The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1900-03-02
midas GREAT FAMINE.
Thousands Will starve Through Lack
Of Water.

misery of greaS famine and England,
even with Il disastrous war in South
Africa upon her hands, will have to
stretch forth a strong arm to help the
suffering millions of her Far Eastern
peninsula. Over $4,000 900 souls are
now reported to be affected by the
famine, and with the famine area rapid
ly expanding A London dispatch
states that the sum of IS, 700. 600 will be
expended on ''relief works'' and that
already over 1000, 900 persons are re-
ceiving relief Water, or rather it's
lack, is the cause OF the affection. This
year both the monsoons and the win
ter rains failed and left the earth
parched and dry for months.
Yet the English by their public
works in India and their great irriga-
ton projects have vastly added to the
producing capacity of the country and
have greatly ameliorated the natural
condition of the natives. The products
from irrigation for last year. according
to the Indian official figures, amounted
to 400, 600, 900 rupees.
India includes within her borders
the highest mountains in the world
and some of the mightiest rivers and
greatest plains. The great Himalayan
range 1900 miles long, lying across
the northern border, shuts out the rest
of Asia. Mount Everest, the highest
peak in the world, pierees the sky 49,
002 feet above the tides while peaks
over 20, 900 feet elevation abound in all
parts of the range. There are numer-
Gus well worn trails leading from India
across the Himalayas through Kash
meer and Nepal into Thibet and China,
900 to 10000 feet high In making
such a journey the traveller for several
days remains above 6,00o feet alti-
tude. Only one pass is as low as TO-
400 feet.
The historic Ganges, the Indus and
the Brahmaputra are the three great
rivers of India. These with their af-
faents drai.n. an area of nearly 900, 900
square miles. Their waters are largely
used for irrigation, constituting in
reality the life blood of much of the
the country The flood discharges of
these great streams are enormous. The
Ganges alone, in flood, may discharge
o
India's rainfall which is accountable
for this immense volume of water,
comes exclusively from evaporation
from the Indian Ocean and the bays on
either side Of the peninsula. The dis
tribution of this rainfall is extremely
varied, ranging from a couple of inches
year, or in some sections practically
nothing, to over 600 inches, which falls
in limited area in Assam. At Chara
Pungi, Assam, the maximum rainfall
of the world is reached in an average
annual precipitation OF 1853 inches
while at this place in 1861, thirty inches
fell in "a hours and 305 inches fell dur
ing that year. These figures can be
appreciated when it is remembered
that the annual rainfall in the Atlantic
States on the American seaboard, is
from 35 to As inches and that in the
West, farming is conducted without ir-
rigation on as low an annual rainfall
as Is or 10 inches.
The irrigation works of India are the
vastest in the world, watering over Co.
900, 900 acres of very fertile soil. The
government has entire control over all
sources of water supply and SO exer-
cises It as to make it the greatest bene-
At to the community at large. Each
province has a separate department
known as the irrigation branch, at the
head of which is chief engineer,
while over all the chief engineers is an
nspector-general of irrigation. The
Indian government is greatly in favor
of the extension of irrigation works.
1t fosters the use of irrigation waters
by placing the water rates very low or
by even giving the water away in
years of scarcity. The Indian irriga-
ton works have generally been of the
most substantial and indestructible
character, of solid masonry and great
strength. In some instances canals Of
immense volumes of water are carried
clear over other rivers.
There are in India two classes of ir-
rigation works which may be termed
productive and protective works. IN
general, protective works have been
constructed as a protection against
famine, such as now stares India in the
face, and they act in the ameIioration
of such disasters in two ways. First,
they are constructed during famine
times to give employment to the people
and furnish them money and food for
their sustenance; and second, after
their construction, they are expected
to furnish protection against future
r