The Nevada Democrat., 1861-11-02
The Famine In India-Terrtble sunsr"
Ings Of the Natives.

The Famine In India-Terrtble sumsr"
Imgs Of the Natives.
The Bulletin, of Tuesday last, publishes q
long letter from Mr.. Wm. D. Folger, who
has resided at Calcutta since 1856, furnish
ing considerable interesting Information IN
relation to the present condition oil Indla
and itsinhabitants. 10 relation 10 the great
famine, accounts of which have already been
published. Mr.. Folger says:
You are all aware of the famine that mas
come upon the greater part OF Hindostan prop
er, a region inhabited by 25,OOO,OOO OF beings,
II will not call them human, after the cruelty
perpetrated by them during the reoelion.)
Food for them has failed. The long drou8h',
which. commencing in 1859, has lasted almost
unbroken for nearly two years, has rendered
tillaqe impossible or unayailing. The shght
rains have not sufficed to moisten the earth, and
from March to the present moment, there has
not been a drop of rain in fact, none was ex
uected For five months there can be no Sc
Tious relief from within the provinces them
selves. and the misery which will be accumu'
lated within that period, is something that hu-
man hearts shrink from believing. Already the
lower classes are literally deprived of the or
dinary means of sustaining life-hunting the
iungles for berries, or Subsisting upon hsn
drawn from the creeks (Which are nearly dTry)
of the great rivers. Children are left to perish,
Oh are sold so the mobiles and wandering tribes,
who alone in Upper India purchase slaves.
People Gle upon the roads seeking food or en-
ployment Even the pride Of the Zenana, the
iast feeling which abandons the HndoO, has
given way and women, never seen except on
some grand festival, are beggars along the
roads.
The remnant of food stored up from the poor
harvest Of 1858, though not yet consumed, has
passed beyond the reach Of any but the wealthy.
1t is not, be it observed, a scarcity against
which the wretched people have to contend, or
even a dearth which can-be met by lmpor-
tation. The food is gone, and with it the pos
sblity of importing more. There is no money
left There is little hope that India herself can
meet or even elevate the evil. The Europeans
are very liberal, and Calcutta and Bombay have
already raised nearly 100000. The natives
will not contribute pice a copper coin they
never do. No one, without actual experience
OF an Indian famine, can possibly realize thS
extent of suffering pnd mortality it entails,
or have more Lhan poor idea of the patience
and submission with which the natives meet
their dreadful fate. The roadsides, wells and
rivers are filed with dead bodies. The people
live until every particle Of tissue in their bodies
is absorbed and even the lice with which they
are often covered, diefrom want of nourishment,
and are left mere shells. Children may be seen
on their mothers breasts Vainly striving for
nourishment, and, frequently, that mother a
corpse. 1t is sickeaing TO contemplate the
many horrors of this famine. Scores Of dead
bodies may be seen by the roadsides exposed
in the air until they disappear under the IA
pacious attack OF kites, vultures, dogs and Jack
ais. 1t frequently happens that the poor
wretches are attacked and torn to pieces even
before the tide of life has quite fled
The apathy with which the natives regard
such sights is most astonishing; they do not
move to assist a suffering felloW-creature, and
even when these scenes happen almost at
their very doors, they remain passive spectators
of them. Their familiarity with such sights
renders them callous besides, their caste pre-
vents the touching a dead body. Hence the
work of the jackals becomes friendly one to
them. When we contemplate the suffering
which the Mussulman and Hindoo population
inflicted on Europeans in India, we are almost
inclined to look upon this dire calamity in the
light of retribution it is quite certain that the
natives view it in this light. But the calamity
once over, and it will soon be forgotten. The
natives know not what gratitude is, and they
will be just as ready as ever to exterminate all
the Europeans in the country.