The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1856-07-16

ASTONISHING EFFkcTs or GUAEo-Ahbou.h
soms people may % Inclined to doubt the truth Of
sne seiiowins yarn; we can bring forward anv
quantity OF fyoachers. An old salt Of our arnusin
tance, says that when he was In the ara s-..s
he sailed ~ mate OF IN old brig which miehf hsvs
osen tender to Noahs ark. On . return srip
with . load OF suano the hatehea were len open
one night and . tremendous shower wet the q, ,sno
10 the hold, and produced the most surprisinr ~
fects. The timbers of the vessel sprouted ana
grew In AL directions. Between decks was ! corn
pteie bowery. The forecastle became an almost
impenetrabe thickst, and the cabin . beautifui
areor The rudder post being made of white oak.
grew up into live oak tree, which afforded
grateful shade to the man ut the helm, though be
was sometimes annoyed BY. the acorns rattling up.
on his tarpaulin hat The masts became very i'm
posing with their evergreen foliage. and, strange
to relate, the foretopmass which had been carried
away in gale, grew out again. and the attitude
OF all the niasts was much increased - to rem
der the brig exceedingly crank.
The vessel haa bouehs on her stern, and the
figure head (speaking fguratiyely) was ~ full of
boughs as dancing master. They were obliged
to prune the bowsprit and some Of the spars twice
3 week. The quarter deck was covered with
shrubbery, and the cooks caboose resembled
rustic summer house. Crab apples grew on the
pump handle, and cherry table In the cabin bore
fruit Perhaps the most remarkable circumstance
occasioned by the stimulating and fertilisng infiu-
ences of the guano was that the cockroaches on
board became so large that they could get up the
anchors and make sail on the brig. One OF the
owners of the craft facetousy remarked that she
went out full rugged brig and came home half
bark. There 10 nothing like guano to make things
grow, and for strict truth and veracity give us
old sailor when he lays himself out on big yarn
Boston Herald -.
THE GREAT EARrHQUAkEI IN THE MISSISSIPPI
VALLEY.-MaDy persons had been deferred from
going 10 Illinois by the erroneous impression that
the country was subject to volcanic action. This
had originated from the great earthquake of 1911,
oy which the Valley of the Mississippi had been
greatly shaken, the shocks having continued TOR
nearly three nj 1nths The country just below the
mouth OF the Ohio river, would seem to have been
nearthe centre of the agitation. For miles the
land had been scanned with yawning chasms and
deep holes, the remains of which still visible.
The bluff on which New Madrid had been built
had sunk 70 the level of the river and had become
soon afterward totally submerged. The commo.
tion in the Mississippi had been very great; the
banks had caved in, islands had dissolved, and the
channel had become changed. At every shock the
surface Of the river had risen and fallen like the
waves of the sea- Fas'A
An eyewitness, who was coming down on fiat
boat, says: ,s5<4s.-.
after escaping many dangers, my boat sud
denly swung round in the conflicting currents and
rapidly shot up the river. Looking ahead, 1 be
held the mighty Mississippi cut in train and pour
ing down a vast opening into the bowels of the
earth. moment more and the chasm filled but
the strong sides of the fiat boat were crumbled TO
pieces in the convusive efforts of the ,od to OBJ
tain its wonted level" 4l,{f
The Indians had been utterly bewildered by the
earthquake and could account for the ply sicai tu
mutt only upon the suppositi0n that things gener-
ally had been getting drunk. 1t is said of one of
them, who had given himself up for lost, that,
upon being questioned Is to what the matter was
he had replied, while at the same time pointing
fearfully to the heavens, "Great Spirit whiskey
too much !"-Faris's States aud Territories of the
Hest. ,fl E8t :.