The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, March 22, 1907, Image 2

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    Pitiful Appeals
Sent from Chin
Incredible Scenes of Hardship
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The Kingdom of China The Shaded Portion of the Map Indicates the Ter
ritory Stricke n by Famine
Frightful famine has Its clutcnes on two lands Owing to the drought
and the failure of the crops in South Central Russia 30000000 Russians in
27 provinces have seen their means of subsistence swept away Men women
and children huddled in their miserable villages on the steppes of the Volga
and the Caspian sea are face to face with starvation It is feared that ten
per cent may die before new crops can be gathered
The flooding of 40000 square miles of lowlands in northeastern China has
rendered 15000000 homeless It is believed that fully 4000000 of these
may perish
So pitiful are these calamities that the voices of the starving peasants
have been heard around the world America has been among the first and
most generous in appreciating the dire need and in giving of her prosperity
IBut all that has been given as yet has scarcely touched the fringe of the
famine stricken districts
New York The climax of the great
Chinese famine is at hand In the
iseaboard provinces 4000000 men
women and children are starving
more than the population of Manhat
tan Brooklyn the Bronx Queens and
Richmond According to the latest
reports the situation is much more
serious than that described in these
columns a few weeks ago by a correspondent
e
respondent in Shanghai Since early
in the winter the 4000000 refugees
have been homeless and destitute Ac
cording to the viceroy of Kiangsu it
is- ten times worse than any famine
known in China in the last 40 years
la point of mortality it is the worst
calamity that has befallen mankind
since the beginning of the new cen
tury
The end is not yet As the Chinese
winter reaches its height more and
more people must succumb to hunger
and exposure It is not a question of
surviving but of how many thousands
must die That the famine will last
for months to come is a certainty
With all thegenerosity of other civil
izod nations the relief is inadequate
40000 Square Miles Flooded
The messages received from China
last December told of the beginnings
of the famine For 40 days and nights
it rained constantly The great canal
extending 700 mlies from Tlen
Tsln to Hang Chan close to the sea
coast in the provinces of Chekiang
Kiangsu and Shan Tung burst its
lianks ond 40000 square miles of low
plains were flooded Fifteen millions
of people in five provinces were more
or less affected Of these 8000000
lost their property including their
-buildings and food supplies Four mil
lions were left absolutely destitute
To these beginnings nearly three
jnonths of unspeakable misery have
since been added The intermediate
stages were in some respects pecu
liar to China The dwellings and farm
buildings had mud walls and roofs of
thatch The walls melted like paper
an the water leaked through them
The peasants were forced to abandon
them ana waae tnrougn water up io
their armpits to reach dry land
Stores of Grain Lost
1
These Chinese fanners were a fru
gal people living on millet rice pea
nuts sweet potatoes maize and
wheat At the beginning of the win
ter their store of grain was swept
away The horses cattle and even
the dogs that survived were sold
Hunger reduced thousands to a diet
of gruel made of beans when they
could fas found and sweet potato
leaves
Then came reports of pitiful epi
sodes peculiarly oriental in their na
ture So intense did the suffering be
rjims that many sought death Par
ents killed their children by throwing J
them Into the water then took tneir
hSf 1S eSi25j
own lives Aged people are being
drowned or poisoned with opium to
prevent their slow death by hunger
The viceroy in one of the flooded
provinces tells of a family consisting
of a father mother and two children
all of whom perished in a single day
The mother left the house in search
of food In her absence the father
drowned the children When the
mother returned she asked where the
little ones were Her husband re
plied that he could not bear to see
them starve to death and as there
was no chance of feeding them he
had thrown them into the water The
distracted woman followed her chil
dren The father in utter despair
took his own life
Sell Their Children
In some parts of the provinces of
Honan Kiangsu and Anhul parents
are selling their offspring the girls
for three dollars and the boys for
two dollars Mexican which means
about one half those amounts in Amer
ican money A correspondent de
clares that in the Sinchow and Pai
chow districts the starving people
have been reduced to eating human
flesh and that it is being sold secretly
among the famine sufferers
Early in the new year the famine
situation changed The starving peas
ants flocked to the nearest cities in
their quest for food They are living
in great camps where the pitiful con
ditions are intensified a hundredfold
There are now fully 800000 refugees
at nine cities Tsingkiangpu Husian
Yanchow Yaowan Hsuchou Suchl
en Ihsien Chinkiang and Nanking
One of the largest gatherings is at
Tsingkiangpu on the edge of the fam
ine district Here there are five camps
each with at least 10000 refugees or
three times as many at one point as
there were Cuban reconcentrados in
1898 The flour and bean shops of the
city have been closed There are no
foodstuffs available All are depend
ent on charity
In a large camp at Antung the desti
tute peasants are also facing death
The Chinese officials acknowledge
their helplessness and say that the
only feasible course is to let one half
the people dleind endeavor to obtain
seed and scanty food for those who re
main
In Suchien 20 per cent of the peo
ple have been living on gruel for
weeks All the cattle have been sold
and the donkeys sheep hogs and
even the dogs have been eatee
Pitiful Scenes in Refugees Camps
In these camps the starving people
find shelter in flimsy huts of matted
grass and strip the bark from trees
devouring them ravenously to allay
the pangs of their hunger In the bet
ter camp3 the people are fortunate
if they receive a scanty tea cup of
rice a day
This is usually supplied at the
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kitchens established by the relief com
mittees Some of the most pitiful
scenes in the camps are enacted as
the crowds of refugees emaciated dis
eased and in rags besiege the kitch
ens for the dole of food which means
their lives
J h Rogers American consul of
the district who is acting as the spe
cial Ked Cross representative among
the famine sufferers visited refugee
camps at Chinkiang and Nanking re
cently He was told that these were
Infinitely better than the other camps
along the canal yet he found the
wretchedness misery and appalling
horror of the sight almost indescrib
able
There is no attempt at sanitation
he says The mat huts are crowded
together and each contains many
men women and children who are
clothed Jn rags and are disheveled
beyond description To make matters
worse smallpox and other diseases
have appeared among them
Widespread Measures for Relief
The famine will continue for flvo
more months or until the crop of
spring wheat is harvested Each suf
ferer needs little yet in the aggregate
the requirements for their relief are
formidable It is said that ten cents
a day will save a family and 100 will
relieve a small community Assum
ing that the total number of destitute
is 4000000 the relief fund must be
20000 a day for five months or at
least 3000000 The relief thus far
has been trifling in comparison with
the need
In all parts of America nurse
strings hwve been loosened by men
women and even little children to
save their kind from the pangs of
hunger and death The contributions
range from five cents to 1000 or
more Nearly every State is repre
sented
Fund for Sufferers
A fund started by contributions ot
100 each from President Roosevelt
and Secretary Root is being raised
by the Christian Herald of this city
From this fund 35000 has been sent
to China through the state depart
ment at Washington The newspapei
has promised to raise 50000 a month
additional for February March April
and May
The Red Cross Society has raised
about 60000 Of this 45000 has
been sent to China Several weeks
ago 300 tons of foodstuffs were ship
ped from America to the famine dis
tricts The California Red Cross so
ciety was also instrumental in send
ing 2500 bushels of seed wheat from
San Francisco two weeks ago on the
Siberia free transportation having
been offered by the Pacific Mail
Steamship company Five thousand
bushels of seed wheafagshave been
given to the Red Cross at Portland
Ore and it is being gathered at Seat
tle for shipment
There are two relief committees ir
China One is composed of Chinese
Europeans and Americans at Shang
hai The other comprises missionar
ies exclusively They are sending
food into the districts where the
greatest suffering prevails but have
been unable to do more than relieve
the starving peasants that are neai
at hand owing to the lack of funds
As early as possible in the famine
the American Missionary society load
ed 3500 bags of millet and rice on
boats and sent them up to the great
canal to the starving peasants An
other consignment of 20000 bags fol
lowed soon after Thus far fully 16
500 more bags of grain have been dis
tiibuted making 40000 in all
The Chinese officials realize that
the crisis is at hand and have taken
extraordinary measures to aid theii
starving fellows Taxes in the affect
ed provinces have been abated Many
officials have had their salaries reduc
ed the saving being devoted to re
lief The mints are running overtime
to coin cash The acute sufferers in
some of the districts are receiving
three cash a sixth of a cent a day
for a month It is also proposed to re
open old canals and rebuild old roads
and thus afford the starving an oppor
tunity to earn a living
SOME FAMOUS LOVING CUPS
King Hals Grace Cup and the Skin
ners Peacock Cup
Some of the old loving cups were
called grace cups Of the specimens
now in possession of the English
guilds and corporations the most fa
mous is the Henry VIII grace cup
which belongs to the Barbers Co of
London
With its four globular bells hang
ing around the outer rim says the
Jewelers Circular this cup might
well excite the envy of even the most
honest collector of silverware
The name of the cup Is derived
from the fact that King Hal was the
donor the grace cup being intended
to commemorate the union of the bar
bers with the guild of surgeons The
cover carried the Tudor rose port
cullis and the finial of the
lid being mounted with the imperial
crown the English and French arms
being beneath supported by the lion
and greyhound
The Skinners Co has a pea
cock cup though it is in tho
form of a peahen This large silver
bird with three chicks at her feet
stands on the silver badge which was
formerly worn by the companys
barge master and around it are the
engraved words TheGift of Mary
ye daughter of Richard Robinson and
wife to Thomas Smith and James
Peacock Skinners 1642 The ladys
two husbands were both masters of
the company
Norwegian Whalers
The Norwegians have whaling es
tablishments in Iceland Scotland
South America Japan and elsewhera J
-
cause of the experiments making hens
lay more plentifully
Chief Willis J Moore of the weath
er bureau says his bureau annually
benefits the people 30000000
40000 HORSES EATEN IN A YEAR
Consumption Increases Fast in Paris
and Is Aided by Doctors
Paris According to official statis
tics 40000 horses were eaten in
Paris last year This represents about
11000000 kilogrammes of horseflesh
as compai ed with the earlier figures
of 1899 when a total of only 5000000
was eaten This branch of the butch
er business in Paris seems to be
growing rapidly in favor so that the
horse butcher is assuming the posi
tion of quite a respectable competitor
with the beef butcher
Horse butchers signs with a gild
ed horeshead above the door are
numerous in certain quarters of the
city and horse butchers are rapidly
preempting spaces in the market
halls This is particularly the case
in well-to-do sections and the fact al
most prompts the suggestion that the
doctors are in league with the horse
butchers
Doctors are more and more recom
mending for certain patients who are
in need of building up their shattered
systems a bit of horseflesh and for
persons whose constitutions are
thoroughly run down with weakened
stomachs they prescribe the juice of
horseflesh prepared under certain
simple conditions instead of the fresh
meat itself
At the markets during the early
morning hours each day men and
women stand in line waiting their
turn to be served by the horse butcher
They call for a nice steak or filet and
being well versed on the matter of
quality are very particular in their
selections Some butchers make a
specialty of mule meat which con
tains more fatty matter than horse
meat
No Cemetery for Cats
Boston The bill for the incorpora
tion of a cemetery for the burial of
pet cats which had been advanced to
the third reading stage in the legis
lature was itself consigned to the
graveyard when Representative Mock
of Boston said
I thought this measure was a joke
but I really begin to believe that some
men are taking it seriously First we
have the burial ground for these pets
Then of course why not funerals
Then the decoration of the graves of
these pets for the decoration of
graves is entirely proper And who
knows but one of the ministers of
this house might not be called on to
officiate at the burial services
The house reversed its previous ac
tion and killed the bill 52 to 71
Englands Navy Cheapest
London Great Britain has the
cheapest navy in the world according
to the report of Admiralty Secretary
Robertson It costs 445 a ton Rus
sias cost 465 a ton In ten years
1132205 tons have been added to the
navy while Russia Germany and
France together only added 1108280
tons Two years hence Great Britain
will have completed six new battle
ships including three of the Dread
nought class and three armored cruis
ers of the Invincible class while
neither France nor Germany will have
a single ship of those types completed
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Where the Emigrant Lands
nEiHlflE9sHBHBHD3lBVt v a 35aHBT rj biti
From stereograph copyright by Underwood fc Underwood N Y
Magnificent building at Ellis Island through which all aliens must pass
anc where they must undergo a rigid and thorough inspection and examina
tion as to their qualifications before they are allowed to land In the United
States
BENEFIT GREATLY BY WORK OF
AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT
Ahead 231000000 Each Year Accord
ing to Estimate Bureau of Ani
mal Industry First Showing
Hens Their Duty Valuable
Washington The people profit
231000000 annually by the work of
the agricultural department accord
ing to the estimates of the bureau offi
cials made public in the report of the
committee on expenditures in the ag
TO
ricultural department which has i 5000000
spent the entire session investigating
tho department
FARMERS
The bureau of plant industry places
its value at 29000000 Of this 100
000 is because of the saving by intro
ducing the resilient cow pea
Dr Harvey W Wiley of the bureau
of chemistry thinks his office does
10000000 of good He places the In
vestigation of sorghum syrup the sav
ing from the investigation of the
sugar beet and the utilization of waste
in making denatured alcohol at 1000
000 each lie estimates the value of
his poison squad experiments in de
termining the effects on health of food
preservatives and coloring matter at
Dr Wiley thinks his
ligation of the sweet or hot corn
industry is worth annually 250000
The bureau of animal industry leads The bureau of biology which in sup
the ltet with an annual valuation of j port of its estimate that it annually
50000000 of which 100000 is be
benefits the people 3000000 submit
ted beautiful orange colored maps la
beled Skunk area of the United
States asserts that 1500000 bene
fit was derived from its work among
coyotes and wolves The biological
u 11 MrirVTi irirfnTrnf
survey appropriation was loft out o
the agricultural bill for tho reason
that tho money asked was to be ex
pended in mapping districts In the
United States which would make ideal
homes for frogs
Tho bureau of entomology thlnkalt
saves the people 22000000 a year oV
which 5000PJ00 is because It was In
strumental In the Introduction of the
Australian lady bird beetle
The bureau of public roads Is the
most modest of all and only assorts
It benefits the people 873000 a year
The report severely criticises Chief
Moore of the weather bureau for bis
expenditures on Mount Weathor the
research Institution which ho estab
lished in the Blue Ridge mountains at
a cost or 161000 for which Comptrol
ler Tracewell says under existing law
there is no authority
Secretary Wilson of the department
of agriculture Is criticised for exceed
ing his authority in expending the ap
propriation for the now department
of agriculture building Instead of
completing a structure for tho entire
department he spent the moaey In
building a single wing
DEAF WILL ENJOY MU8IC
French Doctor Declared to Have Won
derful Invention
Paris An extraordinary invention
appears to have been made by a French
doctor M Dupont according to a com
munication read to the Academy of
Science by M DArsonval Dr Dupont
intended to invent a process by which
the sensation of music could be con
veyed to deaf mutes
He devised an apparatus by which
the number of vibrations In each mu
sical note is conveyed through electric
wires with alternating currents The
apparatus is attached to a microphone
and musical sounds are transmitted to
the body with extraordinary distinct
ness
The feeling produced Is said to be
more delightful than when the notes
are heard and not only deaf mutes butt
persons with good hearing declare that
the sensation is positively delicious
A gay waltz produces unwonted
hilarity and every nerve and muscle in
the body seems to dance from the ef
forts of what might be appropriately
described as a musical tickling ma-
chine
One may look forward therefore to
the time when one can feel as well as
hear Mozarts operas or Beethovens
symphonies
Official Seal of Jamestown Exposition
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V Ofyir KSf Sp
Buffalo Heads Expensive
RELICS OF DEPARTED BISON ARE
BECOMING VERY SCARCE
Few of the Mounted Trophies of Al
most Extinct Monarch of the
Plains Are Now for Sale
at Any Price
Kansas City Mo Mounted buffalo
heads are becoming scarce A buffalo
head in good condition will sell read
ily for 400 to 1200 according to
size and condition
And only 30 years ago thousands of
them were left to rot upon the west
ern plains
Not many weeks ago Frank Rocke
feller of Cleveland brought a buffalo
bull to Kansas City from his ranch in
Kansas He sold tbe meat to a butch
er But the head and hide he sent to
his home It was a magnificent speci
men
Mr Rockefeller valued the head and
hide at 1200 said A Weber but it
was not for sale at any price The
old buffalo weighed 2500 pounds
Think of it A buffalo bull weighing
more than a ton A long beard hung
from his chin and his coat was shag
gy But the buffalo was 27 years old
Along in the lates 70s officials of
the Kansas Pacific railroad bought 38
buffaloes that were shot on the plains
of Kansas A buffalo head was the
roads trade mark These 38 speci
mens were handsomely mounted and
distributed throughout the towns
along the length of the road Some
of these heads are still seen in the
offices of the Union Pacific railway
One is in the Kansas City ticket office
at Ninth and Walnut streets
I do not know its value now
said Thomas A Shaw the assistant
ticket agent But I should say 1000
would not buy it
In the museum at the public library
is the head of a big buffalo bull which
has a history The animal was one
which roamed the plains in the Pan
handle of Texas the leader of a herd
He was a surly brute when captured
on the Goodnight ranch in 1899 and
loaded in a car for Kansas City- A
butcher who wished to supply some
fancy meat for his customers bought
him and sent him to a packing plant
to be killed But the buffalo taught
the butchers a lesson in baffalo
ology
The old bull was driven Into the
killing chute The man with the ax
steadied himself and swung a terrific
blow squarely between the animals
eyes But the old bull shook his shag
gy head and bellowed Again the exe
cutioner swung the ax This time the
bull objected to such tiring torment
and leaped from the chute
Bring a rifle ordered the chief ex
ecutioner and well shoot him
The rifle was brought but the bul
lets rattled off his hide like shells
from armor plate
Lasso him was then ordered
When the bull was down he was
again shot but little damage was
done The butters in desperation
then wound the lariat about the old
bulls neck and choked him to death
But he died game fought until un
conscious
Sulphur Yellow in Vogue
London According to the Drapers
Record sulphur yellow which alreadv
has a vogue in Paris will be the
ular shade this year both for womens -frocks
and for household decoration
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