Wuchang, July 12.
The hot weather always brings with it a crop of quarrels in this country. Not only are the leading men at each other's throats but the lesser are apt to get to brawling, and clan fights become 1 common occurrence. In Nan-hsiang, about 20 li from Hankow, reside the families of Chang and Ch'eng, and these have had a disagreement over the eternal question of water supply for their respective rice lands, each party accusing the other of appropriate ing more than its share of the Tiquid, As usually appears in these cases, words lead to blows and on July 5 a grand-pitched battle was fought, the weapons being such farm implements as come in handy for the occasion. The result appears to have been draw, though three men lost their lives in the fray. Next day the district magistrate made his appearance in order to settle the matter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.