"Millions Fight With Death"

By ROSALIND COFORTH.

Kikungshan, S. Honan, Jan. 17. - Words fail one to make plain to the home friends what this famine really means. It is doubtful whether there has ever been a famine when so many souls were involved. The estimates have varied from thirty to forty millions. Even taking the lower figure, it means four times the population of Canada, helpless and starving apart from outside aid. In 1887 a terrible famine occurred in the province of Shantung when it is said 70 percent. of the people died. While we now have greater facilities for reaching the people, yet the area is vastly greater, and rober bands, scouring many parts of the affected region, increase tremendously the difficulties of relief work. At a recent Famine Relief Conference Dr. P. C. Leslie, the Treasurer for famine funds. "In a hush that could be felt," stated, "there is no human possibility in sight to carry the worst sufferers straight through." And at the Pekin Famine Conference it was clearly stated that, "Unless money continued to flow in till next May, the sufferings of millions would but be prolonged in vain."

"So many thanks for your letter with enclosed cheque, I hope that you will remember us in prayer, for it is really heart-rending to hear about the sufferings of the poor people. We have had a long spell of bitterly cold weather and much snow ... so many people have died from starvation and cold ... Two Christian women came to-day, one nearly blind and the other with a three-year-old boy whose feet were badly frost-bitten, and a small baby. One of our Christian men had carried the boy and helped the blind women; the younger one carrying the baby. They had tramped in the bitter cold and snow over thirty-three miles to get to us, and would have all died of starvation had they remained at home."

children sleeps on my bed. My co-worker has three of the older girls sleeping on her floor. ... We do feel so happy to do this, so as to make room for as many as possible."

"Many thanks for your letter with enclosed cheque. I was greatly distressed about all these women and girls. Only a little over a month since the famine became acute. All our resources were gone. There could be no thought of sending the children back to their homes where they could get nothing to eat, so we just cried to the Lord, and then your letter and cheque came."

"This money has come just at an opportune time. Three young men had been in from the Neichin district, appealing to me for help for their village, which had cmoe absolutely to the end of their food supplies. I had told them that I could not help them, but they ahd not left when your welcome letters arrived bringing four cheques' so I was able to give these men millet to take home. Those last twelve days the distress has becoem much intensified on account of the heavy snwo and the intense cold following and numbers who have existed till now are dying off in quantities."

"In one of our districts it is said that eight out of ten of the women are without protection. Robbers are already carring off some of the young women to sell them. Their husbands have either died of the cholera when it was raging in September, or they have gone off with the robbers, or have simply gone to seek food and work and left their famillies to starve. Fairs are held, not for the carrying on of business (for there is none), but for the sale of young children and older girls."

"School children and indeed all of us pray with new meaning and nowadays. 'Lord give us this day our daily bread,' Truly we need the joy of the Lord these days, or we could not keep on. Yesterday it was pitiful to see two old men both over seventy, simply crawl into the main courtyard and cry for help - literally starving by inches. At a station not far from us, eight corpses were found on the slow train of famine refugees who had died en route from the cold."

But enough! Surely these are sufficient to give us some idea of the awfulness of the situation. It would be well for us to remember, too, that all missionaries working or living in close proximity to the famine sufferers are in real peril, and need our speical support by prayer. Famine fever is very deadly and is sure to become prevalent when the weather becomes warmer. Already we are hearing of epidemics breaking out among the people. Shall not we who are spared these sights and the hardships and dangers of relief work, do all in our power to uphold our brethren and sisters, both foreign and Chinese, who are now carrying on this lifesaving work, both by sending the wherewithal to carry on this work and by upholding them by prayer.