The Wrangell sentinel., 1926-12-30
THIRD LETTER FROM
 MR. ]. k. HICKMAN

Last week we published letter from J. R. Heckman of ketehIKan. in which he promised To write ,he story of 3 man who almost single handed rescued 40u0 children from death His letter follows:
 Christopher C Thurber was and is an up-stanaing six-footeF Five years ago h. was running successfully an orphanage some where in the United States. His church. the Protestant Episcopal released him 10 the Near East Re lief, that he might have charge of an orphanage in northern Turkey On his arrival he found 5000 or plan children. He also found or ders from the Near East Relief not 10 take any more children because America was tired of giving It was at this time that the last great drive of the Turks began. when more than a million people were driven from Turkey chiefly into Greece. Past Thurber's Relief Sta tion there surged SD to 9o thou sand people, not ten Der cent of whom ever lived to get to the Coast. Out of this great mass of suffering humanity MT. Thurber gathered up 4.000 children and for eight months fed the 7,000 children out of funds supposed 10 be adequate for only 5000.
 One day. on account of an imaginary crime. Thurber was beaten by the Turks into insensi- bility, the soles of his feet pounded into jelly, his ribs crushed. and he was left unconscious all night without medical care.
 After he had recovered from this torture. he and the three American women with him were thrown into prison because they re- fused to pay a $5.00o income tax on their combined salary of S2.S00. One of the women went insane. Thurber was unconscious with ty phus. A relief worker trying 10 come to their rescue died in the attempt.
 After being freed from prison. Thurber was ordered to leave Tur- key taking with him the 5000 Christian children for whom he was caring Over two ranges of mountains. through the snow, he brought out his children, some on foot. the little ones on the backs of horses and donkeys, without the loss of a single child.
 He came into Constantinople to find thousands of refugees dying of typhus, typhoid. cholera, small pox and scuryy. He lived among them day after day and thousands owe their lives to this one mans coura ge.z
 Broken by his experience. he re- turned to America for a rest hu is how back in Greece among q children for whom he repeatedly risked his life. He finds them liyz ing in mud huts, holes in the ground, and sleeping on the floor or ill the lofts of factories where they work and earn from twelve te thirty cents day with living costs as high or higher than they are in Alaska. He is establishing homes for these boys where they can make a successful fight against and the other dis eases which have been ravaging them. He is doing two mems work or more every day and is giving all of his own meagre funds to re lieve the sufferings of the boys. He asks only for funds sufficient to encourage the boys, as they make such heroic fight to support themselves To me, Thurber is the Near East Relief and the least we can do is to unite his hands and make it possible for him to rescue the boys who are fighting so val iantly for their places in the world"
 Yours truly,
 J. R. HICKMAN.
 The Alaska and Western Wash ington Near East Relief Headquar ters are at 339 Burke Building,