Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-05-21
Scenes In Silesia.

Scenes In Silesia.
As I iourneyed on the unspeak.bl,
dreary aspect Of the county, the indie.
scribable misery which prevailed every.
where, struck me most forcibly. At q
tim0 when elsewhere in Germany. evon
in the smallest forest-hut of the poor.
est charcoal-burner in the Hart,
Mountains, lights are glimmering on
the Christmas.tIee, bitter want had
here extinguished the last frail spark 81
Joy in the breast of all human beings
to whom the season Of glad tidings and
peace had brought famine and starva
ton. In the dilspidated huts, thei1
framework often tottering. and theil
straw roofs frequently leaky and rotten
l found the poor wretches huddled to.
gether on the bare floor of hard CLAW
The most fortunate ones had few DO.
tatoes left, which they had boarded az
. miser boards his gold the majority
lived on water.beets, formerly used o.
fodder for the swine. The children had
long ceased to visit the schools, be.
cause they had no clothing whatever I'll
to cover their shivering bodies. Men,
women, children, and q couple OF lean
goats are crowded together into one
room, the cold being intense, reaching
SO degrees below zero. 1t was impos.
sible for the men to 60 out into the for.
ests as wood-choppers they lacked the
most necessary garments, wearing their
thin summer clothing still, for they
have had no money since last spring to
buy warmer habiliments. In former
years they were able to fattcn pig, the
proceeds from its sale in the fall sup
plying capital for the purchase of a
few groceries and some clothing. But
this has been impossible this year, te-
cause the fodder used to fatten the pigs
had to keep human beings from starva-
ton. Five or ten acres of sandy, ster-
lie soil have to yield food for the sup
port OF families consisting of eight or
ten persons in the very best of times.
The food now (such as it isl is cooked
with common rock salt, because q
pound of it is cheaper by few farth-
ings than the ordinary commodity-but
q few farthings are fortune now. When
the authorities demanded of several fam
lilies that their children should be sent to
school according to the law, the parents
brought before the teacher in my pres
ence boys and girls who were half
naked, and in condition so pitiful that
even the law had to yield to its claims
before stern necessity. At Pilchaw itz,
market town of about l, 100 inhabi.
tants, I visited the hospital, in charge
of Brothers of Charity. filed with pa
tients who were suffering from the
hunger typhus." It prevails here as
typhus recurrents, which would natu-
rally be dangerous in the case of an Or
dinarily healthy human but what be-
comes of these people who have been
badly fed and clad for yearsP I saw
there one boy, twelve years of age. who
was just recovering. He actually
looked like skeleton, An astrological
specimen-bones over which a dark
gray skin is tightly drawn too emacis-
ted to speak, unable even to smile.
Upon another bed was q man who i'm
plored the physician to give him some
bread. His request had to be denied.
his stomach being unable to retain even
tie very lightest kind of food, so that
the man was always ravenously hungry.
A young boy of twenty looked like q
decrepit old man his muscles had
shrunk, and he was unable to move--a
case of marasmus juvenilis," as the
doctor explained, caused by insufficient
nourishment and cold. land is sick.
ness confined to the hospitals p" | asked
the kind-hearted physician. "Let me
60 with you in your sleigh and you will
get the answer" he replied. A ride Of
fifteen minutes brought US to the bor-
der of fir.wood, whore an Insignificant
little village spread its struggling huts.
We entered one of them. On bed
stead of rough pine boards. filed with
dry leaves, woman was stretched out
dying with dropsy. Foul air and ter.
rible miasmatic smell filed the poor
apartment. The whole body of the
miserable creature, by the side OF whose
bed q four-yea old girl was crouching,
was bloated and discolored from .
cavity in her left thigh, as large as q
fist, matter and water were continually
discharging. There were not even
rags enough for bandage, so one had
been made of paper. While the physi-
clan was trying to relieve the sufferings
Of the dying woman, I conversed with
her pale, emaciated husband.
Where do you sleep?" I asked,
employing the Polish language.
"Here," he answered, pointing to the
naked floor at tho side OF the bed.
"Have you any bread?"
"Oh oh !" sighed the poor fellow
with q painful smile, rs though l had
accused him of the possession OF hidden
treasures.
"And what do you subsist on?" I
further inquired.
"Our nsighbors have given US q few
potatoes, but now they have nothing
themselves and We" He shook his
head with gesture OF despair.
Panie Doctur!" whispered the sick
woman, the death-rattle in her throat
grating through her voice, 3 piece OF
bread for my child"
Provisions are the best medicines
here, and the grocer is the only apoth-
ecary who can do any good !" said my
CO mpanion mournfully. gave them
the little I was authorized to bestow as
the share of that help which was to re-
iieve SO many. How they thanked me.
how they blessed those who had sen,
them succor in their direful need II
moved me to tears, and when the dying