The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-06-30
MICHAEL DAVITT's BOYHOOD.
Recollection of His Mothers Eviction During
the Famine Year.

AIMING Tue cdllerS on micnael DaVltJ was
Mr.. John III. Leeds, prominent democrat
of New Haven. During his call Mr.. Leeds
spoke of a trip he made to Ireland a few
| years ago to open mine in the southern
part of the country. While driving
| through the County of Cork he saw row
of huts empty, deserted and desolate. II
said TO the driver" continued Mr. Leeds,
Paddy, what are those huts and who
lives in them?" None live in EN- now,
your honor, replied the driver of the car,
''cept maybe its mimories o. them as is
gone. Twas in the starvation year C4s)
that thin tinants was evicted.
The people could pay no
rent an the landlords would not have 'em
live under shelter unless they did Atlast
they heard that the corn-ships from Amer
lea had come an they tried to walk to the
harbor where they was to get bread. May
their sowls rest in glory, but me own
father an mother died here by the wayside,
trying to eat grass. The people heard O.
the corn ships an came for the corn, an
then twas said the government would not
let the corn in unless the duty was paid.
An when the people heard that they Just
lay down in the roadside an went to God.
There was rows O. 'em here, dying, while
the corn lay rotting in Cork harbor with
the duty OWN on it. There's some of it
there now, they say, for the duty never
was paid, an they as wanted it is where
Il was but boy of four and a
half years old in 49," said Mr..
Davitt, "and my poor mother was
turned out of her little hut because she
could pay no rent. Tt was in County
Mayo, and just remember the time when
the crowbar brigade came and put us out.
My mother took my three little sisters. and
myself and went to the workhouse. In
those days they had rule in the work
house that boys over three must be sepa-
rated from their mothers. remember
when my poor mother heard tliisishe clasp
ed me to her breast and said she would die
before she would be parted from me. There
was cart came along as we stood on the
road, and we must have been as forlOrn a
group as ever man saw, and the driver said
he would give us a lift to Dublin. When
we got there we crossed the channel to
Liverpool and there made our way to
darlington in Lancashire. Here we
worked, at least my mother did,
to support US, and when / was old enough
began to labor in the mills. When / was
ten years old L had my arm torn out.
While lay on my bed recovering from the
effects of the sh ock, my poor mother used
to tell me tales CT As, talking in Irish 1t
was then that | got my hatred of landlord
ism in Ireland, and it was then that i
swore that what lay in my power to pre-
vent repetition of such scenes, that
would I do. When / became man ]
went back to Ireland, and saw with my
own eyes the country had heard SO much
about | talked to- the people and heard
what they had to say; I saw the survivors
of the famine, and heard of rack-rent and
evictions when the people had not bread
to put into their mouths Why, do you
know that the Irish had actually been
educated to that point by bitter sorrow,
that they thought the rent must be paid
when they were starving? | have seen a
man bring up the last shillings he could
scrape together, bring them, hat in hand, to
the agent, trembling fer fear they might be
refused and sent back, when he had not
the worth of a creel of potatoes in the
honse for his wife and children. House
do say7 Hut or howell would be the
right word Dogs in this country are bet