Catoctin clarion., 1918-06-20
NEWS FROM THE ORIENT.
Yochow City, China.
March 2, 1918.

March 2, 1918.
Dear W.
Last Saturday the married women
with children started off for kuling.
The steamers cannot come up into the
Lake now so they went on small Chi
nese boat to the Port. Before they got
there the boat struck rock and caved
in a side of the ship and they had quite
a time saving their lives and their bag
gage. The baggage of the Owens family,
which was underneath, was completely
soaked 50 they and their children hurried
back home. They had some colored ar
ticles in the boxes and trunks and so
much was ruined. Mrs. Rennert and her
youngest child, Mrs. Adams and four
children and Mrs. Beam and her two
girls decided to stay at the Port and wait
for the steamer. The Customs people
had invited them there 80 they were well
looked after. When the Japanese steam
er came they refused to take foreign
women and children on board. There
were a lot of Szechman and Ichang peo-
pei on board and they offered to give up
their cabins but the Captain was obdu-
rate. The boat had been fired upon a
hundred times since it had left Ichang
and several of the passengers had had
narrow escapes. The engine room was
the only place protected by steel plating
and only few women and children could
be crowded in there. They would still
be fired upon on their way to Hankow
and the Captain did not want to be both
cred with any more foreign women and
children. He also told them that the
Japanese steamers were booked full for
weeks ahead, that British steamers had
stopped running and of course the Chi
nese steamers don't dare to venture up
this way.
Things began to look very serious, so
the consul at Hankow was telegraphed
and it was hoped he would send gum
boat. However arrangements were
made with the Japanese Consul that all
women and children who wanted to
leave Yochow should be taken on. so
yesterday Mrs. Adams and children left
The others are still here.
At present things look pretty bad for
the Southerners. In the last three fights
between here and Hankow they have
been defeated and have retreated about
ten miles. 500 right at the front and in
a strategic point refused to fight. The
Human and Kwangsi soldiers cannot
agree and are always quarrelng. So
this division of Hunanese refused to
fight and made the Kwangsi men do it
alone thus cutting off their noses to
spite their faces. A lot of Kwangsi
men are deserting or refusing to fight or
doing it in half hearted way.
When they took Yochow they We're
promised $50 for every Northern gun
they captured. They made brave at
tempt and took many but the money
never appeared. When the Northerners
were here the commanders had thousands
of dollars sent to them from Peking to
make the soldiers more comfortable.
The commanders held series of feasts
and so the money was spent. A relief
commission was sent to Yochow by the
Southern commanders to reimburse the
poor people whose all had been destroyed
in the fire started by the Southern
troops. Before this commission reached
Yochow they stopped off and began
feasting and the last news is to the eff
feet that they are still at it.
The Northerners are approaching
Changsha from Kiangsi, a big Northern
army is in Hankow ready to march on
Yochow and l fear the Southerners will
be bott led up even worse than the
Northerners were. Last night S, 900 re-
Inducements came but these do not seem
to be enough. If the Southerners retreat
there is great fear that they will try to
kill all the Northern patients in the hos
pitals and perhaps loot and burn. Two
fires were started yesterday but owing
to rain and snow they were soon extin-
guished. If the Northerners come back
we will also have much to fear. Our
guards have all left, and only our regular
night watchman and the foreign men
are watching and guarding the compound.
What they most dread is incendiary fires.
Not even thieves are so much source
of worry.
Last week troop of Southern SOL
diers marching over railroad bridge not
far from here were caught by train,
number killed and many wounded. These
latter were brought to the foreign hos
pital. Sometimes l wonder how per-