The Oskaloosa herald., 1892-08-25
NEWS FROM RUSSIA.

Mr.. Frank D. Carpenter writing Il
the New York Press from Russia say!
that much of the American.corn and
-four came to Samara, and have haG
talks with the men who had charge Of
1t, and who aided in its distribution.
am now travelling with Dr.J. B. Hub
bell of the American Red Cross Society
and we have visited many of the dis
trlcts to which our supplies were sent
AS far as l can find every bit of thu
American gifts has been wisely anC
conscientiously distributed, and here al
Samara the authorities would not give
even samples of the corn to people who
wanted them for planting but who
were not in starving condition. There
were many such applications. but al
we're refused, with the statement that
they could get such samples if they
wished from the peasants by giving
other food or an equivalent for them
but that this corn came from America
for the people and every grain of it
should go to them" All say that the
American food has done vast deal of
good, and at Saratov. further down the
VOlga, was told that this food had
saved the lives of thousands.
Touching the Iowa corn he reports
that "a part of the Iowa corn reached
Russia in very bad condition. One
compartment of the hold was filled
with corn which had heated and it was
steaming when it was taken out. There
was no place to be found in Riga where
the corn could be dried and it was put
into the cars and rushed Off into the
famine districts. Care was not taken
to keep this corn separate from some of
the good corn and a number of car
loads were spoiled. Some of this spoil
ed corn came to Samara and another
lot of it went to Saratov. The best of
it was dried and given to the people for
food and the rest was used for the
CATTLE" None of the crop was entirely
lost.
This story of the famine comes as q
blessing to those Iowa people who re.
membered the call of the Red Cross So
ciety with liberal hand:
Il find it hard to give an idea of the
famine situation III Russia, the Rus.
sian peasants are so different in every
respect from the people of the rest of
the world. They live differently, they
are governed differently and they do
their work and manage their affairs
after different manner from the farm
ers of Europe or the United etes.
Their wants are so small that two "a
day per person has kept thousano
alive during this famine, and at Sara
tOv was told that So a day had been
the total cost OF feeding 400 people for
weeks. This was among the Catholic
Germans, and they each got one and q
half pounds Of black bread day apiece,
and This furnished at cost, amounted
to two cents. In some places found
soup kitchens giving dinners at two
and ahalf cents a meal, and such kitch-
ems are now established in all the
towns. Think of feeding a man on
sixty or seventy cents month and you
get an idea of how these people have
been living during the past winter.
This gave them rye bread and water
with q meal Of cabbage soup, and in
some of the districts they did not even
have this. In parts Of this province of
Samara they made a bread of dried
grass mixed with little bit of rye,and
l have seen specimens of this. The
same sort of bread was made in Kazan
and Nijni-NovgOTod. a decent Amer
ican horse would turn up its nose at it.
In parts of Saratov the dead cattle and
horses were made into soup, and at one
place 200 gallons of water, forty pounds
of rye and the hind quarter of a dead
horse formed the materials out of
which the soup for the village was
made. Near Mini there were instances
Of children biting their arms and
fingers to satisfy their hunger, but l
have so far heard of no cases of can
nibalism, though such have been re-
ported. Most of the deaths during the
famine have been from typhus and
other diseases, but considering the vast
number of destitute, ranging from 80
100000 to 100000, the ortalIty has
been comparatively small and much
less than it would have been among
any other people in the world. The
diet of the Russian peasant in the best
Of times consists of little more than
cabbage soup, rye bread and potatoes.
He gets fat on pumpkins and cucum-
bers and knows but little of meat. He
has now and then piece Of dried fish
and his religion gives him many fast
days. when he does not dare to drink
milk or eat butter.