New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-02-24
Narrowing Details of the Dreadful Famine in China " :,
Starving Peasants Selling
Their Children and Eat
ing Their Old Men
and Women.

- ,,.pic,, &c the worst the Chinese have suf-
fered in the last forty years ana wen mas d.
GIcted a population equal 20 that OF MeAIoo' ~.
min, q territory nearly as large as that OF the
state OF New Yor... For IN lne Orient news ut''-
els tardilv TIE further west one goes from inc
shores Of the Yellow Sea the more nearly s'aEii'r'
become the facilities Of communication Anu 80
America and Europe know somelh'hg Vi .'4e
pardculars Of the famine. the bulk OF the PopuIa
lion in certain interior provinces Of China say INC
rnissiouarley are sun ignorant Of the fact t"a'
15og0G Of their fellow countrynlen have peeh
yvhened with floods and that OF these 4V""N "a
multitude equal 10 the population OF Ne" ''iN
Cyt1) have been reduced 10 utter desuluuo+'
Csr.at as has been the loss Of life and property
Attending the disaster it does not appal the nina
as much as DO the crimes that nave ioIo"eu -
the wake Of the calamity The slow agonleS OF
starvation have driven vast numbers OF PeIsole ~
sell their children into slavery for few moutluls
If food. and when there was nothing else 10 eat
when even the bark Of the trees and the dead roolS
Of the grass had been devoured, many are said 70
have turned cannibals.
II, letter which was received recently by n chi
nese merchant in PeIl street from lbs falheF III '
ssrine district the desperation Of the people was
told follows:
AFTER the floods came. our houses, our harYests'
our animals were gone. Our family Joined Win TWO
others. and. seeking high land sought me Guy "a
Ranking. II a hundred miles TO GO ana We
had ONLY one cart between US, in which We put tls
old neopIe and the babies. We men took turns
pulling tie cart. We hac a little rice WnIch we
hid under the old people I'm the cart Tor FEAR I"o
hers vould steal st. We ate only AT night fioDl-hs
the dry grains OF rice. IN the daytime our eating
might be detected. and We dared not cook the rice
lest the nre would attract the notice OF others.
When We were asked how we kept awe We "oUiU
answer. grass roots
..,Io,, the road 10 Marking the trees had been
turned into stumTs their bark and branches ha''s
been eaten up by refugees The dead lay IN heaps,
most 81 the bodies robbed Of their clothing by
wicked men. who DO not fear foT the NE hei
We heard stories ant the time that some OF Cose
who travelled the road with us lived on hulla"
flesh and We were often accused OF THIS afoc'ly,
raca7,se none saw US eat. OF our little party al
except your father and neghbor' young ooy'
died We left the bodies by the way, those OF your
mother. sister and aunt among tlem we W. 'Oo
weak 10 bury them The frozen ground. AT Nam
Linz z-s found your uncle, who gave Us the money
Won sent from New York Beauty and grace adofn
thee my SON }
0f tb. fol.r milton starving people. about one
e+t have gathered around the walls Of nine cities
Using Kiang-Pu, Husian, Nans-Cho"' 1aoWah'
R4s,-c,o,, S7,rhien Ihsen Chinkiang and Naming
F7e-e they are living from hand 10 mouth suhsist
Ing entirely on what charity may dole ouV 70 ui
Until the Chinese government gave ana 70 D'es0
flnfortunates and established soup anu & 0'A
lions their plight was desperate. Little 1000 was
giyen them by the city authorities, some OF Whonl
seem 10 regard the starving hordes as only a pest
When American missionaries approachsd 4 "Ish
official Of one city 70 ask how they might help IN
relieving the famine sufferers encamped outside /
the gates, he replied: We need no aid we have /
the cemeteries all ready for them
Contributions pouring in from al parts
OF the world for the relief OF the Chinese famine
sufferers America having given about $pVn Ac- |
cordfng 20 representatives OF The Christian Her
aid however which has already raised the sum OF
s 600 to be spent by missionaries for the purchase
Of food the distress IS increasing. notwithstand-
ing all humanitarian efforts. Assistance has /
reached only extremely small fraction Of the /
total number OF destitute persons. Practically !
nothing has been done FOR the famine sufferers in /
che interior country districts.
The camps Of the refugees near the cities ara /
also Increasing IN size fast that the little food
available can barely keep the hungerng hosts !
alive
In speaking OF his visit TO one Of these camps !
William T. Ellis newspaper correspondent. !
writes: "A mother stood against a wall with her |
six children gathered about her tattered skirts.
staring out unCaring on company Of living /
refugees. who more melancholy sight than !
the thousands OF ancient graves among which they
are encamped. They had been fed-one portion (
Of thin. Watery rice porridge for them all. and /
they must wait in the cold for the next twenty
four hours 70 pass before they can be fed again. /
and even then some stronger ones may push them /
aside and steal their turn.
Incidents pile upon incidents. Every OF ,
these thirty thousand refugees incarnates story
OF home abandoned, Of toilsome journeys TO the !
Of food to aIlay that awful gnawing OF hunger; OF
The eager hunt for sheltering nook in a door |
wsy; OF being driven from spot to spot until at |
last a few feet OF bare earth secured among |
the graves with the other refugees; a space big
ger than Chinese grave sufces for entire fam
iIy; of the daily and nightly huodling together in
one mass for the sake Of human warmth OF the /
search for dry grass with which 10 make tiny |
ire: Of the morning struggle for portion Of the
government rice and of that indescrbable. terrible,
Sr1a1 and
the Chinese dauntlessy endure"
II Is n these camps that thousands Of children
being sold into slavery by parents who would pro-
long their lives In this awful way girl usually
sells for 81. q boy for s. So Instances have been
known where a father. after taking the money for
the sale OF daughter. would buy food for the
whole family. and. having for provided his
with q good meal. he would XIII the daughter he
had sold. along with the other members of the
family, and then commit suicide.
It also happens not infrequently that when a
missionary does some favor for a mother father
the parent will try to make return for the kind
ness by offering a child a gift.
The famine district embraces all or part of five !
provinces. OF which the three most affected are
Honan. Kiangsu and Anhui. All are north of the
Yzngtse River, and consist for the most part
u low, level lands covered by little farms whose
average size is not than acre Here lived |
about fifteen million persons, nearly all Of whom
are dependent on crops OF rice, wheat and maize |
Hardly had these harvests been gathered last
autumn when a rain began which the missionaries
kened 10 the downpour from which the ark OF
Noah alone survived. For forty days and nights
The rain continued. hlling the riyers 10 overflow
Ing, flooding the low lands. submerging the mar
vested crops and in many places sweeping away
the mud huts in which practically all OF the peas
ants live. As much OF the flooded land is lower
than the rivers, lakes have formed, which VIII
remain until they evaporate with the heat OF
summer.
a correspondent OF .grhe North China Daily
F-.., NJ. f-s.,