The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1899-02-24
COLD WEATHER IN TURKEY
Miss Hess Pictures Climatic Conditions
Christian VS.. Moslem Methods of
Taking Care of Poor Children.

Taking Care ofPoor Children,
The following letter received by one
of the friends of Miss Media Hess de.
scribes the effects of the cold weather
of December in Marash, Turkey, and
also gives graphic descriptions of treat
ment of Moslem children by people of
their own faith as well as the contrast
ing treatment by our own people:
Monday. Dec 26, 1898.
May the dear Lord bless you for that
money, and l know he will How
often these days think of the words,
ut is not your Fathers will that one of
these little ones should perish" and /
really believe that this money will be
the means of saving one-saving her
bodily, at least. My post is net all read
but after this class, am going to take
one-quarter of your money to the child
and her aged grandmother. You shall
have her story next week. The time
would take in writing / must use in
going. and that is as you would have it,
am sure. | could send it, but there
must be no misunderstanding in this
case. They have begged us to take her
into the orphanage, but she's cripple
and can never marry and all her life
would be on our hands. The orphans
cast adrift have great hope from the
Germans-they are not now suffering
and this child must have something
done for her at once If you don't like
the way I've used the money I'll replace
it later on.
Oh, such a day as it was yesterday and
is today! The mountains back of us are
covered with snow and a Marash gale
from the northwest is coming off them
With double windows (such as we can
get made here, of course) there is such
wind in this school room that should
hate to be near the windows. We had
big fires made at six and at breakfast
Miss B. said they had made no impress
sion on the room. With every door
and window in the house shut, so much
wind came into my east room that with
the greatest difficulty lighted lamp.
But the strangest thing was in our
kitchen, which is on the east side and
near the street wall. The water flows
into a stone basin at height of two
or two and one-half feet from the floor,
and then flows out, falling the two and
one-half feet through protected place
part of the house WALL fancy, ex-
cept just at the bottom where it is
open, of course, to let it flow off. The
amount flowing out is about the stream
that would come from large mouthed
tea cup emptied at once. When / went
into the kitchen l saw water squirting
out like a fountain, wetting the win
dows and boards and on examining it
found that the wind was driving it back
from the place it flowed out with all
that force, and there was only the
short space before it reached the
ground for the wind to get hold of it,
and the wind is from the northwest and
this is on the east side. But there is no
use describing Marash winter. We
think we are freezing, but what about
the poor.
Tuesday morning l went to find the
woman and child-well, it seemed
st range, but it is not the first time a
person was sent on an errand and
found others on the way!
/ went to the west side of the CITY
where she was last heard from, going
down into the deep gully and reaching
the house found she had been obliged
to move to the hill at the extreme south.
east end of Marash. That meant climb
ing the other side of the gulley on a
road where the water had flowed and
left sheet of ice. When half way up
met two little boys; the younger one
had some bits of untanned leather on
the bottom of his feet for sandals-and
that is everything he did have on up to
his waist On his shoulders was q
mass of rags, and some of these hung
down as fringes, so he was not so
shockingly naked, though his legs were
bare to the thigh. His chest was bare,
too, and he was trying to keep from
crying, but his eyes showed that he
hadn't succeeded very we'll. The older
boy had on thin cotton drawers.
found out that the smaller boy and his
widowed mother came here two years
ago from distant village and all three
of them lived in stable and these
boys beg for living. 1 asked them to
come along with me, and then a woman
volunteered the information that they
were Moslems. "Well, aren't they HUI
man beings, and haven't they souls2"
replied, and then the fire died out of
her eyes. She could hardly repress her
wrath at first. Shortly after we passed
mosque where very respectable
looking man stood In the door with one
or two soldiers. IL came to me to give