224 NEW SPECIES OF BAT 



News soon spread about of the disasters caused by 

 the flood, much damage having been done to the crops 

 and villages as well as to the junks and boats. The 

 loss of life also had been, as usual, considerable. 



The following day the river continued to fall, though 

 a very heavy rain was falling, and the boat had to be 

 again moved to a safer anchorage. 



On August 28 I made a trip to some of the Mantzu 

 caves cut in the red sandstone. These are found on 

 both sides of the river, and those I visited on this occa- 

 sion were on the right bank, the same side as the town. 

 On attempting to enter one of them I found the mouth 

 so choked with creepers and other plants that they had 

 to be forced aside before I could get in. Inside was a 

 skeleton, but whether of a Chinese or a Mantzu I am 

 unable to say. 



The only living inhabitants were bats, of which I 

 captured several, one turning out to be of a species 

 hitherto unknown, and which has now been named 

 Hipposiderus Prattii. It has a total length of 5-6 

 inches, and is coloured dull, smoky grey. 



I also obtained at Kia-ting-fu an interesting species 

 of salamander. 



On August 30 the mail arrived from Ta-tsien-lu, 

 and I received a letter from Mgr. Biet telling me, 

 among other things, that the full power of government 



