Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-03
THE FAMINE IN RUSSIA.
Some of the Distressing Scenes Wit
messed in That Country.

Some of the Distressing Scenes WITT
messed in That Country
Correspondent. London Chronicle
Two days after reaching Tschistopol hav-
ing visited the relief stations in the north
Oh the district in company with Miss Jacob
sen, a Russian lady doctor from Berne
University, and five other volunteers froD,
ST Petersburg, I drove over to the Village
OF NoVo, 1braikino, about seyenty-6ye
Versts to the south of Tchistopol. and in
the very heart of the worst part of the
lafnihe-str1ckeh country. This village
which contains 5000 souls, all Tartars and
iito iornerly been the richest in the dis
trlct had been stricken by a douhIa mis-
fortune In June rof last year If was do
Stioyed by ,lre, $50 houses and % persons
peins burnt, Since then. it had been re-
p P, an the houses on smaller scale
put before the people had recovered from
inns misfortune the famine came and com
pietea the ruin. 1t was a typical famine
stricKen village THE fire does not make
IL an exception, said the manager of the
relief fund at TchiStoDol Every Tartar
village has its fire once year. On ar
irving at this village l was met by the
S,arosta. middle-aged Notwithstanding
Iartar' who spoke bad Russian and in an
s"er TO my questions had no informal fon
except mat every one was starving There
were only three rich men in the Village ;,
.. BOY many are there down with scurvy?'
|TeheVe them?' What can you do with 50
many! The healthy folks have gone off to
hazan for work. The young women are
all down with scurvy. The women are
all too weak to go outside the huts The
fted Cross Society has been here since Jan
uary. BUT what can one man and two
iage and food"
1t was to test this information that set
out next morning on house o-house in
yestlgatlon OF the village. Before starting
l mad mad an opportunity of talking to the
student who had been in charge of the Red
cross depot. This student was a Russian
eoltlon OF the Tartar starosta. What can
you do with so many?" he asked There
IS no money and there is no help Four
Gays ago some ladies came down from
St petersburg with money. and things
nave improved. But the people are starry
ing, and there is no food Here 1 met the
popetchltel, or patron of the Red Cross So
clety, the only Tartar of Intelligence or
initiative in the whole village. In com
pahy with this man, who spoke both Rus
sian and Tartar, and a member of the
first party from St Petersburg who had
already succeeded in gaining clear idea
as to the state of things. / set out on a
tour of the village. visiting the huts at
random The state of these huts is indie
scribabe
The first hut which I entered belonged
TO group of ten built l the side of a
mil, all absolutely thatchie=S. In this hut
on the mari or Tartar Dlatform-bed, Law a
young woman and four children all down
with scurvy. The woman's face was turned
away: and she made no attempt to turn
round when l, entered The children Law
on their sides. with their legs bent at right
angles, unable to unbend them. These
children were frightfully emaciated bur
did not show the slightest desire to ar
tract attention or ask for help, except one
BOY OF six or seven, who opened his
mouth and pointed to it, The boys gums
were completely covered with purple ulcers
and the whole inside of his mouth was
raw and bleeding His ankles
to double their natural size and covered
with bright purple patches. In this hut
there was chunk Of hard black bread. and
the walls were completely covered with
beetles, Sign IIBas told, of comparative
prosperity N5hera, there was no food these
beetles were not found.
The next hut had only one inhabitant a
good-looleing Tartar, Kayum Kakimof. as
he described himself. This man was living
on the beardsIdoyered with piece of sack
ing. but otherwise entirely naked, and
| there was no vestige of clothes in the hut.
In appea rance this hut was perfectly clean
but the stencil from some hidden cause
was intoerable.: jPhe windows were plas-
tered round, and it was impossible to open
sores, his teeth were loose, and his legs,
with the exeei6ti6n of a few clear spots,
We're bright purple from the knees down
He was unable to1 bend them. Outside this
hut sat old, man dressed in a dirty
shirt, nursing "a little two-year-old skele-
ton This ola min was unable to move,
place for days -"What had the child had
to eat?" Bread The child was very .
well. The mother had died two years
ago, but the child was very we'll" Had
any one seen the ehild?" mo, he had
seen the Russian lady passing, but she
had not seen him. How long was it
since the child had had food?" HE had
had bread the day before yesterday. He
himself had had bread that morning But
the child did not want it. 1t was very
we'll"
1t was Impossible to make this man I'M
derstand that the child was dying of star
walton. He spoke Russian we'll and had
evidently been a soldier. Another hut con-
tanned nothing but two old iron pots and a
bunch of brushwood. Here there were a
woman and four children, all i'll with
scuryy. The woman's husband had died
from scurvy three weeks back. Judging
by the age of the children this woman
could not have been very old, but she look