Peking, Mar. 20.
. The dangers attending navigation on the Yangtze are illustrated by the experiences of several foreigners, details of which have just reached Peking. On February 2, Mr. R. S. Hammond, of the Standard Oil Company, returned to Chungking after a trip to Chengtu, and reported that when about 50 li above Chungking a band of brigands on the shore hailed the junk in which he was travelling and ordered the crew to bring it ashore. Apparently tha speed with which this was being done did not satisfy the bandits, one of whom fired at the tillerman. Fortunately, the latter was not hit, but both he and the foreigner sought protection against further shots by dropping into the bottom of the boat. Eventually the boat was brought ashore, and the bandits searched it. From Mr, Hammond they took some cigarettes and candy, but did not take any of his: money. On reaching Chungking, Mr. Hammond informed the Consul of his experiences, and adde& that one day's journey behind him on the river was a Syracuse University medical unit, consisting of two men and eight women. This information was passed on to the commander of the U.S.S. Monocacy, Lieut. Commander J. L. Neilson, who gave orders for the gunboat to: proceed up river with a view to es-carting the two junks, in which the missionaries were, past the danger zone.
In due time the Monocacy sighted the junks in question and took off the missionaries. This precautionary measure was justified, for it was subsequently learned that not long after the missionaries had' left the junks, the latter were fired on and a mail boat, which the Monocacy had passed on the journey, was also robbed.
The party rescued, in time, consisted of Dr. and Mrs. Hoople, Dr. and Mrs. Sutton and baby, Miss Betty Heller, Miss Mabel' Maclean, Miss Lilian Macdonald, Miss Catherine Ross and Miss Mar-garer Deabler.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.