My Dear Sm,—In former letters I gave general account of the famine in this province, taken from official records, and also some particulars of the state of suffering in and around the provincial capital from personal observation. It is my intention now to give some particulars concerning the central and southern part of the province. But the region is so extensive to travel over, and the time so brief for inquiry, that the account must necessarily be very incomplete; yet I have seen and heard enough. It is' said that famillarity with suffering makes one less liable to be affected by it. Familiar as many kinds of famine suffering have been to me forthe last two years, this last journey southwards made me so sick at heart that I wished I could return with my eyes closed and ears stopped. To see and hear was painful in the extreme. I cannot write all. Some things are too horrible to be deseribed except in general terms. But to jan, 28th.—Stoppedat an inn 30 i south. A little before starting, I saw in a street of T'ai-yuen-fu a man lying on the road, about to die of starvation. Carts were blocked up and had to go round by another way.
Jan. 29th, 140 li S.—There was a fall of an inch of snow in the night. Saw four dead on the road, and one unable to walk moving about on his hands and knees. One of the dead was a boy of about ten years old, carried by his mother on her shoulder. She was the only bearer, priest and mourner, She Jaid him on the snow outside the city wall, and the last sight I got of them was she standing at some distance off on the one side, and a dog watching at some distance on the other Jan. 30th, 270 li S.—Saw two dead, one apparently only just dead, and dressed in good clothes." He could not be a poor man. A few li further on saw one walking like a drunken man. After passing him, I stopped and told my servant to get some cash out to give him. It blow alittle wind, and whilst we were getting the cash, a puff a little stronger than the rest made him fall. To give him money there was useless, and we could not jan, 31st, 390 1i S—To-day saw fourteen dead on the roadside. A stocking was all the clothes one had on, and so light was the corpse that a middle-sized dog dragged it about. Two of the dead were women, They had received a burial, but it consisted in nothing more than moving them from the road and placing them with their faces downwards—that was all, Want or cupidity of the passers-by had dealt kindlier with one than the other, for they hail not taken her clothes! A third was a feast to a score of crows and magpies. One man had snow over him and was untouched,
at least, and that no dogs or wolves could proof that he had been there tree days beneer. Whilst the road was thus strewn with the dead, there were plenty of pheasants fat enough close by; and a fox and a rabbit on the hill opposite. where the poor women had fallen, and wild ducksinthe river, appeared none the worse for the famine. Another painful contrast forced itself on me that day. A lot of magpies were making an unusual din, and some were picking up feathers. When Icame up to them one of their number was dead. But how many dead men and women have I seen on the road without any weeping, except the mother over her child. Yet what most affected me that day was what an old man said in our climbing Ling-shan together. We had just passed a young man dead on the road, and then he said in the roast touching manner:—" Our mules and donkeys are all eaten up, and our labourers are all it that God lets us poor people "Saw two wolves in the twilight looking out for the dead. In one village was a notice put up that those who rob and steal shall be put to death without Up tat it nas agreed bythe lager up that it was xy the vi that should any one be "unruly," he shall be put to death without merey. People dare not travel singly through these hills.
Feb, Ist, 450 li S.—Travelled half a day. Saw six dead, of whom four were women, One in an open shed on the road side, with only a string about her waist, An: other was in a river, but the water was not deep enough to cover and freeze her over, so what was exposed was at the cruel merey of the fowls of the air. Another was half clad in rags, in one of the eave houses which open into the road. Another, half clad and half eaten. Saw what appeared to be two brothers from 15 to 18 years old, moving at the rate of old men of 80 years, each leaning heavily on his staff. Saw a' young man carrying his mother on his back. She was far gone, and about to breathe her Inst. On secing me observing them closely, he begged for afew cash, the first who did so since I left Taimen-fu, The regular beggars are all dead long ago, Afew li further on, a woman about 40 had fallen and was trying to rise, but could not from her seeoid knee. Sav two heads stuck up in cages, to be a warning to those who rob and steal. Saw hate and shoes here and there along the read, but no dead bodies near—perhaps all that' was left between men and wolves.
Feb. 2nd, 530 li S.—Saw twelve dead, all stripped of their clothes, and among them one woman and two boys. At Hung-tung-hien, a group c: three were lying together. They appeared to be a boy, his father, and grandfather. My servant said he saw several more, but Ionly state what I saw myself, On the snow, we saw marks of a struggle and blood, but no dead body near; yot it was some justification of the warning to men not to travel singly along these narrow defiles. Two more heads hung up in cages on the trees. For many ti, a large number of trees on both sides the road, as far as the eye could see, and on a level country, were stripped of their bark to a height 0 5, 10 and 20 feet, for food, Most were elm trees. There were also groups of several houses with doors and windows open, and jars and other trifling utensils inside. Their occupants were either gone away or dead but nothing had been touched, for they could not be turned into cash or bread.
Asabreck to this long catalogue of misery, all thawed: here) wheat very. extensively it was delightful to see (for the snow was
sown. Though there be drought elsewhere, they have abundance of water for irri tion at this place, and they seem to make the most of it. I could see in all the vile lages along the road considerable quantities of straw, indicating that they had had a good crop of grain; but on inquiry I was told the crop was very promising up to the time when the ears came out, then a sudden flood and mildew destroyed their hopes, leaving them nothing but." This abundance of water for irrigation extended only over 30 li.
Feb, 3rd, 620 ti S.—Saw seven dend—not one woman; but there was an old man with grey hairs and an infant just born..\gain the trees were barked, but there was no wheat in the ground. Met cartloads of linen and occasionally foot travellers. These were armed, some with a shining bright sword, some with a rusty old knife, others with spears and clubs,—all with some weapon or other; even children in their teens carried them.' Some were glad to keep close to us as we were riding, though we did not feel any safer of their company. At Siang-ling-hien, 30 li south of Pang-yang fu, there were two men of straw (effigies) nailed up to a wall on one side of the street. On the other, opposite, was written in lange characters, "The poor people." Here we turned our faces backwards for T'ai-yuen-fu.
Feb, 4th.—In the same inn with us at P4ing-yang-fu there were some forty carts that had come from P'u-chow-fu for grain, To order, volunteers are enrolled fecture. was told me by one of the and paid by the Government in that Pre-
volunteers who accompanied the grain carts;
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.