Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1880-01-30
An Avalanche of Peat.


When the brief statement first ap-
peaTed, few months AGO. that town
in the Falkland Islands had narrowly
escaped destruction by flood of peat,
the story seemed incredible. Anthem
tic detail Is, however, have lately reached
England which leave no doubt OF the
fact. The phenomenon is believed to
be unprecedented, and has served to at
tract the attention of men of science
once more 10 the archipelago of treeless
islands which Darwin explored nearly
half century ago, and which consti-
tute Great Britain's southernmost colo
NAL possessions.
The Falkland group is situated some
three hundred miles from the eastern
coast of South America, opposite the
entrance to the strait of Magellan. Two
OF the islands, known as East and West
Falkland, are much larger than the
rest, and upon the east side of the for.
mer is Stanley, the chief town. There
seems to be some influence in the climate
peculiarly favorable to the production
of peat, for, says Mr.. DAWN, "almOst
every kind OF plant, even the coarse
grass which covers the whole surface
of the land, becomes converted into this
substance; scarcely any situation checks
its growth; some of the beds are as
much as twelve feet thick, and the lower
part becomes so solid when dry that it
will hardly burn" Thus, it will be un-
derstoOd, peaty soil is characteristic
of the whole country.
Just back of the town of Stanley, and
about 5000 feet inland, rises range OF
heights which are surmounted by a
plateau, upon which rests a deep bog
fpeat. Curiously enough, the thickest
deposits of peat in the Falklands occur
on the hillsides or hilltops. In other
places the peat seldom exceeds few
feet in depth. The subsoil is dense
yellow clay impenetrable by water, and
in the Stanley bog already mentioned
this is between twenty-four and thirty
feet below the surface.
On Nov. 26, 1878, asoutheasterly storm
of wind and rain set in Mt Stanley, and
the rainfall from that time until mid
night of the Both is estimated to have
been two inches. Then the peat bog
on the heights above the settlement
gave way. THE black oozy mud, +"
writes a naval officer to the royal geo.
graphical society, "rolled down the hill
VIM ~ w lllCll bIlt
iron stanchions around the reservoir MOI
the barriers by the sea could Withstand
1t broke through the backs of wooden
houses, inundated the rooms, and obliged
the inhabitants, rudely awakened from
sleep, to flee for safety; few pigs and
calves were swallowed uplin the irresist-
IDLE stream, but fortunately no human
lives were lost" The velocity of the
stream was not noted at first, but in the
morning, after its force was almost ex.
pended, it was still moving into the sea
at the rate of about half mile an hour
DR.. John Mulvany. staff surgeon in
the British navy, was an eyewitness OF
the phenomenon, and attributes it to the
action of the heavy fall of rain upon the
peat. He estimates that over 500 OOC
gallons of water fell into the bog on the
four days preceding the avalanche
The impermeable yellow clay under
meath would not permit it to sinh
throHgh, and finally this enormous guam
tity of water, mingling with the peat
burst the weakest side of the bog and
rolled down the seward slope of the
heights above the town in the remark,
able torrent we have described.