The Sun.
London, England, 1809-09-27 00:00:00

DES IIUCTIVE FLOODS.

[FROM THE CARLISLE JOURNAL OF SATURDAY.

We have this 'week to record one of the most de-
strucit ive inundatirins which ever occurred in this part
of the country. Owing to the severe and incessant
rain on Monday, the rivers which enviran Carlisle,
the Eden, the.Caldew, and Peterill, on TUesday
morning, overflowed their bank;, and presented a
vast and magnificent sheet of water, beautifully
sp,,tted with little islands and clumps of trees:
Happy would we be- were the grandeur, of 'the
scene the only circumstance worthy of remark i un-
fortunately, the painful dtiv remains of noticing the
destruction and catastrophes occasioned by the sud-
drn swell.

Though the Eden and Peterill were not deficient
in mischief, by far the largest proportion of damage
waaetfetted by the Caldew ; whose mountain tor-
rent, hurrying along a continued declivity, scarcely
gave warning of its approach. By'those persons-in
and near Caldewgate, who saw the flood descend-
ing in its fUry, (which was between the hours of
five and six in The morning), it is described as re-
sembling some mighty tide, rolling forward with
amazing rapidity. In Shaddongate, Caldewgate, and
by the Damside, the houses were inundated. to the
depth of three, four, and even six feet. Furniture
of every description was carried away ; arid a house
on the margin of the, river,-inhabited by two fami-
lies, was washed down—scarcely a minute after they
had Made ,a precipitate retreat. Part of their pro-
perty was afterwardq recovered, it having been cast
upon the shore about three miles below. An in-
dustrious woman, who keeps a grocer's shop, is
said to have lost goods to the value, of tool. ; the,
loss of other individuals has been alsogreat.
-It was lamentable to view the immense qnanti-
-ties of grain which were driven -down by the cur-
rent ; at• one time the river presented the singular
appearance of an immense moving field of corn. A
small part was recovered by means of drags, but-it is
supposed that .some hundred Thousands of sheaves
hate been entirely lost. . Tiinber, trees, hedges,
gates, &c. were all. carried away in one promiscuous
ruin stone walls were levelled, and the ground
stripped of its soil. A remarkable instance of the
lateer occurrkl at Sebergham : in a field of potatoes,
I:ontaining about ()fie acre, not only the roots, but
every, particle of soil, was swept, away ; so that what
was fora ierly. fertile laod, is now a barren bed of
:gravel. .At the same place, the woollen manufac-
tory of Mr. Saulovith the machinery, Bte.-'was en-
tirety swept away ; 'Sebergharn bridge shared the
same fate. The bridges 'at Hawkesdale, Hesket4
Whelpa, and. over the river Ellen, near Matyport,
have been likewise destroyed.
The following accidents, we are sorry to state,'
have come to our knowledge the time the
arches of the last-mentioned bridge gave way, a boy
was passing on horseback ; he unfortunately perish-
ed, but the horse escaped unhurt. The river Waver
being greAy swollen; the house of an old woman,
of the name of Mary Calvert, at Field-end, near
Woodrow, was surrounded by the water; the help-
less situation of the poor creature exciting the fears
of the neighbours, as soon as it was practicable, her
condition was attended to,
_when she was discover-
ed-in her bed, a iiteless corpse. And on Monday
night, near the same place, the driver df a post-
chaise, belonging to an innkeeper in Wigton,. tuis-
sing.bis road, from the darkness 6f the night and
the severity of the weather, the horses plunged into
the foaming deep, where they were drowned, and
the chaise dashed to pieces, which fortunately con-
tained no passengers. Miraculously, though with
exceeding great difficulty, the driver regained -the
shore.

To particularize all the diSistrous effelita of the
watery element would be an endless task: Among
the principal sufferers in this neighbourhood is. Mr.
Sinton, of Dalston-hall, who had wheat washed
away to the amount, we understand, of 3001. Con-
siderable injury has been done at the print-works of
Curnmersdale, and in several dying premises on the
banks of the Caldew, by the water overwhelming
the boilers, and destroying the colours, Scco In
fad, never was the Caldew remembered to have
risen to so great a height, or to have occasioned
such extensive devastation. We• are happy, how-
ever, to learn,, that a subscription has been entered
into, lo relieve those poor persons in Caldewgate,
who have suffered on the occasion.

• The rivers Line and Esk were also much swollen,
and immense quantities of corn were carried off
from the low grounds. The floods have also been
destruaive in otherplaces, as will be seen by the
following extraas of letters. We• had beard that
Hexham Bridge had been washed away, but our
Newcastle correspondent is silent on the subject.
BRAMPTON, SEPT. 19.----On Monday morning
commenced a very heavy rain, which continued,
without intermission, until this day. In conse-
quence, the rivers King and.lrthing were consider-
ably swollen, and, overflowing their banks, delug-
ed the low grounds, and formed the largest and
most magnificent expanse of water ever, remembered
by the oldest resident. A great quantity of corn
and sheep have been carried away ;- some thousands
of sheaves being seen floating down the river, which
will be very. severely felt by the neighbouring
farmers.

On Tuesday morning, early, the most tempes-
tuous weather, his believed, that ever was known
in the latitude of, the British Islands. was experi-
enced at Gainsborough and in the neighbourhood.
hurricane, accompanied with,hail and rain, pre-
vailed for several hours, tearing up trees and break-
ing, off branches, so as really to ohs-qua people in
their way to ,Gainsborough Market, and frighten
them back to their homes. Corn and hay stacks,
and chimnies innumerable, were thrown down, and
a great deal of damage was done.

On Tuesday the 12th inst. a skiff belonging to
ULYSSES HUGHES, Esq. a Lieutenant in the Royal
Navy, of Grovesend, near Swansea, in which he
had proceeded to Bristol, and was on his return
with a quantity of household furniture, was picked
up by the Perseverance, of Newport, near the
mouth of Bridgewater river, and towed into Burn-
ham shore. Her side was beaten out, and Mr.
HUGHES, with two men he had engaged for the
trip, prished. A boy who was also on board, saved
his life by swiMming to the shore.