The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1853-01-18

- ta..ks - ~
proceeding towards the beach, as
was customary, to collect and mum,
ber their horses, hfr. Green mid one
or two of bis hired men at once dis.
covered a wide :breachEinY The bound.
aryfi Of that end off.the lake nearest
the ocean, aud they we're convinced lit
was caused by shc shock they 5 had
| felt on the. previous ni9 ht. tf,,,s.l3 s.
Although ,lothipg,is said ofanyper-
son. in this city having felt the same
shock, there is every evidence that Mr.
Green's statement is correct That
portion OF the lakes boundary which
has hcen swept away, was alluvial,
and has been forming during a lapse of
centuries. There is ample evidence
that it WAS n number of feet high
or than the lake itself, even when.
the water was the highest. It grad,
ually slcped towards the scashorc,
which is nearly q mile from where the
barrier once stood. When It was car
ricd away, it must have been done in
a single moment. a passage seems
to have been forced about three hum
drcd yards in width and ten or.
twelve feet deep. opening on the sea-
shore to; the width of mile.
Subsequently, .ort of 'mid-cl,an-
mel has hecn formed, commencing
a short distance below the origin OF
the outlet, narrower and much deep,
er than the first, down which the wa
ter seems TO have rushed with great
velocity, until the lake has been.
cmptied ,at lcastathirty feet below its
previous surface. This mid channel has
gradually deepcned in the centr", form
ing outlet, down which the waters are
yet flowing into the ocean. 1t is
very evident that il this. outlet had
been spontaneous, it would have been
gradual, leaving no prccipitous' sides,
locking, as if.immense landships had
taken place, but gradually forming
a channel deepening in the centre. Nor
would it have caused that loud re-
port! nor, have been felt. nearly
q mile. distant. ,ais5s,.
S IT seems TO have been occasioncdbyI
THAT subtle and sudden. agency by
which earthquakes are.aiWays NON e,is-
tarily preceded, or by n shock of
the earthquake itself Such things are
by no means uncommon on the coast
OF South America. And tho bed of
Lake MERGED may have been instant
ly'upliitcd, and as quickly have re-
turned to its customary level thus
forcing an outlet through the heavy al
luyial by WHICH it was formerly, con-
fined. Such extraordinary phenom-
enn have several times been witnes-
scd III the hay of Callao and of Talca-
huana. And now that the outlet has
been forced, from its abrupt sides may
be seen flowing the gaseous fluids which
succeed earthquakes among lofty
mountains,-the; Andes, for Instance,
but especially coastwise. s
For two miles along the coast, on
either side Of the mouth of the raw
inc, may be seen numerous water
marks once made by the surges of
the ocean. Some of them are more
than hundred feet high. And while
many of fthese strata. arc, horizontal, 9TH
ers rise or fill Mt an angle of forty or
fifty degrees, bearing every truce that
they hnve been tumbled about and
displaced by a concnssion at much
earlier period. These different stra-.
Ia have teen forming during II lapse of
centuries, While the shore has grad
uully been elevated. As q clos
ing thought on this interesting phc-
nomenon, it may be well to state, that
the lake was supplied only .hy
springs and rains from the noun
tains. No serious danger could have
been expected of a sheet of water, COW
ering at least thirty acres-as eyapo-
ration must have been grcat-unless
some convulsion of nature had TAX
en- plac OF which fact, there are ,suili.
cient ,evidences.-Alta Californian,
Nov. 2S. s s