On the 9th August 1898, the Yellow River, an. angry. torrent of water, broke inks, in six, places, covering of square miles, that the, Yellow rer had fr¢ sposed.to a swelled h constantly tried to.make.new mouths. This: has been so repeatedly do seemed. tobe custom—and whi tom, established, brooks no interfer and, thus.we, had been taking things quietly as if. it were useless to bestir ourselves., With. this, thought in mind and yet moved; by-.an apparently exaggerated. report, Dr. Lewis. and the. writer determined: to find out'if possible what,.was the truth and started on. the 7th, of November, 1898, down the Haisoching ho, hoping,, to go. by: boat into. the Yellow River. After 6015 by water we came to a village, called. Yaerwankou. Wo looked about. this. village, saw a number. of houses-destroyed and wore surprised to hear that only 1,000 houses out of 4,000 were remaining... As almost all of the; refugees had left. we thought there was not so much needed hero as by boon, represented, and if thia wr specimen of: suffering we might: turr ea and uso; our, energies. to other a back But as. our, special purpose: war -arposes. the banks of the Yellow River 4 to go to another 40 hand-came to. We went on chai.,. Here we found at 9 village, To-Toft out of 1,600 trying your 500 people could. 150 houses wor best they 'The roofs! of the' in complete ruins. maining houses were beige "des being uninhabitable moved ourh-. ¢ soft-mud. These sig lits tumbled'..0arta, the ruined houses, bri cks atue~ about, timber tossed aside, ct rts in the mud, women boiling wil low seaves with kaoliang chaff, men and ch ildton sitting idly about, all this was a se arry sight to: behold, a sight'to move the heat: tof the most hardened. With sorrowful he arts we started for the banks of the He siaochinigho. 'This isa small, river that lows from Chinanfu, to the sea at Yanget siao-Kou, a distance' of 160 miles. The w -ater from the Yellow River crossed the cou, ntry to meet this stream carrying devasted ition on every side.
Hero and there the b auks of the' Hsiaoghingho were. strong' oni ough to resist the swift-flowing current. 'To these spots the refugees retook themsé Ives. Here' they'have built rade huts of mud and aoliaig'- (sorghum) stalks. It was to one of these spots we directed our E ioatmen to sail, "For a: whole day'we #t, iled over''siibmergid farms' new water, y "ater to put off the day of starvation. As they Hangchow were on an island without money to hire boa's, they are at the mercy of any who some Por' jon of the goverament Fos pout 8 o'clock Inst night may help or harm them. We went ashore.
Lasipieged the Lower City here Hard by were two completely destroyed caught Gre resulting in frightful lasa of life, and Pre" sorty no less than some 1,500 villages: Lichiatakou and Puchiatakou.
Refugees from these two villages were.
Perse" as are said to be Killed arid several: the bank, here were about 650 persons withsdredg of houses destroyed, by the ox: plosion of hundreds of barrels of newly-out money and with no food except willow finde gunpowder. The Upper and Middle Teaves and a little chaff, We were 1a Cities are, ho for, untouched." that there were 40 li of just such mi"
Dr. Lewis gave them medicine he:*Y-relieve them a little, but their cor "Ping to of weakness, the bright eyes o" "AP alning
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.