Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1877-09-24
THE MADRAS FAMINE.
A Dreadful Account of the Starving Con.
Clition Ofthe Natives In the
Madras Presidency.

A
dition Ofthe Natives in the
Madras Presidency.
London Times Letter, August 6.
| All Hindoos are charitable by nature.
Most families have crowds of hungry hang
ers-on, even in the best of times, but with
the great dearth the family burdens have
been greatly added to. In going through
street Ct the more wealthy part of the
town it is common to see at almost every
house 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 unostentaiously great deal to help
their poorer brethren in their struggles for
life. But from all that l can learn distress
is already reaching the class above the
very poor. With these there are caste diff
culties about getting food at the regular
relief houses, and many are gradually
starving before the pressure becomes so
great that they vii! leave behind their pride
and social prejudices, and join the common
herd at the government kitchens. With
regard to the town of Madras the local
committees are now making inquiries re-
garding the numbers Of the better classes
who are in want Of relief, and this relief
will be administered as far as possible in a
usages of the classes We wish to benefit. 1t
real. Within stones throw of my own
house thereis native village tenanted by
servants of Europeans, small shopkeepers
and others, and for some time past my wife
has been feeding a few little starvelings
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 be saved. If we fed all
who wanted help out of this little village
we should have hundreds on the list
| SAD PICTURE.
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 face like little wizened old man,
and its body mere skeleton, the other child,
little girl of five years Of age, extremely
emaciated and feeble. With this family are
two young girls, both miserably thin and
famine-strickcn, and with their strength
quite spent They all speak with voices
that are thin, and sounding as if far away
lust as happens in patients in the last stage
Of cholera A little warm soup and bread
and milk for the children, revives al Of
them in wonderful way. After rest, they
get meal of curry and rice. and are sent
off on cart to relief camp, Standing al
the entrance-gate of my house, can in hall
an hour count hundreds of wretchcd crea
lures who have hardly strength enough left
to drag their weary limbs along. These are
the houseless and homeless wanderers from
distant villages, for whom the government
provides centers of relief; but the people
will not rest quietly and conserve theil
energies. They drag themselves and theil
feeble children about, wandering from camp
to camp, until the time comes for them tt
, lie down and die.
DYING IN THE STREETS.
!, Deaths in the streets are getting more
frequent. One day last week saw small
crowd assembled near the governmen,
house. The people were gathered around 8
famned family; one Of whom, little girl
of seven, was dying of exhaustion. The
bys'anders we're trying to feed her with
milk and rice, but she could not swallow
In Bangalore hear that the people die in
the streets at the rate of fifteen or twenty q
day, and the police in Madras are reporting
ouch deaths as common. There comes q
time In the course Of every famine when the
people affected by the scarcity can neither
exert themselves nor bear any climatic
changes without great peril to life. Bodies
enfeebled by long privation are very suscep
: tible TO fatigue and weather changes. The
last ten days have been rainy time, and
. the mortality among the famine camps has
y been higher than ever. Rumors reach US
that the viceroy is coming down immediate
" from Simla to Bombay and Madras tc
! consult with the local authorities in regard
: 10 future arrangements for the management
/; q day too soon. The food supply Of tn,
, people in Madras and Mysore and the threat
i ened extension of the famine area In Bon.
It bay are matters Of the highest imperial ir
I lterest. and should ~ sdlscussed In the heai
i Of the famine area and dot 10 the CLOUD