The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1900-07-06
GREAT FAMINES OF INDIA.
1W~say->sv~n Million. 90 People
Have D~~n swept Away by star
vatsen In n Hundred Nesrs.

1mgrN. saws the New York sun.
In the year 1870 BENGAL was visited
by famine. The crop Of 1869 being
total failure. IL il computed that with
in nine months out OF a population
OF -Sr.an. oe0. cne-third. or f0.ott.01o,
persisted from starvation and disease.
In or,ir TO obtain food. parents sold
their children into slavery until no
buyers could be- found. For a time
thousands subsisred upon leaves Of \
trees and grass until even that source |
Of rourishment failing. the living ac-
tuaiiy f,d upon The bodies ~ The I
dead As IL fate were determined 10
revel in irony. il l. recorded thar while
the rainy season % ls-s brought an
abundant harvest. in tie meantime
millions Of starving wrefches crawlee
dss pairingly from one deserted VIII
lare To another in vain search. for
food dying in mnltitudcs through in
ability 10 live through the few weeks
that separated them from their har-
vest
The effects ~ this famine were fclt
for TWO generations. The children and
Young pconlc having almost al sue
curnhcd there was no rising genera
ticn Ia tin the fields 50 iurs grew
un where There had once Necn flour
ishirg farms and villages and tigers
and elephants multiplied 20 such an
extent tha- the population .ay al the
mercy Of BEASTS.
IN 49, the northwest provinces
were ravarsd bv famine OF which
il 8 recorded that in TWO cities the
Inhabitants died AZ the rate Of !.-p0
dav. and in the rural districts hl-
: ma. beings reriShed bv villages
Ev the three great famire~ Of iscr'
1856 ara isC9 tn the northwest prov
inces. O-issa and Eajputana. 2o0e.ct'
= OF people are said TO have been swept
AWAY: in thar ~ 1906 the famished
B w-rctches again resorted 20 cannibal-
ism
: Bengal was again visited hy fam
f; inc in ISIS. when s.eon.eQe people r.
Z ccivea daily relief AZ 4 cost 10 the gov
E eminent OF 10000. ard 70 private
y ! ct.r-i-v ctsirfc.erT. on this occasion
!. TIE previous opening MP Of the ccun
Try by roads and railways As Wei "A
{ The relief efforts, were successful II
n holai-r the grin sconr-e al bay. e
c Via. few actually persisted.
8 From $50 10 1s.s the provinces o
y BOMBAY. Madras and Mysore wer'
: swept bv famine arb pestilence tha
-e almost cquaied the disaster 81 cen
i fury before. ~ cost 10 The govern
: raent OF s3Jcoo.c-o. 10000 peopi
e were temporarily relieved: hnt tina
rs This sufficed little Is demonstrated 3
s the fact that in one district Of 2-l-g
"a coo people SIC 600 are supposed 70 hay
AZ persisted.
y From the subsequent epidemic {
K cholera. the deaths were returned ;
70 5000 for Madras. $500 for MysoE
N and 3. of1 for Bombay. In all, drrin
Il this period. the famine commissioner
Of reported thar ia the provinces und'
ne British administration our ~ pop
la.ion ~ ly0.oOlnos. 5.a5o-coa dealt
u -ook place IN excess Of what migi
y. have been looked for during the san
" rrriod In ordinary seasons.
ve In the year 1877 famine once mo
Of -aised its head IN the northwest pro
81 ircc<. threatening population 81 4
j. 100000. ~ October. 1897. the tot
or COS III relief had reached s50.oc.cc
but yet many hundreds Of thousan
re-ished. The disaster was quic
followed b. the plague. which lad
death roll in the province 81 Humr,
%. r,r f01.Cso: TO ~ IN turn succeeded
The present famine.
II i computed that from the ye
f-.n until 1879 India has been Visit
=. IN different parts by no less than
- farninsS. with loss 20 human lie
rec-iv and indirectly Of -7-coAooc-
N. s-,ance al the map OF India Will sh'
~. tie enormous extent Of territory -
~ .iect TO these visitations Wifh me
~ rcrtior OF the strip ~ coast oenea
-he mountains from Bombay 70 "a
Cormorin. the greater part 81
rroyirres of Assam and Eurmah-
s-ether with the deltaic districts
me head of the Bay OF bengal.
-cSt OF the peninsula Is hapie
49, drought and>consequeut famine; v
a. 600 600 peopie al all times on
- verge OF starvation
In spite Of the vast sums eNpeh'
mon irrigation works. and the 8
eral development of. the country
der British auspices. the horeiessn
az the situation was expressed ny
=, eminent Anglo-Indlan authoritN'
- said that no comPensatitg inhuen
can prevent these recurring PER-
az continuous drought win WI
large provinces Of India are aific'
Eu va,erworks on a scale ADEQUATE
an guarantee the whole Of India y
drought not only exceed the pdssi'
nj ties Of finance. but are beyond
roach Of engineering skill. az
. 10 reaS" = - -
John UNDERWOOD.