The Portland daily press., 1869-10-12
For the Press:
Ut UIe ETcSS.
The Storm of Oct. 4tb,

hope there may be funds yet remaining in
the State treasury to the credit of the HYDRO
graphic Survey, and that the Executive Will
authorize our accomplished scientist, the Sec
rotary of the Survey, to incur some iudicous
expense in collecting facts respecting the phe-
uomena and effects of this remarkable Storm
Thanks to Mr.. Wells, We are com ng to I'M
derstand our river systems aud their relation to
the great economics of the State of Maine
better than ever before, and the science of
treshets and foods, as they occur peculiarly
within own ourlimits, must be accepted and
studied, as an Indispensable part of the gene oil
Hydro graphic science which applies to our
physical geography. All science begins with
facts, and we cannot do better than to have a
comprehensive and iudicjous collection of facts.
relating to the phenomena of this violent and
destructive storm.
For lnstance-as merely experimental
| statement upon the imperfect reports we now
have-Mr. Wells's admirable prefara tory me-
moir, which was published with his partial
report Of last year-very justly dilates, amongst
other things, upon the great comparative safety
| o: the water powers of Maine. His general
propositions under this head are thoroughly
confirmed, as well by the physical facts, which
he adduces, as by the particular statements Ia
SO many of the local reports embraced in his
collection.
But here has occurred storm and flood,
which, upon mere cursory reading of the news
papers, we might suppose, had washed our riv-
ers in some sections of the State, clear of all
structures, down to their very beds, oolite r
ating all improvements, and tending to drown
all hope of restoration.
Yet more attentive examination of the ac-
counts, imperfect as they now are, shows com
paratively little destruction ct actual mill
dams and mills There is great and des
tructive washing away of bOoms and logs
mere floating material, always understood to
be hazardously exposed in time of severe
freshets-and much destruction of bridges,
placed as they very often are and mus be, not
in positions of the greatest security, but where
the routes oftravel require them to be- and Of
ten imperfectly constructed, for want of means
to give them the greatest strength. Every
boom is swept away for miles above and below
Kendalrs mills on the Kennebec, together
with the old bridge at Waterville, more than
thirty years old-but it is not reported that
the timber dams at Kendall's Mills and above,
nor the ne " dam at Ticonlc Falls have suffer-
ed special damage, and even the Keunebec
dam at Augusta, which has never been regard
ed as in a very strong position, appears to re-.
main sound and firm as before. The impor-
tant hydraulic works, and factory sites at Lew
iston, appear to have been no more affe cted by
the storm, than the rocks on the sea coast.
| A large and very distressing part OF the vi
client action of the storm, appears to have been
by the mere overflow of certain streams,
reaching up their banks and over the adjacent
bottom lands SO far as to engulf and sweep
| away in many cases, entire farm buildings.
crops and cattle, not without sad destruc-
ton of human life. This very unusual phenom-
enon with many rivers in Name, compels at
tention to see what was the special course and
range of such an extraordinary occurrence. 1t
is not question merely of mills and hydraulic
improvements, but question also of farms
and farm-lfe. Taking the newspaper accounts
as we now have them, this painful destruction
appears to have been confined to special and
limited locality, extending from the White
Hills eastward and northward, along the val
ley OF the Androscoggin, and thence further
in the same direction, so as to include the
headwateis of the Sandy river. No such de-
struction is yet reported east of the Kenne-
bee, nor any where south of the high
land district of Oxford county. The facts as
now reported, appear to indicate, not mere
~ great storm and heavy rain-for we
nad that IN all parts of the State, even here in
of.and-but that a wholly exceptional and
,a'' though most extraordinary cataclysn or
ue,use OF waters burst down upon the north
anu east sides of the three great peaks of the
white Aiils'-mot, generally, over that noun