The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-03-24
HIE FAMINE IN IRELAND.

PIE FAMINE IN IRELAND.
Visiting the Starving People-Sccnes OF
Abjeet Misery and Stckening Squalor
-"Thank God, America Has Not For
gotten Ireland"
The Rev. George Hepworth, one OF
the New York Herald relief committee,
makes the following report OF the con-
dition in which he found the starving
people of Ireland. 1t is a vivldly told
story of want and woe:
II is easy to understand the causes OF
the present poverty. The people have
had three bad crops in succession; ;
things have been growing worse and
worse until the almost utter failure OF
crops last year brought them to the
verge of starvation. They have moth
ing to plant-a want which the British
government will supply by the loan OF
seed potatoes on very easy terms: Iney
have nothing to eat, a want Whlch you
have yourselves 80 generously helped to
supply by riffs which I am sure you
will Supplement by other gifts when
YOU know what is the real state OF the
case. In order to understand for my
self the condition of affairs, spent q
few days under the leadership of Colonel
covering about tnlrty
SQUARE miles on the first day ond over
forty on the second.
visited q large number Of small set
Elements on the west bank OF the oman,
non, in the counties of Roscommon, and
Sligo. For about ten hours each Gay l
rode and walked, entering altogetner
about 8 hundred wretched hoVels,
which this afflicted people dcluslVely
cali their homes, and where from morn.
ing till night they encounter the dread
monotony Of want and misery. While
fully prepared to meet more or less U.S.
tress everywhere, knowing through ior'
mer visits something, OF the cnronIc
state of poverty in which the people
live, I was not prepared, nor could any
thing I have ever before seen IN any ae.
gree prepare me, for the scenes OF aolecG
misery and sickening squalor winch
found at every turn. The people did not
know of NV coming, and could not pre-.
nare for any dramatic display Of
wretchedness ard want.
Unawares l searched every corner OF
scores of houses for any means OF sub
sistence. and came hack at night with
an aching heart. l had seen Wnat II
would do you all good to see. Even
after hearing it nm sure you VIII IN
crease your gifts, generous as they nave
been, until this great chasm OF distress
can be bridged over. When i tel! you
that have seen men utterly break down
when I slipped a paltry shilling into
their hands, and women clutch loIf OF
bI end as though they were afraid that
some one would suddenly appear 10 take
it from them. you can family imagine
what I have experienced in the last few
days. The friend who accompanied me
observed that felt a large lump IN ny
throat all the time. | could hno no NJ
ting language in which to express my
sorrow and my sympathy.
The first case remember was that OF
an old woman who sat on the muday
of her hut as we went by' hit
inc up her hands as if in supplicatlon,
and CRYING, Nothing has passed my
lips for twenty-four hours" 1 never
knew the value of loaf OF bread tlii
that moment. When We gave her nall
a loaf she took it with the eagerness OF
a furnished dog. She tfembled Win age
and weakness, for she was over seventy
wears of age, and hunger had reduced
her to the likeness Of skeleton; inere
was q glare in her eye that told OF lam,
inc. She stood in the middle OF the roa9
and thanked God that Americans had
not forgotten ireland. 1t was hours be-
fore / could get away from that haunt
ing. haggard face. o;.h+
Nor shall I soon forget the sight
which I saw in another hut. The
mother of seven children was hololng
the youngest, a girl OF few montns; IN
frantic embrace, moaning as sne Ioche9
to and fro. She looked up with started
gaze as we entered the door, which we
could only do by bending, and gave
low CRY as though in very terror. Alter
n few minutes she was reassured,, IoI
she thought me an agent of the lanaloro
sent to evict her. Then she told me she
had nothing to eat for many days eX-
cept q poor dole of Indian meal which
a relief committee, gave her, ana ior
which she was thankful enough. ehe
added that being half starved herself 1t
was impossible to supply milk Tor her
babe. She would be compelled to gee
it die BIZ inches in her arms. But Tor
the meal which the relief committee
supplied the family would have literally
had nothing to eat. But l cannot re-
cite all the Individual instances.
let me give you a sample OF what l
saw in many scores Of huts, and IN anew
which are thatched and OF stone. ana
stand on the edge of bog which affords
them peat for fuel. They contain three
small rooms. One is the room where
the household lives. Through small
hole in its roof the kitchen smoke IS
generally forced to escape. There ID
almost a peat famine this year on ac-
count of the wet weather. The only
fuel consists of 4 bunch Of green twigs.
Another room is for the COW, if they
are happy enough to possess one' when
is very rarely the case. The COW IS part
of the family, and always goes in and
out through the front door. In the
third room, which is perhaps eight or
nine feet SO uare, the family sleeps.
They have ore bed, with two thin,
wornout blankets, and here four OF a
household ofnine must sleep, not length
wise, but crosswise, covering them
selves rs best rs they can. The rest pile
up n small bundle of straw in the corner
and sleep on it. Pressed by hunger,
they have eaten MI their store of pota-
toes. The only food in the whole house
is few pounds of Indian meal, which
they mix with water. and make into q
stirabout. This is all they have and all
they will have until the autumn. What
wonder, then, that they should be dis
heartened and discouragedp l have
asked again and again what part OF
their wretchedncss is due to intemper:.
ance. I am assured that it is caused
solely by the utter failure OF the crops.
And with all this poverty the majority
of the Irish isrheerful. The people are
enduring the great stress of suffering
with n pluck and courage which arc
truly admirable. 1t is my hope and
prayer that the American people will
not feel that enough has been already
done.