Wilmington daily gazette., 1873-11-12
RuRsIIno or ABoc.


& H. i
STRANGE SCENE OF DEVASTATION IN IRELANr. ,
Mr.. W. L. Trench, writing to the London Timcs |
to appeal TO the charitable for aid for certain |
unfortunate famllic,, gives this account Of the
bursting Of an hish bog. He says: have just
teturned from Inspecting ono Of the most pitifui
scenes OF the sort 1t has been my fate TO wit
ness snc0 l saw the remains Of the village OF
Visp in RhOne Valley, Switzerland, after the de-
stTuCtion by food some years ago. The scene to
which I refer is the result Of the bu sting OF
bog, situated about three miles east OF the town
OF Dunmorc, in the northern part of Galway
county. Heretofore this bog was connected with
the Dunmore river, at Dunmore, by small stresm
called the CoTrable river, flowing through q co.'s
tnuatiOn OF pasture and tillage lands in its course
Tho level Of the upper surface Of the bog was for
merry 260 feet above the sea- and that of the water
at Dunmore 100 feet, showing a fall Of 20 feet.
Up to fortnight ago this bog presented the usual
appearance OF most of our undrained Irish bogs,
Se its skirts, adjoining the arabic land, consisting
Of high turf bank, its centre being exceedingly
wet and spongy. On the first of October the
farmer occupying farm on the Corrabal stream,
nearest the bog was digging his potatoes, when
be suddenly observed a brown mass slowly ap-
preaching him. lie left his spade in the ground
and went for his neighbors On his return the
mass (Which was the moving bogD had half Gov
cred his potatoe field, and completely hidden from
sight his field of corn, with the exception Of few
stocks situated on a knoll they still remain N
island In the middle of scene OF desolation.
This was but the commencement; since then the
continuing its course right down tho valley to
Dunmore, buryng on its way three farm houses.
and covering at least hundred and eighty
acres Of pasture and arabic land to a depth, in
some places, of six feet. The unfortunate occu-
piers of the three farms have been turned by this
visitation of Providence, HARMLESS and homeless,
with their families, on the world At Dunmore
small bridge has been removed near the juno
tlon OF the Corrabel stream with the DunmoTe
river, to afford relief TO the lands up the valley
and bog-laden torrent is being discharged into
tue latter river. The worst may be said to EC
over bot the discharging powers Of that river vii
be materially Affected by tho influx of solid MAJ!
ter. The source of this disaster presented a won
deTful appearance. The subsistence at the dis
charging point cannot be less than about 3j feet
The extent of the bog affected is most clearly de
lined by series of black "crevassss," where III,
upper crust OF the bog has, by the subsidence be
low, been torn asunder The whole assumes tn
form of n crater half mile in diameter. Will
considerable difficulty We piloted our way to tn
centre, where we found the brown liquid bog
boiling out like o stream of lava and feeding tn
moving mass in the valley below. At the poiH
where the bog burst the turf banks were force
right over and round on either side, and assume
somewhat the appearance OF "moraiues." 1hi
and similar disasters to which this country is abl
must be attributed TO the absence OF complet
and good SYSTEM of aTterial drainage. A simila
catastrophe occurred a couple of years ago, occ;
stoned by the back-waier OF the river Suck, nea
Castlerea.