The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1884-11-19
TIDES SIXTY FEET HIGH,
The Great Rush Of Waters I'm the Bay of
Fundy.

A famous place to observe the phenome-
non is in what is called the Minas Basin, q
branch of the Bay of Fundy, TINT extends
into the country of Evangeline and cuts it
up in curious manner. Especially at the
smaller towns along the Avon River is the
sight to be seen that has been wondered at
by SO many.
Windsor is little town of about three
thousand Inhabitants, on the elevation OF
the intersection of the Avon and st. Croix
rivers, and is very lively place for SO small
one. Here the Avon River is about mile
in width and if you happened to strike the
river from the interior you would wonder
what the inhabitants and the farmers lived
upon the borders of such gulch for. You
stand upon the edge of an enormous mud
creyasse, half mile wide and extending as
far as the eye can reach, and as some one
refers to the river you put on your glasses
and discover the centre of this slough of
despond narrow, trickling stream, about
two feet wide.
Can this be the river, you ask? II must
be, as here are bridges, two of them, but so
woefully long and shaky on their pins and
high above the stream that they appear like
the very ghosts of bridges on stills. From
above, the chasm appears shelyed and cav
ernous in its aspect. The sides seem to
grade off into terraces of red and gray mud,
until finally the pan of bottom rock is
reached, along which the pseudo river
flows. Something is expected, as here are
expensive dykes, that are reared to keep the
water from the farms in the back country !;
then again vessels lie at the docks of this
inland town, high and dry, miles and miles
from water deep enough to float them. Do
We wait On hour or 30 all this will be changed.
We first notice the silyery thread of water
stop in its course. then the water is seen to
flow up stream and if you turn your head
for few minutes you find upon again look
ing that the silvery thread has grown to a
stream fifty feet wide. Twenty minutes
later it is raging flood, as wide as the
Schuylkill, foaming, rushing and boiling,
rising in waves that break against each
other, ever pushing on, as if propelled by
some mysterious force.
In this sudden rush of the waters animals
are often caught pigs that have wandered
out into the mud are overcome by the on
ward rollers and fowl have been surrounded
and fioated away on the waves, to be res
cued, perhaps, fur up the stream, thirty feei
higher than the spot where they were taken
up. Flocks of birds frequently follow the
tidal wave, or bore, as it is called, feeding
upon the fish that are cast ashore and CATCH
ing them as the tide goes out.
Why the wave should be so high in com.
ing in is explained in different ways. One
theory is that it is formed by the tidal cur
rent rushing against the current of the river
and passing over distractions of more than
ordinary height that tend to : ash the water
up. In the Hoogly River the wave rises tc
height of twenty feet; in the Amazon
thirty and in the Tsientang, China, abou,
the same. The wave in Fundy, however, is
not to be compared to those in any respect.
AS to rapidity, the tide comes in about as
fast as an ordinary horss can trot, and q
man would have to exe1, all his speed To
escape.
The height to which the water actually
rises differs in different places and depends
upon circumstances. Thus, if the sun and
moon could pull together, SO to speak, and
strong wind set in at the same time, an
exceedingly high tide would be the result.
1t is claimed that it has risen sixty feet at
Moncton at Sackville fifty-feet fall and
rise is common at Quaco, thirty-four feet,
and at Parsboro, opposite Cape Blomidon,
about forty-fve feet. These are remarkable
figures and the sight of vessels that say in
the morning have been alongside the dock,
now forty feet below and no water in sight,
is still more remarkable