On June 24th an American sailing vessel, the “Surprise,” was wrecked off the coast of Whang-hă Province. Her captain and crew were hospitably treated and conducted to the Chinese border with great care, by order of the Regent, who thus illustrated the truth of the assertion that Korea would do no harm to men who were ship-wrecked on her coast. Even in the midst of an anti-foreign demonstration of the most severe type, these men were humanely treated and sent upon their way. Early in September the sailing vessel “General Sherman” entered the mouth of the Ta-dong River. She carried five white foreigners and nineteen Asiatics. Her ostensible object was trade. The governor of P‘yŭng-an Province sent, demanding the cause of her coming and the answer was that they desired to open up trade with Korea. Though told that this was impossible, the foreign vessel not only did not leave but, on the contrary, pushed up the river until she reached a point opposite Yang-jak Island not far from the city of P’yŭng-yang. It was only the heavy rains in the interior and an exceptionally high tide that allowed her to get across the bar, and soon she was stuck in the mud, and all hopes of ever saving her were gone. This rash move astonished the Koreans above measure. Something desperate must be the intentions of men who would drive a ship thus to certain destruction. After a time word came from the Regent to attack her if she did not leave at once. Then the fight began, but without effect on either side until the Koreans succeeded in setting fire to the “General Sherman” with fire-rafts. The officers and crew then were forced to drop into the water, where many of them were drowned. Those that reached the shore were immediately hewn down by the frenzied populace. The trophies of this fight are shown today in the shape of the anchor chains of the ill-fated vessel, which hang in one of the gateways of P’yŭng-yang. No impartial student of both sides of this question can assert that the Koreans were specially blame-worthy. The ship had been warned off but had rashly ventured where no ship could go without being wrecked even were all other circumstances favorable. The Koreans could not know that this was a mere blunder. They took the vessel, and naturally, to be a hostile one and treated her accordingly.