Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 August 1898 — The Sorrow of China. [ARTICLE]

The Sorrow of China.

The Yellow river, which has been named the “Sorrow of China,” is probably the most destructive stream on the face of the earth. In less than 1,000 years it has changed its channel four times and the point where It empties Into the sea has from time to time been moved up and down the coast a distance of 800 miles. It runs through a vast alluvial plain, and is fed by streams from a great system of mountains in the north. When the snow melting on this range conies at a time of heavy rains the result is sure to be a terrible flood. It has been estimated that in the past three centuries over 10,000,000 human beings have perished In the floods of the Yellow river. For destructiveness, both of life and property, this stream is unparalleled, and the sobriquet bestowed upon it Is simply Justified by Its history.