On Sept. 14, 1841, a first affray took place between the Druses and tlie Christians at I)eir cl-Kamar ; it was re- pressed by the efforts of colonel Rose. The Druses rose again, however, on Oct. 13, 14, and 15, and the entire destruction of the town was only prevented by the arri- val from Beirut of colonel Rose and Ayiib Pacha on the 10th. But the war had commenced, and the Druses, assisted by the Turks, who wilfully and purposely pro- moted tlie hateful strife, soon got the better of the Christians, and, had it not been for the interference of the English consul, Turkish fanaticism would have ex- tinguished every Christian life on and near Mount Leb- anon. Quiet was restored, however, only for a sea- son. See Druses. On Aug. 30, 1859, an aft'ray took place at Bate-mirri, three hours from Beirut, origina- ting in a quarrel between a Druse and a Christian boy, in which the Druses were defeated ; but the next day, Sunday, they renewed ihe fight in greater numbers, and were victorious. The Druses now commenced burn- ing the Maronite villages; the Turks fearing the power of European governments, Kurchid Pacha put an end to the disturbance, yet without punishing the offenders. The Maronites, perceiving or believing that a secret un- derstanding existed between the Druses and the Turks, promptly commenced arming. In April, 1860, Kurchid Pacha received despatches from Constantinople; soon afterwards Scid Bey Jumblatt assembled a Druse divan at Muchtara, and great agitation commenced to pervade the Druse districts; Christians were murdered either singly or in small |>arties, and a great number of them, leaving their villages, fled to the stronger places of
MARONITES
768
MARONITES
Zachle and Deir el-Kamar. On May 4 some Druses broke iii*o the convent of Amik, near Deir el-Kamar, and mtinlered the superior in his bed. The Maronites still sought to obtain peace, but found that they would be compelled to meet force with force. Three thousand men from Zachle attacked the Druse village of Aindara, but were beaten by a much smaller force, their arrange- ments, and especially their discipline, being much infe- rior to that of the Druses. Kurchid Pacha had a Turk- ish camp in the immediate vicinity of Beirut, and commanding the plain, but he did not interfere now as he had done on the former occasion. On the contrary, after encouraging the Maronites by promising them his protection against the Druses, he gave the signal of their massacre on May 30. One hundred Turkish sol- diers and the irregular Turkish cavalry joined the Druses in cutting down the Maronites. The Druses would have pushed on to Beirut had they not been prevent- ed bj' the Turks. The European consuls now attempted to interfere; they were met with fine protestations by the Turkish authorities, and nothing was done to re- press the outrages. At the end of May the Druses blockaded Deir el-Kamar, and on June 1 it was attacked by 4000 of them. The city surrendered the next day. The pacha, after entering the city, upbraided the Maro- nites as traitors, rebels, etc., because they had thought it wise to defend themselves against the Druses. At the same time 2000 Druses, commanded by Seleb Bey Jumblatt, took Jezin, and murdered the inhabitants. Koman Catholic convents shared the same fate as those of the jMaronites, being sacked, plundered, and burned : in that of Meshmusy alone thirty monks had their throats cut; the plunder was enormous. Ali Said Bey's district was given up to fire and the sword. Sidon was only saved by the timely arrival of captain Maunsell, with his English ship the Firetiy, on June 3. In the Anti-Lebanon, Said Bev's sister followed her brother's example and instructions, causing the Christians of Hasbeya and Kaslieya to be inveigled into the serail of the former place, under promise of their being taken safely to Damascus ; they were there murdered in cold Hood by the Druses, without distinction of age or sex, oil Jmie 10. The Tiu-kish soldiers crowded into the serail to enjoy the sight, and some of them even took part in the butchery. On June 14 Zachle was invested and taken and on the 19th Deir el-Kamar met with the same fate. The entire male population was ruthlessly massacred, and the city given a prej' to the tlames. The surviving widows and children Hed to the coasts. On June 22 a disturbance broke out at Beirut, in which even the Europeans were assailed, but it was repressed with the aid of general Kmety (Ismail Pacha). The purely Maronite districts of Lebanon now became great- ly alarmed, the more as Turkish soldiers were quartered there under the pretence of protecting tliera. The Eu- ropean consuls advised together, and drew up a remon- strance to the Druse chiefs, which a jMr. Graham was sent to deliver to them. Said Bey Jumblatt, however, when appealed to, declared only his respect for Eng- land and his willingness to see this struggle end, but added that he had no power over it, and that the Druses would not obey him. Most of the Druse sheiks con- trived to avoid Mr. Graham, and those he did meet gave him but evasive answers. Finally, on July 10, the ISIohammedans of Damascus rose against the Christians, of whom there were some 25,000 in the city. The Ciiristian quarter was soon a heap of smouldering ruins, beneath which numberless corpses were buried. AVom- en, married and unmarried, were wandering through the streets, and were seen to cry for assistance, with heads uncovered and feet naked, appealing to the mur- derers for mercy. !Many were sold as slaves for a few piastres, or taken away to the desert. Tlie streets were crowded with fanatics, who shouted continually, "Death to the Christians! Let us slaughter the Christians! Let not one remain !" Everj' church and convent was plundered and afterwards burned. The silver plate.