The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-09-29
THE FLOODS IN JAPAN.



seventy thousand Persons Made Home
less and Many Lives Lost.
VICTORIA. b. c.. Sept. 27-fSpecisl. -
BY the Empress OF India, which arrived
yesterday. the very latest particulars of
the floods In Japan are received. Unfor-
tunately the former reports. instead Of
exaggerating. have underestimate the
devastation and distress. Although figures
convey no realization Of the misery In all
parts of Gifu, q few statistics are presented
telling a. they do the extent and char
acter OF the devastation In the briefest
possible form. According to the official
returns more than 200 portions of the
river entertainments gave way. the breaks
aggreRating 5000 yards. Twenty-one
tsubo Of land were inundated and ninety
two villages flooded. The water did more
or less damage to i4.025 houses. the num-
her Of occupants of these homes being
10000, of whom 30, 2O5 are now being cared
for by the japanese government. Five
hundred and fifty-seven houses were car
RED away and fifty-two persons were
killed by falling buildings or drowned be-
fore assistance could reach them, sixteen
others being severely injured. On the
22d ult. the river Gsnjo-Gawa overlooked
IL banks and all the people in the district
fed for safety 10 the temple Joni,
which being placed upon high hill
was regarded as q temple Of refuge.
Unfortunately the immense quantity of
rain which had fallen caused landsllp on
the hill above the temple. and q great mass
OF sand and rock fell upon the ediiice.
crushing IL and killing instantly or fatally
iniuring fifty-eight persons. As IL this
was not enough. fire broke out in the vii
lagc and, unchecked In the general con-
ssernation, completed the work of destruc-
ton.
A pathetic incident of the food is thus
related by one OF the Kobe papers of the
day before the Empress sailed: On Au-
gust 3, while the floods at GEfu were at
their worst, woman was discovered float
ing down the the river clinging firmly TO
a clothes chest. She was rescued, but was
90 exhausted that she could not speak.
She Was able TO point TO the box. how
ever. and on opening one OF the drawers
the reseuers found little baby quite un-
injured. no water having got into the box.
The poor mother. as she was surmised 20
be, died shortly afterward without being
able to state who she was or where she had
come from.
The Acheen pirates have also been heard
from again. The report is received from
wenchow that war junk while cruising
among the Weuchow islands came across
the pirate craft leaving merchant junk
In a small cove for shelter. A gun was
fired by the war junk and the pirates then
engaged the government craft. The firing
attracted two other war junks cruising In
the vicinity and the pirates were over
powered and thirteen of them made pris-
oners. many others being siain--one ac-
count says sixty-tour. A search OF the
pirate junk revealed seven men who il
turned out had been taken from the mer-
chant junk to be held for ransoni. The
merchant captain and his crew, or such as
remained of them, were returned TO their
Junk. The pirates We're taken TO Wen
chow, where they were decapitated.