Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/101

Rh church, which the poor Christians could not dare to refuse, and which they could hardly get back, even by offering large sums of money and by begging for months. As to the janissaries (nominal soldiers in the provinces), it is impossible to describe the horrible atrocities they have committed. They at any time, even late in the evening, would knock at the gate of a well-to-do Armenian and demand the immediate delivery of so much meat, rice, butter, bread and wine, and sometimes worse. The beys and their subordinates and sub-subordinates, down to the meanest servant would fall upon the helpless Christians. This was the general condition of the Armenians during the first half of the present century.

2. How Could the Armenians keep their Existence. In spite of so many disadvantages—religious, political, local, external and internal—the Armenian nation, though greatly reduced in number, has preserved its existence as a civilized Christian nation in the East. As to how—the chief points are already mentioned in one of the preceedingpreceding [sic] chapters—it was through their tenacity to the Christian religion, their affinity to the fatherland, their natural abilities and moral characteristics. Other reasons which can be mentioned in connection with this so-called feudal system are as follows:

(a) Every Christian family, or village, or district, was identified by the name of a certain Turkish or Kurdish aga or bey or sheikh. When a Moslen met an Armenian he would ask him, "What aga's giaour