Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1880-03-19
FAMINE's HORRORS.
A Touching Account of Ireland's Woes
by a Member of the "iIerald" Com.
mittee.


mittee.
Rev. George Hepworth, one of the
Herald relief committee, cabled the fol-
lowing to the Herald from London, on
the 10th inst:
/ have made my first visit to the suf-
ferinp counties Of Ireland, and hasten
to make my report Of what ! have seen
and done. The committee, which is
com posed of gentlemen thoroughly &C
auainted with the country and the
people, has entered upon its difficult
task with the determination to make n
personal inspection Of the distressed dis
tricts. They are eminently fitted TO
supply the pressing needs of the suf-
ferers with the greatest possible speed
and economy of the funds. They have
already held several meetings, at which
those sections have been indicated
which need the earliest attention.
They have voted supplies for the quar-.
tiers where vast amount OF suffering
is known to exist. II is easy To under
stand the causes Of the present poverty.
The people have had three bad crops
in succession, and things have been
growing worse and worse until the al
most utter failure Of the crops last year
brought them to the verge OF starva-
ton. They have nothing to plant, n
want which the British government will
supply by the loan Of seed potatoes on
very casy terms. They have nothing
TO eat, n want which you have your
selves 70 generously helped to supply
by gifts which, | am sure, you will
supplement by other gifts when you
know what is the real state of the case.
In order TO understand for myself the
condition of affairs | spent II few days
under the leadership of Dol. King Har-
man, covering about thirty square miles
on the first day and over forty on the
second.
visited large nu mber of small set.
Elements on the west bank of tho Shan
non, In the counties OF Roscommon and
Sligo. For about ten hours each day j
rode and walked, entering altogether
about one hundred wretched novels
which this afflicted people delusyely
call their homes, and where, from
morning till night, they encounter the
dread monoiony Of want and misery.
While fully prepared TO meet more or
less distress everywhere, knowing,
through former visits, something OF the
chronic state OF poverty in which the
people live, was not prepared, nor
could anything / have ever before seen
in any degree prepare me Tor the scenes
of abject misery and siokenng sqnalor
which | found nj every turn. The peo-
ple did not know Of my coming, and
could not prepare for any dramatic dis
play of indebtedness and want. I'M
aware, searched every corner of scores
of houses for any means ofsubsistence,
and came back ut night with an aching
heaIt. had seen what IL would do
YOU NIL good to see. Even after hear.
ing it, ann eure you will increase your
gifts, generous NJ they have been, until
this great ohasm OF distress can be
bridged over. When tell you that
have secn mon utterly break down
when shipped paltry shilling into
their hands, the women clutch u lonf Of
bread as though they were afraid that
some one would suddenly appear to
take il from Thorn, you can family i'm.
agino what have experienced in the
last few days. The friend who accom-
panied mo observed that felt Il large
lump in my throat all the time.
could find no fitting language in
which to express my sorrow and my
sympathy.
The first case | remember WAS that
fan old woman, who sat on tho mud
dy threshold of her hut M we went by,
lifting up her hands as if in supplica-
ton, and crying; Nothing has passed
my lips for twenty.four hours" new
or know the value of bread till that
moment, when wo gave her half
loaf. She took it with the eagerness of
lamished dog, She trembled with ago
and weakness, for she was over seventy
years of ago. and hunger had reduced
her to the likeness OF u skeloton. There
was Il glare in her eye thnt told Of fam
inc, Sho stood in tho middle Of the
road and thanked God that the Ameri-
cans had not forgotten Ireland. twas
hours before | could got away from that
haunting, haggard face. Nor shlll l
soon forget tho sight saw IN another
hut. The mother Of seven children was
holding the youngest, II girl Of IL few
months, in frantic embrace, moaning
as she rocked to and fro. She looked
up with startled gaze rs we entered the
door, which we could only do by bend
ing, and gave n low cry, M though in
very terror. After few moments she
was treasured, for she Thought me an
agent of the landlord, sent to evict her.
Then she told me she had nothing to
eat for many days except n poor dole
of Indian meal which relief commit
tee gave her, and for which she was
thankful enough. She added that, be-
ing halfstarved herself, il was impossi-
bio TO supply milk for her babe. She
would bc compelled to SEQ il die by
inches in her arms. But for tho meal
which the relief committee supplied,
the family would have literally
had nothing to eat. But cannot ro-
cite all the individual instances. Let
mo give you II sample of what saw in
many scores of huts, and in n few which
are matched and of stone, and stanG ON
the edge of bog which affords them
meat for fual They contain three