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153 Among German Colonists.
large sclioolliouses and churches, their well-built
dwelling-houses, surrounded by trim gardens, all spoke of a considerable
degree of thriving civilisation.
Unhappily, however, this prosperity must already be spoken
of in the past tense. For one thing, their well-being had, as
usual, attracted the hostile attention of a suspicious
Government, and of late years every expedient has been employed to
hamper their development. At one time tobacco-growing was
a flourishing industry in these colonies; the authorities made
the sale of this commodity a monopoly, with the result that
their market was practically destroyed, and the industry
killed. Nor have they been proof against the wiles of
capitalism, both from without and within.
The consequence of this was that they were unable to stand
against a succession of bad years, and famine broke out in
their midst. I found, during my investigations, that these
colonists of German extraction, being accustomed to a higher
standard of living than the mushiks, fell much easier victims
to starvation than the latter. Typhus, also, had made terrible
havoc among them; the death-rate had in some villages gone
up as high as 180-200 per 1,000. From these causes, and
especially on account of the hostile attitude of the Government,
emigration to America has set in on a large scale.
The Mennonite Colonies, usually included by name among
the "German" colonies, but really of Dutch origin, form a
very pleasing and instructive exception to the general misery
and starvation. During the famine, not only have they not
suffered themselves, but they have been both able and
willing-to give much aid to the needy round about their borders.
The ancestors of the present colonists shared in the invitation
of the Empress Catherine II. mentioned above, and received
from her the privilege of maintaining both their religious faith
and practice, and their communal ownership of land. They
wrere also exempted from military service, as contrary to their
religious belief, and received instead the obligation to plant
trees; a most excellent substitution. After overcoming the
natural difficulties, which occupied them some years, they
flourished greatly, and have continued to do so ever since. At
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