Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1847-04-08
THE FAMINE!!
One Word More for Poor Ireland,
Extracts from Letter from Elihu BuriH to the Chris
tan Citizen, dated
SKrBBREEN, (Ireland, J Feb. %, I847.

GT"Gcts from Letter from Eihu BtvrH to the Chris
tan Citizen, dated
SKBBREEN, Qreland,) Feb. %, I847.
Friends OF Humanity. Let me address to YOU
hearts one more entreaty for poor, famine-strick
en- Ireland. | have come to this indescrbablt
scene OF desolatiOn and DEATH that might ge
the nearer to your sympathes that might bring
these terrible realities of human misery more
vlvldly within your comprehension. | have wit
messed scenes that no language of mine can Dor
tray. have seen how much beings made in the
image of God can suffer this side of the very bot
tom of the grave; and that too, in civilized
land. While | write, the wailings of poor. fam
lshed women and children minge with MOANING
winds of the night, and nature and humanity
seem to join in a funeral drge over this land O.
desolation. have been out for DAYS in the dark
habitatlons of those ready to perish with famine
and have spoken to them of the American Ca.
man, where there was bread enough and tC
spare, and hearts TO spare it, and hands to send it
without money and without price, when the
cause of humanity demanded the offering.
have seen the despairing eyes of young, emacat.
ed, half naked children kindle with the LIGHT OF
hope when spoke to them thus of America, and
of the sympathy of American hearts Let these
Pickering hopes appeal to your charities, fellow
countrymen. Let this exceeding bitter CRY for
bread come to you across the ocean, and over the
river, mountain and prairie 1t is the cry of thou
sands, aye, Millions ready to perish for the sur
plus of your granaries and wardrobes o let that
cry, with all its agonzing importantly soften
your hearts to commiseraton and fill your hands
with the sweet charities of benevoIence for these
suffering myriads Has not a bountful provi-
dence poured you out blessings until there is not
room enough to receive them in your basket and
your store! What better testimonials of graft
tude can you offer the Great Father of all men,
than to feed these his little ones who are perish
ing, as it were, i'll arms length of your tables, for
the very crumbs that fall UNDECIDED to your dogsl
Farmers of the great West what may | say to
these poor, pnng children of want, from YOU
Is there one among you all who will not give
one bag of Indian corn or wheat, or hundred
weight of pork or ham, as his free-will offering tc
tho starving in Ireland! Is there man or wo
man in New England who can shut the heart "a
glinst the importantly of this great catastrophe
to beings made of one blood with ourselves, and
children of oar Father! Is there man, who ha:
heart endowed with the sympathies of oul
common nature, from New Orleans to Quebec
who will not open his hand and give, '''for TIN
honor Of God" as the poor, famshed creature.
say when begging for bread! Let IreIands ex
tremity be Americas opportunity to teach the
nations magnificent lesson in human brother
hood by her mighty deeds of brotherly love.
Extracts from Mr. Bmritfs Journal of "a weel
IN Lreiand"
SKIBBEREEN, Feb. 20
Rev. Mr. Fitzpatrick, with several gentlemen
of the town, and in their company took my frs
walk through the pottcr's field Of restitution ant
death. AS soon as we opened the door, Grove
of haggard creatures pressed upon us, and witt
agonzng prayers for bread, followed us to thu
soup kitchen One poor woman, whose entrea
ties became irresistibIy importunate, had watch
ed all night in the grave yard, lest the body q
her husband should be stolen from its last Resin
place. to which it had been consigned yesterday
She had left five children sick with the famin
fever in her howell and she raised an exceedin
bitter cry for help. A man with swollen fec
pressed closely upon u.s. and begged for brea
most piteously He had pawned his shoes fc
food which he had already consumed. Tn
soup-kitchen was surrounded by cloud of thes
famine spectres, half Naked and standing or 81
ting in the mud, beneath a cold, drilling rail-
The narrow de6le to the dspensary bar wa
choked up with the young and old, of both sexe
struggling along with their rusty tin and ro
vessels for soup; some of them upon all-fours li1
famished beasts, There was a cheap bread di
pensatory opened in one end of the buildin!
and the principal pressure was at the door of thi
Among the attenuated apparitons of humanlt
that thronged this gate of stlnted charity, or
poor man presented himself under circumstance
that even distinguished his case from the rest II
lived several miles from the centre of the tow
in one of the rural districts, where he found hin
self on the eve of perishng with his family
seven small children. Life was worth the la
struggle of nature, and the miserable skeleton
a father had fastened his youngest child to h
back. and with four more by his side, had sta
pered up to the door Just as we entered the brei
department of the establishment The hair II
on his face was nearly as long as that upon h
head. His cheeks were fallen in, and his jay
so distended that he could scarcely artlculate
word His four little children were sitting
the ground by his feet, nesting together and IL
ing to hide their naked limbs under their dr.
ping rags. How these poor things could sta
upon their feet and walk five miles, as they h
done, could not conceive.
Their appearance, though common to the
sands in this region of the shadow of death, "
indescribable Their paeness was not the pa
ness of common sickness. There was no sail
tinge in it. They did not look as ifnewly rails
from the grave and to life before the blood
begun to fill their veins anew; but as if they b
lust been thawed out of the ice, in which tt
had been imbedded till their blood turned to '
ter.
Leaving this battle field oflife, l accompan
Mr.. Fitzpatrick, the Catholic minister, into c
of the hovel lanes of the town. We found,
every tenement we entered, enough to sicken
stoutest heart In one, we found shoemal
who was at work before hole in the mud "
of his hut, about as large as small pane Of gla
There were FIVE in his family, and he said wi
he could get any work he could earn about tn
shillings week. In another cabin we discov