Kuling, Jan. 3.
'The fire is reported to have started soon after midnight, although we on the foreign side of the hill' did not know of it] this end were enveloped and only two buildings stood between us and the native city, one being the fine new Chinese Post Office, two storeys high, and the other the! Chinese police stations, facing on the other side of the street. The flames lapped both these hildings, but failed to get a hold on the high blank wall of the Post Office, and just as they were enveloping the police station fickle wind veered in the contrary direction and drove the flames right! down the entire street.
Every house and shop down to the fruit and meat market on! the way to West Valley, on both sides of the street, is wrecked and roofless, many with not even walls standing. The lower road (the old road up to Kuling) also is destroy-ea on both sides for a long way! down, and the scene is one terrible wreckage and confusion, with many fires still burning among the debris at 5 p.m., although the! progress of the flames was stopped Lefore 8 o'clock this morning, Hospital in Danger At one time the two buildings of the Chinese Women's Tubercular Hospital on Sunset Pidge wore in imminent danger from the burning houses on the Gap side the hill. The roofs of these burning houses came right up to the foundations of the lower hospital, so that three times the flames caught the verandah, but were beaten out by Dr. Buswell and his helpers. The women patients all were brought into our house for the night, but were able to get Tack into the higher hospital during this morning. The Kuling Medical jon General Hopital, the Chapel und the Dispensary all have entirely disappeared, it was with] Gigieulty that T could even locate their position this afternoon I stumbled along the streets amidst corrugated iron, twisted telegraph wires, and fallen walls that block
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.