Litchfield enquirer., 1854-02-16

of Atchafslaga was. in 1876. 10 miles long. 22o yards wide, and 8 feet deep,
 Rafts of this kind are frequently found on the Missouri, the Red river, and the Washita. Snags. or planters, which arc such great obstacles to navigati0B, are formed by the transporting agency ol water. First, it undcrmines the banks, then 1t removes the trees which are thrown into il and iaslens them into the bed of the river. and lastly. it strips of the leaves and branches. while the trunk remains in such a position that boats as cending the stream, and coming in coh> tact with them are pierced and sunk.
 The delta of the Mississippi has ad- vanced many miles sincesthe building oi New Ofleans. and extends over vast extent nf submarine territory. A large portion of drift wood is deposited in the gulf and the sand and mud catching in this. ultimately form banks, and these at last rise to the surface Of the water.
 The Amazon, perhaps, carries away more earthly matter than any other river of the globe. Its muddy wa,e.s may be detected in the sea 800 miles from it's mouth. The agency of rivers in chang ing the surface of the earth also depends on the magnitude of the obs.ruc,iJns which running water meets. The breaks ing of dams always cause freshe,s and consequently the carrying away of ex,en- sive tracts of land by the accumulated water. One instance only will be mem toned. At tue time of the breaking away of the aqueduct dam tn the Gro ton river. almost an entire village was demolished and swept away. In every such case the water carries for days and often for weeks. vast quantities of earth and sand to great distances.
 Avalanches have caused the greatest floods which history records. The ob. stacles themselves as we have seen in the case of glaciers, and as we may sec, in every case, are primarily caused by water.
 The avalanche of the White Mountains with which is connected the melancholy story of the destruction of the Wiley family, is one of the most striking illus trations of this truth. The continued and incessant action of undermining rains l,av- ing looscned the steep sides of the lofty mountains which rise from the banks ol the Saco, mass of rocks and cath min gles with rivers cf water which had for weeks been penetrating and sapping its foundations. and forming an avalanche m eight of mile in breadth, was precipi- tated to the valley below. This enor. nous slide having been divided by a ledge of rocks which protruded from the mountain, tore up, and hurled into the river vast forests of spruce and pine. rocks weighing thousand tons. and the entire mountain side to the depth in some places of 100 feet. The stream was entirely damned up, and at length rising above the barrier which had so suddenly checked it's progress it forced channel through the accumulated mass and with volume and velocity increased ten fold. swept away trees and rocks, and banks and bridges. and for mary weeks ran thick aud dark with the ruins of the mountain side. A traveller passing near the scene of the avalanche on the follow> ing day says that he counted no less than thirty slides within the space of fourteen miles.
 The Ammonusuck YVES at this time fll- ed with the ruins of avalanches fron the mountains at whose base il flows. and every tributary, and thousand bewly formed streams which had in single night cut enormous i,enches. were al- mos. changed to mud. so thickly were they charged with sand and gravel. It would be impossible to estimate the quantity Of land which the water carried from mountains to valleys. and from val leys to rivers. and the lower county at the time of this avalanche, much less 10 estimate the effect of the yearly Aidcs that take place upon almost every noun. tain of the globe.
 f (B) Let us notice two more instances in which although the cause WAS notex. actly the same. the result was similar 10 the one above described. We refer 10 the bursting cf a temporary lake in the valley of Bagne' which is one of the largest of the latera 49B,,lhranel.;...-. i.s lake of Geneva" The lake was formed of an accumulation of ice and at last ats tained depth of 200 feet. An artificial passage being cut through the ice large part of the water was drained of, but the barrier at length bursting, the residue was emp,ied in half an hour. Rocks as large ss houses. entire forests. bridges. and farms were swept away by the over whslming flood. 0ae fragment of mounlain IS0 feet in circumference was rolled away from i,s foundation. Trees and houses, and dead bodies. were car. ried in some cases 30 miles. and strewed far and vide over the valley. For sev- eral months ihe waters of the river were constantly undermining bridges. houses: and carrying as much earth as they could hold in siiRDanEzan. aa4fFs s