The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-04-13
STARVATION IN VIRGINIA.
The Sickness and Suffering for Want of Food
Not Imaginary.

Not Imaginary.
Correspondence Pittsburg Times.
That evening Stood good listener at a
gathering on the porch of the country store
where the situation was being discussed. Jules
Corbett, big man with a greasy SLOUGH hat,
coarse, well-worn clothes, unkempt hair, I'M
shaven face and very dirty hands in which he
held a stick. was chief spokesman and good
one MY friend there" he said. referring to
me, II will venture to guess" II have no doubt
he had been appraised of i'll. "has come from
Pennsylvania where people live" I assented
and he went on: 'sThat name to me is
synonymous with peace and plenty 1t is the
home of hospitality and charity. | am
Pennsylvania myself-was raised in old Fayetse
He wants to see how the people exist here. Wtll
they don't-it is starvation. here. Three ffths
of the people of this State have eaten nothing
the big end of the winter but corn or wheat
bread that had been mixed with nothing but
water, and cooked in INCREASED pans rubbed
perhaps with piece OF hog skin that had served
the purpose for month and lost all its virtue
That and black coffee-they would sell their
strings for coffee II noticed that he had
none) aud tobacco-everybody uses tobacco
Mr.. Geo RAIDER, who keeps the RAIDER Hotel,
laughed as he told Of many people having come
to him to ask for piece of bacon Skin with
which to grease their griddles
Il tell you what saw down in Braxton, even
before the winter had set in, said Corbett. II
had been riding all morning, and stopped at
house and asked woman if she could give me
my dinner
"'Your whatF she said, as lift was new word
Why that is something we haven't had ourselves
for many day Her husband found down IN
the woods gathering together some old corn
stalks with two mules. / talked to him and
found that he was an unregenerated rebel, who
said he had been starved and robbed during the
war, and was used to it. And, gentlemen,
there was not thing in that house
but shock of broom straw-not single thing
bed, chair, table-nothing. And SO it is Chill
dren and old people have died in numbers here
for want of proper food this winter Only few
days ago man who / know has farm and
has worked hard, walked I'D on this platform,
sat down there and told me that he was too
weak from hunger to walk further. 1 had
dime, and bought some crackers for him. The
storeS-all of them--quit giving credit to any
body months ago, and even the best IN the COM
munity have often suffered in consequence"
That's true" said another of the party, "but
if they didn't they would give away all they
have"
MANY of us work for twenty-five cents o day
here, resumed Corbett jealous of the inter
ruption, ''but that let's US live and be thankful
in comparison. / sold two good cows, and
though got but the value of one it helped me
through. Cattle have died by the score through
the country, and what is left is too weak to
work. Many of them will die yet AS soon as
the grass shows its head they will eat it and the
poison buds of the buckeye"
Everybody present agreed in this prediction
heard of that day that were buckeyed."
A more clearly, trim-lookng man here took
up the thread and said that he had good stock
but their condition would not allow of putting
them to work at blowing, which he was anxious
to do. He had offered to give a lien on them
to different persons for the loan of $15 or $40
until he could get crop in, but none would
do it.
''They got up petition here, which was sent
to our representative at Washington some weeks
ago. asking for relief" said Overseer of the Poor
Penny, '.and in answer they sent us seed to
plant The people were hungry, and it was no
time to plant, and they ate the seed. Now
are supplied with provisions by the county, but
we have no seed"
Writ county is traversed by the Little Kanaw-
ha, which is Manageable to Burning Springs,
and is therefore fortunate in having direct com
munication, now that the river is released from
ice with sources of supply. The counties
further back in the circle have no such advant-
ages, and can be reached only on horseback-and
as a consequence the distress is much more gen
eral. In the seven days travel through the
country saw but two teams, while the body of
horse or cow in a field or by the roadside was
not unusual, and there were few houses that had
not an invalid for whom it was we'll understood,
the remedies were very simple, but not at hand
They laughincredulously down at Parkersburg
and Wheeling, when you tell them these stories,
but ask them if the have been so far as the sub
urbs of Parkersburg or Wheeling to look or
inquire as to the truth and they will tell you
no. AT both of these points you can buy milk
and honey at card prices, and many there are
with the funds