The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1920-07-01
AMONG BOLSHEVlKI
Thrilling Experiences of Miss Triple,
Who Has Been on Relief Du-
ty in the Near East.
Dangers So Great That Miss Triple
and Others Were Compelled
to Flee From Country.

The many friends Of Miss Adeline
Triple who have followed, by her
letters, her travels since she left a
year ago last February to do relief
work in Armenia will be interested in
reading the following letter which has
just been received by Mrs. John Pet
terson:
U. S. S. Pittsburg, Flagstaff of Vice
Admiral Harry S. Knapp, U. S.
Navy.
Boarded the Pittsburg at 80 p. M,
Friday, May 7, 1920, at Batoum, Geor-
gia, Caucasus, an English port, after
fleeing from Alezandropol, the hotbed
of bolshevism. Am now an American
refugee bound for Constantinople en-
route to America. Do not know how
am to go but hope by way Of France.
Am travelling with Mary Spalding and
may be delayed in Constantinople
awaiting the arrival of her brother,
Colonel Spalding, who had to return to
the interior on diplomatic business.
We want him to accompany us home,
but we are afraid that conditions are
such that he may have trouble in get
ting out. We are safe SO far but may
have trouble getting through the OAR
danelles. The Turks mean business.
Strong combine between Turks and
soviet Russia. So good to be with our
own American navy. Everybody is so
good to us. Our accommodations are
wonderful. Never before has woman
been a passenger on this cruiser.
There are now Sc of us.
U. S. S. Pittsburg, Off Shore of
Trebizond, Black Sea, May 8, 30.
The enclosed slip will tell you why
I am sailing down the Black Sea this
beautiful day in May on most beau
tiful U. S. cruiser, safe and sound and
in good health but low in spirits at
being forced to leave my many chill
dren, as we had to. Armenia is no
more. We secretly fled. Americans
are unpopular and Col. Haskell was
afraid for our lives.
At our own stations, after we had
boarded our box cars, the bolsheviki,
having an hour before taken possession
Of the railroad, held us for hours be-
fore they allowed us to leave. An
armored car drew alongside our train,
our engine was removed, and there we
sat not knowing what was going to
happen. There was talk of holding
US as hostages, Of making us leave
the train and go to dirty hotel, but
our officers, after long consultation
with the leading bolshevik, and after
giving written promises to do thus and
so, finally persuaded them to let us
have an engine to go out of Armenia
into Georgia. We learned that all had
left Tif1is in the night and that we
might have trouble on arrival there.
We did not know but what our train
would be raided by the bolsheviki mob
All of our men were we'll armed as
well as some of the women. We were
held again at Tiflis, and after hours of
negotiating, etc., we again were al
lowed to proceed. We were really
alarmed on our arrival at the frontier
of Georgia in the middle of the night
when our train was stopped by
Georgian officials. Here we had
trouble again. We thought sure that
we were to be held and our cars and
engine taken from US. We were about
to enter the territory of the allies
the center Of which is Batoum. It had
been forcibly taken by the English a
couple of months before, much to the
anger of the Georgians. So we knew
there would be trouble. Our U. S
officers worked hard to get us through
On arrival at Batoum, Col Robinson
my officer, said he feared for awhile
that we were to receive rough treat.
ment and felt that we were lucky peo
pie to get out as we did. We campec
in school building huddled together
like sheep.
The Turks have guns on all the hills
around our own supply post-Pot
where we expected to be sent, ha.
been taken and is not safe for any
American. The Turks hate us, so alst
do the bolsheviki, because of ou1
politics. We spent one night in Ba
toum-a beautiful semi-tropical cit,
of sea bathing, flowers, palmtrees
etc.-and then we were hastily hustled
onto our own U. S. cruiser as it wa.
not safe to keep us an hour longer.
Mrs. Haskell (the wife, of Colone
Haskell who was in charge of tina
district) and party consisting of sew
eral women and FIVE children-em
barked on merchantmen the day be
fore, were attacked by pirates an.
robbed of everything. They are nov
.