Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-07-21
THE FRENCH FLOODS.
off the Visitation-How the
French Agricuturists and Manufacturers
are Likely to be Affected by the Dis
aSter.
From the London Globe, June &c.

aster.
From the London Globe, June &c.
The south of France is at present the
scene of disaster, such as we are una
ole to picture to ourselves in this fort11-
nate country. The terrors and horrors
of an inundation, however faithfully de-
picted by George Eliot or Millais, have
to the minds of Englishinen no practical
existence; whereas the peasants of North
Italy, and of the south and east Of
France, are with good reason appalled,
OF the very mention of one of these
lemities.
The late floods in the neighborhocd
of Toulouse have been even more fear.
full in their effects, In consequence of
the suddenness with which they came
upon the unsuspectlng population. The
heavy rains coinciding in time with the
melting of snow on the Pyrenees and
Cevennes, loaded with an extraordinary
burden the tributary streams which flow
from these mountains to the northwest,
and, uniting with the Garonne, whose
name they take, water the wonderfully
fertile valley lying between Toulouse
and Bordeaux. 10 .n lbs oa
1t is at the points where the several
mountain torrents join one another that
the result has been most terrible. Thus
at Toulouse, just below the junction Of
the Garonne and the Ariege, whole
quarter has been submerged, 800 houses
swept away, and 10000 inhabitants
turned adrift. AT Moissac, where the
important River Tarn, swollen by two
important tributaries, falls into the
Garonne, the destruction is proportion
ately greater, a large part OF the town
being reported as actually hidden under
the water. uiaagh aa lz1.e
In another small town, out of 400
houses which it formerly contained,
tour or five only are now said to be
left standing. The destruction of
crops and loss OF farm stock at this
time OF year may be to some extent
But the horror of the scene and the
loss of Life which followed on this sud-
den catastrophe can only be realized
by those who have assisted at similar
spectacle. NJ Edmond About has en-
deavored to describe such scene in a
well-known chapter of "Madelon." But
the present inIIndation seems not only
to have dlstanced all the descriptions Of
noyelists, but to have surpassed in it's
murderous results all previous examples
in Europe, 215 dead bodies having been
already found in st. Cyprica alone.
Never was there time when the aid of
the benevolent was more urgently need
ed and more thoroughly deserved, and
we trust that the example Of .subscrip-
ton SO promptly set in Paris will be fol.
low ed by London and the English towns
with their usual alacrlty. 9'iA -
q = From the London Telegraph. June IS.
The rain which refreshed our cereals.
revived the spirits of our parched meaa.
dows, and swelled the volume of our at
tenuated streams, a fortnight back. has
had disastrous effects in the South of
France Like fire, water is a capital
servant but a terrible master, D and in
sunny Languedoc it has oyerpowered
man and his works, and desolated a
province with the old and not unfamiliar
curse Of inundation. The rain, 1t ap-
pears, has fallen in that region with
tropical profusion, and persistence
that would do credit to Galway or the
Isle of Syke, and, as result, most of
the rivers throughout the South. of
France-the Garonne, the Farm the
Adour-have overlooked their banks, de-
luging the fields, washing away the crops,
flooding the low-lying suburbs Of
towns, drowning cattle, and carrying
away railway bridges. In some places.
the Garonne is said to be four miles
wide; at Toulouse itself whole quarters,
are submerged and many, lives, lost,
while the traffic over the railway lines.
has been interrupted in sever al places :.
The extent ofthe foundations is said to
exceed that OF the floods of 1856, when
the late Emperor Napoleon personally
visited the scenes of suffering, and dis,
tr1buted relief at the cost CT some dan
gerto himself, though in a. way that
greatly enhanced his popularity The
present visitation also has been prompt
y met by the government, which, asked
from the National Assembly, and at
once obtained, a grant of G4, 900 as a
first installment for the aid of the suf-
ferers. ina ra.saa9o tssaat y7sT q saa
= The South of France has prospered
SO much from the superabundance of
last years harvest that severe indulgence
will probably be the lot OF few, even
though the area of inundation be larger
than has been yet reported. The
French peasant is penurious and frugal,
and his character in these respects an
swers the double purpose of giving him
a reserve laid up against rainy day,
and of costing him less for mere suse
tenance than our beef-fed and beer
drinking hiking, but most improvident, work
ingman requires. But Toulouse,
Auch, and other towns named have.
considerable manufacturing populations,
and it is they who will chiefly suffer and
be the objects of government aid. For
all that, the visitation, unlike the
calamity in Asia Minor, for which Eng
lish help has been earnestly sought
and is urgently needed, will have
a comparatively moderate range.
and will be little felt IN a rich
and progressive country. The chief
lesson it teaches is the difficulty Of
measuring the force Of elemen al out
breaks In the south of France. AL