150 DISASTBOUS FLOOD 



Oil the SOtli Su-clii was reached, and from here I 

 finished the journey with my men in two sampans^ 

 arriving at Kia-ting-fu at 4 p.m. The missionaries, 

 Messrs. Eirie and Yale, came to see me, and I was much 

 disappointed when they informed me that there were 

 no letters. 



I then made inquiries of the Chinese agent, as he 

 had instructions to detain any letters for me, but he also 

 told me that there were none. Later on, when I arrived 

 at Chung-king, I saw Messrs. Butterfield and Swires' 

 agent (also a Chinese), and he told me that a large parcel 

 had been sent to Kia-ting-fu to the care of the agent 

 there. Subsequently I discovered that by a piece of 

 carelessness they had been returned to Chung-king, the 

 consequence being that I never received them until 

 some time after my return to Ichang, the postage charged 

 being very nearly ten shillings. 



On my arrival I took up my quarters at once in the 

 boat, which I was glad to find safe. The lowban had 

 had an anxious time, he told me, on account of the 

 flood which occurred in July ; and in this he was 

 borne out by the statements of the missionaries and the 

 Chinese themselves, who declared that nothing like it 

 had occurred for a hundred years. In one night the 

 river rose fifty feet, flowing into the city through the 

 gates, destroying houses and property of all kinds. 



