Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1878 — Frightful Famine in Morocco. [ARTICLE]

Frightful Famine in Morocco.

Letters from Morocco give most distressing accounts of the misery of the unfortunate inhabitants. A correspondent at Saffi writes: “ The country is in a deplorable condition, and one cannot walk in any public place or highway without being shocked at the misery and squalor that seem universal. I can imagine no more harrowing sight than the hundreds of living skeletons encountered every day. I arrived here from Mogador about three weeks ago, and find the distress at Saffi quite equal to that which I have witnessed in the larger towns, although in Mogador it seems more extensive, the pauper population there is so much greater. The country people are flying from their homesteads as if from a pest, and help to augment the misery in the towns. The most heartrending accounts of the extent and severity of the famine are brought by them. Already small-pox and measles are very prevalent. People infected with smallpox walk the streets openly, and cases of severe fever, fainting and delirium are of every day occurrence. There is great anxiety in regard to what the wretched tribes may do in their desperation, which is intensified by a rumor that the Sultan is dead. An event like this is usually the signal for an insurrection, the rising of the Arabs and outbreaks among the hill tribes. Private charity is doing a great deal, and the richer Jews are not stinting their benevolence.” The British Miiuster and Consul are organizing a system for the collection and distribution of relief funds, but the Mohammedan authorities are doing nothing. The appeal of the relief committee states that it is estimated that no less than 3,000,000 people are affected by the famine, which is likely to continue for another year—April, 1879, being the earliest period when the new crops can possibly be available. —New York Herald .