The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-02-18
PERILOUS VOYAGE
OF RED CROSS IN
TRIP TOBALkANS
Old Greek Vessel in Aegean
Sea WeatherS Terrific
Storm After Hard Battle.
All Feared for Lives.

tNote-The following story Of an ad-
yentuTouS incident in the journey OF
the special American Red Cross mis-
sion to the Balkan states was written
by a staff correspondent OF the Asso-
Ciated Press, who accompanied that
mission to SalOniki. Since the sub
joined account was written he a ar
rived in SalOniki and has sent by cable
several dispatches giving information
concerning the return to Macedonia OF
the Greek refugees who were deported
during the war, and the situation in
the Balkans.)
ISLAND OF SCIATHOS. AEGEAN
SEA (via London). Correspondence
of the Associated Press,)-The Ameri-
can Red Cross mission, which is max
ing a survey OF conditions in the bal
kan states with a view to aiding the
refugees who were driven out by Bull
garian occupation, experienced a tenn
p%estuous voyage from Piraeus, the port
Of Athens, to S%alOniki, FINALLY found
refuge in this mountain-sheltered har-
Dor in the upper reaches Of the Aegean
sea.
The old coastwise Greek steamer
~Peloponnesus, on which they were tray
cling, encountered a gale in which the
vessel labored so severely that it was
feared at one time she would never
reach port. Having stopped at the port
Of Nolo. 200 Greek refugees were put
on board the steamer despite the pro-
tests of the captain. Throughout the
voyage from Volo to Saloniki the
weather was cold n rainy and a
northeast wine dashed the sea into
waves that tossed the old steamer o
like a cork and made her groan from
stem to stern.
Great volumes Of water dashed over
her decks, drenching the unfortunate
refugees in the lower cabins and partly
flooding the engine room. Two of the
stokers scrambled to the upper deck
and refused to return,
Most of the passengers were Greek
peasant women and children from the
interior. who never before had made
a sea journey. They ~succumbed to
seasickness and fell on their knees in
prayer, holding up their CruCiliXes n
ikons and pledglng all their money and
belongings to the church IL they were
saved, Only the re"assuranCes of the
members of the American Red Cross
and OF the ships officers prevented a
panic. Col. Homer Folks, of New York,
head of the Red Cross mission, was
thrown from a couch in the smoking
room and shaken up.
Everything that was not nailed down
was thrown helter-skelter over the cab
ms and decks. Baggage, household eff
fects of every description, kitchen pots
n pans, crates of live chickens, ca
49, l ~ N"bNHt baohCNp VI AvOh1
containers Of wine, boxes of household
pets, such as cats. dogs and rabbits,
were hurled about in confusion,
The steamer was so helpless in the
high seas that the ships officers feared
for the safety of the 300 or more pas
sengers, and sailors were ordered to
adjust the llfeboats and to stand by.
The only land in sight was the dis
tant snow-Capped peak OF Mount Pelion,
which stood out like a great sentinel in
the darkentng day, but which offered
little consolation to the ~despairing pas
sengers, for there was no beach or
shore in sight on which the Pelopon-
nesus could take refuge.
h captain decided to turn back
and make for the harbor of the island
of Sciathos, about rs miles south. 1t
was a dangerous and difficult task to
turn the steamer about in the high seas
and he operation was the most anx-
lous five@ minutes of the whole trip.
The vessel careened violently and
seemed about to capsize, while the bow
and stern alternately were submerged,
The women passengers became hyster-
ical and the Red Cross officers were
Kept busy calming them. BY skillful
~maneuvering the pilot finally brought
the ship about and the P~eloponnesus
fled to the sheltered harbor of Scia-
When the Red Cross men started TO
go ashore to obtain food they found
there was an epidemic of influenza
among the islanders and the authori-
ties refused to allow them to land. For
the next four days before reaching Sa-
loniki the passengers subsisted as best
they could on bread and cabbage.
The members Of the special Red Cross
mission who made the voyage were:
Col. Homer Folks, New York; cant
Edwin G. Merrill, New York; Can't,
Lawrence Pumpelly, Ithaca, N. Y,
Capt. James A. Mills. New York. and
Lieut.. Louis w. Hine, New York,