1 THE GREAT FAMINE IN INDIA. |
I That the monsoon has broken ami
that rain is falling throughout the
Btrlcken district of India does not
mean that the famine Is at an end.
The cause of the famine was lack of
pain. The present fall is the first the
country has known in twenty-four
months vyitfc the exception of the one
hour's rain which fell on the 20th of
July last year. Hence rain must now
fall for many weeks before the parched
surface will become softened to a
sufficient depth to assure the raising
of a crop. Moreover, millions of head
«112 cattle, ninety-five per cent, of all
BLIND VICTIMS OP TUE FAMINE IN A TOOK HOUSE.
the cattle, Indeed, have died, for want
of fodder, and farmers are tied hand
and foot till Government supplies new
live stock to replace the old, whoso
bones lie scattered over the whole
country.
• Therefore desperate distress still cx-
Istß. Utter desolation Is still the lot
of millions. If the Government were
now to withdraw its aid, shut up the
relief works and poor-houses, seven
million homeless, helpless people
.would bo in imminent danger of s arv
lng to death. Moreover, since the rain
has come scores of thousands who
have been saved from death by star
vation are threatened with death by
exposure. Blunkets and clothing are
scare; only one person In every thou
sand possessing more than a loin
cloth. Never since the world began
have ten million people, at one time,
been absolutely without a crumb of
their own to eat.
Gilson Willets, the special corre
spondent of Collier's Weekly, writes
as follows about what he saw In In
dia:
11 ■"The breadless area cavers 330,000
square miles, one-third of all India,
big as all our New Englaud, Middle
and Southern States. In this area are
50,000,000 people, one-sixth the entire
population of India, a number equal
to our whole, well-fed family east of
the Mississippi. Ten millions are en
1.
| d
FAMINE ORPHANS IN THE POOR HOUSE.
tirely destitute, and of these Govern
ment is taking care of 0,500.000 on re
lief works and in poor-houses.
"As for the mortality—more famine
deaths daily than the total American
losses in the Spanish-American war;
more deaths weekly than the Boer and
British losses to date in their pres
ent war, and a grand total of famine
deaths, since January 1, equal to
twice the figure at which is placed
the losses on both sides from all
DHAD BODIES OF THE STARVED ON FUNERAL PYRES READY FOR BURNING.
causes in tlie Civil War. In actual
figures the death list amounts to
more than 8000 dally, 100,000 each
mouth, 700,000 this year.
"Up-country crawled the train, pas
sengers so few that each of us had a
carriage to himself. Twenty-five
uilifs from Bombay vegetation ceased.
Eyes searched the miles vainly for a
single green speck. We had passed
even the last cactus. Blasts of hot
air, as from millions of furnaces, al
most suffocated us, and yet the trees
of the 'jackal jungle' bordering the
farms were shorn of leaves, as in a
Canadian winter. Jackals could be
seen prowling, trying to hide behind
tree trunks, and we shuddered at the
thought of their 'daily bread.' llu-
man skulls and bones dotting the sun
baked fields told awful stories.
"One hundred miles up the train
crawled into Gujarat, once the garden,
now the Sahara, of India. The whole
world, level as a prairie, barren as a
desert, was dust-colored. The only
thing of another color was the train.
Even the naked trees were coated
with the dust of the desert. The train
zizagged In and out between farms
and deserted villages, where there
was no living thlng # anywhere, not
even a jackal. Yes, a few scampering
monkeys seemed to find fun keeping
BIIE REACHED THE RELIEF CAMP TOO LATE.
pace with the tralu. Huge, almost
ape-size, they were, and dust-colored,
too.
"Rivers, streams, lakes, pools had
disappeared, leaving beds, like the
tiehls, parched wastes of earth. Water,
except in the few remaining wells,
had vanished from the earth's sur
face. We were journeying through a
depopulated Hades, Were all the ab
sent oues at work in the relief camps?
After all, besides the monkeys, we did
occasionally see a stray brown man,
or a stray brown group of families,
trudging, probably bound for a relief
camp, where they would arrive too
late, so weak, so wasted, that the first
stomachful of curry would be like a
mortal wound. At stations nearest
these camps the train paused for
water, which was brought, by gaunt,
half-dead coolies in buckets from the
nearest cholera-infected well.
"Two hundred miles and two days
from Bombay the train wriggled into
the big station at Ahmedabad, the city
in the heart of the desert. Ordinary
population, 100,000; famine popula
tion, 130,000—the 100,000 living in
stone houses, normally, and the 30,000
in straw tents ou the relief works out
side the city walls. These were the
people I had come to see. Tills camp
was the' Mecca for all famine victims
within a radius of thirty miles. None
within that area need starve. All
were welcome. Here they could earn
two annas (four cents) a day, which
would buy grain enough to sustain
life. The camp wa.; divided into three
sections; in the first, 20,000 people
were digging a reservoir half as big
as Central Park; in the second, 7000
were building a narrow-guage rail
road; In the third, 3000 were breaking
stone for roadbed. Two-thirds of the
workers wore -women. On the tank
wot-ks the men dug the colossal pit,
the women carried away the sand In
baskets on their heads. The great
WAITING FOR AN ORDER ON THE BUN
NIAH (GRAIN DEALER).
reservoir was for the reserve storage
of water, thus providing against the
recurrence of famine in the future. Iu
the stone-breaking section both men
and women broke stone, but women
only were the burden-bearers, carry
ing away (he broken stoue in baskets
on their heads, each tottering under
her load for a distance of from one to
two miles, (ill she came to the pile
to which she must add her share, day
by day. Among the stone-breakers
were nursing mothers, old crones,
young girls. One mother broke stoue
with one hand while with the other
she held an infant on her lap. Death
claimed the child even while I looked
011, and the native In charge of tiie
gang of thirty to which the mother be
longed came and toos the little body
away. She followed it awhile with
animal eyes, then, after pulling her
torn saree closer about her face, re
sumed her task, grasping the hammer
now with both bauds.
"Next morning at sunrise we fol
lowed the carts that gathered up the
dead. In a cleared space in the adja
cent jungle we attended the funeral
of sixty-live famine victims. The
ashes of a thousand other victims lay
in white, smoking heaps. On top of
these ash-heaps low-caste men piled
logs—four such piles. Atop the logs
were thrown the sixty-five bodies, the
morning's harvest. On the bodies
more logs were thrown, till only a foot
here, a head there, protruded. Then
the four nlles wore set afire, aud the
flames of the funeral pyres leaped far
above the tops of the surrounding
trees. Thus Is the trace of fauilue
obliterated from the face of India."
Conductor Waft a Psychic Mystery.
•'I have known streetcar conductors
to fuss and worry," said the Psychic
Cackler, "to call out the names of
streets ,aud carry passengers past
them; to quarrel and give back talk
as a result. But the other day I met
a marvel among conductors. He was
on a California avenue car and he
never opened his mouth from the time
he left Sixth avenue until he reached
Arthur street, where I go off. Nobody
ever spoke to him or beckoned to him,
so far as I could see, but the car
stopped at dif ftrent places and people
got off. 1 was gjzzled and paid strict
attention, but faVjed to fathom the
mystery. I wantN togo to Arthur
street, didn't know Vhere it was, save
that it was a good distance out, but
said nothing to the conductor. Talk
ing didn't seem possible on that car.
By and by the car stopped and nobody
got off. The conductor looked stern
ly at me. I mumbled an apology. I
didn't kno • why, and got off at once.
The nciglil >rliood was strange to me,
but the fat remains that I pot off at
Arthur strt ft. I do not undertake to
explain thla thins; I simply mentioD
it."—Pittsburg Dispatch.
Kxtemiating Circumstances.
The Br'tisli soldier is a first-class
iigir.ng man, but his mental attri
butes are not always very high. Nu
merous anecdotes are told of the sim
plicity of his ideas, and the following
is, perhaps, one of the best:
A gunner in one of the campaigns
in Egypt was serving his piece, when
lie was surrounded so closely by
Arabs that lie had to use ids rammer
as a club. He repulsed the enemy
and saved ids gnu at the expense of a
broken rammer, and for his bravery
lie was selected for the Victoria Cross.
When summoned before the board
of officers, the soldier thought it was
for the breach of discipline in having
broken the rammer, and, before a
word could be said, lie spoke up and
volunteered a plea of "guilty, with'ex
tenuating circumstances."
There was a broad smile 011 the face
of the board, but the soldier got the
Cross.
Siege Kellc* Made In Germany.
Preparations are already being made
in large industrial centres to meet or
ders for Pekin relics, shell splinter
brooches, bullets, Chinese skulls and
"match-boxes made from the wood
work of the British Legation"—these
last largely in Germany. Sieges are,
however, becoming rather a drug In
the market.—St. James Uuzette.
A RUSTIC CLOCK.
Keeps Accurate Time Although All
Working Parts Are of Wood.
Th? rustic clock shown herewith,
according to Itevue Chrouometrlque,
was constructed by M. Boullat, a
clockmaker of Coutances, France, as
a curious piece of horology, yet not
withstanding its rusticity it seems to
conduct itself with much regularity,
and reflects credit on the mechanical
skill of its author. It possesses all the
necessary organs, although they are
exceedingly simple. Two small logs
of firewood, fastened crosswise, con
stitute the base, and two upright
sticks, solidly connected at top and
bottom, rervo for the reception of the
arbors. The mechanism consists of a
motor weight, a four-armed wheel and
escapement rack, a pendulum and two
pulleys, one of which has a crank and
handle for winding. A dial and hands,
RUSTIC: CLOCK.
with the dial work, complete the en
semble. All is of wood, except the
wheel range of the rack, which is of
metal. The motor weight is suspend
ed from the drum of the four-armed
wheel, which occupies the central
part of the clock. The force is trans
mitted to tiic pendulum and the mo
tion work by a wire, four and a half
meters in length, rolled on ore hand
011 the arbor of the rack, and on the
other attached to one of the arms of
the wheel, as shown in the illustra
tion. The pendulum is attached to-"-
wire, of which the length is regulated
by means of a pin seen at the top of
tiie frame. The winding is effected
by means of a pulley placed at the
lower part of the construction and
connected with the axis of tiie escape
ment wheel by an endless wire. The
motion work is operated with the aid
of a pinion of three leaves acting on a
cannon pinion of seventy-two teeth,
which revolves once an hour. This
pinion is on the arbor of the escape
ment rack, so that the latter makes
twenty-four revolutions an hour; as It
has 120 teeth the virtual length of the
pendulum is about 30.fi centimeters.
The wheel revolves once in four hours.
General Miles in Ilis New Uniform.
The new uniform of lieutenant-gen
eral, which has been built, after de
signs made by General Miles himself,
promises to create a reform iu Europe
which will bring the old style military
dress of high rank up-to-date. Gen
eral Miles's new regimentals ire sotue-
GEXERAL MILES IN HIS NEW UNIFORM.
thing to shame the antique styles of
the continent and Great Britain.
The coat is of a rich dark blue ma
terial. illuminated with triple rows of
buitons. There are collars and cuffs
of dark blue velvet, aud the cuffs are
three inches In depth. There are gold
epaulets, with solid crescents, bear
ing three stars instead of two, as un
der the old regime. The shoulder
straps, of dark blue, are four inches
long, bordered with gold embroidery,
and on each strap aie three stars em
broidered in silver.
111 selecting his headgear and tlint
of his staff General Miles has fol
lowed the Russian fashion.
The Governor of Georgia, popula
tion lii 18!>o 1,800,000. receives S3OOO
a year salary. The Governor of New
Jersey, population lu 1800 1,400,000,
iccuites SI 0.000.
Striking Japanese Llneni.
Japanese linen for tea table cloths la
n late Importation that has caught the
fancy of matrons of the smart set. As
is usunl with Japanese blues, the shade
of this linen Is very blue, and the whit
embroidered dragons that oftenest or
nament It are just as hideously beau
tiful as they can be.
denning Carpet on tlie Floor.
One of the newest discoveries ot
the housekeeper is that a carpet may
be cleaned without going through the
trials of removing it from the floor.
All that she needs are a piece of soap,
a basin of warm water, a wet towel
and a dry towel. First, one strip of
the carpet must be rubbed down with
the wet towel. Then It must be rubbed
with the dry cake of soap, after which
follows a scrubbing with a wet cloth
until a foamy lather Ls produced. Wipe
this away with the wet towel, going
over it many times till the soap is all
wiped away, then finish by a thorough
course of treatment with the dry tow
el. Taking the carpet strip by strip,
go over the entire surface until it is
clean.
The Color of Blind*.
The remarkable and widely varying
properties of the elementary colors
which compose white light suggest
that the employment of screens as
in the blinds placed over our windows
should be founded on a scientific basis.
Our knowledge of the properties of
each individual section of the spec
trum is not exact, but this
much we do know, that the rays of
least refrangibllity, the red rays, are
without direct cheiliical effects, they
occur at the heat end of the spectrum.
On the other hand, the rays of the
highest refrangibllity contain the vio
let rays which chemically are exceed
ingly active. It is these rays which
are concerned in photography and
doubtless also in the great process of
vegetable nutrition and growth. The
object of blinds is, of course, twofold—
to keep a room cool and to screen out
some of the light, so as to avoid the
blewhing of coloring materials of the
carpets and furniture. At the same
time sufficient light must be admit
ted so that the occupant may see with
out difficulty. What then is the best
color for this purpose? Since light ex
erts the peculiar action due to the ac
tinic rays which materially and whole
somely affect the air of a dwelling
room care should obviously be taken
not to exclude all the rays that are so
concerned. Thus ruby or orange-red
material would be contralndicated.
Abundance of light is Inimical to the
life of micro-organisms, so that a ma
terial in some shape of a compromise
should be selected. The best for this
purpose is probably a dellcataely ocher
colored fabric. This would screen part
of the active light rays, and if of a
fair thickness the greater part of the
heat rays, while admitting sufficient
active rays to allow of a wholesome
effect upon the room and its surround
ings. Venetian blinds do not allow
of the graduation, which is desirable
with cloth fabric. As it is well known,
exclusively red light has been used as
a therapeutic agent, and apparently
with encouraging results, in measles.—
London I.ancet.
L D
XJ&XR BC/PES
Riclianiella—Bring one pint of milk
to the boiling poiut; stir into it one
tablespoon of flour and one of butter
which have been thoroughly blended
together; when thickened turn into it
three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt,
a da-sli of pepper, one pint of minced
cold roast veal. Grate a little nutmeg
or mace over it and serve hot.
Danish Pudding—rut one quart of
currant juice aud one pint of water
into a double boiler and let scald. Mix
together four tablespoonfuls of corn
starch, one-lialf pint of sugar and one
half teaspoonful of cinnamon; moisten
with one-half cupful of water and
stir into the scalding juice. When thick
and smooth pour into wet molds, chil'
and serve with whipped cream.
Sponge Cookies—Break eight eggs in
to granite or earthen saucepan; add
one pound granulated sugar; set on
stove and stir constantly until well
heated through (not cooked); remove
from stove and beat until cold; add
piucli salt and one pound flour; any
flavoring preferred; anise is the Ger
man favorite. Dip a teaspoon In water
each time and put by the teaspoon on
buttered tins; bake in 'Moderately hot
oven: will keep for \>eeks.
Tomato Farcle —Cut off the stem end
of six smooth tomatoes, scoop out the
pulp and put it into a chopping bowl
with one can of shrimps, one-half a
small slice of bread and one slice of
onion; chop fine and fry In a buttered
pan until lightly browned; season with
salt and pepper and till the tomato
shells; sprinkle with fine breadcrumbs
and bake in a moderate oven for a
quarter of an hour or until thoroughly
done. I'ut a border of boiled rice
around the edge of a platter, place
the tomatoes carefully in the center
and pour over them a gravy made of
one cupful of cream, pepper and salt to
taste
HER PRECIOUS LITTLE PURSE.
Not much pold diil sho disburse,
Yet well she spent each golden minut*
She had a precious little purse
And there was precious little in it.
That was before she started out.
She meant to shop; her means wer«
ample—
When she got buck that purse was stout.
For it was stuffed with many a sam
ple.
—Chicago llecord.
HUMOROUS.
"Pa, why do they call it 'cold cash'?"
"Because people have a habit of freez
ing to it, I guess."
"My wife," bonsted the happy young
Benedict, "is an open book to me."
"Mine, too," declared the old married
man."l can't shut her up."
Amicus—So you have another baby
at your iiouue. What is he like?
Eminent Critic—Well, he is not very
interesting, but lie is mighty convinc
ing.
"Didn't the quiet in the country be
come monotonous to you?" "Quletl
We hud to turn out about seven timet
every night and chase cows oil the
porch."
"I wonder why they don't name one
of the new ships the Mayflower?"
"What for?" "Why, so that future
generations can say their ancestors
came over 011 it."
"Little Jim, how can you rush
around and play so hard in hot weath
er?" "Aw, ma, 'taint hot at all; me
an' Tommy Tibbs has bin a-playin
camp-out in a blizzard."
The meanest man up to date U
Snlftkins. He sold Jones a half in
terest in a cow, and then refused tc
divide the milk, maintaining thai
Jones owned the front end.
Nodd—Are you going to take yout
servants with you camping out? Todd
—lf I con get them to. I want to gel
even with them for all the discouv
forts they have cuused me.
She—Of course, you have heard ol
the theory that Bacon wrote Shakes
peare's play? Cholly—Aw—yes—aw—
the idea is tiiut Shakespeare was Ba
con's 110111 de plume, is it not?
"Now," said the new reporter
handing in his copy, "what shall I
write about?" "I think," said the
editor, after glancing at the stuff
you had better right about face
march!"
Miss Johnson—Did he take it hard
when yo' refused iiim? Miss Jack
•son—Yo' bet he took il
hard! He started a row an' I hit him
wif a flat-iron, a stove-lifter an' a
rolliu'-pin.
"You've given up swimming, haven't
you?" "Yes. I don't mean to culti
vate a talent that will put me in a
position some time where the drown
ing fellow who can't swim will be
sure to drag me under."
"I'a, why do they formally notify
a man that lie is nominated for presid
ent?" "Well, mainly, I think, so that
he can't get up after he fails to lie
elected in November and vow bj
wasn't in politics at all."
She (after discharging the new
servant)—l wonder why they call the
place where these girls come from an
"intelligence office?" There doesn't
seem to b any there. lie—There must
' be some there, for none ever comet
I out of it.
Stox—Do you believe in women hav-
I ing the same rights as men? Sluggs—
! Yes, I do. There was one stood in
front of where 1 sat in a car today
and tramped all over my feet, and if
she'd been a man I would have hit
I her one, sure.
j "You told me to come and begin
J work today," said the new boy. ' Oh,
| yes," replied the druggist, "you may
j begin by catching flies and putting
them 011 these sheets of 'Sure Catch
Flypaper,' we're displaying in the
window."
"Well that's great." "What's great?"
"Our Chinese laundryman has put his
prices up 011 account of the war in
China." "How's that? "Why, he
sa>s he has to be paid for the time he
waists telling people what he think*
of it."
"The hostess is a lovely woman and
she gave us a tine dinner. But why
did she seem in such a nervous hurry?
iteally, it was the swiftest feed I ever
sat down to." "Then you didn't know
her before she married Btxby?" "No."
"She used to be a waitress in a quick
service dairy luucli."
Observing the manager of the drug
department, the woman accosted him.
in a spirit of badinage. "I ha . i klepto
mania," sL>. said. "What would you
advise me to take?" "The elevator,
by all means!" said the manager wit
tily. "And not something Just as
good?" exclaimed the woman affect
ing great surprise.
Wliere Women Are Never lirptl*onert.
Austria is the one country in the
world which never puts u woman in
prison. Instead of giving a female
criminal so many mouths in jail she
is sent, no matter how terrible Is her
record, to one or other of the convents
devoted for the purpose and kept there
during the time for which she is sen
tenced. Th > conv. Nt is not a mer. j pris
on in disguise, for its courtyard stands
open all day long, the only b ir to egress
being a nun who acts as portress, just
as in other convents.
France'* Fort»•©*•«»«,
France has on the German frontlet
three flrst-class fortresses— Belfort,
Verdun and Briancon; on the Belgian
frontier, Lille. Dunkiark, Airas and
Donar,; 011 the Italian, Lyon, Orenoble
and Besancon, and 011 the Atlantic
coast Rochefort. Lortent and Brest.