130 WBECKED HOUSES 



The suddenness of the whole thing — the tremendous 

 noise, the terrible exhibition of the power of a flood of 

 water to toss enormous boulders about like playthings — 

 combined to fix the scene indelibly upon my mind, but 

 no description can do any justice to it. 



In about three hours it was all over, and a small 

 stream of water only ran along the course so short a 

 time before in raging flood. It was caused, I have no 

 doubt, by the hot weather we had lately experienced, 

 and the heavy rain acting on the snow on the mountain 

 ranges, perhaps some miles distant. 



I slept at the mission-house that night, it being a 

 treat to get clean lodgings after what I had gone 

 through in some of the Chinese inns. The missionaries 

 were very hospitable. They are under their bishop, 

 who resides at Ta-tsien-lu. 



On July 3 we left the mission station at 8 a.m., and 

 found a difficulty almost immediately, for the storm of 

 last night had washed part of the road away. I had 

 hired some mules the evening before, but these now 

 could not proceed, and had to be left, we having to 

 travel on foot again as usual. I noticed the wrecks of 

 many houses that had been built on low-lying ground, 

 some having been washed away, others being filled 

 with mud and rendered uninhabitable. These would 

 all be put to rights again in the course of a few weeks, 



