Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1844-08-24

earthquakes, some convulson of that kind may
have opened the rocks at what is called the
Grand Chain, and, perhaps, before that time,
the river flowed down through the abovemen.
toned swamp, which is only e short distance a.
bove the Grand Chain. However that may be,
a complete river, some miles broad, at present
exists between Scott and Cape Girardeau coun-
ties fourteen and fifteen feet deep in parts, and
to cross which boat has been built on the spot,
capable of conveying horses, cattle &c, over.
Terrible disasters have affected the stock
they are drowned out utterly in many places
and where the bluffs are in sight it has been
better, for at the foot of the bluffs the bottom
lands often decline, and thus become flooded,
and cut off all access except by boats. Some
times hill appears and all congregate to the
spot, men, women, children, horses sheep, hogs
and steers, looking around with anxiety on the
wild expanse of water. The horses neigh, cows
low, and sheep bleat their full voiced alarm,
and look instlnctively to man for rescue. In
the meantime drift logs come floating by, and
sometimes hogs mounted on them, holding on
tcnaciously and making the most of their nauti-
cal knowledge. Houses come past, sometimes
twenty per day, some mere logs, some rcspec-
table. The Mary Tompkins steamer, up the
Missouri, in one part of her trip, could get no
wood but what she picked up, and that was not
enough to keep her going, Carried away by
the current, she swept over prairie and brought
down the cotton wood in an alarming manner.
1t once was thought impossible for her to es-
cape, and indeed, had the timber been compact
| she would have been turned bottom upwards.
The Belle Air, at Chester, struck sunkcn
/ house, or partly sunk, upset it, and on shearing
around struck stone mill, knocked of a corner,
but carried away her cook house, forward guard
and steam connecting pipe. kaskaskia has
/ been quite submerged the Nuns (Sisters OF
! Charity carried to St. Louis, and the Rcpub-
lican Office and press gone down somewhere
/ near Davy's Locker. All the river towns have
suffered more or less; some may be said 10 be
entirely ruined. At Lexington, an acre OF
| land, with five houses on it, slid into the river
and of Nashville, only seven houses are left
/ This flood has indeed surpassed the great flood
ofl7S5, called by the French 1.-THE year OF the
great waters" Q'annee des grandeseaux) The
committee appointed have estimated the dam
age in Howard sounty alone, small county, al
. 100000; $4,000 acres of land we're covered
by The tresh aud in many places oyerlaid with
sand and mud ten and twelve feet deep. And
this is only one county of thirty or forty. There
is some talk Of applying to Congress Tor nov
lands, as was the case after the New Madrit
earthquake of lSI2 and il Is suggested thai
the States o9 Missouri and Illinois remit take.
on property so injured, for two or three years
Many lives have been lost, of which nothing
will be heard as the settlers live apart here, anC
in manner so solitary that would surprise The
resident OF a city or its environs. In one IN
stance, three men were taken off OF two horses
after being three days in the water, and up t
their arm pits when relieved two men wer'
also taken from a tree top, where they ha'
been twcnty-our hours. Hundreds OF familie
are encamped on the bluffs, where bluffs are t
be found but u few miles south OF Cape Grar
dean City every thing is dead fiat Oh both side
Of the river. Cape Grardeau City is the onl
landing on the river which comes to the water
edge that has not seriously suffered ; but th
Cape, as is tamiliarly called rises fast tiom tn
river, and is luckily set between ridges ofrocki
so that it is not like so many localities on thes
waters VIII ich are hourishing to-day and swcp
away to morrow. Commerce, a small vllog'
landing in Scott county, defended by bo',
ridge of rocks, has also Il lucky position, ("bar
ring the bar as the Irish would say,) and la
only been inconvenicnccd By the removal O
the goods in one store and one warehouse. But
alas the prairies and bottoms below. But
is no pleasant picture, Let us lament in 81
lcnce. Aud now the cry is, as the river Is dc
clining, what terrible time ofsickness we shaI
have. Yours, respectfully,
DowLEN.
p. S.-We have Just had slight earthquake
half pas; 3, =. NJ, 10Th July. 1t WAS mrr
vibration, which rocked the house, apparent
from S. w. to n. E., and was more amus,n
than alarming
2 SMART BoY-A negro boy being sent b
= his master 10 borrow pound of lard from
S neighbor, thus delivered his message -
"Mssus Thompson massa sent mo over I
= borrow or beg pound Of hog talow (; he sa
= he got de old SOW up in de pen, fatten 'em h