, 1867-11-29

INC ADVERSARY IMAM mis- ocean OF water
moved upon us. Had it been, that it was
only our privilege to see, no one would
have declined the opportunity. Imagine as
bright a sun us ever sheWn out upon our
planet, with no breath Of air from out the
heavens, our harbour as dull as the dead
sea, and an advancing ocean or wave Just
before US, foretelling in its every movement,
that it must engulf or ride down all things
that would encounter it. It came on, in
length it must have had the span Of our ISL
and, it reached our fort points, that happily
received and broke its shock, otherwise
an inevitable inundation of the whole
town must have been our fate. The pic
ture, to those on the hills who saw il.
will say, they saw a prairie fire with a lake
TO stop 1t. Our points were the lake, but
could not create a total spell that part
of the wave that entered the harbour,
leaves a melancholy Renaissance for
many, torlt SWept clear NJ into our principal
or main street, and no store from the
Kings warf downward but has had from
tour 10 five feet water within it the
losses can therefore be easily compre-
hended. SloOps, schooners, buoys, and
what not else, of a marine kind. may now
be seen high and dry in the Streets. Add
to this, as we now write, that our Mer-
chants are fearful 10 60 in their stores,
whilst the damage must keep increasing
from a want of ventilation. Fear still oc,
cupies the minds of all our inhabitants,
and numbers, without regard to position,
are encampCd on the hills under tents,
particularly those who lived in wall
houses. Oscillations have continued with
sometimes longer and shorter intcEmis-
siOns, since the first Earthquake was felt,
and until the mind comes to believe that
these have ceased, uncertainty will be the
rule. The question that arises in every
ones mind is, is the Earthquake local or is
1t the termination Of a fearful calamity
that has befallen a neighbouring contin-
cnt, or peninsula or Island of extent?
We believe the question is already
answered as we have the information
from two neighouring Islands at The south
west, that they too have unfortunately
been participatorS in the visitation. Of
their extent we must reserve for another
time.
Before concluding, we must add a few
more lines to our account of the sea, that
came into the harbour. We said that IFS
length must nave been the span of our
Island this we have a right to believe,
for it not only entered at our fort points,
but it passed into the Gregories from the
west and east ends of Water Island, and
then again into the harbour and the haul
overs, so that the sea shore and the
streets at the western end of the town,
have suffered equally with those that were
exposed to the wave that came in at the
points. At the Gregories, where a vii
lage, within the last few years had sprung
up, the cottages have been carried long
way in. The receding of the waters after
they had spent themselves on the shores,
was almost as threatening as their coming,
and for the time, looked as if the harbour
and the Gregories, would have remained
dried up. Many people assert to have
seen Fish lying on the strand as the water
went down. The junction of the reced-
ing water with that on the outside of the