Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-11-12

STRANGE SCENE OF DEVASTATION IN

STRANGE SCENE OF DEVASTATION IN 1Rr,
Mr.. W. L. Trench, writing to the Land.
Times to appeal to the charitable for aid g..
certain unfortunate families, gives this o.
count of the bursting of an Irish bo, n
says:
&c L have just r, turned from inspect;n, o,.
of the most pitiful scenes of the sort !, ~.
been my fate to witness since saw the -
mains of the village of Visp, in the Pr
Valley, Switzerland, after its DESTRUCTION -
flood some years ago.
ssThe scene to which L refer is the resrl.
of the bursting of bog, situated abou; tbraa
miles east of the town of Dunmore. in -.
northern part of Galway county Heretot1rs
this bog was connected with the Durmoro
River, at Dunmore, by small stream csllaS
the Corrabel River, flowing through a con
tinuation of pasture and ullage lands in ~
course. The level of the upper surface -
the bog was formerly go feet above the sas
and that of the water at Dunmore 100 fas.
showing fall of 20 feet. Up to a fortpigb.
ago this bog presented the usual appearance
OF most of our undrained Irish boys, /. ~
skirts, adjoining the arabic land, consstin,
of high turf banks, its centre being exceed,
ingly wet and spongy.
g On the first Of October the farmer oren.
plying farm on the Corrabel stream. ne,res.
the bog, was digging his potatoes, when he
suddenly observed brown mass slowly an
preaching him. lie left his spade in the
ground and went for the neighblrs: on bis
return the mass (Which was the moving bo,l
had half covered his potato field, ami com.
pletely hidden from sight his field OF corn
with the exception of few stocks situated
Oh knoll they still remain an island in
the middle of a scene of desolatOn. Ibis
was but the commencement; since then he
bog has continued TO advance In a rollins
mass, continuing its course right down the
valley to DunmOre, burying on It's way three
farm houses and covering at least one hun.
dred and eighty acres of pasture and arable
land to depth, in some places, OF six feet
The unfortunate oceuplers OF the three farms
have been turned, by this visitation Of Prov
idence, farmless and homeless. with their
families on the world.
AT Dunmore small bridge has been r..
moved, near the junction OF the trrabe'
stream with the Dunmore River, u afford
relief to the lands up the valley, ami bog
: laden torrent is being discharged into tie
latter river. The worst may be said 70 b
over, but the discharglng powers of that
river will be materially affected BY this us.r
of solid matter. The source of this disaster
presented a wonderful appearance Ths
! subsistence at the dischargIng point cann5.
be less than about IS feet. The eIten. u
the bog affected is most clearly defined by s
; series of black crevasses, where the uppe,
E crust of the bog has. by the subsistence te-
low, been torn asunder. The whole assume:
, the form of crater half mile in diameter
50 With considerable difficulty We ri.otei
our way to the center, where We found the
brown liquid bog boiling out ike a stream
: of lava and feeling the moving mass IN tho
valley bslow. At the point where the be.
burst, the turf banks were f0rcei right 0yel
and round on either side, and assumed some
5 what the appearance of mOraines.'
2 This and similar disasters to Shich thl:
S country is liable must be attribute ID tie
2 absence OF a complete and good system o
arterial drainage. A similar catastrophe
occurred a couple of years ago. otc4siJne.
2 by the back-water of the River Suck, ne4l
: Casilerea."
Mrs. Willing. wife OF Rey. " c. WllliD
of the Rock River Conference, has acce pie
the chair of English Literature in the Hi
nois Wesleyan University, and Is u ent,
upon the new work in January.