Russian Tells Story of Woe

Russian Tells Story Of Woe Among Refugees ... Interpreter Bares Thrilling Trip of 526 Members of Stark Party ... Survivors Brave Rigors of Tragic Flight From Soviet Hordes.

San Francisco Chronicle
July 2, 1923

The story of the 526 refugees who arrived here yesterday on the United States transport Merritt is a touching tale, filled with adventure and excitement, as told by one of their number who had been with them from the start at Vladivostok on October 22, 1922 to the present day.   He is Russian, speaks English. and on several points along the route he has acted as interpreter, even finding employment in that capacity during the four months the refugees stayed in Manila.   

"It was was when the Bolsheviks came down on us in Vladivostok," he said, "that Admiral Yuri Stark of the White Russian Navy gathered every Russian sailor and soldier he could carry and took every boat in the harbor except except 3 Japanese icebreakers.  Altogether about 14,000 of us started and some were in boats as short as 70 feet and of less then 200 tons displacement. The largest ship was not more then 700 tons. Some of the ships had no boilers, some no fuel, and some were without pieces of machinery."

Driven By Japanese

"First we went to Genzan in Chogan, that is Chinese for Korea, and stopped there, but the Japanese drove us away just as a great typhoon came up and in the great storm we lost a boat with more than 740 of our comrades.  Some of the boats went to Shanghai, China from Korea and some turned about to go back to Russia again, so great did the difficulties seem.  In China, he continued we were given some fuel, some coal.  After we had tried to use it we found it was more nearly dirt or trash, but kept the the ships going, though and many had to be towed and otherwise helped.  We lost another boat on a reef on this trip and seventeen more were killed, but they were as nothing compared to the number we lost since starting who had deserted or who had tried to make their way back to Russia.  Finally eleven ships got to Manila with about 800 refugees. We worked there building houses, and I worked at interpreting. There were 120 women and 35 children and the Red Cross cared for them and us for more than four months."

Members Mutiny 

"We were at Mariveles and Olongapo, and while there some got drunk and some mutinied.  Our own officers discovered the mutiny and sixteen were sentenced to prison. Then we left Manila on this ship, the USAT Merritt. We were to run the ship ourselves, to do the work of the crew and firemen.  But when about 200 or 300 miles out, we found we were unable to work at the fires.  I was one who tried to work in the heat but could not do it and became sick, and could not work.   Captain Fuller had the Filipinos stoke the fires, and we had to return.  At Manila, we left Admiral Stark, who might gone to Finland, and Lt.General Peter Heiskanin took command. We also left our ships, but they were all battered or useless or lost.  Some tried to return to Russia."

Leave For San Francisco

"From Manila we went to Nagasaki and from Nagasaki we left for San Francisco.  The first day from Nagasaki a 5 month old baby died on the ship.  Otherwise our trip on the USAT Merritt had been without incident and had been the least of the trying times on our long journey.  We discovered a Filipino stowaway whom the captain put ashore on some island after we were a ways out.  Finally we came here after 38 days at sea."

This man has no friends in San Francisco or the rest of America and does not know what he is going to do.  He is very glad be get here, and said he knows he will find something useful to work at.