The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-03-26

back OF the room ia u large, low place,
composed Of ancient filing, with half
dozen holes on its top for charcoal. This
Is the stove. There ia no chimney to let
out smoke, no lids to tho FIRE holes, no
Oxen! Wei, we don't do very much cook
ing. Underneath the kitchen floor Is the
sewer. where all Nth OF the house has been
deposited for 100 years. We exist by
means Of chloride Of Lime and carbolio
acid
Upstairs all the rooms, ten, open on n
suffered corridor, tiled with black and
white marble. as are all the upper rooms,
The lower are paved With brc1) Our bed
rooms are here and they are Just like the
lower rooms l have described except that
the doore, the upper portions OF which
open for light and air, are not iron barred.
The corridor / spoke of, and large bal
cony in the front of the second floor, are
the only things which make life endur-
able hero. All the air we get comes
through these, The heat is intense from Q
to about 3, and then II lessons. Our work
is then over. and we sit around trying
to get n breath OF pure air. We use can
dies 10 30 to bed by no other light at night.
Just sit around in the dark as the light
would attract too many undesirable addl-
lions to our family, such Us scorpions, CEN
tipedes, etc. OF tleas and the biggest on
record, we are full and running over; also
mosquitoes, which sing in two minor keys
every night until u. m, when we get
up. On the back stairs two families OF
vicious looking scorpions have located, ana
retreat too quickly for us to reach them
with insectdes or fumgation. We trust
the Lord to protect us from these and
worse ills, The rooms l must not neglect
to say are very large, our parlor being
about thirty-tive feet by twenty Ave, with
ceiling high in proportion.
At about Z in the morning the half
diseased and starving congrcgate In On
| plaza opposite our headquarters and stay
until We open the doors. We then arc
| kept as busy as VIC can be until about g
and even then send hundreds away every
day, And IL Is no pretence Of suffering!
] have never in my life seen such wrecks
OF humanity. Yesterday I washed a child
of 10 who was dying of starvation has
only about month 10 live. Her father
was killed In the war and her mother shot
| down before her eyes by n Spauard hey
entire jaw being blown away. The child
| would be quite pretty were she not so ema-
| ciatcd. She Is so thin one can count every
| bone in her poor little body and the Skin
is as tight and yellow as parchment.
handled her like egg shells, | was so afruit
OF fraoturing one OF her pipestem-lill'
arms and legs
Another man we have lying in the court
yard now on bed was thirteen days With.
out food He is also dying. We have
treated hundreds OF men, women, children
and babies sick with the fever, all burned
up by &C. They are the hungriest. poores
lot l ever have beheld, and our resident.
in the i've points are kings and queen'
compared with them In point of suffering
Well | am in good health, aud have e
finish this abruptly, as my little girl hai
lust called for me. She looks much bet
ter today. Will write soon as ! can again
Pass this on to mamma. We may get hom
by last of March.
God bless you, dear heart, and my dar
ling niece; also mamma.
Gretta.