Rensselaer Republican, Volume 20, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 December 1887 — A Terriable Disaster In China. [ARTICLE]

A Terriable Disaster In China.

The steamship City of Snyder arrived at San Francisco Deckmber 16, from HoDg Kong and Yokohama. Chinese papers give details of a disaster occasioned by the Yellow river overflowing its banas in the province of Honan, and describes it as «ne of the most appalling occurrences in loss of life and property recorded in recent times. The river broke its banks on the evening of September 28, southwest of the city of Ching Chow, and not only inundated that city, but also ten other populous cities. The whole area is now a raging sea, ten to thirty feet deep, where was once a rich and densely populated plain. The former bed of the Yellow river is now dry, and the present lake was the bed of the river centuries ago, The loss of life is incalculable, and the statement is made by missionaries that millions of Chinese are homeless and starving. Yellow river has long been known as China's sorrow, and the present disaster has served to reassert its right to the terrible title. As yet details of the disaster are very meager. It has occurred in a district where but few foreigners are, and the report furnished by the officials,published in the Pekin Gazette, conveys a very inadequate account of the extent of the loss of life and property and the sufferings of the survivors. The Governor in Honan reports to the throne that “nearly all the people have been drowned in the district reached by the water, the survivors being those who escaped to the high ground or took refuge in trees, where they remained until they were rescued.” This gives but little impression as to what the extent of the disaster really is. Already considerable sums have been contributed toward relieving the sufferers. The Emperor or China has gi ven two millions of taels, and the Chinese have started subscription lists in Shanghai to which foreigners have liberally contributed. Millions have been rendered homeless and. entirely deprived of all chance of earning their livelihood, for their fields will either become permanent lakes or uninhabitable swamps. It is stated that the Yellow river no longer flows toward the sea, but converts eastern Honan and northern Nganwhi into a lake. - --- ---