Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1877-09-21


All HindOOs are charitable by nature.
Most families have crowds Of hungry
hangers.On, even 10 the best Of times,
but with this great dearlh the family
burdens have been greatly added to. In
going through q street Of the more
wealthy part OF the town, 1t 10 common
10 see at almost every house q number
of poor people collected waiting for
the daily dole Of food, and IN this way
the native communities Of this and
other towns have been doing quietly
and unostentatiously a great deal TO
help their poorer brethren IN the strug-
gle for life.
But from ell that | can learn distress
is already reaching the class above the
very poor. With these there are caste
difficulties about getting food at the
regular relief houses, and many IRE
gradually starving before the pressure
becomes so great that they will leave
behind their pride and social preju.
dices and join the common herd at the
Government kitchens. With regard TO
the town of Madras the local commit.
tees are now making inquiries regard
ing the numbers Of the better classes
who are in want OF relief, and this re.
lief will be administered as for as pos
sible In a manner consonant with the
feelings and usages Of the classes we
wish 10 benefit.
II is quite certain that the restitution
Is very real. Within n stones throw
Of my own house there is a native viii
lsge tenanted by servants Of Europeans,
small shopkeepers and others, and for
some time past my wife has been feed.
ing a few little starvings belonging to
this village on bread and milk. These
are not immigrants, but children OF our
local poor, and out OF a dozen little
things who come every morning for
their food, two or three are so far gone
that they will not DO saved. II we feed
all who wanted help out Of this small
village, We should have hundreds on
the list.
AS | write there comes before me a
woman with two children, the woman
IN the last stage OF exhaustion, one
child at the breast, with the face like a
little wizened old man, aud lie body a
mere skeleton, the other child a little
girl of five years Of age, extremely
emaciated aud feeble. With this fam
lily are two young girls, both miserably
thin and famlne-strickeu, and with
their strength quite spent. They all
speak with voices that are thin, and
sounding as If far away, just as hap
pens in patients in the last stage OF
cholera. A little warm soup and bread
and milk for the children revives oil OF
them In o wonderful way. After a rest
they get q meal OF curry and rice, and
arc sent oil in a cart 10 q relief camp.
Standing at the entrance gate of my
house | can in half an hour count hun.
dreds OF wretched creatures who have
hardly strength enough left to drag
their weary limbs along. These are thu
houseless and homeless wanderers from
distant villages, for whom the Govern,
ment provides centres Of relief; but TIN
people will not rest quietly and con
serve their energies. They drag them
belNtb huu NutlI ItGutG CllluIGu hUOul
wandering from camp TO camp, unit
the time comes for them TO lie doWI
and die.
Death in the street are getting more
frequent. One day las. week | saw 4
small crowd assembled near the Gov
eminent House. The people were
gathered round q famine family onC
OF whom, a little girl Of seven, wal
dying of exhaustion. The byslanderi
were trying 10 feed her with milk Ant
rice, but she could not swallow. II
Bangalorc l hear that the people die il
the streets at the rate OF fifteen o.
twenty a day, and the police in Madra
are reporting such deaths as common
There comes q time in the course o
every famine when the people affected
by the scarcity can neither exert them
selves nor bear any climatic change
without great peril 10 lie. Bodie
enfeebled by long privation are yer!
susceptible TO fatigue and weathe
changes. The last ten days have beef
a rainy time, and the mortality amOnl
the famine camps has been higher thai
ever.