Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1832-02-20
ALEXANDRIA. DC.
voy1aY MORNING, FEBRUARY 20. 1852.

TIL. House of Representatives have passed a
-..nIuuon employing Mr.. Vanderlyn to Paint
likeness Of Washington.
The trial of Nina and Mrs. Chapman COM
msuced at Doylestown on the 18th. AT the last
date a motion had been made to continue MI
mas case until next Court.
Aletter from Valparaiso, dated Nov. So says
=. ST the moment of closing my letter, there
:. violent shock of an earthquake; several hou-
ses are Frustrated.
The annexed article contains very good sugg-
.s.,ioD. which we recommend to the Zeal of ali
tbe lovers Of the fine arts
Tn Artists and Others. Is irequentl! Ia
msn,ed by artists, as well as by the pubic. that
,bare is no great depository IN the onued States
WHO'RE the productions OF the BURN ana siaVer ave
preserved for the inspection oil future generations.
They are too frequently puoii'heo' uis'riou'eu'
and los, to those who come after Us rms aPP"es
nnre particularly to Lthrosraph'c PRINTS ana
nortraiits Of celebrated individuals. American
Icenery and American subjects generally II Is al
So desirable should be preserved-'hey serve 10
mark the progress of the Arts, and as works o'
reference La Europe, more particularly III raris'
every thing like an engraving Is sent immaculate
~ 10 the Royal Library. where 1t Is careiuiv pre-
served and bound, so that the costumes. &c. OF
every generation NAV be inspected at glance.
nortfnl;o for the preservation Of works OF
Arr has been commenced at the Phlladel phia Lii
apH ArtI generally
are invited TO send their productions. AT sura'
bie nsr;ods. volumes will b. formed with an IN.
,lex, and the whole be transmitted TO Poster'ty
with the names OF the donors.
Editors Of newspapers throughout the Union
are invited to give the above one or more inser
lions.
The Great Flood. We are sratihed to learn
Inv letters from Pitts5urg of Saturday, that the
river ceased to rise about ten O'Clock on FRIDAY
nisht. and had fallen about six feet, and that the
apprehension Of any further injury had nearly SUD-
sided. The aqueduct aud bridge about which
great fears we're entertained are both safe. Dor
sey's Mill on the opposite side OF the river Is de-
s,royed, and most Of the stones on the first Bank
in Allegheny town are washed away. We have
received the following letter from our correspon'
dent at " Wheeling, post-marked the 18th, though
dated the llth.
"WHEELINo. Feb. l1th, 1852.
"Dear Sir-The Ohio has risen tar above ITS
entertainments, and presents an appearance o
terr,fic grandeur which beggars description. All
South Wheeling is inundated, boats can now pass
over houses which were considered beyond the
reach of the river-many families have lost eve
~ thin,. and are now without homes.
=. The distress, and loss which this uuprece-
denied occurrence has Occasioned is beyond cal
cula,ion for the last twelve hours, dwellings,
barns, wheat, and hay stacks, flour, whskey,
pork, Sc have been floating down in such guam
titles. as to show that the loss above ,S been i'm
mense. But the iood will be most severely felt
below. Marietta. and other places lying below
the level Of Wheeling must DC entirely under
water-the situation of families dr'ven from their
homes by the irresistible element, and forced to
seek safety on the hills, without TODD or shelter,
IS truly distressing.
"The inhabitants are watching the rising wa
ters with intense anXiety-a farther rise would
be attended with the most dreadful consequences.
fear many lives are already lost, families re>d-
ins on the bank of the river, and IN islands-wil
remove IRON the nTSt To the second story, anu
thus procrastiuatc their departure, until retreat
is cut uH.
lanes island is completely covered. an &C.
currence which has not taken place before with
in the memory of man-the cattle on the island
are up to their middle IN water, believing most
doeiuly: indeed, the whole 5, enc is one tending
TO excite feelings OF the deepest melancholy.
Ii is curious fact, illustrative Of the charac.
ter the Aborisines have obtained for close and
correct differences, that the Indians from the
Rocky Mountains, who passed through here
few weeks since, on their way to Washington,
predicted an unsual flood in the western waters
this season, assigning as reason that the beavers
bad built their habtati0ns several feet higher than
mad ever been known, which they consider as an
unerring Indication Of high water. "-Bah. Ga-.
The Charleston Evening Post. in noticing the
fact Of the Rattlesnake swimming across arms Of
the sea, says
"rhe habit is common to other snakes, as well
as to the rattlesnake. They have been met in
the midst of their passage on bavs five or six