It is 23 years since a small dispensary and hospital work was founded by members of the London Missionary Society in Tsaoshih, a market town of Tien-men county in Hupeh. The records kept have shown am increase year by year in both in-patients and out-patients, until in 1922, with our 45 beds, we had over 1,000 in-patients and over 16,000 out-patients' visits. There is no lack of local goodwill to the hospital. So much is this the case that, though -the hills to the north and west are bandit-ridden, and though no place in the dis-trice can boast of being free from raids, we have never had any trouble from this source. A large number of these local tufei have been in hospital for treatment. On one occasion a quantity of bedding was stolen from hospital, but on our making Known the loss in the district around, the goods were quietly returned to us.
Towards the end of June of this year, a band of brigands from the south of Honam carried away a Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Malotto, from a place about 20 miles distant. The same band approached to within five miles of us, but then turned north, and though they hung round the neighbourhood for some time, they did not molest us. On August 16 they returned (they had been several times reported by the authorities to have been surrounded by regular troops) and attacked the town, burnting for Chinese and foreigners likely to reduce ransom, and for loot.
fortunately the Roman Catholic Father who was in Tsaoshih escaped, and the L. M. S. foreigners were absent at the time, but most unfortunately they managed to carry away about 60 to 80 Chinese captives. About two-fifths of the town has been destroyed, chiefly houses of the poorer people. The London Mission has with the rest of the people suffered severely. Buildings destroyed include those of the boys' and girls' schools, men's and women's Bible schools, one foreign residence and portions of the hospital. A definite attempt was made to fire the main buildings of the latter, but in large part it failed. Gatehouse, Chinese doctor's house, laboratory and outhouses have gone. The captives included the Chinese doctor, the head assistant, three nurses, evangelist and two servants. Of these all But two nurses have since escaped and returned.
Our equipment has been broken, even to chairs and tables; bedding has been carried away; and dis-pen sary, operating room and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.