The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-02-18
Our 0liu.
The Yellow River of China.

The Yellow River of China.
A few months ago short account of the
overflow of the Yellow River, in China,
was published. The following description
of the country through which it flows and
the great loss sustained, from correspon-
dent of the London Times, will be read
with interest:
The Hoang Ho, or Yellow River, has
recently given fresh proof of its right to
the title of "Chinas SORROW" Year after
year this river is the cause of unceasing
anxiety both to the public and to the Gov
ernment. For several hundred miles from
the sea its banks are marked out into short
sections, each with its allotted guard
Officers Of the greatest experience are ap-
pointed to superinteud the whole, During
the winter and spring, when the waters are
low, necessary repairs are carried out assid
uously at the cost of vast sums. When
the season of the summer and autumn
freshets comes round numerous army is
employed watching the stream, and, with
materials stored at hand, is ready to
strengthen any point in the banks which
may show signs of weakness. Still, year
by year, almost without exception, breaches
occur at some unexpected spots, and wide
tracts are oyerrun by the waters, which
carry away all hopes of the autumn harvest
and perhaps also the very homes of the
peasant farmers. But the suffering caused
by these inundations, severe, indeed, though
it be, is nothing as compared with what
has befallen the land on few terrible oe-
casions, among which the present one must
be numbered Within the last few weeks
the river broke its banks at point about
800 miles from the coast. 1t has entirely
deserted its former bed, and its waters,
swollen by food, poured down upon a thick
ly-inhabited plain, spreading death and des-
olation to an unparalleled extent, and fore
ing an entirely new road for themselves to
the sea-
A SHIFTING STREAM,
During the past 1000 years the Yellow
river has changed its course some five or
six times, discharging its waters by new
mouth, distant from the old one as much,
perhaps, as $50 miles For 500 years, up
to the middle of the present century, it en-
tered the sea little to the south of Shan
tung province In 1852 it burst its north
ern bank, about 250 miles inland, and cut
new bed for itself through the northern
part of Shantung into the Gulf of Pechili.
OF the particulars of the calamity and of
the vast amount of suffering and destruction
VIC know little or nothing. The isolation
in which foreigners then lived in China,
and their ignorance of Chinese affairs, are
curiously demonstrated by the fact that
they did not hear of this great catastrophe
till long after it took place, and were long
er still in believing it. 1t appears that five
years elapsed before the attention of Euro
peans in Shanghai was called to the occur
renee, and that two years later it was still
matter of speculation what had become
of the river which by that time was known
certainly to be missing from its ancient
bed Nowadays Europeans are spread
more over the country, an acquaintance
with the language is much less rare, the
different provinces are connected by tele-
graph, and news reaches our ears in as
many weeks as it formerly took years.
RECENT INUNDATIoNs.
During the last thirty years the labor
and treasure expended in dealing with the
Yellow river have been more than usually
great. Though the stream traversed the
same line of country as it had done previ-
ously to 500 years ago, still It nowhere oe.
cupied exactly the same bed. 1t poured
itself into comparatively small water
course, and its volume, especially in sum-
mer, being many times too large for the
channel, it spread over the adjacent plains.
The task of the Government and people,
therefore, was to create entirely new en-
bankments. Gradually the waters have
been confined to definite channel. There
have been inundations constantly, but the
work has been continued perseyeringly.
The present Governor has shown honesty
and determination, and the past summer
had been unusually free from disasters.
Last October those who paid attention to
such matters knew that an inundation of
some sort had recently occurred. and that
the officers responsible for the section
where the banks had given way were con-
demped to exposure in the Chinese pillory.
Little was thought of this, but rumors of
an extraordinary calamity became current
soon afterward. Then the Gazette an
nounced that the Empress had ordered
donation of the value of S125,000 to be
given to the sufferers from the private
funds of the Emperor. The magnitude of
the gift, as well as the terms in which the
decree accompanying it was couched, show
ed that the mischief must be serious.
Since then several reports have been pub
lished from high officials and from these it
is possible in some degree to gather the
nature and the extent of the calamity.
THE EMBANKMENTs BREAK.
Inland from Shantung is the province
of Honan, with Kaifeng, its capital, on
the south bankof the Yellow river. About
40 miles west from Kaifeng, stands the
second-class city of Cheng Chou. The
latter half of September was unusually wet
and stormy, in Northwest China. The To-
cal streams were filed and heavy freshet
was coming down the Yellow river, which