The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1897-01-21
INDlA'S SCOURGE.
Her Cities in the Grip Of Pest and
Famine,
Millions of Human Beings Starving
Deaths from tho Bubonic Plague
Increase Daily
Flee from Bombay.

Bombay. Jan. 1s.-Plague and famine
are stalking arm in arm through the
densely populated portions Of the Brit
jsb empire. Thousands are dead or dy-
ing. and the outlook becomes blacker
and more terrible every day.
Millions Starving.
Millions of helpless men, women and
children are starving, and the famine
stricken districts, having u population
OF nearly 10000. 900 people, will have to
depend upon the hand of charity for
food enough to keep body and soul to-,
gcther until April or later.
Relief Far OF. 49, -
Other districts with a population
csmbering 100000 are already feel
iag the pangs of bitter privation from
food, and this must be endured well
on into spring before permanent relief
will be afforded by nature. Funds for
the relief of the sufferers are being
raised On all sides; but very large
amount of money will be needed to pro-
vide food even for those unfortunate
people who live on almost nothing Tin
comparison with Europeans and others)
from one end of the year to the other.
Spread Of tho Plague.
This calamity, awful as it is in it's
intensity. is possibly not much greater
than the ravages Of the dreadful bu-
bonic plague here, threatening to
spread through the fright Of the ma
tives of this city into other parts o.
India. and if it reaches the greatly
weakened famine sufferers the mortal
i;y may be enormous.
The natives have been reduced by
lack of food to little less than living
skeletons in the most heavily stricken
districts. and as such they cannot but
fall victims by the thousand to the
black plague, which threatens to in
wade Europe through the Mecca pill
erims and other sources for the spread
Ct contagion, which are too numerous
to mention, principal Of which. how
ever. are the export of rags, linen and
other merchandise likely to contain the
poisonous germs.
The mortality here has quadrupled.
without counting the deaths which
have occurred among the hundreds of
thousands of people who have fled in
terror from Bombay. in many cases
abandoning their all in the hurried
fight from the pestilence. Up to re-
GENTLY Bombay. with its population of
about $4,000, enjoyed the reputation of
being one of the healthiest cities in
India. its sanitary works being equal
to those OF the European capitals.
Bombay Depopulated.
The government officials are serious
~ alarmed, the native physicians have
nearly all left the city. business is
paralyzed, the mills are closed or clos
Tag. the streets are partly deserted. and
ON all sides are empty houses, boarded
up or wide open, the passage Of funeral
parties through the streets goes ON day
and night, the burning grounds o.
clades light the skies with their reflec-
tons, and line after line of the bodies
there or at the Parsee burial spots is
awaiting consignment to the flames or
to mother earth.
More than half the population has
disappeared. and those who remain are
either helpless and cannot get away or
are crowding out of the city by rail-.
water. and road. or else contemplate so
doing unless there Is change for the
better shortly.
The number of deaths from the
plague in this city is now estimated
unofiicially to be over 5000. and there
are ITO additional victims daily, with
this number increasing as time wears
OH.
The Europeans, however. have been
singularly free from contagion. up to
the present time only three deaths
among them being recorded.