Message Of Defiance From Adrianople.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 10, 1913:
Thukri Pasha Says if It Comes to the Worst He Will Slaughter the 40,000 Bulgarians There.
CITY THEN TO BE FIRED
And the Turkish Troops Will Attempt to Cut Their Way Through the Enveloping Army.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times.
    VIENNA, Monday, Feb. 10.— The Constantinople correspondent of The Neue Freie Presse telegraphs the text of a wireless message sent by Thukri Pasha, the heroic defender of Adrianople, on learning that Kiamil Pasha, the former Grand Vizier, had offered to neutralize the city with a view to the conclusion of peace.
    The message says:
    "In all Turkish history there has never been a General so cowardly as to deliver up one of the strongest fortresses of the world like ours to so bloodthirsty and cruel an enemy.
    "It shall not be said I am guilty of such a piece of cowardice. I would rather sacrifice our troops to the last man, reserving the last cartridge in my revolver for myself.
    "If I should see that further resistance was useless, I should take care that the 40,000 Bulgarians living here were all put out of the way. I should confide the women, children, and sick to the care of the foreign Consuls and give every woman a white cloth, [Turkish play on words, meaning white flag, also shroud.]
    "I would then leave the Consuls free to slaughter these refugees the same way as, under their civilized eyes, the Bulgarians have done with our women.
    "I would then turn my guns on all Bulgarians, on all the beautiful buildings which are the adornment of this beloved city, and with fire and sword turn them into gigantic rubbish heaps.
    "Then, between fire within and death without, my brave soldiers will break through the lines of the enemy, even if they are millions strong, and either die with honor or leave these ruins victorious."