this massacre, on the lowcst calculalion. This most extensive s!aug!i:er look place at a large village, or township, caüed Bias, where Beder íham Bey was himself present. Here he two Liishops wore impaled, and from lus place were sent the three hundred heads (pickled) to the Pasha of Moussoul, vith the insulting message, that f the 'otre presumed to molest ihe sender, he vould send to Consiantiuople, insioad of cstorian, Turkish heads enough to make nvramid.Whilst ihfse ihings were happening, a counril, over which the Nestorian Patriarch, who has esehaped from Moüssoü), presidid, has held at a tnwn called, if I recollpct a righi, Artchy, one of the principal Nstorian settlements. Here it was determined thnt, as rsistance was vain, the wliole people of íhe Nestorians should emigrate, wiihout an hour's dolay, into Persia, whe:e a numerous body of" thei'r couiitrymen are seitled on the banks of ie lake of Oroomiuh. The excution of this design was, íowpver diffieu t,peri!íius and diststrous. Tlie fugitives weie obligad to leave behind ll.em rt 11 their proj.-erty ; most of them croesed the mountains ín sin'ggling, frightrd, wretched band;;. But one corps of eimgrnnts, stronger iban ihe others ommanded, I am informed, by t'-e patriarch, was itacked ou their pnsságé by the soldiers of Bedor Klian Bey. Aftcr an obstinate confl'.-t,in which many fel! on toth sioes, ihc Nestoriaus gained the viciory. But the whole mounlnin district of Kurdis'an, on the Turkish side, is at this moment filled with houseless, famished wanderers, hiding themselves in dens and envés, undcrnllthe worst circumstances and guises of misory, from their pun-uers. Bedcr Khan Bey swofe, betoro he slaried on his expedition, with a!l the solemnities of his creed, before Imnutm,íhat he wnuld extirminafe the whole Nestorian people : and all of them who hn e rot strengih to reach Peria willcertainly experience thefull realization ofthis oath.