Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1873-11-24

|. STRANGE SCENE OF DEVASTATION IN IRE
LAND'-Mr, w. L. Trench, writing to the
London Times to appeal to the charitable for
aid for certain unfortunate families, gives
this account of the bursting of an Irish hog.
He says:
II have just returned from inspect ng one
| of the most pitiable scenes of the sort it has
been my fate to witness since | saw the re-
mains Of the village of Visp. in the Rhone
Valley, Switzerland, after its destruction BY
| Hood some years ago.
'The scene to which 1 refer is the result
| of the bursting Of bog situated about three
/, miles east OF the town Of Dunmore, in the
northern part Of Galway county. Hereto
fore this bog was connected with the Dun
more river, at Dunmore, by q small stream
called the Corrabel river, flowing through =
continuation Of pasture and tillage lands in
Its course. The level Of the upper. surface
OF the bog was formerely 400 feet above the
sea, and that of the water at Dunmore 1870
feet, showing fall of 70 feet. Up to fort.
| night ago this bog presented the usual an.
pearance Of most Of our undrained Irish
bogs, i. e., its skirts, adjoining the arabic
land, consisting OF high turf banks, its cec-
tire being exceedingly wet and spongy.
I'm the first OF October the farmer occu.
pying farm on the Corrabel stream, near
est the bog, was digging his potatoes, when
he suddenly observed brown mass SLOWLY
approaching him. lie left his spade in the
ground and went for his neighbors. On his
return the mass (which was the moving bog
had half covered bis potato field, and com
pletely hidden from sight his field of corn,
with the exception of a few stock situated
on knoll; they still remain an island in the
middle OF scene of desolation. This was
but the commencement. Since then the
bog has continued to advance in rolling
mass, continuing it's course right down the
valley TO Dunmore, burying on its way three
farm houses and covering at least one hun
dred and eighty acres of pasture and arabic
land to q depth, in some places, of six feet
The unfortunate occupiers of the three farms
have been turned, by this visitation of Pro-
violence, tarmless and homeless, with their
families, on the world
I AT Dunmore small bridge has been re
moved. near the junction Of the Corrsbel
stream with the Dunmore river, to afford re-
hef to the lands up the valley, and bog
laden torrent Is being discharged into the lat
ter river The worst may be eaid to be
over, but the dischsrging powers of that
river will be materially affected by this influx
OF solid matter. The source Of this disaster
presented wonderful appearance. The sub
slosnce at tine dlscharging point cannot be
less thsn about 35 feet. The extent of the
bog atected is most clearly defined by o
series Of back 'crevases,' where the upper
crust OF the bog has, by tho subsidence be-
low, being torn ssunder. The whole as
sumes the form Of crater half mile in dia-
meter.
With considerable difficulty we piloted
our way to the centre, where we found the
brown liquid bog boiling out like a stream
OF lava feeding the moving mass in the val
ley below. At the point where the bog
burst, the turf banks were forced right over
and round on either side, and assumed some
what the appearance Of 'moraines."
This and similar disasters to which this
country is liable must be attributed to the
absence OF complete and good system
OF artorial drainage: A similar catastrophe
occurred a couple Of years ago, occasioned
by the back water Of the river Suck, near
Castlerea."
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