The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-29
GREEKS WILD WITH TERROR.
BY THE HALF CRAZED
FUGITIVES.
LII ARMS WE'RE INTERMINGLED.
No Attempt Made to Restore Order
Out of the Confusion of the
Retreat.


who was with the retreating Greeks af-
ter the battle at Matt, has arrived.
when overlook the Greek infantry"
the correspondent telegraphs, "they
were in struggling order, foot
sore and grimy from four days
in the trenches all along exposure to
the shells, enough to unnerve veterans
They went along in silence, a con-
trast to the ordinary chatter
ing in the Greek ranks. The night was
pitch dark, and the red glare of the
Ketrai and Deliter in the distance added
to the weirdness of the scene Later
passed batteries of artillery, mule
trains, carts, wagons, crying villagers,
women and children. 1t was pitiable
All were hopelessly mixed up There
was no attempt at order All arms
were intermingled and the confusion
was completed by the shouts and
rushes of the Eyzones and irregulars in
every style Of outfit. Their previous
sullenness gave place to the cIamor Of
disappointed and dispirited men. They
| forget their WEAKNESS in wild impreca-
tons against their generals and other
officers"
1.-THE retreat became a rout. Our
carriage was slowly picking way
through desperate men, crying women
and children, and horses, all overladen,
which We're creeping along at snails
pace or prancing with nervous fright
Suddenly above the din Of the con-
fused masses on the road and in the ad-
joining fields came a roar developing
into a fierce, sustained yell, rolling from
the distant rear with lightning speed
Soon in the midst of this yell could be
| distinguished cries Of The Turks are
upon u.s. In a few moments a dozen
horSemen and as many riderIess steeds
appeared on the left at full gallop, the
men shouting with frenzy: Run, run:
the Turks are here Into the night
arose this agonizig roar, fairly para
lying imagination. 1t will remain in
my memory forever. The stampede
was immediate The animals were
dashed into a gollop, and men, women,
children and soldiers joined in a mad
rush, many who fell to the ground be-
ing trampled to death. According to
one story, the horsemen who so sud
denly appeared and caused this fearful
stampede were really Circassian cav
airy which debOuched from BoughaZi
but this report is not generally be-
1ieVed. Beside our carriage the infan-
trymen appeared with faces bIanched
steps and we tried to keep them out.
One of them thereupon levelled his rifle
in our direction, but their weight COM
bined on the steps of one side Of the
carriage overturned it, smashed it to
pieces, and the London Times cores.
pondent and myself were thrown out
[ was pinned by the leg under broken
timbers as the pandemonium around
me increased.
INSANITY OF TERROR.
I'm a perfect insanity Of terror. sold
iers, irregulars and armed peasants be-
gan firing their rifles in every direction.
From the front and rear, from right
and left the bullets whizzed, but the
reports Of the firearms were scarcely
heard above the roar of human beings
and the terror of the maddened ami
mails.
Even in the Shipka pass, or the hot
test part of the fearful fighting at
PleVna, [ never witnessed such wild
firing. The whole plain was light by
the flashes of the rifles in the hands of
the terror stricken soldiers and peas
ants. Eventually the Times CORES
pondent and myself succeeded in get
ting inside ditch by the roadside and
thus proceeding slowly. In this man
ner we succeeded in pushing forward
for time, when we We're thrown down
by rush from behind and trampled
upon by scores of people AS I sue
ceeded in rising to my feet an irregu-
lar, who was rushing past, deliberately
turned his rife to within three inches
Of my head and fired. 1 ducked just
in time to save my life. l had lost my
companion in the meanwhile and walk
ed on in the ditch already mentioned
or else plOWed my way through the
thick Of the stampede
THE mad firing continued for fully
half an hour. At the expiration of that
time buglers We're heard sounding
cease firing but it was a long time
before the continuous rattle slackened
down to single shots. The pandemoni-
UNI had spread several miles. When I
returned to the road, stumbling over
dead and dying animals, men and wo-
men, the scene was terrible The way
was strewn with ammunition boxes,
broken carts and furniture, bedding,
blankets, and tin pannicins. The lat
ter ratified under the horses feet,
blankets became entangled in them
and the horses. frantic with alarm,
galloped about among the flying
crowds, many Of them riderless and
deserted"
I'm the streets of Larissa there was
indescribable confusion. Troops of all
arms were mixed together and threw
themselves down in utter exhaustion.
needless of the calls of the buglers
summoning them to fall in The inhabi-
tants rushing about the streets intensi-
fled the confusion. The mere mention
Of the Turks was sufficient to create a
frenzied rush.
Some estimates of the number of
deaths which occurred during the
stampede and indiscriminate firing say
that from 500 to 500 persons were kill
led, but your correspondent thinks
these figures are exaggerated, though
people declare they have seen many
wagons bearing the dead to Larissa.
When it became known that Laris-
sa was to be abandoned, there was an
other panic. The women and even the
children went about drawing their
hands across their threats, showing
what they expected of the Turks and
in an incredibly short time the roads
leading to Pharsalos and Volo were
crowded with people bearing all kinds
of household effects.
by 1:30 p. m, Larissa was emptied.
Instead Of following the troops to
to get off his dispatches, pushed on to
Volo, where there was a panic almost
equalling the one witnessed at Laris-
sa. Fugitives were arriving at Volo
every few minutes and they spread
rumors that the Turks would enter the
place in a few hours.
THE excitement continued all day
Sunday. 1 secured a caique on the fol-
lowing day and proceeded to the Island
Of Euboea, whence my caiquing and
driving, your correspondent reached
Athens today, having been five days
without taking his shoes Or clothing
off,"
HEI,PEn HIM OJTrF