The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-04-26

REFUGE HUT IN FINLAND.
forts n large sum of money has been
collected from benevolent Americans
for the starving Of Finland.
He is accompanied by DIR. J. n, Reu.
ter of the Helsingfors university, rep
resenting i, the Finnish central relief
committee; Mr.. Robert Allopaeus, ST.
perintendent of the government indus
trial schools, and by the writer. The
party has already Travelled over 200
miles in sledges over frozen lakes and
rivers, from one forest town to anoth-
err, sometimes cutting their way
through fields of virgin snow. again
pushing ahead on skees to reach the
more remote cottages where starvation
turks. Ten, fifteen and twenty miles
must oftentimes be Travelled between
two neighboring cottages. With the
thermometer ever and ever far below
zero and the snow gale driven like the
sands of the desert. 1t Is manifestly
true that such journey is a test of
physical endurance and Of Job-like pa.
thence. 4t.*a
The party carries it's own supply of
provisions, an absolute necessity in q
section where all the peasantry have
subsisted for months on hunger bread
dipped in salt water. Such are the gen.
eral facts pertaining to the fur wrapped,
fur booted and fur capped party which
emerged from the forest depths tonight
after many days spent in driving from
villages where the suffering was bad
indeed to villages where the suffering
was even worse. Kajana. a town of
100 souls and the center of the fam
inc In Finland, Is decidedly an oasis
to this particular relief party. for here
for the time being are good inn, al
little fresh food and some OF the com.
forts OF civilization. II
The first cry Of woe from this far
northland was hear around the world. |
but no country needed it SO far AZ
proposals for help save America. II
was natural that people In the United
States should be the first to listen at |
tentively to Finland's wall OF distress.
for toward America flows the great |
tide of emigration from Suomi
The chief divisions of the Finnish
peasantry are the farmers who are
landowners and the tenant farmers. /
1t Is among the latter that the suffer 1
ing is most acute. For two weeks wei
have visited the homes OF tenant farm |
ers, and In every casefthe sight OF mis-
cry and the story of want have been
the same.
1t should be explained that we al
ways carried sledfaul of bread nnsi II
left d number OF loaves at each tst- !
tage. Sometimes we CHANGED upon
homes wherein the lasttcrumb had been
consumed. the motherAand father hav.
ing gone forth In search of work. In,I
mach instances our loaHes came just in
nick of time. III every stricken
Bme also Finnish marks were left
where they would De found after we
had driven away.
From where write | can peer
through window cut upon scene of
dazzling whiteness all illumined by the
wide spreading flames of the aurora
made of thousand thousand rainbows
reveals to the citizens OF Kajana d
number of outlying cottages where In.
silious starvation gnaws at the vitals
of those within. While the incandes-
cence of the northern light imparts a
majesty to the scene. assisting the i'm
agination to grasp the significance OF
its revelation of the suffering of those
fwho hath not. mournful sound sud
fdenly comes out Of the vast silence.
1t Is the sound of human voices, male
voices. singing In unison one of the
melancholy folklore songs of the north.
The young men of Kajana are serenad.
ing the Americans. The young men of
Kajana. through the medium of the
national custom. are singing their
thanks to the whole American nation
for the aid given their people In time
of direst need. And the song OF the
youth Of Kajana tonight Is the song OF
all Finland to the people of the United
States. the song OF gratitude felt deer
In the heart Of every Kim.
gibson WILLETS.