Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1843-08-22
LEDekn OFrrcr. PHILsDrLrHIA, Aug. III p. ".
Awful CaIamity--Grcat Food at
Che .fer-.1 Los Of Life and EsrOUerty.

waite hand gives full sccoun Of the terrible disaster in
that neIghborhood 1t hears the date Of Sunday. and
comes from q gentleman who the vicinity "a the
time:
"Chester and is vicinity bowed down beneath the
Christening hand Of Providence The borough aud lis
reighborhood present Of desoition such the
absence of the erros of have been witnessed
IN this State. Our shores s,rown with wrecks
streets filled with ruins and from every section hear
tales Of deoaton and DEATH sufficient sppal the
est heart The rain had fully saturated the SOIL
and that Of yesterday therefore flowed from the surface
10 the afternoon the rain became heavy beyond descrp
iion fell as II in The very hills sheeed
with waer and the valleys runles became creeks and
creeks were swollen into e-het Of course.
anticipated but food such as ensued could not have
been apprehended
IL said that the passengers in the afternoon boats
wa'er-spout burst upon the heights between Ridley and
chester Greeks but though ordinary fall of rain,
however copous, seems inadequate to have produced the
subsequent flood there satisfactory evidence of the
existence of out About oclock Il found.
that Chester Greek rapidly rising Every ell rt
instantly made to place such property movable
out "t the reach of danger the
swell OF water. that the left FEELING hut
The instinct Of selfpreservttion. The
said by feet in five mntucs others that
u rose SIX feet IN minute The poured down
as 1t a wave OF the had been swept ward by -
car hquake. In about two hours it had twenty
three feet. The neighborng creeks swollen the
proportion; and the of the inpetu0us tor
rents ring for miles through the country. The flood
swept irre-istiby onward. The dams built for It's
'rrint reeds before The that rushed by the
channels lost and the volume Of waters spread
the PLAIN tearing up the largest trees sweeping
factories and buildings like the bubbles upon the surface.
Fortunately this took place before dark
wosd have hefn even more terrible than IT In
Chester. the torrent rose if by magic and swept
gry through the streets. The buildings which
most frai were swept away and from others. families
were borne through the angry and rushing waters, half
dead with alright HOUSES dams, BRIDES, boats AMI
immense mass of lumber, furniture mill wheels &C.
shot by upon The current. At length. while the
bed cIlzens gazcd with white lips upon the rum the
railroad bridge, built enormous expense lifted from
Its foundation and flung down the stream The next to
follow was the suspension bridge. This structure
one of which enlightened American proud
the first chain-brlge built in the world Europe
has since claimed the invention but here sood-alasi
stands no longer the proof erected thirty
that To Amea belongs the credit of having invented and
CONSTRUCTED the first suspension bridge.
When the mass of matter which shot upon the stormy
and roaring torrent struck the bridge. it swayed and
groaned and at length. after a moments resistance
iron asienings way with crash. and the chains
they grated upon each other spikled aud flashed like
lightning. IL swung heavily for moment and fell into
ihc flood The now SWEPT through several of the
lower streets saw this morning a house in the middle
of one street and shalop in another. left hy the reed
ing stream. The nature and Of the injury ne
could not then he estimi,ed bat it with ,Ii-nay
which approi he'd despair that citizens the foot roll
INTO their sorehou>es and sweep their hard earngsa
This morning. however. disclosed art If
rum. IL was found that wharves. tany ards. machine
shops sorchoues. lumber and coal yards g. had been
Fl her carried off nv the food ruined by the nundation
Ne-~r-. Eyres Kits Brohsion. Paxton &c. are severe
sufferers But the consequences in Chester trivial in
comparison with those which have occurred higher up
the chester and Ridley creeks Every bridge or nearly
every ono those two streams. have hcen carried away.
MANY of these costly and substantial structures aud
II viii cost an immense sum 10 replace them. Most of
the mills and factories upon those streams have shared the
fate.
The factories Of Nr Grocer of Mr. Dickson. of Mr.
Raie. aud others have been swept away. Immense
nuoheIs of bales OF co.n. boxes Of ods, blrres of
dyewood aud barrels of -four have been carried down
the Delaware. scattered upon the meadows into which
The Il Dpd IN II, fury broke anl deposited its spoil Il
heievrd that all e dams gone. The p.culary losses
- i"di.i feshtfiy goat, aud that which has
fallen upon the couov i NJ less appalling. The lowest
es''ml'e OF loss Is S2500O0; but this Is made up TO
cst extent conjecture. The will pr ,hably
be constrained to raise by bans the recosrru,-
IN her bridges all between the OFF rent
sections of the county cutoff
but the loss OF property terrible it is is ncon>idcra-
be I, the loss Of life with Which this aAlrton of Prov
dence has been attended II believed than
twenty. and probby a many more persons have been
drowned. At one place the Chester creek.
family. that Mr. Rhodes. consisting of himself WIFE
and two small Children found it impossible, lnstania-
the and rush of the escape the
house aud all persisted At the Flour Mills a devoted
mulatto woman finding that Mr. Flower in great
danger attempted to him. but the sudden dash
the fl nod swept her away, and she engu,fed. M.
Flower, who upper story of the null, eal ed
from The window into here he remained until the
torrent tore up the and SWEPT onward. He, how
succeeded in getting hold of the branches of another
tree that ed the tide and he saved. Several
bodies have been found upon and in The meadows
This fatality Is to be a>crb to the rnparaIlee sud
of the rise of the water 1t If the rrh had
opened and poured forth her fl od Scarcely was
the presence IT danger known before was followed hy
the absence of hope Hundreds of h,ir-beadths escapes
arc narrated The whole country is oveTspIead wih
gloom. AMI the consequences of last nights caamties
will long overslaow the prosperity OF this lovely
of county,
u If it should that Governor Bigger, is de-
feated. there Is too much 10 fear c
doubt 1t Will be owing to the opposition of Wing
initiating one, aud we are grieved while make it
but have and heard enough to satisfy that
1T l. true--LGtayouc journal.
We are sorry too. that such a charge should come
from the respectable editor OF the Journal. because
hRO,c and feel that grOundess \ puny and ILL.,
advised effort has been making To hold the Methodist.
"a such responsible for the ant;ciatcd defeat of
Bigger aud whispers have been heard. certain quarter.
prepariae the public mind tor such result But how
stands tue Take the given the Uh,g
didafes for Congress liz the counties heard from aud il
will be that Gov Bigger ouhu ms party IN sever
of ten. We would as; Mayor se'nan- to con
suit ms own county Cfppecanoe) and add the votes
Bigger O266) and Deming, who Is Mig (S',l an'
contrast them with the vote gwen 10 Bryant ne w i-
candidate fr Congress- and 1t will appear that s Con
greSsi0Hai candidate falls short OF the " ~.
for Governor. In Knox county. Bigger beats IN.
ticket largely; In NIgo he dues the aud IN Put
man, Pike &c &c We have no desire ,o pnr.ue I'M
subject: should 1t become necessary il viii he ia,
duty of the public press that the of Gov
Bggers defeat shall be properly understood This I'm,
and about the MethodI>t defeating him
% he uucOufradcfed.