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Show -2- Here the waters had been to within six or eight inches of these second-story Hospital floors, had broken down all the walls of the compound, crept into all the residences driving the dwellers either to the second floors or to a plaasanter refuge in Tientsin or Peking, made the continuance of the schools impo.ssible, and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the Mission property* I cannot begin to tell you the extent of this flood distress. Thousands of scuare ndles are flooded and several millions of people in need* In our Paotlngfu station every outstation chapel has been turned into a soup kitchen, the missionaries and Chinese workers are all engaged in the relief work, said they are calling" for other workers to come to their assistance- It is quite likely that Mr. and Ivlrs.: Ellis will go from here, she for a rest and change as she is recuperating from her long sickness and la to have his share in the relief work. Our Tientsin station was also struck hard by the floods as also.a part of the Peking field. The Canal, ' tho' overflow from which did so much damage at Tehchow, broke its banks just a few miles north of Lintsing, but according to Mr. Ellisf estimate dad not harm more .than 100 villages in our field. So we are spared tha^labor of ministering to the distressed, and have been able as usual to give our time to the educational, evangelistic, and medical work with which we are ever busy. Splendid work has been "''clone by the Chinese Gov't and the Christian Flood Relief Committees working together to alleviate the suffering of these homeless and starving ones, money has oone from the American Red Cross, from the Gov't, and from the Chinese churches and people, but despite this the task of helpingevery one who needs it is almost hopeless. The daily paper recently'had an item as loiiows. But Daddy, it's cold," said the little girl, when her father Drought her to a hole in the ice and told her to jump in. " Never mind, you must get in, " he said. So he put her in and returned home, with one less mouth tojfeed. This is typical of what is haapening in Anping-asien and adjoining regions. On Dec. 14th. the P'u T'ao river caused a great flood owing to the blockage of ice, the water began flowing into the houses, and the people took refuge on their housetoos. There on their roofs in the bitter cold they lived,and slept for three days until the ice in their houses was frozen solid. Now they are back in their houses with most of their belongings buried in the ise.-, Thay are eating a watery concoction of dead leaves, with a sprinkling of coarse millet, one meal a day or often one meal in two days,; In the spring those mud houses will collapse-it looks as if nothing but destruction awaits these people. In this one county of Anpiiig alone there are over 100,000 people in dist tress owing „to the floods." Thus far the Tientsin paper, llhataa piC_ tarsi Acid to these flood aaad famine horrors the civil strife between north and south not yet at an end, and now the pneumonic plague! It would seem as though China, though not actually a combatant in the great worl war had jet troubles enough of her own. But we were not yet home. After an over-Sunday"stav at Tehchow we were glad to leave behind the watery homes of our fellow missionaries and proceed by canal boat to Lintsing. This trip of five days was unevent-f u l except as a chance to introduce Hiss Hunger to the joys of houseboat travel in China. The peace and quiet of the countryside was marked indeed as compared with the turmoil and distress of the flooded areas in Tientsin and Tehchow; You can.imagine with what joy we again set foot on Lintsing soil, and got settled again in our own home. He had left Lintsing Hay 1:2th J"916/ and now on Oct. 30th, 1917 were back in our own place and ready for work again. The first days were full of unpacking and settling, of receptions and feasts, of calls and callers, and of planning with Mr. --•His and the Chinese for the winter1 s work. |
