Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1843-08-16
MISCELLANEOUS.

From The Philadelphia Ledger. dug. 8.
.Awfai Caldmiiyl Great Flood at Ches-
ter-Loss of Life ard Proprr'y!-Tbe
storm Of Saturday prevented the Southern
mail from reacbius It'll; CITY by The resn-
lar rou,e.-The following 'sl,er,' which
We have received from Chester. by a pri.
vale hand, gives full account Of the ter.
rihle disasiers in that ueighborhood. II
bears the aatr Of Sunday, and comes from
a gentleman who wus in the vicinity nj
tho fime:-
"Ches,er and its vicinity are bowed
down beneath the Christening hand Of Pro-
violence. The borough and is neighbor-
hood present scenes Of ofdcsoiation. such as
in the absence OF the ierrurs Of war, have
uever been witnessed in this State. Our
shores are s,fewn with wrecks. our streets
filed with ruins, and from every section
We hcnr tales Of terror mud ,lesolation aud
death. suiiicien, to nppal the s,onies: heart.
Tho recent rain had fully saturated the
soil, and iha, Of yesterday therefore flowed
on the surface. ln the afternoon the rain
became heavy beyond description. u tfell
as If in mass. The very hills were
shecied with wa,er; aud in tho valleys.
runleis became creeks and creeks were
swollen into rivers. a frcshet was, Of
course, anticipated; but food. such as
ensued, could mol have been apprchcDded.
II is said that the passengers - The aiier-
noon koats saw wasrr.spout burst upon
the heights bn.ween Ridley aud Chester
Creeks; but, though any ordinary fall Of
raia, however copious. seems inadequate
10 have produced the subsequent food,
there Is no satisfactory evidence Of the cx-
istencc Of a watcr.spout. About six a.
clock, il was found iha, Chester Creek
wns rapidly rising. Every effort was in
stan,ly nude 10 place such property as
was uoveable ou, of the reach Of danger !;
bur 50 instantaneous was the swell of wa
ter, that the next moment lei; no feeling
bat The disiipc, OF self preservation. The
steam rose. il is said by some, six feet in
five minutes; Others aver that it rose six
feet IN one minute. The water poured
down az liza wave OF the sea ind swept
onward by an earthquake, in about two
hours il had risen iwenty-ihrec feet. The
reishhoriug creeks were swollen in the
samc proportion; and the roar Of tho i'm
petuous torrents rang for miles through The
country. The food swept irresisiibly on
wards. The dams buili for its restraint
were as reeds before the ocean that rushed
by; the channels were lost, and tho vest
volume ofwa,crs spread o"er the plain,
tearing up the largest trees, end sweeping
factories md baiIdings. Ike bubbles, upon
its surface.
Fortunately, this tookI lace before dark,
or the scene would have been even more
terrible than il was. In Chester, the tor.
renf rose as If by magic, and swept ancri-
~ ,srouef, the Streets The buildings
which were most frail were swept away
and iron, Others, females were bore through
the angry and rushing waters. half deud
with na.igh,. Honses, dams, bridges,
boais and an immeuse moss Of lumber,
furniture, mill.wheels, &C.. shot by upon
,iie curssut. Atlengih, while The assem-
bIea citizens gnzed. with white lips, upon
sha ru;p, the railroad bridge. bnik a, an
ercrasous expense, was lificd from ils
foundations and flung down the stream.
The next 10 follow wac the suspension
bridge. This structure was one cf which
every enlightened American was proud. rs
/, was the 6rsi chain-bridge bull, in the
world. Earope has since claimed the in.
venlicn hal here siood-aIas il stands
no longer 1.-THE preof erected ihiry, years
ago, fhat to America. belongs the cred;, Of
hayiug invented and constructed The first
su,oc.ision bridge. When The mass Of
n,ai,es. which sho, npon tho stormy and
roaring torrent, sisuek the bsidge.if swaycd
aud groaaed, and At length, after mo.