The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1875-07-22
THE GREAT DELUGE.

10 Have Been Lost
From tho London POST Hdioria), June W.
The geographical position Of France
although in many respects iDHniy !"
vored. ia snch as TO entail upon iafBo
districts of the country n liability 10 ps
auddenly Ielnged by the overflow OF
flooded rivers. At Toulouse, suck1n'
undations have occurred every twenty
years-or, Mt least, in 1913, 1850 ana
j8J5-although never before 10 inc
came extent M at present, or with the
calamitous consequences to Ire ana
property which we are now called upon
10 record. In 1856 the whole valley Of
the Rhone was visited in q similar man
ner. The streets Of Lyons were Tor
many days traversed by boats, and o
only trees and cattle, but BRIDGES
churches, houses, even whole villages;
were swept away, and great numbers OF
people were either drowned or Dnrleu
amid fallen ruins. But |hen
compared with the inundaiion winch
has now, we hope, subsided, AL others
gink tito comparative lnsigniilcaiice.
A week ago today, II correspondent
teIls M the river Garonne, at Toulose,
was unusually high, but no serious
danger was apprehended, and no pre-
cautionary measures were taken. Oh
Wednesday the waters rose rapidly,
and by ten O'Clock in the morning they
ind reached the level Of the Hood OF
1855. At two o'clock two arches OF n
bridge and twenty houses were H~ept,
AWAY, and the floating swimming batlis
and lavatories were torn from tllclr
mornings and hurried down the torrent.
At five the water Overlooked h para
pet which protects the populous quar-
ter of st. Cyprien at 6 it was ten feet
deep in the streets, aud before night
tbig d]uarter was cut Off from the rest OF
tho town, the three bridges Of commll-
nication being destroyed. All night
the crash Of falling honses and the
cries and shrieks OF sufferers were
heard. On Thursday the lood began
TO abatc, and the water had fallen six
feet by the evening. In tho town OF
Toulouse alone, il is said, nine hundred
persous have persisted and 10000 are
left destitute. Nearly three thousand
houses have fallen, and the destruction
of property is roughly estimated nj
from Gl2, COG, 900, TO Cl5, 600 600, ster-
ling. The Whole valley Of the Garonne
il aaid to resemble n vast lake, covered
with fragments Of the ruins OF the
town, as well ns with wreck brought
down from higher districts, and dotted
with corpseR, some Of them wearing tht
costume of places twenty leagues away,
Although it IL upon this particular
district that the calamity has Taller
with the greatest force, yet tho neigh
boring departments have also been tor
rible sufferers. In Aude the crops hay,
been extensively destroyed. At Bag
nieres do Blgorre the Adour has car
r,cd away bridges mud cottages. A
Vcrlun (Aricge) more tlnn fifty house
have fallen, and mnuy persons hay
been drowned. In Tarn-et-G nrOnn
crops have perisllcd ; and ut Eerononll
let, II village nix Kilometres from lou
louise, only three houses out Of fou
hundred are left standing. The railwa,
between Bordeaux and Toulouse is on
in II dozen places, and the whole coun
try in submerged. The power of the
surrounding districts to assist the
greatest sufferers is crippled by thor
own losses, and the communication
with distant parts of the country is
greatly impoded. 1t il doubtful wheth
or the description Of what has actually
happened will include even the greater
part Of the calamity. Az tho waters
recedo n surface saturated with mois.
turs will be exposed, and this surface
will be strewn with the corpses Of men
and animals i'll every stage of decom-
position. Exposed to the exhalationH
hence arising there will be n large pop.
ulation reduced to absolute want-de
pendent upon charity for all the neces
sarieB OF life, destitute alike of clothes
Of food, Of shelter and Of employment
To communities thus situated diseas
comes with footsteps that are neithe
tardy nor uncertain, and it is only b
tho most prompt and energetic nj
from external sources that the inhal
itants Of Toulouse can be saved froi
even greater ills, il such be pOssibl,
than those which have already befalIe
them.
THE CAUSE or THE CALAMITY.
In 4 ~ farm o, lila. .,u,
or ,ho ;unnJo,ion =, " 'u1" VI sno oa''e
cI,nce n, tho nhuo;.aI oo Necessary '
dena,tmenta yhiah H,'ys,"pny VI VI
TLev liz nm tLa nnr,I'orn nI '' ~ ,h'
pvrennaa md ara inta.. tpI' W WV
merons md ron;d r;vo,a 80 nL "u
leaat four nrite 70 form ,Ia ion a.
nrGnrc if reacLc. Tonlnnao Th"nn nns
bean lt.oyv and onutio"e hhcro nus
the whole Of the mnnnt";m n" oye,
fall Of snow nj linz where IL yorId \;
raoilv swslI Al. 80 w." wUup' G vi
rome ~ is so;J .ha, ", ,o m 'no aa
tribu,oyv csrs" d. : o om
a,aat u, 80. II = VIZ
trict' Svs;nr tba ~. nn.a = uis
not orIs aIs ~ az. ,"nnnny; rec
noii Ant No. o,su S'ty i'onn wv
from hai," IA ~ pi1ron. sno snr'ac'
XVII I'll IhIA VI HIM IAA 1n L..