The Wards 
 
 OF J* 
 
 Christendom. 
 
 Armenian Orphans Learning Shoemakino 
 
Dear Friend: 
 
 You have been a contributor to the relief of the sur- 
 vivors of the Armenian massacres, and have thus had 
 the honor of sharing in the only practical effort so 
 far made to undo the awful consequences of Turkish 
 fanaticism and of the selfish and criminal diplomacy 
 of the so-called "Christian and civilized Powers." 
 
 You will, therefore, be much interested in this re- 
 port, containing the latest news from Armenia. 
 
 The report shows that, in spite of great obstacles, 
 the relief work has been wonderfully successful, thanks 
 to the untiring efforts of the faithful and experienced 
 American missionaries and British consuls, under 
 whose personal direction the work is carried on. 
 
 We regret that contributions to this great cause 
 have very seriously fallen off, though the need is still 
 urgent. But the careful attention of all is directed to 
 one department of the work, at least, which cannot be 
 abandoned for some years to come. We refer to the 
 two thousand orphans whose support you have provided 
 for the first year. They are bright, promising boys 
 and girls, children of virtuous Christian parents, mar- 
 tyred for their faith. They have been most carefully 
 selected by the missionaries, under whose tender care 
 and protection they now are. There they must be 
 kept by the loving gifts of God's children everywhere, 
 whose prayers and help are asked in their behalf. 
 
 Send all funds to the authorized Treasurer, Brown 
 Bros. & Co., Bankers, 59 Wall Street, New York. 
 
 Address all general correspondence, requests for in- 
 formation, literature, etc., to 
 
 Frederick D. Greene, 
 Secy Naf I Armenian Relief Committee, 
 Room 660, II Broadway, 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
Supreme Reasons for Saving 
 Armenian Orphans. 
 
 1. They have a sacred claim on Christendom^ for 
 they are the offspring of parents massacred 
 for loyalty to the Christian faith and its ideals. 
 
 2. They are worth saving. They are not 
 beggars nor the product of slums, but come 
 of virtuous, capable stock, the superior thrift 
 and prosperity of their parents being one of 
 the chief reasons why they were plundered. 
 
 3. We share the guilt of their wrongs^ for they 
 are suffering on account of the criminal 
 greed, jealousy, and falsehood of the Powers 
 of Christendom, who not only maintain but 
 aggravate the Turkish hell. 
 
 4. We can make reparation, in part at least, 
 for our share of the crime by rescuing these 
 absolutely destitute orphan boys and girls of 
 tender age, who, without our aid, are dying 
 like dogs in the gutter, or being driven to enter 
 the homes of Moslem fanatics who orphaned 
 them, and who will teach them to curse the 
 religion for which their parents died. 
 
 5. This work is of vast future significance^ as 
 well as of present need ; for in the new day 
 that must dawn on Bible lands, these children, 
 if rescued and given Christian training, will 
 be the nucleus of a new and nobler generation. 
 
4 
 
 6. The rescue of thousands is entirely practicable. 
 (a). The orphan work is under the special 
 protection of foreign Governments, because it is 
 carried on under the personal supervision of 
 the missionaries and European consuls, (b). 
 In case of further outbreaks, which it is hoped 
 will not occur, the children would be safe on the 
 premises of the missionaries where, for the 
 most part, they are cared for. 
 
 7. The expense is trifling. While a less 
 amount, (as low as one dollar a month in some 
 sections,) has sufficed to barely save their lives, 
 twenty-five dollars, ($25.00) will now take one 
 of these naked, starving children from the 
 streets, and give it food, clothing, and instruc- 
 tion in a Christian home and school for a 
 whole year. There are upwards of fifty 
 thousand (50,000) orphans, and the money 
 thus far given has provided for only about 
 two thousand, or one in twenty-five for the 
 first year. The greatest care is used in select- 
 ing only those who are the most helpless, and 
 at the same time, most promising. Of course 
 this orphan feature of the relief work, at 
 least, must go on a few years longer, for we 
 cannot thrust these tender children back into 
 the fate from which we have snatched them. 
 
 8. // is a great satisfaction and help in benevo- 
 lent work to have a definite object to plan and 
 work and pray for. The temporary adoption 
 of one or more of these dear orphan children 
 furnishes an ideal object to individuals, to 
 churches, and especially to Sunday-schools, 
 and Young People's Societies. The average 
 annual cost is only $25 and may be continued 
 
5 
 
 from one to five 3'ears. Reports will be sent 
 to all contributors, and those sending $25 or 
 more will, if they desire, be informed as to 
 the name, sex, and history, as far as possible, 
 of the child thus provided for. The amount 
 need not all paid at once, but pledges for the 
 support of orphans, in whole or in part, should 
 be sent in early, that those in charge on the 
 field may be relieved of crushing anxiety and 
 know how to plan their work. 
 
 Many who are not able to give a great deal them- 
 selves have easily raised enough to support one or 
 more orphans^ by a little personal effort among their 
 friends and by circulating literature, which we 
 gladly furnish. Please try to help in this way as 
 well as by your own gifts. 
 
 Caution. — Money intended to reach ana 
 benefit the Armenian sufferers should in no 
 case be handed to Armenians or others who 
 claim to be lecturing "for the cause," but 
 should always be sent direct to the proper 
 authorized treasurer, who will promptly send 
 a receipt. There is no objection to giving 
 properly accredited individuals an opportun- 
 ity to speak, or to reasonably compensating 
 them for service rendered ; but they should 
 neither ask, nor be asked, to handle the money 
 intended for the sufferers. This caution to 
 the benevolent, but unsuspecting public, is 
 made necessary by numerous complaints al- 
 ready received from pastors and individuals 
 who have been imposed upon, generally 
 through their own carelessness. 
 
 Alf funds shoiild be sent direct to BROWN 
 BROS. & CO., BANKERS, 59 WALL 
 
6 
 
 STREET, NEW YORK CITY, who are the 
 only authorized Treasurers of The National 
 Armenian Relief Committee, Hon. D. J. Brewer, 
 Justice U. S. Supreme Court, President. 
 Executive Committee : Spencer Trask, Chair- 
 man, Chauncey M. Depew, Alex. E. Orr, 
 Wm. Hayes Ward, Everett P. Wheeler. 
 
 Address all requests for literature (see 
 back of this tract) and general information 
 to Rev. Frederick D. Greene, Sec'y, Na- 
 tional Armenian Relief Committee, Room 660, 
 II Broadway, New York, N. Y. (Former Ad- 
 dress, Bible House, New York. 
 
 A PECULIARLY AMERICAN WORK WHICH 
 WE CANNOT ABANDON. 
 
 ' ' When a cruel Mussulman mob sought to outrage 
 and slay the native Christians, at Oorfa, they 
 found refuge with Miss Corinna Shattuck. Her 
 little enclosure was packed with the innocent 
 victims of Turkish outrage and Turkish rapacity. 
 She faced the howling mob. To every demand 
 that she should yield and allow them to pass, she 
 interposed the dignity and authority of her woman- 
 hood, and the sacredness of treaty rights, secured 
 for her and all our citizens by the Government of 
 her native land. During the massacre, she writes : 
 ' Our house was full ; two hundred and forty found 
 refuge. We began to have refugees Monday and 
 Tuesday, and all our houses and school-room are 
 full of widows and orphans and wounded. How 
 willingly would I have died, could my death have 
 spared parents to their children ! I remain here for 
 the present ; I could not leave our orphaned people. ' 
 
 " Nor she alone. A noble army, whose courage 
 and heroism shed undying luster on the American 
 name, have endured hardship as good soldiers of 
 
7 
 
 Jesus Christ. One of them, President Gates of 
 Euphrates College, at Harpoot, writes': . 
 
 "For three days we have looked death in the 
 face hourly. We have passed by the mouth of the 
 
 CORINNA ShATTUCK, 
 
 !n charge of Orphan Work at Oorfa. 
 
 bottomless pit, and the flames came out against us, 
 but no one in our company flinched or faltered. 
 We simply trusted in the Lord and went on. . . . 
 If we abandon the Christians they are lost. ' 
 
a 
 
 *'Cztisens of the United States, if you abandon 
 Corinna Shattuck and Gates and all our heroes in 
 the Orient, you are lost — lost to honor, lost to duty, 
 despised of man, and criminals before God. May 
 He, in infinite 7nercy, preserve us from such shame ! * 
 "Everett P. Wheeler, Esq." 
 
 WHAT UNPREJUDICED EYE-WITNESSES 
 
 SAY 
 
 of the suffering, and the possibility of re- 
 lieving it. Miss Barton went to Turkey on a 
 guarantee of the National Armenian Relief 
 Committee, which provided most of the funds 
 for the temporary relief expeditions of the 
 American Red Cross. The work was soon so 
 thoroughly organized by the missionaries and 
 consuls that Miss Barton, after rendering dis- 
 tinguished services, felt free to return. 
 
 Clara Barton, Pres. American Red Cross : 
 
 ' ' The condition of the people could hardly be 
 worse. Homeless, friendless, bereft, widowed, 
 despoiled, without food, clothes, or shelter; fam- 
 ished, horrified, sick, hopeless, waiting for the 
 death that lingers too long — this is the situation. 
 Need one say more ? 
 
 ' ' None of us have found any better medium 
 for the dispensation of charitable relief than the 
 faithful missionaries already on the ground, and 
 our Government officers, whose present course be- 
 speaks their active interest." 
 
 Leo Bergholz, U. S. Consul, Erzerum, Turkey : 
 
 ' ' I want to make an appeal, through you, on 
 behalf of the orphans by the massacres of last year. 
 
 ♦Address before the American'Board at Toledo. 
 
9 
 
 A conservative estimate places the number at fifty- 
 thousand. Think of it ! fifty thousand children — 
 and in most cases without a male relative in the 
 world ! — thousands so young and helpless that of 
 necessity they must die, but thousands that can and 
 should be saved ! In passing through villages . 
 burned and almost destroyed you meet girls weep- 
 ing and shrieking, ' We are defiled ! we are defiled ! 
 Our fathers and mothers have been killed, and we 
 are become vagrants ! Help us or we die ! ' Our 
 missionaries in Erzerum, Van, Bitlis and Harpoot 
 can give hundreds of these girls homes where they 
 will be. carefully brought up and taught an occupa- 
 tion that will make of them good and useful women, 
 thus saving them from the brutality of man." 
 
 Major Williams, Britisli Vice=Consul at Van, 
 
 80 miles south of Mount Ararat, writes in 
 regard to the vi^ork for orphans in that place, 
 under charge of Geo. C. Raynolds, M. D. : 
 
 ' ' You know that I am heart and soul with you 
 in this business, so allow me to say that I cannot 
 but admire the practical way in which your orphan- 
 age is conducted. It is quite a treat in this wretched 
 country to see their happy faces, and to know that 
 while they are being looked after and educated, 
 they are not being cared for in a way that will unfit 
 them for their future life. I consider that the lines 
 in which you are working, both as regards this 
 and as regards the Women's Industrial Work, are 
 most excellent, and that the good done is incalcu- 
 lable. I sincerely hope you will obtain the necessary 
 funds to carry on your work." 
 
 , Prof. J. Rendel Harris, of Cambridge, England, 
 
 who, with his wife, has made an extended 
 journey through the scenes of the massacres, 
 reports as follows : 
 
lO 
 
 "It is impossible for me to tell you in detail 
 what goes on in this relief work. I only want you 
 to know that it is splendidly managed, and that 
 you need not have any fear that the help given 
 here will go into wrong or doubtful hands. It is 
 _ all being used to set the people on their feet again ; 
 but this is no slight task ; for the work of Armenian 
 eradication has been anything but a random frenzy. " 
 
 RELIEF WORK ACCOMPLISHED. 
 
 Half a million dollars from America* and 
 large sums from England and Europe have al- 
 ready been expended in various forms of relief, 
 such as (i) the distribution of food and cloth- 
 ing to the actually starving, (2) sending physi- 
 cians and medicines to regions smitten with 
 pestilence, (3) establishing industrial bureaus 
 where the people gladly make cloth and cloth- 
 ing from raw cotton and wool which is fur- 
 nished them, (4) providing tools for artisans, 
 and implements and cattle for farmers, (5) aid 
 in rebuilding their ruined homes, (6) estab- 
 lishing orphanages, (7) redeeming girls from 
 the hands of Moslems who had carried them 
 captive. By these means tens of thousands 
 have been saved from death by starvation or 
 exposure, and partially aided to get on their 
 feet. At least two hundred thousand have 
 been helped. 
 
 The National Armenian Relief Committee 
 is at present practically the only agency con- 
 
 * In addition to $240,820.25 raised directly by the Nat'l Arme- 
 nian Relief Committee, other large sums have been given in Amer- 
 ica through the following channels : American Board of Missions, 
 $105,16768; The Chrtsiian Herald^ $62,635.57; Boston Relief 
 Committee, $37.555.79 ; The CongregationaUst^ $24,540.62. The 
 Chicago Committee raised $16,487.98. 
 
II 
 
 tinuing the work of raising money, temporary- 
 local committees and newspaper funds having 
 ceased. 
 
 FINANCIAL STATEMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NATIONAL ARMENIAN RELIEF COMMITTEE, 
 Covering a year and a half, to May 22, 1897. 
 Receipts. 
 
 Contributions from all sources .$240,820.25 
 
 , Disbursements. 
 For Relief of the Sufferers, through 
 
 Amer. Nat'l Red Cross $ 79i302-2o 
 
 Clara Barton, Pres. 
 
 Internat. Com., Constantinople 118,962.59 
 
 W. W. Peet, Treas. 
 Special remittances at donors' request i5i344-96 
 Relief funds on hand 7.946-53 
 
 221,556.28 
 
 For Expenses : 
 
 Literature, (circular letters, leaflets, 
 tracts, etc., of which over one million 
 copies have been distributed) 6,865.01 
 
 Postage and express (for distribution 
 of literature and correspondence) .. 2,731-46 
 
 Meeiting expenses (throughout the 
 
 country, and travelling) 4,8i5-7° 
 
 Office, (salaries, rent and supplies). . . . 4,851.80 
 
 Total expenses (only 8 per cent. 
 
 of amount raised) 19,263.97 
 
 $240,820.25 
 
 I have examined the accounts and vouchers of the 
 Nat'l Armen. Relief Committee, and find them 
 to be correct and accurate. 
 
 (Signed) M. C. Mirick, 
 Fellow Am. Assoc. Public Accountants. 
 
 Ne-w York, May 24, iSgj, 
 
12 
 
 THE FUTURE PROBLEM, AND METHODS 
 OF MEETING IT. 
 
 While general relief must be continued for 
 some time, a new and special problem has 
 arisen — the saving of orphans. 
 
 The desperate condition of these children 
 having been brought to the attention of 
 the National Armenian Relief Committee, a 
 special effort in their behalf was begun in 
 November, 1896. The committee is glad to 
 report that in addition to about $180,000.00 
 for general relief it has been able to 'for- 
 ward to Armenia $36,520.00 for special or- 
 phan work. The expenditure of these funds is 
 intrusted to an International Committee of 
 prominent and trustworthy gentlemen in 
 Constantinople, under the chairmanship of 
 the British Ambassador. This committee re- 
 ceives frequent and detailed financial reports 
 from the missionaries and consuls who have 
 the immediate supervision of relief work 
 throughout the interior. The salaries of the 
 missionaries and consuls being otherwise provided, 
 no charge is made for their invaluable services to 
 the Relief fund, which thus goes directly to 
 the sufferers. In acknowledging the receipt 
 of a recent remittance, Mr. W. W. Peet, 
 Treasurer of the American Missions in Turkey^ 
 and of the International Relief Committee^ 
 writes as follows: 
 
 "Constantinople, Feb. 2, 1897, 
 "To Mr. Spencer Trask, 
 
 "Chairman Nat'l Armenian Relief Com, 
 "At a meeting of the International Relief Com- 
 mittee, at which your letter of January 6th was read, 
 
13 
 
 a division of your last remittance of Seven Thousand 
 Pounds Sterling, (nearly $35,000.00), was made as 
 per the inclosed, statement, and, as is usual, this 
 appropriation has been submitted to His Excellency, 
 Sir Philip Currie, the British Ambassador, for his 
 approval. This approval has been given. 
 
 "It is, of course, expected that the orphan work 
 will fall to the American missionaries to prosecute 
 in the main, still the fact that the International 
 Committee is giving its support secures the help of 
 the British Consular service at the outset, when 
 the difficulties are greatest. It will also make the 
 orphanages, in a measure, a work which the Con- 
 sular service will feel bound to protect in after 
 years, a point of no srriall consideration. 
 
 "We have made a wide-spread distribution of 
 your remittances, but have carefully adjusted the 
 amounts given to each locality in view of the needs 
 of the field, the facilities for attending to the work, 
 and the amount of prior grants. 
 
 " We are glad to note that you contemplate a con- 
 tinuance of the gifts for the support of these children. 
 Manifestly they cannot be dropped at the end of the 
 first year, for in such an event their last state would 
 be far worse than their first. 
 
 "W. W. Peet." 
 
 In acknowledging our last remittance of 
 $10,000, Mr. Peet writes: 
 
 "Constantinople, May 6, 1897. 
 "General relief funds are very much needed 
 now. The situation here is not improved. There 
 is no foundation yet on v/hich to build again the 
 shattered social fabric. We have taken the people 
 thus far; we cannot leave them. To give up our 
 efforts on their behalf at this time means to aban- 
 don them to the fate from which we have thus far 
 kept them." 
 
14 
 
 In addition to large amounts for general 
 relief, we have sent the following amounts 
 for the special work of saving Armenian or- 
 phans, which is being carried on in and from 
 the centers mentioned, and under the charge 
 of the American missionaries whose names 
 are given : 
 
 Aintab S. C. Sanders $ 660.00 
 
 Bitlis Royal M. Cole 6,380.00 
 
 Broussa Theo. A. Baldwin. .' 660.00 
 
 Erzerum W. N. Chambers 2,992.00 
 
 Hadjin Mrs. J. L. Coffing 660.00 
 
 Harpoot, Arabkir. .H. N. Barnum 7,920.00 
 
 Marash '. . .Mrs. Clara Hamlin Lee. 2,112.00 
 
 Mardin, Diarbekir. A. N. Andrus 1,540.00 
 
 Marsovan Geo. E. White 2,596.00 
 
 Mossul A. N. Ainslie 660.00 
 
 Oorfa Miss Corinna Shattuck. 660.00 
 
 Sivas, Gurun H.T.Perry 880.00 
 
 Van -....Geo. C. Raynolds, M.D. 8,800.00 
 
 Total sent for orphans to date $36,520.00 
 
 REPORTS FROM THE FIELD. 
 
 It is impossible to print all the enthusiastic and 
 grateful reports which we are receiving from the 
 score of Relief Centers throughout the devastated 
 region, but the following extracts will give a clear 
 and vivid idea of the great needs and success of 
 this most worthy charity. 
 
 BITLIS, EASTERN TURKEY. 
 
 " Mountains and midwinter snows have delayed 
 launching the orphanage enterprise, but a good be- 
 ginning has been made. We already have under 
 
 * Bitlis and Van are near together in adjoining provinces, and 
 funds considered as practically one field in our remittances of 
 
IS 
 
 our own roofs 27 boys and 57 girls, bright-looking 
 children indeed. We are taking in charge many 
 others who can be placed in private families and 
 attend ward schools, and 
 plan to open two ' homes ' 
 for fifty each in distant parts 
 of the city. Two branch 
 orphanages will also be 
 opened in other centers of 
 our field, one at Moush. 
 
 Great change takes 
 place in the poor little neg- 
 lected ones, as plenty of 
 soap and 
 vigorous 
 scrubbing 
 follow their 
 matricula- 
 t i o n , and 
 they take on 
 a fair com- 
 plement of 
 new gar- 
 ments. 
 
 " Last 
 Sunday, on 
 my inspec- 
 tion, I could 
 hardly pick 
 
 out of the crowd Makroohi (Neat) and Yester 
 (Esther), who were the first we took in, for no 
 longer were they in those squalid old rags, with 
 unkempt hair and scurvy hands. Many of the 
 orphan waifs have not even a brother or sister left. 
 
 "We make special arrangements for children un- 
 der six years of age. Boys over thirteen are put 
 to trades, while the large girls will soon be thought 
 of for marriage in a country so precocious as this 
 in such matters. 
 
 Rev. R. M. Cole 
 AND Wife. 
 
 In charge of Re- 
 lief Work at 
 Bitlis. 
 
i8 
 
 "We have lists of 1500 orphans in BitHs and ten 
 near villages. In the General Relief, in which the 
 British Consul, Mr. Hampson, greatly helped, we 
 have aided 100 villages, about 2,000 families, and 
 16,000 souls, while in Bitlis city we have assisted 
 9,413 persons. Go up and down this whole plun- 
 dered province, ask where you will, and you will 
 find grateful recognition of this God-sent relief. 
 
 "Royal M. Cole," 
 
 OORFA, CENTRAL TURKEY. 
 
 "This city, which was large and prosperous, suf- 
 fered terribly through two massacres, in which the 
 British Consul, Mr. Fitzmaurice, estimates that 
 upwards of 8,000 were slain. Three thousand per- 
 ished horribly by sword and fire in the r,reat stone 
 church where they had taken refuge. * 
 
 ' ' Our needs will not quickly end. We sometimes 
 fear the zeal will abate abroad before the suffering 
 
 is past; but why should we 
 thus fear when 'anxiety' is 
 forbidden us, and when we are 
 thus carried by loving kind- 
 ness of unknown friends. 
 "There is a very peculiar 
 sense of honor shown by 
 most in the use of aid 
 given which, I think, is 
 due to three causes : 
 First, hearts have been 
 melted in the fire, not 
 hardened ; second, we 
 have, from the first, had 
 Armenian Pastor at Oorfa, excellent men on our 
 Martyred by Turks, Decern- committee, intent upon 
 ber 27, 1896. jtist dealing, and not 
 
 yielding to mere en- 
 treaty; third, our people in Oorfa have not been 
 
 Rev. Hagop Abouhayatian, 
 
 ♦See page 6 of this tract. 
 
19 
 
 harmed by over-help, and not had money put into 
 their hands. They seem most grateful. 
 
 " Our embroidery women now number more than 
 200. It is a help in holding their thoughts, as well 
 as giving means of living. We have this day (our 
 number increasing) 152 under our care in the 
 three departments of orphanage. Our aid to some 
 2,500 widows and orphans still continues. Your 
 continued prayers we entreat. 
 
 "CORINNA ShATTUCK." 
 
 MARASH, CENTRAL TURKEY. 
 
 "We send most hearty thanks for $660.00, just 
 received from the National Armenian Relief Com- 
 mittee for orphans. There are about 3,000 father- 
 less children in our field, in which is the famous 
 town of Zeitoun, of which 245 have thus far been 
 provided for in various ways. I have 50 boys and 50 
 girls now under my own care. We give the chil- 
 dren plain clothing and food, but of course they 
 must have enough to grow well and strong. Many 
 of them are so weakened by want and exposure as 
 to have very little resisting power. The clothing 
 we furnish is of the simplest — two sets of cotton 
 underclothes, a long striped cotton gown, two 
 pairs of stockings, shoes, and a warm jacket. We 
 plan that every boy shall learn a trade. The lowest 
 they can be cared for is $22 a year each. 
 
 "(Mrs.) Clara Hamlin Lee." 
 
 HARPOOT, EASTERN TURKEY. 
 
 This city was the center of the most pros- 
 perous and densely populated section of 
 Armenia. It suffered most terribly from the 
 massacres. The National Armenian Relief 
 Committee has sent there, besides large 
 
20 
 
 amounts for general relief, about ^8,000.00 
 for orphan work. Half of this has been given 
 by Christian Endeavor Societies, Epworth 
 Leagues, Baptist Unions, and similar organi- 
 zations to support their special orphan work 
 at this center, which is under the care of Dr. 
 and Mrs. Barnum and their daughter. 
 
 " The massacres removed thousands of fathers. 
 Many of them were in comfortable circumstances, 
 but the looting and burning of houses left their 
 families destitute. The forlorn condition of this 
 multitude of widows and orphans has deeply im- 
 pressed us, but the means hitherto placed at our 
 disposal barely sufficed to keep them alive. 
 
 " The first effort made here for orphans was in 
 Malatia, by Mrs. Rendel Harris, of Cambridge, 
 England, who provided the money to support forty 
 for one year. 
 
 ' ' Our method is, wherever there is a reliable 
 Christian community, to have the orphans placed 
 in families and go to school. The average cost here 
 for each, on the most economical basis, is thirty 
 piastres, or a dollar and a half, a month. 
 
 " I have often wished that we could send you 
 a picture of some of these orphaned children as 
 they have come to us in their filthy, tattered gar- 
 ments, with unkempt hair — and then another pict- 
 ure of them after they have been returned from the 
 bath, dressed in their clean, new clothes. The 
 transformation is often so great that one can 
 scarcely recognize them. 
 
 " Every child is examined separately,' and some 
 have to be refused. It is quite touching to see the 
 anxiety while their cases are under examination. 
 Sometimes the tears will come in spite of their 
 efforts to restrain them. 
 
 " It is a great joy to see the happy faces of the 
 children in the different Homes. One little girl 
 
Typical Armenian Orphans Rescued from Perishing, or 
 Enforced Mohammedanism. 
 
22 
 
 had been rescued, after several efforts, from a 
 Turkish family where she had been kept since the 
 massacre, and she had forgotten how to speak 
 Armenian, though she understood what was said 
 to her. A few weeks after she came to the Home 
 we received a poor girl who, with her step-grand- 
 mother, was wandering about, sleeping in stables, 
 or wherever they could find a place, and begging 
 their daily bread. It was cold, but this girl had on 
 only two borrowed cotton garments, and her feet 
 were bare. Great was the joy of these two girls 
 when they met in the Girls' Home that evening, 
 for they were step-sisters. 
 
 ' ' The other day four children appeared at the 
 door from a village a few hours distant. Their 
 mother had been killed and their father died. The 
 oldest girl, thirteen or fourteen years of age, had 
 bravely struggled to keep the children together, 
 and provide for them, but in vain. We put the 
 two girls and their little four-year-old brother in 
 one of the Girls' Homes, and the other brother in 
 the Boys' Home. As we were fitting out the chil- 
 dren with clothes one of them said to the others 
 with a smile, ' Oh, what beautiful things ! ' 
 
 ' ' In one of the Homes is a little boy five or six 
 years of age, rescued the other day with much dif- 
 ficulty from the Turks. He, too, had forgotten his 
 Armenian, and his friends, besides. He cried 
 lustily when brought to our house. His older 
 brother, Muggerditch, also rescued from Turks, 
 was already in the Home, laid up with a broken 
 bone ; but little Krikore would have nothing to say 
 to him, but threw himself on the floor and 
 screamed. We have no playthings left since the 
 looting of our houses, but a picture-book, a few 
 empty spools, and some large acom-cups, with 
 candy and raisins to put in them, were utilized, 
 and the two boys were soon happy together. 
 
 ' ' We have now rented four good-sized houses in 
 
23 
 
 the city, and each is under the care of a Christian 
 family, and each is- a happy home. The whole 
 number of orphans under our care in Harpoot and 
 in other towns and villages of this field is about 
 seven hundred. 
 
 "The receiving and providing for so many chil- 
 dren is a great care, but we feel that we are not alone 
 in this work. We have noble helpers in other 
 lands, who not only give of their money, without 
 which nothing could be done, but who also give 
 time, thought, and prayer for this object. 
 
 "(Mrs.) Mary E. Barnum." 
 
 MARSOVAN, WESTERN TURKEY. 
 
 "Your favor of January 8th, with Ltq. 150.00 
 ($660.00) for use in Marsovan for orphans, was 
 received with a chorus of gratitude. 
 
 " About 800 were made orphans in our field by 
 the events of a year ago. We already have care- 
 fully selected thirty-six girls, and six boys, and are 
 planning for fifty of each sex. The children are as 
 merry, interesting a group as one could wish to see ; 
 so changed since they came ! 
 
 ' ' The people gladly commit their children to us. 
 The Gregorian priests of the city are now making a 
 list of the ones they wish to recommend to us. The 
 boys hitherto have been taught free of charge by 
 our advanced pupils. Tradesmen favor the pur- 
 chases made for the orphans. Considerable collec- 
 tions of clothing, etc., and some money have been 
 given. The college students have volunteered to 
 give from their own food. Mrs. Tracy gives her 
 main effort to this new service. 
 
 " Connected with our Anatolia College is an In- 
 dustrial Department, the chief feature of which is 
 a carpenter's shop. We are also furnishing work 
 to sixty persons, as a relief measure, in weaving. 
 
24 
 
 We have in mind to organize some such work as 
 may be suited to the years of the children. 
 
 ' ' Let me say as to expense that the children 
 could be ' herded ' or perhaps ' boarded out ' for 
 less, but I think $22 per year will not seem great as 
 an estimate for providing a plain but comfortable 
 home, plain but neat clothing, and suitable instruc- 
 tion and care. 
 
 "G. E. White." 
 
 VAN, EASTERN TURKEY, 
 
 Dr. G. C. Raynolds, who was associated 
 with Dr. Grace Kimball in relief work in Van, 
 and who is continuing it, writes from that 
 city, under date of February 19th, 1897, as 
 follows: 
 
 "The number of orphans received up to the pres- 
 ent time is one hundred and twenty-eight boys and 
 sixty-four girls ; only those being accepted who are 
 very needy and very promising. The limit which 
 we can accommodate on our own premises is 
 two hundred and fifty, which will be only about one 
 in thirty of the really destitute orphans in this 
 province. Others we are placing in families. Nearly 
 all should re7nam three years, and many, five years, 
 at least. To turn these dear children adrift at the 
 end of one year would be almost as cruel as the 
 actiofis of those who made them orphans. 
 
 " It is touch ing to hear the orphans in their even- 
 ing prayers often ask that the poor children still 
 wandering about the streets may be received, as 
 they have been, to this sheltering care. Would it 
 not be a great satisfaction and privilege to any who 
 shall see these lines to answer this prayer by provid- 
 ing for one of the Lord's little ones ? 
 
 " If any who are willing to take children will 
 write, stating whether they prefer boys or girls, and 
 for how many years they will undertake their sup- 
 
25 
 
 port at $25.00 a year, I shall be happy to write them 
 of the orphan selected, giving name, circumstances 
 and periodical information as to its welfare. 
 
 " The children give half the day to study and the 
 other half to learning a trade, tailoring, shoe- 
 making, or weaving, and, when the weather shall 
 permit, gardening. 
 
 " This work, I am happy to say, has the full 
 sympathy and hearty support of the Armenians of 
 the Old Church, from their official head down. 
 
 "G. C. Raynolds." 
 
 ERZERUM, EASTERN TURKEY. 
 
 "We have considerable room in the mission 
 buildings and have accepted sixty orphans of which 
 twenty-four are boys. The change from dirt and 
 rags to cleanliness and new clothes makes a marvel- 
 ous transformation in these children. There are 
 about three thousand orphans in Erzerum province. 
 The condition of all is sad in the extreme. The 
 cold weather and mountainous country, and above 
 all, lack of funds, have hindered the gathering of 
 orphans into refuges. The estimate of one dollar 
 
 Dr. G. C. Raynolds and Wife. 
 In charge of Relief Work at Van. 
 
26 
 
 a month for each child is far too low, the cost be- 
 ing nearer $2. 50. We ought to take at least 200 of 
 these 3,000 orphans. The children, having been 
 once received, become our wards for at least five 
 years. It is a benevolence of prime present impor- 
 tance and of far-reaching influence. We look in 
 confidence to our friends that this work, undertaken 
 with so much encouragement, may be carried on to 
 completion. W. N. Chambers." 
 
 BARDEZAG, WESTERN TURKEY. 
 
 "The sad condition of Constantinople boys whose 
 fathers had perished in the recent disturbances, 
 and for whom no adequate local provision can be 
 made, led to the establishment, Feb. 12. 1897, in 
 Bardezag, 60 miles distant, of an orphanage for 
 the support, education, and industrial training of 
 such orphans. It is our purpose to care for 75 boys. 
 
 "To help us save and train for future usefulness 
 these boys, whom the strange dealings of Divine 
 Providence have left as a sacred charge to Chris- 
 tian people, we solicit your contributions in the 
 name of Him who committed the widow and the 
 orphan to the care of His faithful followers. 
 
 "Robert Chambers." 
 
 BROUSA, WESTERN TURKEY. 
 
 "The West Brousa Orphanage, 80 miles from 
 Constantinople, was opened for destitute Armenian 
 orphan girls, Jan. 13, 1897. The two large and 
 convenient buildings, accommodating one hundred, 
 belong to the American Mission, which was very 
 glad to loan them, partly furnished and rent free. 
 
 "The Administration believes that the wisest 
 economy demands that something more should be 
 done for these orphans than simply to keep them 
 from starving. It proposes to give them an educa- 
 tion, and to teach them plain sewing, the use of 
 
27 
 
 sewing and knitting machines, and similar indus- 
 tries, so that they will grow up to be useful women, 
 able to support themselves. 
 
 ' ' The institution is under the charge of the Amer- 
 ican Mission, and the immediate supervision of the 
 Home is in the hands of an experienced native 
 pastor and his wife, Rev. and Mrs. D. L. Garabe- 
 dian. The estimated expense for each orphan, in- 
 cluding educational advantages, is $40.00 a year. 
 // will be especially gratifying if individuals or com- 
 mittees will pledge the support of a number of or- 
 phans for a series of years, and to such the names 
 and photographs of the orphans assigned will be sent. 
 
 "Theo. a. Baldwin." 
 
 Similar reports have also been received 
 from Rev. A. N. Andrus, Mardin; Mrs. J. 
 L. Coffing, Hadjin; and Rev. H. T. Perry, 
 Sivas, and others. 
 
 THE ARMENIANS 
 
 are a distinct and very ancient Christian 
 people, with a language of their own, and 
 belong to the best type of the Caucasian 
 race. Their Church is independent of both 
 the Greek and Latin, and claims an apos- 
 tolic origin. Centuries of oppression by 
 heathen and later by Mohammedan invaders 
 have made them industrious, peace-loving 
 and deeply religious. Their history is a 
 brave and simple record written with the tears 
 of the saints and the blood of martyrs. From a 
 powerful ancient nation of perhaps 12,000,000 
 it has been reduced to 3,500,000, of which 
 only about 2,000,000 survive in Asiatic 
 Turkey, the rest being in Russia, Persia and 
 other lands. Few realize that there are 
 
28 
 
 nearly 10,000 in the United States, for they 
 are good citizens, minding their business and 
 do not indulge in fighting or drinking as 
 other foreigners do. Since the massacres, 
 these men have sent from their small earn- 
 ings $160,000.00 to their stricken families in 
 Armenia. 
 
 Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop, the well-known 
 English traveler and author, in a calm estimate 
 before the massacres began, wrote : " It is not 
 possible to deny that they are the most capable, 
 energetic, enterprising, and pushing race in 
 Western Asia, physically superior, and in- 
 tellectually acute, and above all they are a race 
 which can be raised in all respects to our own level, 
 neither religion, color, customs, nor inferiority in 
 intellect or force constituting any barrier between 
 us." 
 
 THE EXPLANATION OF THE 
 MASSACRES 
 
 is simply that the Armenians have incurred 
 the fanatical wrath of the Turkish Govern- 
 ment, first, by their own progressive spirit 
 and consequent prosperity; second, by their 
 adhierence to their ancient faith, even in the 
 hour of cruel martyrdom; and, third, by the 
 half-hearted demands of the Powers for the 
 execution of just reforms in their behalf, 
 which for twenty years have been guaranteed 
 by the Berlin Treaty. 
 
 A few individual Armenians, seeing that 
 their race, betrayed and abandoned by 
 Europe, is already marked for extermination, 
 have been tempted to resort to desperate 
 efforts, as signals, of distress, to compel for- 
 
29 
 
 eign intervention, in which the only possibil- 
 ity of reform lies. All talk of Armenian 
 " Revolution " — in the proper meaning of 
 the word — is an infamous imposition of 
 the Turkish Government invented to ex- 
 cuse and conceal its own barbarous ex- 
 cesses. The Armenians are in a hopeless 
 minority, scattered all over Turkey, stripped 
 of every weapon, and utterly crushed and 
 paralyzed by terror. They are peaceable 
 merchants, artisans and agriculturists, for 
 centuries deprived of arms and entirely lack- 
 ing organization or fighting instincts, except 
 in isolated cases. The heroic defense of 
 Zeitoun, where the Armenian mountaineers 
 for . five months successfully withstood a 
 besieging army of Turkish regulars that out- 
 numbered them more than twenty to one, 
 deserves to be classed with Thermopylae or 
 Bunker Hill, and shows that the highest valor 
 and manhood is latent in Armenian blood. 
 
 TURKEY'S MASSACRE ACCOUNT 
 
 of helpless, inoffensive subjects, during only 
 the lifetime of many now living, shows that 
 every Christian race and locality has in turn 
 been scourged and "brought low," as the 
 Koran requires. The account is as follows : 
 
 Date. Race, Number Massacred. 
 
 1822, Greeks, . . . 50,000 
 
 1850, Nestorians, . . . 10,000 
 
 i860, Syrians, . . . 11,000 
 
 1876, Bulgarians, . . . 15,000 
 
 1894-6, Armenians . . 85,000 
 
 Total massacred in 75 years, 171,000 
 
30 
 
 The table makes no account of massacres 
 with less than ten thousand victims, nor of 
 the hundreds who are more quietly put out 
 of the way in ordinary times. One hundred 
 thousand have been slaughtered under the 
 present Sultan, Abd-ul-Hamid II., whose 
 Armenian victims alone exceed all who per- 
 ished in the ten great persecutions of the 
 early Christians under the heathen emperors 
 of Rome. 
 
 A region 500 miles long and 300 wide 
 (large as New England, New York and 
 Pennsylvania), with hundreds of villages and 
 cities, has been given over to murder, rape 
 and robbery. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone, in his eloquent letter on the 
 Eastern question, made reference to a work 
 entitled '''' Armenia and Europe, an Indictment,'* 
 by Dr. J. Lepsius, of the University of Berlin. 
 Dr. Lepsius is a German professor who has 
 thoroughly investigated the situation, and 
 gathered his facts patiently and methodically. 
 His summary is as follows: 
 
 Killed in the massacres, about 85,000. 
 
 Towns and villages laid waste, about 2,500. 
 
 Churches and convents destroyed, 568. 
 
 Forced to adopt the Mohammedan faith, 559 
 villages, with all their surviving inhabitants and 
 hundreds of families in the towns. 
 
 Churches turned into mosques, 282. 
 
 Number of those without means of subsistence, 
 about 500,000. 
 
 These figures only give the extent of our 
 statistical information. A full statement of 
 the facts would be much more terrible. 
 
31 
 
 DUTY OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 This is not simply an affair of diplomats, 
 but concerns every member of society. 
 It is the duty of all to assist in giving 
 effect to a righteous public' sentiment on this 
 international crime, especially where our own 
 Government is concerned. So far from hav- 
 ing done anything in the interests of common hu- 
 manity, the United States has allowed a year and 
 a half to pass without securing a cent of indemnity 
 or the arrest of a single offender in connection with 
 the Harpoot and Marash outrages, where even 
 fifteen honored American missionaries had their 
 homes bombarded and plundered and destroyed by 
 the Turkish soldiers and mob, at a loss of $ioo- 
 ooo and great personal peril and insult. 
 
 THANKS. 
 
 The special thanks of the Committee are due to 
 Miss Frances E. Willard and the W. C. T. U. ; to 
 Mrs. Margaret Bottome, and the King's Daughters, 
 to the officers and members of the Christian En- 
 deavor Society, to Rev. B. Fay Mills, Rev. Josiah 
 Strong, D. D. , Secretary of the Evangelical Alli- 
 ance, and many others, without whose hearty co- 
 operation this great and sacred work could not 
 have reached its grand development. 
 
 The Committee also desires to record its ap- 
 preciation of the great assistance in its work, ren- 
 dered by the Misses Mary and Margaret W. Leitch, 
 whose suggestions and services in organization and 
 in addressing meetings have always been given most 
 cheerfully, and entirely without compensation. 
 
 The illustrations in this tract are kindly furnished 
 by The Christian Herald. 
 
LITERATURE 
 
 To be ordered of Rev. F. D. Greene, Sec'y, Nat'I Armenian 
 Relief Com,. Room 660, U Broadway, New York, N. Y. 
 
 (Former address, Bible House, New York.) 
 The Rule of the Turk, by Rev. F. D. Greene, 
 M.A., for many years resident in Turkey. With auto- 
 graph preface by Gladstone, map, 20 illustrations. 
 200 pages, i2mo, 21st thousand. Clear, compact, 
 complete— much general historic and descriptive mat- 
 ter, together with the story of the massacres. Pub- 
 lished by Putnam's Sons at 40 cents. Furnished by 
 National Armenian Relief Committee for 25 cents in 
 stamps. To pastors, committees, and contributors of 
 $5.00 or more, free on request. 
 
 Letters from Armenia, by Prof, and Mrs. J. Ren- 
 del Harris, of Cambridge, England, who have made 
 extended journeys and careful personal investigations 
 throughout the massacred regions. A calm, clear, 
 vivid and obviously truthful account of events and of 
 the present condition of the country. Map and illus- 
 trations, i2mo, cloth. Published by Fleming H. 
 Revell, New York, at $1.25. Sent by the Relief Com- 
 mittee on receipt of $1.00. 
 
 Armenian Poems, finely rendered into English verse 
 by Alice Stone Blackwell. Cloth, $1.25. Roberts 
 Bros.. Publishers, Boston. 
 
 America's Relief Expedition to Asia Minor under 
 the Red Cross. By Clara Barton, President. Illus- 
 trated. Price, 30 cents. 
 
 TRACTS FREE ON APPLICATION. 
 The Rights of American Citizens in Turkey, 
 
 by Everett P. Wheeler, Esq. 
 
 Our Heroes in the Orient. Brave words from 
 the American missionaries, written in the midst of 
 massacre. 
 
 The Wards of Christendom. Report of the Relief 
 Work, especially for orphans. 
 
 The Armenian Question. A powerful and thrill- 
 ing address by Lyman Abbott. 
 
 Collecting Cards and Dollar Wheels, which 
 make it a pleasure for young people and Sunday- 
 school scholars to help the Armenian orphans.