Berkeley and Jefferson intelligencer. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va.) 1802-1810, 1803-12-23

shocking period the stoutest heart felt
appalled, nothing was to be heard but
the din Of ruin in every direction 4
hundreds of huge stones, thai had been.
tornfromth their quarters on the hills three
miles above the town, were tunnbllng o.
yer each other in stnpendous conclusion
carrying with them, ia junctiol with the
deluge, churches, converts, streets,
trees, bridges, battlementsi and eight
hundred human beings into The, bottom
Of the deep. Whenever 1 cash Of light
ming penetrated the gloom, werf seen
mothers wading through the streets, up
to their chin in water, holding their in-
fants on their head with one hand, and
endeavouring 10 catch security with the
other while those who endeayonrcd to
assist them, were frequently manned or
killed, by the beams Of timber or wine
pipes which floated around them; and
the sea presenteda scene moi less awful,
| though less ruinous most of the yes-
sells lost their cabels, anchors and boats,
and many Of the seanien were washed
overheard. The ships rolled, ID some
part or ano,llsf, several feet beneath the
water continually, and All the sailors who
were there on-that dismal night whether
Americans, English, or, Portuguese,
gave. themselves up as lost men,.
I Thus, in so short space Of time as 2
few minutes were many ,handred indivi-
duals carried to their. eternal home, in
the. very plenitude of an apparent securi-
: ~ and several thousand reduced from
afiluence TO poverty and many Of them,
il is probable, in the Indulgence of those
imperfections, which constitute our crii-
minality or our folly, and sent TO their
s.unblanched, unanointed, unennealed."
Ten thousand pipes Divine and4bEandy
! were DESTROYED, and the sea-shore was
skirted 6nthe ensuing morning with mil
lions of, fragments, among which the
mourning survivors ofthe calamity were
eagerly seeking for the dead remains Of
, their relations or friends. Several days
after, the air of .Funchal became so pu-
trescrnt, from the rotting of the bodies
! that were buried beneath the congregated
mud and filth, that pestilence was ap-
! pretended: but in consequence ofburn-
/; ing tar and pitch, and other neutralizine
/ eombustibles, that scourge was Providen-
tally avoided. Il A.. ). - +.
! Itwas remarkable that this deluge, in
its course, swept away twenty-nine vine.
{ Yards that were situated onthe south west
side. Of the city; and SO decisive was
i the ruin, that L tore mp the trees By ths
roots, and bore away not only them, bu1
y all the cottages, with their inhabitants
the ground, cattle and appurtenances
i and left the roeky basis, as bare of vege.
tatiop as the rocks of Norway. All this
assemblage Of objects, were whirled in
I to tie Ribeira Bravo, ormad river, and
inguiphed nearly the whole of the small
town which bears that name y: r.
In this wreck of matter, there was bu
one human creature saved, and that wa.
4 an infant in wooden cradle, which wa.
lodged aEong some reeds on the side o
I the declivity, and when discovered or
i the ensuing day, was in profound sleep.
4 This unconscious infant was saved from
Il us Ignorance of fear, as il is in the ma
ture of fear TO eeanteraet rs owndeslres
4 All the vessels that arrived at Fun
.chal, for several weeks after this miser
able occurrence, gave an account of th'
i dead bodies, casks, and boxes whirl
they had seen floating many miles off a
sea !; and il Is believed that some of III,
crew were considerably enriched by tn,
contents ef mary ofthe trunks. -. s : II !
The small toyen Of Machico, wa:
likewise ruined by this angular tempest
and many. lives were lost there also -
| which leads to a supposition, that the ID
mented event was occasioned by a water
spout, that had burst against the side o
| the mountain, and discharging itsef
down the gullies, produced those aiaic'
tive and sudden disasters, that ali feeling
4 persons must deplore; and which, when
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