Terrible Scenes as Waters Close on City Death, pestilence, and famine.
hose' are the three harbingers of rim disaster with which flooded. Hankey: "is faced. to-day.
Such is, the information which spas brought to hana on August D'by Mr. "Charles R, Albert. American businessman, of Japan, who was 0 personal witness to, the Iherrowing. Scenes now prevailing the once busy river port, Mr. "Albert was riger Via aircraft to this city and exch detail was freshly impressed upon his mind.
"Unless a miracle happens and the river waters cease to rise, Hankow will undergo an even more horrible disaster than it has) experienced fo date," Mr. Albert declared.,. "And even if this miracle occurs, there is still the. terri danger of pestilence from the bodies the dead as the water recedes, "With the unofficial total of the victims of the flood estimated at 8,000, the death rate now is mount ing by tens and hundreds." Just several days ago, I was returning across. the native city in a motor sampan and saw a whole" family went away when the rising waters caused their house to collapse." As uncounted scores of instances, this group had taken refuge on the oot of their dwelling, refusing, with many others, to abandon their few possessions.
"But those in greatest danger of the rising waters are the neatly 200,000 "refugees encamped along he' railway embankment.—Some swith @ few sticks and goods, some empty-handed, they are" being riven to the crest of their refuge, inch by inch. Only' pitiful mar:
safety. still exists and the Suthorities, alive to the danger, fare endeavouring to formulate plan to evacuate them, But, even given i the time required, it would baffling task to find the craft necessary." In the meanwhile these people are half-starving and, if not already prevalent, disease is ound to appear among such 8 mass.
The day before I left the spec-trey of cholera was before everyone's, eyes and many foreigners were being inoculated. You can Well, imagine this danger when bat Jess than 500 bodies of the many thousands drowned have been recovered, to day nothing of the animals who shared a similar fate.
"Many "horrible tragedies have eccarred in the native city, almost within a stone's throw of the old Goncessions. One of the worst of thes was the drowning of at Toast 100 "prisoners in the District Court gaol. T happened to go-near the scene when a scant few were making an effort to rescue the few: poor devils iM left alive by. the advancing
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.