I have seen the dead lying on the roadside, and the women carrying their dead, orders to move on giving them little time to die decently or to be buried with respect. I gave no relief while there. I have been making a complete list, so that when we are ready to begin we shall have them classified and shall be able to handle them. We shall give flour or wheat in weekly allowances. I shall refrain from giving as long as I see they can subsist on what they get from other sources.
Bedding is needed as badly as food.
There is not much choice between dying from hunger or dying from cold. You may rest assured that I shall use the utmost caution in the giving of relief. There is no further word from those left in the mountains. There is still hope that some of them may succeed in getting through, but undoubtedly many will be lost. About 150 or more of the Mutran's people came down.