Washington sentinel., 1900-08-11
- -, SENTINEL
THE scoURGE
"A M


Sutledg, all India IS a desert Sixty
millions Of people, as large a num-
Der as would twice ill England
and Wales, are racked with the
pangs OF hunger; SIX millions oil
them would die tomorrow but Tor
a handful OF rice. How many more
have passed away beyond the
reach OF human aid, no man can
tell. In Central India the aftliction
is the deepest. The fields are VOID
and barren, and without people,
The cracked earth, burned to a
mahogany brown, shrieks for rain,
Not a patch Of greed any where,
not blade of grass. The leaves
of the trees, withered, frizZled,
twisted, have fallen off the naked
branches. In entire villages not
a living creature can be seen, save,
perhaps, an emaciated bullock
breathing out its life IN the com
pany Of a starving crow, that
watches Tor its meal from an ada
cent dunghill. Hallthep population,
those still able to walk or stand,
have gone of to the reliei camps,
the other half have laid themselves
down TO die in silence IN novels
and dark places,
The scenes in the camp are grim
and tragic. From one thousand
to FIVE thousand are gathered to-
gether in different places "a multi
tude Of skin and bones, and hollow,
CLASSY eyes. The flesh on any Of
them would not cover the body Of
an average English babe. Their
emaciated faces bear an expression
OF abysmal despair, intensified
hundrediold by contrast with the
look OF intel .igence and even of
refinement in those not so far gone
in starvation. Little children who
have come with their mothers into
the camp, stand with large lustre-
less eyes, watching the hungry,
NANCY ours that, too, have tol-
lowed IN the wake OF the popula-
tion--and they fight with the ours
to snatch a half eaten crust. The
usual labor in the camp is break
ing stones; the pay an anna
(peunY) psr day. A large heap,
comprising dozen big rocks, the
largest halt hundred weight Is
mans allotted task; a lesser heap
a woman s; half mans heap IS a
ehild's. And these stones have to
be broken up so small as to make
macadan roads.
A traveller was passing by the
camp, sturdy Young Englishman.
He noticed a man sitting before
his uubroken heap, with arms
thrown dejectedly over his knees.
A few yards off was a girl OF eipbt,
Intellectually tapping a cobblestcne
with small mallet. The traveller
took IN the situa ion, and asked
the man for his hammer. The
half starved creatures hand
trembled weakly in merely raising
the hammer, and the young Eng
lishman, athlete though he was,
essayed a dozen vigorous blows
before he could split the rock. But
he stayed an hour, and broke up
the mans heap and the girls.
And now a new terror was added
to the sufierings of the multitude.
So tar they had water to drink;
now the shallow wells, dug with
spades and mattOcks, had yielded
up their last drop. The camp had
no scientific apparatus Tor boring
deep artesian wells. And the heat
was terrific; $50 deg. in the sun.
The sun was ball oil fire IN a sky
Of copper, The thirsty multitude
gazed upwards with lolling
tongues, but saw not rain cloud
anywhere.
Maddened with unutterable pain,
they broke forth in search of
water In body they deserted
the camp. Hunger was bad; thirst
a thousand times worse. Far
across the fields thev roamed in
groups Of tens and twencies. AT
last cry ofjoy was heard; it came
from a party making towards a
clump Of trees and low bushes. All
within ear shot rushed that way,
In the centre Of the little Jungle
was stagnant pool-the remains
OF last years rains, protected from
the fierce sun by the overhanging
trees and tall baI boo reeds. But
the wa ter was a yellowish green,
covered with threelold layer OF
Totting leaves. 1t was all alive with
living, creeping things. and buz-
zlng with blue winged flies. Into
this the multitude cast themselves,
and Tapped up the water greedilY
with their tongues.
That night cholera broke out in
the camp-"black cholera" that
tortures its victims with untold
agonies before releasing them by
death It's only mercy IS that il is
so short; sometimes three hours,
at most SIX. That night the multi
tude laid themselves down by the
roadside. Most OF them were in
bare loin cloths; here and there
one lay shrouded in a waite sheet
like a silent ghost. The heat was
ITO IN the shade. ana this at night.
The unwinking moon shone alike
upon dead and dying. Darkness
would have given a sense OF cool
ness. Nota breath OF wind stirred
the dust notes that hung in the air
like painted spots against a painted
sky. Alter awhile the Enpllsh
doctor came. He telt pulse here,
examined a dlstended eyeball
there, shook his head in silence,
and passed on. Only a few re-
ceived a dose from the black bot