Ichang, Sept. 20.
During the last few days nearly every ship on passing a place called 1-t'u, a few miles above Fowchow, has been heavily fired on, and it is surprising how gel-dom any damage is done other than to the ship. On the last trip down, however, they got tee chief engineer, Mr. barvhardt, of the Standard Gil "Meitan,"' and a Chinese—both being hit with the same bullet. Mr. Barnhardt was brought into hospital on arrival of the ship at Ichang sutfering from a wound in the calf of the leg, it is unfortunate that so little can be done to stop this indiscriminate firing on ships. both sides Seem to engage in it, and for no known reason, Perhaps they expect the ships to tie up like the junks as soon as a shot 1s fired at them. he poor junkmen, many of whom are wounded, have no choice in the matte*, and have learned to come to anchor as soon as possible after being shot at or there is little escape for them. With the ships, however, going at 15 or 20 miles an hour it is another matter and usually it 1s & case of take cover and get past the danger spot as a soon as possible. But it is, to say the least of it, trying on the nerves of those who have to face it cunstantly. Lhere are many other causes for nerves among those who have charge of these ships, and it may become increasingly dificult to get men to under take the job.
Ichang has been suffering from a great scarcity of rice recently—tha rice produced in the locality being but a small portion of what the city needs and our supply comes from Hunan and Szechuan.
Soldiers and their demands are partly accountable for the scarcity, and little is coming in. The price went up to over $15 a tan. Salt, too, is very scarce as none is coming from Szechuan, and we kaye had to get it from Tientsin.
Mr. F. Lyone, our genial Commissioner of Customs, is being transferred to Pakhor and Mr, holes of that place is coming here.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.