The American patriot., 1855-04-14
Immense Inundation Of the Rhine-Ss.
venty Villages Submerged.
RorrEspAx, March z.

Accounts from VIc PROVINCES Vi OuoAuS'Ae"N
and North Brabant state that in consequence
of the driving ice of rivers having fixed itself
in various points into barricadcs, q vast quanti-
ty of territory lies now entirely under water.
As many as seventy villages are submerged;
and when it is considered that the inhabitants
of these villages are mostly of the poorest
class, some idea may be formed Of the great
distress that prevails, and will for long time
prevail, among them.
Since 1920 such foundations have not been
known in Holland. At Arnheim, enormous
dams have been constructed in all haste, to pre-
vent the entire town being submerged. The
Rhenish railway will, it is apprehended, be-
come impossible. In the village of Veenendaal
the water covers the tops of the houses, most
In most places, however, the water has simply
overhowed the dams which have hitherto re-.
sisted the pressure of the accumulated waters.
In those districts, should the damage continue
to be so limited, the consequences will be but
temporary; but in some cases the dams are
broken, and the water has burst into the ad-
joining lands with fatality irresistible power.
In those districts the consequences will be Of
a very serious character; a vast quantity Of
land will be thrown out of cultivation for many
months, and vast numbers of laboring men
will be thrown out of employment Many
cattle have been drowned, but in consequence
Of the excellent precautions used in signalling
to the people the moment Of positive danger,
comparatively few Of our fellow creatures have
lost their lives by these lamentable casualties.
A Geographic message has just arrived from
Bois-lc.Duc, to the effect that one Of the dams
in.the ncighborhood has given way. and that
others are expected to give way, and that a
great part Of the city is entirely under water.
ROTTERDAM, March 10.
Many poor creatures were drowned, though
not so many, happily, as under the circum-
stances might have been expected. The vii
lagc of veenendaal has suffered severely; the
inhabitants have left. c., have been driven
from-their homes en- massc, and may be seen
bringing with them their children, their furni-
ture, and what provisions they could save,
seeking shelter in the neighboring villages.
The church, which is situated on rising
ground, is almost the only building uninjured
by the food, and it is consequently filled with
poor creatures shut out from any other shelter
hear that many of them are there unable to
move through sickness. OF winter crops there
will be none-not a potatoc nor chair re.
mains. The village must in a manner be re.
built.
In North Brabrant the flood is not so gener.
al Several bridges have been carried away,
and the town Of Bois-le-Duc is diminutive
island amidst a waste Of water and ice. The
surrounding villages are deserted but whcr
the dykes are repaired they will again, for the
most part, be habitable. In one village, how.
ever, twenty houses were at once swept away
by the food, and seven of their occupants
were drowned. 1t is IA years ago since Hol.
land was before visited with q similar dcstruc.
tive flood.
A BLOODY WAR PREDIcrED.-Thc National
Intelligencer contains an interesting letter from
an American gentleman in Paris, from which
we extract the following:
81 see but little prospect of peace, but, on
the contrary, that Of renewal, on still more
gigantic scale, Of the struggle in the Crimea as
soon as reinforcements arrive and the season
will permit, attended with slaughter in battle
and loss of life from other causes which, in the
aggregate, before the contest closes in that quar-
ter, will not have been equalled even by the
horrible Russian campaign of 1912. Besides
this, there is great probability that the war
may extend its ravages into the heart of Eu-
rope, which, if attended, as it well may be, by
revolutionary outbreaks, would produces state
Of affairs at which humanity would sicken and
the world stand aghast."
~ A recent Bulletin Of the Geographical
Society of Paris contains fresh information in
respect to the telegraph line which is intended
to unite Europe to Africa, and probably to
India. The cable is already laid down between
Spezzia, in Northern Italy, and Cape Carso, on
the Island of Corsica After having traverscd
Corsica, the Straits Of Bonifacio, and the Island
Of Sardinia, the line departing from Cape Spar
tivcnto the southermost point of Sardinia, will
proceed to the Isle of Galita, thence to the
Island of Taborca, which is adjacent to the
African shore. From this point two branches
will proceed-onc towards Gale, for the &C.
commodation Of Algeria, the other towards
Cape Bon, to gain the Island of Malta and the
Levant. A valley Of thousand metres in
depth, lover half mile) which separates Cape
Spartavento from the Isle of Galits, offers some
difficulties to the carving of the telegram