The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-08-25
THE ASIA MINOR FAMINE.


FIVE THOUSAND PERSONS DEAD OF sTARvA-
uoN-DBAD BODIES LYING N THE STREETS
TERRIBLE SUFFERING AMONG ALE
| CLASSES.
The New York Times of the 18th inst. has
the following account of the famine dis
tricts In Asia Minor. as given by the Rev.
DIR. Clarke, of the American Board of For
elgn Missions, who has received letter
from the Rev. j. o. Barrows, of Cesarea.
uated July 10, in which he gives some
thrilling details of the terrible famine
now prevailing in that region. Mr. Rar-
| rows writes: While at Yozat which Is so
or 10 miles north of US, witnessed the raw
ages Of the famine, which is yery severe.
ana si,Ia also beyond toward Angora. MANY
| villages are entirely deserted. In some one
Ort"o or three orr four families or parts offam-
mes remain. In the distcict OfSungarlu which
I Is beyond nozgat, and in which city there is
protestant church, as many as 5000 per-
sons nave died of starvation. But the hor
rors of this famine are Understandable. MANY
people have subsisted on grass for weeks.
and then died. Beggars have locked To the
cities, and there many of them have died be-
cause they could not ges morsel of bread.
Old men, mothers with babes at their
breasts, young men that have become chill
uren, young boys and girls nalf
naked, begging, crying, faintinz. diving
Cnls Is Iamlne Beggars have hocked to our
| doors: we have given what we eould. and
are still doing the same; some relief has been
afiorded by contributions of friends in Siam
boul and other places, but it is oniv drop
In the bucket. Mr.. Farnsworth has made q
| long tour among the ADMINISTRATION peo-
pie, and given from friends in StambonI
some $500, and perhaps by this means 500
people viii be kept alive but muititudes are
| dying and will yet die. The people of this
country give but little, with rare excep-
tlons; the more wealthy Moslems give
nothing. Selfishness reigns. Every
man lives for himself The Mobammedan
religion is religion of selfishness. III
man does any good deed, it is that he him
sen may De penehtted. There is no public
splrit-no love TO man as SUCH But what
TINS famine is can be known only by those
who it. We say that so MANY have died.
These statistics are cold Things. Famine is
the going out in utter darkness, wretched-
ness and death of all that goes to make mn
| human life. You find little. haIf-naked
girl of eight or ten years sitting in some
corner of the street crying. What is the
matter? Her father and mother are dead.
or have abandoned her. She has not a
has
NOTHING TO EAT.
She pleads andreaches out her bony hands
TO every passer-by; or perhaps gets enough
during the day to buy one piece of bread.
This kind of life lasts a few weeks and she
| ispicked mp by those who have been ordered
to bury the dead that they NAV find in the
streets. When in Yozgat heard cry of
children in the crowded streets before me. a
looked and saw three little girls. The oldest
was perhaps ten or eleven, the second six
or seven, and the youngest three or four.
The little one wanted to be carried,
The Oldest was too feeble, but
tie one on her back. The other child
chung to her ragged clothes, and so thew
went on, all crying together. But such q
sight! 1t made an impression that believe
VIII never be eftaced from my mind. These
children were so poor that the flesh which
covered their teeth was mere skin, and as
they cried the expression of their coun-
tenances was something more sad and
pitiable than / had con ceived possible before.
These three were left cliDgingto each other,
dying together, with no one to care for Them
One learns here at such a time az this that
| the tender mercies of the wicked are indeed
| cruel. One is forced to exclaim, Oh God.
| what will the end be! wby
must there be such terrible suffering, But
| God is good and man is sinful. Bodies have
lain in the streets one, two, and even three
or four days before burial and the dogs have
feasted on them. Many of our Protestant
| communities and families have suffered
goeatly. AT Sungurlu some of The brethren
have sold house, shop, household furniture,
beds, clothing, everything, and now must
beg or starye. And perhaps they viii both
beg and starve. In one village there was one
Protestant family; the father mother and
all the children but two have died of starya-
ton. In the village of Ihjirh there was a
pleasant little Protestant community, sew
eral of whom were members of the church.
with preacher residing with them. But
| they were poor. Last winter their
provisions failed, aud there seemed
| to be nothing but starvation before Them
But this preacher went to the city of Yozgat
| and pul chased flour, becoming responsible
for the pay himself, and SO kept alive siZ
families. But now, unless the prescber can
be repaid, his creditors will take everything
from him. 1t was very kind and generous
thing that he did. 1 feel like appealing to
friends in America to help him out Of this
dilemma. The board do not wish us to
make special appeals to our friends for aid
in carrying on our missionary work, but
this is matter of humanity. If American
christians could only ses how some of their
fellow-christians here are suffering, they
would certainly initiate our English chris
tian friends and others in STEAMBOAT, who
have givenliberally for this object.