as Presented in European Diplomatic Correspondence.
61 The American Consul Pericles Lazzaro to the Consulate General and the Embassy
Thessaloniki, September 10th, 1903
[NAUSA, roll 2, vol.1 from July 5, 1902 to February 2, 1910, ff.26r-29r, inclosed in Nos 605 XI].
The most important events since my last report are: The taking and burning of Kruchevo, the burning of Smilevo and the fights around Neveska. In the other Macedonian Vilayets, except Monastir, the rev[olutionary] movement is more sporadic and less intense.
The reb[el]s to the number of 250 (corrected figures) entered Kruchevo on Aug. 2nd and held the place till the 12th, date in which they left through a road not watched by the T[urkish] troops. One version is that the Turks had not guarded that road because they did not have enough men (5.000 regulars were camped before Kruchevo) the other version is that Bahtiar Pasha, the general commanding the forces recd [received] a bribe of tq.1.000 in order to allow the reb[el]s to escape. After the B[ulgarians] left, the Turks bombared Kruchevo for 7 hours without however doing much damage. One hour before sunset on the 12th Bahtiar Pasha entered the town and his troops began a systematic looting of the place under the eyes of their officers confining themselves to the Greco-Wallachian quarter which contains five houses with riches accumulated throughout generations. Sums of money had been confided to the care of the women, who concealed it about their persons; but the soldiers roughly stripped the women of all money garments and secured the money together with costly jewellery and other objects of value. Many wives and daughters were treated in the most shameful manner. Details Which are not fit for reproduction, I personally secured from eye witnesses and sufferers. Four days the soldiers remained in the town, thoroughly looting and then burning each house separately (the houses are isolated, lying in gardens). 368 residences and 290 shops were burned. The large Greek church was polluted rifled and burned. On the unarmed citizen 68 women men and children were massacred. The extraordinary part is that not a Bulg[garian] was touched and that soldiers did not even enter the B[ulgarian] quarter. This quarter is poor, besides the troops had gathered from the Greeks all the booty they could carry. Heavy booty such as furniture, etc. was heaped outside the town and removed later by T[urkish] peasants in over 2.000 cartloads. This booty is now offered for sale in Monastir and Prilep. -Bahtiar Pacha having been called by Hilmi Pacha to account for the conduct of his soldiers, tried to obtain from the remaining inhabitants of Kruchevo the signature of a document stating that the looting and killing had been done by the B[ulgarian] reb[el]s and that no complain could be made against the T[urkish] soldiers. But notwithstanding the pressure, nobody of consequence seems to have signed this paper-.
The case of Kruchevo is typical, because it shows that the tactics of the B[ulgarians] consist in compromising Greek towns, and that the Turks have neither learnt anything, not forgotten any of their old tricks.
