The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-09-22

NlllCS~~~LAfAAM for Ten Days--Then Calm and Then Terrific Storm.
 Americans, who bear in mind the specific floods on the Mississippi, at- tended as they are with loss of life and property, and particularly the fearful floods of the spring of 1903, in Kansas and Missouri, may be pardoned in thinking that we in this country know what a river flood means. Yet the worst of all these catastrophes appears small in comparison with those that occur on the great Yangtse river, in the middle kingdom of China, the most treacherous of all rivers. For hun- dreds of years the Yang-tse has exact ed it's appalling human sacrifices, though even now the worst of these disasters rarely find their way into print, except through the chance pres ence on the scene of some American or European. A letter to the Chicago News from the city of Suifu, two thou sand miles up the Yant-tse river, glVes graphic account of the most recent flood that has visited that Ill fated dis trict, as follows:
 The ordinary annual rise of the Yang-tse would be counted a deluge In many other parts of the world. Where the banks are low the river expands into ponds and lakes sometimes miles across, where they are high the water rises on magnificent scale and some- times with fearful rapidity Chung King. the last treaty port up the river, has a situation of the latter sort, the scale of the custom house showing an annual rise of from ninety to one hun dred feet. So incredible did this seem to Englishmen that when it was noted on the floor of the House of Commons from the report of Sir Archibald Little, the statement was not accepted, and ninety-five inches was suggested as the probable intended reading. But the fact remains, in spite of the Eng lishmen's inability to comprehend 1t that the printer made no mistake when he set up his type.
 Every year there are a few days when even the venturesome native boatmen do not attempt to go either up or down the river, and when the ferries refuse passengers because Of the swiftness of the current, which has been meaured by the British gunboats In some places as fourteen knots an hour. Add to this strong eddies, swift swirls and uncertain currents, and there seems to be good reason for even poor people temporarily leaving their means of livelihood. Yet, in spite of oft-repeated lessons, the careless Chi naman will plant his garden or build his shed a little too low, gambling on the risk.
 This year a week or ten days rain had brought the river very steadily up to its usual limit Travel was more or less interrupted; the channels were full. Perhaps the water had gone above the annual mark and reached the line it makes every two or three years. But on Tuesday, August s, the sun shone, and people who had beer getting ready to leave threatened homes were treasured and put theil goods back into place.
  go down appreciably during the day and as night approached clouds that the afternoon had gathered gloomet ominously. Darkness was hurried or by the approaching storm, which raget throughout the night and day unti mid-afternoon of the following day Fog and mist walled off one neighbor hood from another and only ghastl! rumor whispered what was going ol only a short distance away
 From the high water mark the rive rose and rose, every foot at this poin a multiple of it's predecessor in power bringing more danger than ten fee had brought before Many people liv ing by the rivers edge, still believing that the water would recede, whel their floors were flooded went into tn garrets to keep dry Here the pitlles invader caught them, turning home into death-traps. In other cases tn insubstantial mud walls collapsed am added to the debris. from which man, bodies are now being taken.
 The prefectural city of Suifu, impor tant commercially, is situated nearl two thousand miles up the Yang-ts and at the junction of the Min, whic flows down from the north. It wa here that the brunt of the flood wa first felt, cloud having burst a fe' miles further up in the hills, Bot rivers as they pass the city fo1 through deep gulches where they ar converted into torrents. The main riy CT rushes along the south wall of tn city and worked most of its devasta tion there, and on the west side, whel the water backed up to form a laB that all but submerged the large sr burb lying just outside the wall I'll smaller river, on the other hand, wa busy carrying off the water that ha backed up in the flat country to Il north, wreeking buildings outside tf city as it came by the east side. Fro adjacent hills it could be seen that u two rivers had made channels entirel around the city.
 Tn the west suburb nearly all u mud houses collapsed, the citys poo houses were entirely destroyed, fran and plaster buildings were gutted ar brick buildings had water from six
 ten feet deep standing in them. Amor the latter were several temples, who contents were thoroughly soaked ar whose idols were left to the will of u clements. It is said that even the ri CT god himself, who has his temp close to the Yangtse in this quarter