Star.
London, England, 1818-09-02 00:00:00

11011 THE QUEBEC GAZETTE, JULY 21.

On the Gth instant, at about five o'clock in the
morning, the inhabitants of the parish of St. Giles,
the settlements of which extend two leagues and a
half along the low grounds on the banks of a river
of the same name, falling into the Chaudiere, above
tie Falls, yerceived that the river was rising with ex-
trao.-dinary rapidity. It soon overflowed its banks,
and extended over the low grounds, in a wave of con-
giderable htight moving faster than a man can walk.
;The cattle in the fields were either immediately swept
:away, or retiring to eminences, soon surrounded and
'overflowed, were drowned. 'The inhabitants remained
or took refuge in their houses, generally built on the
highest grounds, in expectation that they would be
sate; but these also soon surrounded. As the
water rose in the houses, sweeping away every thing
around them, they ascended into their gatrets. One
whole family, the wife of Augustin Houle, and six
children, were precipitated in the flood, along with
their house, and drowned. Several other houses and
barns were carried away, or damaged, but we have
not heard of any other lives being lost. Many of the-,
inhabitants have lost all their cattle, and a great por-
tion of the live stock of the whole settlement is
drowned. All the hay, being generally along the
;ver, and almost all the grain, is destroyed. Sand
ru heaps of drifted timber, now cover the fields, on
:hich the unfortunate owner contemplated with plea-
;are, only the evening before, an abundant reward of
its labour, or at least a fair prospect. of future sub-
istence for himself-and family.
The river rose seven feet in 12 minutes, and abciut.
.8 feet above its usual level in a few hours.: from a
stream of about SO 'feet it became a river of more
than a mile in width ; it tore up by the roots elm
trees of three feet in diameter, and has made gullies
throughout the fields to the-depth of six feet. In many
place, Its course is changed ; the main bed of the
ver now runs where the house of one Antoine Cou-
ture stood the day before. It was five days before it'
raj:el within its banks.
Toe foulowing are the names of some of the prin-
..i pal sufferers :—Augustin Houle, Augustin Philippe,
Germain Monttnensil, Philippe Tierhatie, Antoine
'Couture, Etienne Philippe, Amable Delage, Pierre
Paradis, Edward, Antoine Hamel, and Mr. Da-
vison. We have no doubt, however, that authenti-
cated statements will soon be made out. There had
been no rain of any consequence at St. Giles for more.
than a week before the above disaster. The cause of
the sudden overflowing of the river is supposed to be
the heayy thunder showers of the preceding day,
among the mountains on the south shore, towards
the sources of the St. Giles. People who were work-
ing on Craig's road, six leagues up the waters of the
St. Giles, and also people who have come in from
Broughton, report that the rain fell in torrents in those
parts on Sunday afternoon, and during the night. In
Broirehton, the course of a river was changed by its
overflowing, the roads Bullied, and bridges carried
away. It is needless to mention, that along the St.
Giles hardly any roads or bridges remain.