River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1897-01-21
midas SCOURGE.
Her Cities in the Grip of Pest and
Famine.
Millions of Human Beings Starving
Deaths from the Bubonic Phsgue
Increase Daily Thousand
Flee from Bombay.

Bombay, Jan. 1s.-Plague and famine
arc stalking arm in arm through the
densely populated portions OF the Brit
ish empire. Thousands are dead or dy-
ing, aud 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 population
OF nearly 100000 people, will have to
depend upon the hand of charity for
food enough to keep body and soul to-
gether until April or later.
Relief Far ON.
Other districts with population
numbering 50,oOO.0 900 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
pc ople who live on almost nothing lin
comparison with Europeans and others)
frcm one end of the year to the other.
Spread OF the Plague.
This calamity. awful as it is in its
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 os
India, end IL il reaches the greatly
v eakened 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
gr;ms and other sources for the spread
Cf contagion, which are too numerous
10 mention. principal of which, how
eIer. are the export of rags, linen and
other merchandise likely TO contain the
poisonous germs.
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
uOlilR unlCSS thCAC - q III hhC
better shortly.
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.
Bombay, Jan. 10. - The bubonic
piague which is ravaging this city is
growing worse daily, and the fight of
the inhabitants is increasing. It is es-
timated that nearly If not actually two
thirds of the population of the city have
fed TO the country towns or to other
cities, and IN many instances have car
RED the contagion with them.
The returns issued by the health au-
thorities show that there have been
1896 cases of the plague and 2,592 deaths
from the disease.