The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1852-09-08
The Disasters.

we take the following from the Edge
field Advertiser of Wednesday,:
ave have heard from several points
that the entire crop of the low grounds
(corn and cotton) has been from six to
eight feet under water. In one instance,
(that of Col. i. w. Pickcns' plantation,)
it is stated on good authority that seven
hundred acres of corn and cotton have
been overtiowed and are supposed to be
entirely destroyed. The same has doubt
less been the case with all the river plan
tations. 1t is indeed a most trying ca
lamity.
"Ihe destruction upon the Savannah
river has been, if possible, more terrible
than that upon the Saluda. Rumors are
rife of mills swept off, crops devastated,
DC. We, do not give them, however, as
they are not certainly authenticated
From Hamburg and Augusta the accounts
are grievously y shocking. Every square in
them has been completely submerged.-
From scvcra. of our townsmen, who have
just returned from these disastrous scenes,
we gather that the like has never been wit
messed in those places before. 1t is asccr-
tanned that three or four lives have been
lost; and it is seriously apprchended that
many have been lost i'll Augusta, especial
ly among those who resided in the low
buildings at the rear of the city. Such
was the distracting confusion however, up
to the time our mtormants left, that moth
ing could be accurately ascertaincd.
The water was nearly two feet higher
than in the May Freshet of 1910. Al
most all articles in the cellars and first
floors of our Hamburg Merchants, such
as Salt, Flour, Oil, Sugar, Molasses, Coffee,
Bacon, &c, have been completely destroy
ed, and we suppose it is even worse iu
Augusta. MIR. Sipley's cellar (his store is
situated in the highest part of Hamburg,)
was the first place of deposit from which
the water recedcd. And it is said by
eyewitncsScs, to have been the most COM
plcte lob-lolly; made up of various com.
ponent parts, every cask having burst as
far as discovered. An inch or two of the
surface was oil. We fear that the loss to
the Merchants of Hamburg and Augusta
will prove to be of the most ruinous kind,
unless they are fully insured against this
catastrophe. We learn also, that the
owners Of br:ckyards have lost very large
ly. in fact, the suffering among the en-
tire population is such as has seldom been
recorded of any place.
The upper Bridge was entirely washed
away, and about one hundred feet of the
lower Bridge on the Augusta side. The
Toll House, in Augusta, fell on Monday
afternoon.
The water reached the second floor of
many houses in Hamburg. A large a.
mount of furniture which the alarmed
housekcepers were taking out to remove
to safe point was swept, and lost, so
rapidly did the water rise in the streets,
when once the river banks were overflow
ed.
From Saturday until Monday evening,
there were persons, confined to the upper
stories of various buildings and having no
meanse of egress, who passed the entire
time without mouthful to eat. And we
are told there is now much difficulty with
many in procuring meal. Several OF
the citizens of Edgefield from the neigh
boring country were on Monday engaged
in cooking by the quantity and sending
into the sufferers. And still there were
many who could not procure sufficien-
cy. 1t is indeed a most heart rcnding ca
lamity. All who have looked upon the
confusion and distress connected with it,
speaks of it as beggaring description.
We take pleasure in recording the fact
that much of the discomfort of the citi-
zens of Hamburg was remedied by the
equal protection under this government, to
active eXertions of Messrs. Andrew Ham
mond, Robert Butler and others, who sue
ceeded in supplying many persons with
food and fresh water during the prevalence
of the freshet.
The last intelligence, before going to
Press, is that the water had left the houses
and streets in deplorable condition. The
streets of Augusta have been washed into
large holes at several points-the largest is
near the Globe Hotel.
ACCOUNTS OF THE GREAT FREsHET.-