The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-08-22
LETTER FROM PETERSBURG.
Correspendence OF the K,chmond Dispatch
PETERSBURG, August 20, 1867.

9
notwithstanding the heavy fall of ralr
on Thursday last, and its general pre'a
leuce throughout the country, 1t does no
seem to have been followed by any uhas 81,
rise in our principal water-courses. ine
small streams were all very much s"oisn
but in the larger ones the water hao psssso =,
Off below, it may be presumed, oe:o,s
came down from tho higher tributaries!
There is remarkable fact IN resaIu "
foods in our large rivers when appears ~,
TO have been generally noticed. ,, n.n
Won have fresh in the James VIC seiooI,i
or never have one in the Appoma'loA: a
nor,beas. storm, however long the contlnu-
ancn does not materially affect the one,
while it is all-sutficicnt to produce an IN
rtndation in the other. The reason IS 'hat
these storms are mostly cohnheo 10 Inc
coast, never extending, perhaps, beyond
INC Blue Ridge. On the other hand,
southeast storm discharges but littlc wa
ter, comparative y, between the Is ue Ridge
and the coast but the clouds, being piled
mn, so to say, against the Allegheny noun
tnjns. empty their contents nearer the
sorrccs Of such rivers as the James and
Roanoke, and when the water courses
down, it is with an Overlooking rush.
Having been reared on the banks of the
lanes. your correspondent has had from
,hc lbs Of the old inhabitants history of
most of the remarkable floods which have
occurred within century past, prior to
those which he witnessed himself. A re-
ference to the remarkable fresh of May,
II. as being the greatest on record, Will
serve TO illustrate the character of those
or less note. For ten days preceding the
rio. there had been a steady blow from
,bc southeast, but there was scarcely RAIN
rnongh in all this region Of country TO
drive a man in doors. The first notice the
Inhabitants on the river had OF the Hood
was the approach Of the water, rushing
6o,rn like an immense wave, bearing on
lis bosom houses, and fences, and stacks
nf bay and fodder, and sweeping every
ching before it. In many cases there was
M, time enough to drive the cattle from
the low grounds to place OF safety,
and in few instances 1t IS SAID
That houses were borne off with the
tenants. The damage along the line of the
river. both above and below the head of
side. was unpreccdented-the marks Of
wnich remain to the present day, and
viii not he obliterated for ages to come.
n some places above Richmond consider
Able tracts were covered with sand, and IN
others pools or small lakes were formed of
great depth. After reaching Underwater,
Tic current, instead Of pursuing the sinu-
oSitics of the river, forced its way from
one point to another in more direct line,
washing away the soil and causing perma-
ncut injury to several fine estates. a
monument was afterwards erected at Iur-
Ky island, with suitable inscription,
concentrating the event, and marking
the elevation which the waters reached.
This monument was standing not many
Years ago, and is probably still to be seen,
but all traces of it will have disappeared
long before the ravages Of the flood are
healed by the hand Of Time. 5.
P. S.-As you have critic on the Dis
patch, would be obliged to him to inform
your readers which is the more correct
term, "fresh" or "freshet." The writer,
who perhaps belongs more to the past
than the present age, was brought up IN
the Use of the former, but he has lived tc
SEQ the latter obtrude itself on Our Ian
guagc until the good old English word ha
become nearly obsolete. In the sense il
which it is used, his limited information
does not enable him to trace its origin far
ther than to New England, which has, in
deed, produced some writer's Of taste, bu
to which we are also indebted for such Yam
kccisms-convenicnt barbarisnls, SHOULD
ii not be said PAS "being built" ant
many other unwarrantable expressions
S.
"Freshet" is Miltonian, and the favo
rite word with Trench, who, however, say
il has recently returned to England from
America. Fresh " is the common wore
in Virginia and in England. Both are
good; and being so, zoe cannot choose be-
tween them, though present authority il
England land as to authority, not custom
we might add, in this country,) is, VIZ
suppose, in favor Of "fresh." Vide Wor
ccstcr's quarto.