Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-10-02
THE CHINA FAMINE.
Millions Of People Eating Bark, Dirt,
Thatched Roofs and Human Flesh.


A special correspondent writes to the
New York World from Shanghai, July
Goth, giving the most graphic account
of the famine that has yet reached this
country. The awful situation in the
northern provinces defies description.
After following the progress of the fam
inc which first began to be felt in De-
cember 1876, the correspondent goes Oh
to trace its terrible effects since that
time and up to the fall Of 1877. His
fearful story continues:
After little time the prospect APP
peared to brighten, and we began to
congratulate ourselves that the very
liberal assistance rendered by foreigners
had materially aided to put an end to
the national distress. How f&llacious
were our expectations we were to learn
all too soon. 1t was the delusive calm
of the elmer circle" the awful stiffness
before the bursting ofthe storm cloud.
First came ftful gusts of sorrowful in
formation regarding lack Of rain and
crops in peril, and then in regular
order, like distress guns from sinking
ship, came news Of blighted harvests,
drought, locusts, want, beggary, pesti-
lence and famine!-threatenin the five
great northern provinces of Chilli,
Shansi, Honau, Shensi and Shantung,
the latter having never recovered from
her last affection. The situation was
frightful, and made doubly so by the
certain knowledge that were the aid a
hundredfold that which might be
reasonably expected, it would be too
late to save millions of sufferers for lack
of the means of transportation many of
the districts in need lying in or beyond
the mountains, with hardly a decent
post-road. much less a railway, in all
the wide land; and the only draught
animals camels and donkeys, totally
inadequate for the service. By the LIST
of January Of this year the old stories
that chill the heart each time, no
matter how often they be told-began
to arrive. Fifty thousand refugees
about Tientsin, and the new famine
three months old. "Much Of the gov
eminent grain that should have arrived
a full six weeks before is now shut out
by barrier of ice" In two weeks
the number of refugees has reached
100000 at Tientsin. Rev. Mr.. Richards
writes from Shansi that the famine is
''far more extensive and the suffering
much greater than it Was in Shantung
The governor of Shansi reports the
death rate at 1000 day. Mr.. Rich
ards announces the frightful fact that
the sufferers have resOrted to cannibal-
ism and that children are boiled and
eaten. On the 7th of January q fire
broke out in one ofthe relief yards at
Tientsm, the gate-keeper of which
locked the gate and ran away, and the
awful spectacle was presented of 1000
starving women and children burned
to death. Then we hear from Tai-Yuen
Flu IN January, direct from the noble
Richards. ''The names of eight or nine
millions are down for relief" in the four
provinces; these are accessible ones,
but what of the starving millions bevond
the mountains? 1t is no longer a hid
den secret; the slaughter Of the limo
cent for food or the sharing with the
dogs of the human carrion that lines
the high roads increases" says the ma
tive high commissioner, ''beyond all
| efforts for their intelment"
On February IA Richards gives us his
report Of an extended tour through Shan
81, emitting, however, such details as
are too horrible to be described %
From his notes the extracts are given
under date:
January 29.-There was a fall of an
inch of snow in the night. Saw four
dead in the road and one unable to
walk. moving about on his hands and
knees. One Of the dead was boy of
about ten years old, carried by his M 9th
er On her shoulder. She was the only
bearer, priest and mourner. She laid
him on the snow outside the city wall,
and the last sight got of them she was
standing at some distance off on the one
side and dog watching at some dis
lance on the other. January 31-To-
day saw fourteen dead on the road side.
A stocking was all the clothes one had
on, and so light was the corpse q mid
dle-sized dog dragged it about. Two of
the dead were women. Want or cupi-
dity of the passers-by had dealt kindli-
er with one than the other for they had
not taken her clothes. A third was a
feast to score Of crows and magpies.
February Saw six dead, Of whom
four were women. Saw two heads stuck
up IN cages to be warning to those who
rob and steal. Saw hats and shoes along
the road, but no dead bodies near-per-
haps all that was left between men and
wolves. February Sin the afternoon
at Hung-Tunghien the dead were actu-
ally in heaps on either side. On, the
main street there was a man dead with
the edge of big stone between his
teeth. He had nothing better to eat, SO
he died biting the stone. Others had
been thrown into the river. February
This day was the worst of all. We
saw abundant proofs of men eating clay
or stone. [ bought three stone-cakes.
The stone is the same as our soft-stone
pencils. This is pounded to dust and
mixed with millet husks. The dead
outnumbered any previous day. Tween
ty-fve Il (about eighteen miles,.
The foregoing are brief extracts only
of the most narrowing letter [ ever read