The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1875-12-24
Starved to Death.
BY RosELLA RICE.

She was the wife OF farmer in easy
circumstances. She was poor, and thin,
and sallow; he was strong, and his con-
stitution was of iron. His views were
right on every subject; if any one diff
cred from him, he wondered at their
blindness. When his wife said, "There
is nothing to eat this morning." and
sat with tears in her eyes and poured
out her tea into the saucer, and then
waited awhile and poured it back into
the cup, aud called this eating, he ate
slice after slice of the fat, fried salt
pork, and peeled and ate of the boiled
potatoes with a relish, saying, al would
want nothing better than this-nObody
could wish for better breakfast" She
smiled, and winked faster to keep the
tears from gathering.
This life lasted for years. The robust
farmer ate of his salt pork, and boiled
potatoes, and beans, and pork gravy,
and with his abundant outdoor eXer-
else, his health was excellent. His lit
tie wife grew thinner and thinner; chill
dren came to her, and she nursed'them
and her life grew weaker and smaller.
for she had no vitality to spare to them.
She was starving to death. All
through the long summers, day after
day, the same strong food, scarcely
varied at all, was hers to eat or let alone
to turn from in disgust-whie her
husband ate it with a relish, and
laughed, and called her "whimsical." :"
Fat pork, potatoes, fried mush, mOlasses,
boiled beans, eggs fried in grease
everything that nature lOathes in the
summer time, was placed before the ex-
acting husband three times a day the
whole year round.
When the poor, feeble, nursing mother
sat at the table, disgusted with the food
before her, sickened with the smell, he
called 1t "irst-rate," and ate enough for
both.
Friends rallied the little woman on
her emaciated appearance, and play
fully pinched the blue, bOny arms, and
laughingly slid their plump hands down
over her jutting shoulder-bladas. Her
smile was always the same-placid, and
pitiful, and patient. There was but
little sustenance for herself and baby in
the cup of tea and the bit of fine flour
bread and butter that she ate, when she
ate at all.
If she said, "I wish we had some
good, new beef or mutton" the broad
shOuldered farmer-husband laughed,
and thought he had said a witty thing
when he replied, "NOthing to kill !
LNONhAllB III SOOu OAhEA iOI =
unless we kill one of the horses 2"
His fine sheep grazed upon the green
hill-sides, his sleek calves ran in the
meadow and orchard, and his shiny cat
tie browsed in the shady woods and
came down the path to the brook to
drink of its cool waters.
Nothing to kill and the little wife,
the mother of his pUny children, starv-
ing to death for lack of the food that
contained nutriment for her wasted lit
tie body, nutriment to repair the lax
muscles, the soft, fiabby flesh, and the
thin, watery blood.
Starving to death-giving of her own
impoverished life to her children, when
the food she pined for lay in sight OF
her door every day.
The end drew nigh. The summers
heat was intOlerable. She could keeL
step no longer to the urgent demand Of
what she deemed duty. She sought the
coolest corner of the old house, and
smiled, and lay down and folded hel
hands, and the sweet Angel of Peace
made its abiding place within that low
quiet, darkened room. Thrice a day
her cup of tea and bit of bread were
carried to her.
Starving TO death-but not so gradu
ally that it was not hard or painful
Thrice in the quietude of that little ha
ven of rest she essayed to fashion an in
fants tiny, white slip, but she soor
wearied, and the needle lay in her atten
uated fingers for many minutes before
the work was resumed-at last the nee
die lay still with the stitches on it-a
last
Her smile was seraphic when sh,
looked down upon the new life-claim
ant that lay beside her. The mother
weight would not exceed seventy
pounds, and the babe, the tiny, beauti
ful white-cheeked baby, weighed onl,
two pounds and a half. Both lttl,
lives faded away gradually, and the,
were laid in one coffin. IL was a sat
sight. Friends mOurned over the goin
out of the hOme-light, and called it
dispensatiOn of Providence, and tn
preacher comforted the bereft husband
and spoke divine words of coincidence T.
the little children.
All, me ! if the letter of the law ha
been fulfilled, the coroner would hav
held an inquest over the emaciated bod
les of the defrauded mother and babe.
Better, though, for the blunted sensi
bilities of poor humanity, that the trut
be not told. Better to wear crane an,
bOmbaZine and go amounting, than {
expose the reality. Better to let gree
have rule-to cover and smother an
trick out with a soft-handed delusiol
the fatal truth. 1t was not pleasant O
agreeable.
Wives and children do starve to death
but it is done so quietly that thew dom
know themselves what killed them
Many nursing mother is starved unit
she totters on the verge of a yawnin
grave; growing children, through pov
erty or greed, are starved, aud thei
physical powers weakened in a wa
that they will never recover from til
early blight; poor sewing girls and the
illogical students are starving at fea
full rate, and all from the lack of I'll
proper fOod-that which contains til
needed nourishment. / believe man
starve ignorantly-those who do M
know the truths of physiology, and VII
do not understand what is needed
build up and preserve life and vigo
and keep in repair and supply the was
of this wonderful piece of mechanism
the human body.
All of US who blunder thus through i,
norance are to be pitied and taugh
We will seek for this knowledge Whic
is so needful to our well-being, bot
physically and mentally. Any one
culpable who remains in ignorance
these wise laws in this age of good bool
and good lectures. But too often Il
money-greed is the cause of laggir