Evening star., 1923-09-11
400 REACH SHANGHAI.
Refugees From Yokohama Relate
Narrowing Stories.
BY the Associated Press.
GIL A-..II Snt

BY the Associated Press.
SHANGHAI, September tdelayed).
Touching scenes were enacted Wnen
the steamer Empress OF CANADA, car
rying approximately 400 refugees
from Japan, docked here at noon to-
day Most of the refugees We're resi-
dents of Yokohama. They brought
no ba ggage There were many Wom-
en- among the refugees, but no weep
iEg There was an occasional hys-
terical laugh, but for the most part
the throng of refugees was silent.
All of the refugees relate harrow
ing experiences In the quake. The
most graphic of the tales are those
told by Miss Esther Robertson. Shang,
hal stenogTapher: Miss Billy Coutts and
Mrs William McBain.. Mrs McBain
is prominent in the orient ana
wealthy. Miss Coutts is one of the
most widely known horsewomen in
China.
Thrown From Chair.
Miss Robertson said she was sitting
in her room at a hotel in Kamagura
when the building suddenly started
to vibrate. Her chair was upset and
she was thrown to the floor.
''I scrambled hastily to my rect,
Miss Robertson said. and rushed out
side The ground shook with great
violence and ] was forced frequently
TO seize the. trunk of II tree to avord
being 'tkFown dowff.
II spe7Tt the first night in the
woods and started the following
morning to walk in the general dl-
rection of Yokohama. eighteen mlles
away l was scantily dressed and
my feet. covered. only with thin slip
pers. were bleeding.
Bodies in Fissures.
''AlI houses that I saw were fiat
tened and the bodies of men. women
and children were strewn everywhere
along the roadway. Bodies filled
E-CE1 q ~ or Some the
assures We're five feet wide.
II finally reached the seashore and
hecknned tC ri fEherman. who placed
me in rs boa I'D rowed four hours.
small village which was destitute of
humans. except the dead. There was
no sign of life. Except sfofAsprowling
"0S1, SWhen I resumed ny Journey
saw Iapansse. country folk cropping
in tho rlr4n5- of their homes and
carrying their wounded in their arms
as though they could love them back
to strength and health found
roads torn up and railroads bent and
twisted
"I reached Yokohama late Monday.
having travelled since Saturday noon
before The whole place was desc
late and in ruins. | scrambled over
the debris and the bodies of the dead.
] waa sickened by the means of the
injured, whom I was unable to help.
At last I reached the waterfront and
was taken in a fainting condition
aboard a aamrap. which conveyed me
to the steamer Empress of Australia,
whore | found temporary refuge and
Miss Robertson's home formerly
was in London. She SAYS she has
no relatives
The stories told by Miss coutts
and Mrs. McBain are similar in many
respects to that told by Miss, Rob
RTfS0n
Dzushi. a summer resort five miles
from Kamakura. They were both
in their rooms. in neElige when the
quake q;5I occurred =, They rushed out
Balm was caring for. her niece. Jean
Curry. seventeen months old They
all started to walk to Yokohama, go
ing two days without food and with
little water.
All Passengers Dead in Car.
The party, Mrs McBain said. final
1y reached. a small village where they
obtained jinrickshas. but these. were
of little use, as the roadway was
filed with huge assures.
I'VE passed scores of bodies" Mrs.
McBain said, land in one place we
saw a slightly burned street car with
all the occupants sitting dead in
their natural attitudes. They had
been electrocuted. Some had smiles
on their faces, and one woman held
apparently was killed while tender
ing her fare to the conductor.
TN one village we found all the
Japanese terrorized with fear. Korean
looters were stealing everything In
sight and killing those who resisted
them with large knives attached to
the ends of bamboo poles.
Koreans Murder Many.
We saw many victims of these mur-
derers lying along the road with their
heads chopped off The house in
which we stopped for a time at this
village was entered by these Korean
marauders, who held huge weapons
over our heads. We thought our time
had come. Hugging- my baby niece
to my breast. l kissed her good bye
But the marauders only mumbled a
few words and started out. A little
later we resumed our journey to
Yokohama. We reached the ruined
city that evening and made our way
to the water front We saw the EN-
press of Canada in the distance. The
nearest the sampan could approach
TO the liner was under the bridge and
we got spill into the water in trying
10 get aboard. The fact that Miss
Coutts is a fine swimmer saved u.s."
Through 1t all Miss Coutts man
aged to save her favorite bulldog