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 
avery 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 Pratt. It has a total length of 56 
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 
