There is rumour afloat around this district purporting to be a message from one of the "gods' that a most devastating earthquake, to be attended with serious loss of life and property, may be expected on the seventh day of the fifth moon (June 2). This message from the seen or unseen was accompanied by a prescription for certain herbs or drugs, which, when boiled, had to be poured out in liquid form into the river, and so the individual might obtain immunity from the coming calamity. In his turn the individual was instructed to make 10 copies of the said prescription and distribute them to -10 other people and so a sort of endless chain of life saving was established. As 1 have not followed the instructions I haste to send you a message, as the calamity by this prediction is only two days ahead.
There have been further move-; ments of troops recently into the provincial capital, where our re-Geubtable Gen. Teng seems to have established himself. To pay his expenses he has called for a levy of $128,000 from Mienchuh, one and a half day's journey from here, and this is now being collected.
During my recent tour, besides uke things I have already mentioned in former letters, two other things have struck me: first, the remarkable way the T'ong Shan Huei has spread. Their rites seem to be 2 mixture of hypnotism and spirit-rialism, very much along the lines of the Red Lantern Sect (Boxers) of some years ago though they are not yet as avowedly anti-foreign er anti-Christian.. The other thing that struck me was the frequency one heard "Yang Ren" called after one. This term died out some years ago, but this year may be heard everywhere. he people in general seem very unsettled in mind and expect disturbances of some kind in the intercalary month (July) The frequency of these alarmist reports and the general feeling of uneasiness make us wonder if something really will happen.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.