New-York tribune., 1922-02-06
II llSSlanS die
By Thousands
Seeking Food
SHOWS Cover Multitude Of
Peasants, Overcome on
Stcppcs in Their Wild
Flight From Starvation
Whole Villages Disappear
American Relief Zoo Late
for Many Wanderers Who
Arc Far From Main Lines

UFA, Nolga Region, Russia, Feb. 5
BY The Associated Prcss) When the
SHOWS melt this spring the Russian
steprcs viii be strcwn with skeletons.
They Will resemble the high prarics Of
tho American cow country in tho days
when big cattle outfits had insufficient
hay to carry their stock through a hard
winter
But among the skeletons OF cattle
and camels there will be the bones OF
hundreds Of thousands Of men, women
and children who fell exhausted in
their quest for bread, who lived the
simple lives their peasant ancestors
lived for centuries. and had lttlc CON
coption Of the political uphcaval which
made this famine more terrible than
that Of 1891.
They wandered, and millions of them
arc still wandering. There was moth
ing to cat in their homes, so they
started on the trek for bread. Some
drii,od westward to the Nolga, and
found death in the ivphus- ridden rail
way ccntcrs or among the horrors Of
refugee camps along tho Nolga; others
started for IurkeStan: stll others
moved eastward toward Siberia, the
land Of gold and wheat. which has al.
ways been so alluring TO the Russian
peasant, who heard little of it's vast
ness, its hardships and It's hcartless-
moss.
Walked Until They Dropped Dead
The peasants knew nothing of mod
crN ways. They were unable to buy
tickets on the railways. unable to got
permits TO ride on trains hurdcncd
with the Red army and food for Mos
COW and Petrograd. When their ami
mails dropped dead tho families walkcd d
on. always hoping that food lay over
tho next knoll
But the country districts have no
grain. or if peasant families have a
small supply they conceal it in the Of
fort to prolong their own lives until
another crop is harvested In the
larger towns there is food for sale at
fabulous prices, but the starving ref
ugcos have neither money nor goods to
exchange. and can only sit down to
await death or trudgc on TIL they sink
Of exhaustion.
The bodies which lie along tho rail
roads arc collected on cars and hauled
to ccnters, whore they arc piled in
frozen, snow-covcrcd heaps to await
burial. Freezing refugees remove all
garments from the dead so the frozen
bodies are naked when the scavoncers
collect them.
famlles Drift apart and wander aim
lossly on to their inevitable fate.
Human instincts are lost and thcv be-
come little better than beasts. The city
and town populations are so hardened
to suffering that they arc little moved
Dy the misery which lies all about them
Death seems more merciful in the coun-
Try for the refugees: they sink into
me whlte covering Of tho endless
PLAIN and wolves strip their bones
Fate Common TO All Tribes
From Perm and Ekaterinburc TO tho
Caspian Sea death IS stalking over tho
stcprcS. Russians. Cossacks. Kalmucke
Kirghz and Taltars alike arc meeting
their end with hopolcssncss and pa-
tcncc begottcn Of centuries of UNEQUAL
struggle against political cxtortion and
uniaVorab'c climatic conditions, made
worse by ignorance of scientific meth
ods Of tilliug the soil
American corn will be too late TO
save many of these wanderers through
the stepnes. as we'll as the families who
have elected to make their tight in their
villages remote from the railways
rather than endure the hardships and
death their ncighbors have suffered
along the man lines of TRANSFORMATION.
Entire village populations have died
IN the provinces east of the Voga and
the ANIMALS which survive are so weak
1t Is impos sibc to get adeuuate horse
power to deliver food to the thousands g
of snowbound, destitute settlements far
from food stations