The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-10-07
ATROCITIES
WERE FEARFUL
Alcide Theriault Writes
from Smyrna to Folks
in Williamstown.
SAW WOMEN AND
CHILDREN SLAIN
Americans Powerless to
Stop Slaughter Because
of Red Tape.

Theriault Of Baptist street, Williams
town, from Aleide ] rhcriault Of the
United States ship Lawrence, now IA
Near East waters. will BIZ Of particuia.
interest in view OF the SERIOUS situation
there. The letter was written from
Smyrna and describes some OF the sp-
palling scenes enacted there after th2
burning Of the city.
Y. S. s. Lawrence t250l,
smyrna, Turkey, Asia Minor
Sept. II, 1922.
Dear folks: Just iire to let you
know that | have received all OF your
letters and that am well and good and
hope that all of yon are the same.
have also received your Barre Daily
Times and was glad TO read the old pa
per once more. ! suppot, that you arr
all done harvesting by this time
would have written sooner but | guess
that you have read all about this Turk
ish and Greek war haven't you The
World war might have been pretty bad
but it hasn't got thing on this. After
we arrived in Constaptinople from the
Black sea it was reported that the
Turks had beat the GreeSs in a terrific
battle in the interior and we're advane-
ing on this city. We were ordered to
proceed here at full speed and take It
from me we sure did travel.
We arrived here the morning Of Sept.
s and sure enough the Turkish forces
entered the city and the Greek forces
retreated. They slaughtered them by
the hundreds and as they entered all
of the refugees of war We're gathered
along the waterfront and as the Turks
went BY them they would stick them
with their bayonets and many Of them
threw themselves into the water and
as they tried to swim away the Turks
would shoot them in the water and left
them there. We left the next day for
Constantinople for conference with
Admiral Bristol commanding the Amer
lean forces over here and we left Con-
stantinople the next day and stopped
at little place called Panderma in
Asia Minor.
The Greeks were getting ready -
evacuate the country and had their
whole merchant marine there to assist
in the evacuation. We left there on the
night OF the thirteenth of September
and arrived here ON the l4th and as
we were about 10 or moe miles we wit
messed big battle between the Greek
navy and Turkish forces who we're on
land and the Greek ships were trying
to cut the advance of the Turks. 1t
was ii pretty sight TO see those big
guns pop off In the middle of the night
but | guess the results weren't so very
pretty.
As we pulled around big bend about
thirty miles from here the whole city
was aire. we could see the flames at
that distance We slowed down and did
not come in until daylight and when
we did enter we went direct to the
Standard Oil company's tanks and
stood guard there. They are on the lett
Of Smyrna and as il was early yet and
the fog and smoke was heavy we hadn't
been observed as yet, About o'clock
it started to clear up and the refugees
began to get out of the city as IL was
too hot for them; we saw them coming;
they were about one hundred thousand
strong and as they passed the tanks a
whole band of Turks suddenly appeared
and began to fire on the refugees and.
as they are so afraid Of Turk because
they torture their prisoners to death,
they began TO jump into the water and
swim towards the ship.
The Turks killed nearly all Of them.
They didn't kill them, they Just slaugh
tered them and the rest that they didn't
kill were marched before some horses
until they fell of exhaustion and were
trampled 10 death; others were hung
and others were tortured to death. They
took some others and cut their arms,
hands. legs and even cut them in half.
Others they even cut their heads off
We could see all this from the ship and
we couldn't do anything about it.
In one case there was woman and
her little daughter about 10 years old
who. when the Turks were chasing
them. threw themselves into the water
and started swimming for the ship and
finally succeeded in doing il only It
isn't every man that could swim
that distance and there are very few
IF them that would ever be able TO do IT.
But we could not keep them aboard
and, although we gave them something
to eat and ! gave them some clothes
they were sent back and as soon as
they landed on the beach they started
for the corner of big wood pile and
as they reached the -ornei some more
Turks jumped out and grabbed the lit
lie rirl's mother and stabbed her right
in front Of the girl. then the girl ran
and threw herself into the water aga.a
intending to swim back to the ship. a
thing that she could never have done
again because she was already weak.
The Turks let her get about thirty feet
away and then they shot at her and
hit her in the left shoulder The poor
Kid went down like a stone.
All this time the city was a whole
mass Of flames and az the people would
rush out of their homes the Turks
would put a machine gun at each epd
Of the street and dare them to come
Others they threw in the streets and -
the Ere was getting hotter they tined
10 rush out al together. but the Turks
would NOV them down with their ma
chine guns like = bunea Of dogs. All
the women and children that they saw
they would shoot or cut them in half.
The city i stiil burning and every
night when darkness crccbs over the
citv the Turks 20 around ike q hawk