Ta-cheng reports that on the 17th of August, after the autumn freshets, the Yellow River suddenly rose two feet two inches in the neighbourhood of Shan Chou, a hundred miles or so above the great breach; and on the next day there was a further rise of three feet. iterwards on the 15th September, the water again went up two feet. There was a simultaneous rise in the Ch'in River; and the great care was required to protect both the north and the south bank. The place where there was the most danger, was on the south side in Shang-nan Z"ing, where the river flows past the foot of Mao-shan hill. Further east there were many other spots which also demanded serious attention. The efforts, however, of the officers in charge wented the occurrence of any accident, in the mouth of the great breach itself, the water being compressed between the two end-of the embankments, a hole of great depth has been scoured out. Indeed the soundings taken there continue to show ninety and more feet of water ip the deepest part. Every effort has been made to preserve the new embankments, and they still stand aloft uninjured. Large quantities of bricks and stones have been thrown in to protect the places endangered by the back rush of the wr. The two lengths of the western embankment which were washed away this summer have both been restored to their former condition. Now that the middle of September is past there should be no more freshets to come, and it will be comparatively easy both to execute fresh work and guard what has been already done.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.