The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-10-09
THE pEluGE OF SAN GABRIEL.
Nex1esn Villages and Their Inhabitants De-
stroYed Iv Il Eland

4ex1ean Villages and Their 1nhaDftants De-
stroyed by Flood.
Ell Clarju, of Guadalajara, grves the
following account of the almost total
destruction, in the morning of June
..6, of the villages OF Cuarenta and San
Gabriel, by deluge that fell upon the
surrounding mountains:
/ The said villages are, OF were, stu.
ated in a ca12Gd0y or narrow valley,
through which passes the highway to
San Louis Potosi, and at a few leagues
to the eastward of the town of Lagos.
The Villages stood Immediately upon
the banks of little river that flows
through the valley, it's margins lined
with well-sultivated fields, gardens,
orchards, cane plantations, and sup
porting many domestic animals that
furnished subsistence and were the
only patrimony of many families. Qua
renta was atstation where. the arrieros,
in their journeys over the mountains,
generally passed the night. Fifty or
sixty of those. Industrious persons
were lodged in the two public houses
of the village that fatal night, the ma
jority of whom, and their animals,
perished..
Between' a and 5, of the morning,
while the: peaceful inhabitants were
still TRANQUILITY sleeping, many fam
lilies were awakened by such terrible
and continuous detonations of thunder
as they had ever witnessed. This
fr1ghtfuI but providential announce
ment of the coming catastrophe was
the cause of reducing the number of
victims. Upon the mountains called
La Media Luna, La Mesa, and others,
toward the east, was witnessed sur
prising and terrifying spectacle, like
nothing ever seen before. 1t is de-
scribed as resembling an eruption of
Vesuvius; the continuous electric dis
charges among the vast black masses
of clouds that whirled above the noun
tains cleaning in red flashes of fire
and yellow streams OF gold, forming
an 1gneous mosaic in the sky, SO to
say, that, though gorgeous beyond de-
scription as physical phenomenon,
filled the beholders with terror. Enor-
nous sleeves, Oh Water-spouts, de-
scended from the clouds, and seemed
to grasp the mountains. Suddenly a
great noise like the roar and onward
rush of great waves of the sea an
nounced. the awful approach of the
deluge, a tidal wave that filled the lit
tie river. overfiowed the valley, and
swept from its path with resistless
force whatever'it encountered. Great
logs of wood brought from the neigh
boring mountains, trees, thick magueys
torn up. by the roots, shrubs, cows,
SWINE, burros, fowls, were carried
upon the enormous mole of water.
The stone bridges, that had withstood
all former floods, were demolished.
The obstruction formed by their piers
diverted the current in other directions.
Sweeping literally through the streets,
it occupied houses ON both sides of the
river, destroyed many, and damaged
all.
The rapidity of the invasion and its
duration of almost three hours did not
permit the occupants to save more
than their lives by precipitate flight.
In the desperate efforts of men to save
their families many sad fatalities oc-
Cured. A father, having carried his
little children to a place of safety, re-
turned to save his wife-both persisted.
Many were saved by the prompt as
sistance of relatives and charitable
persons that had earlier warning of
the catastrophe. Some escaped by
taking refuge upon the roofs of houses
that withstood the rushing deluge,
where groups of women and terrified
children waited in momentary expec-
tation that the structure would follow
the fate of those they saw disappear
around them.
The whole valley, that yesterday
smiled with the homes and fruits Of in
dustry, is desolation. The survivors
are homeless, propertyless; reduced
from comfort to beggary. Hundreds
that have escaped the deluge are
menaced with starvation, even while,
shelterless, hungry, and almost naked,
they are sadly searching among the
rubbish left by the receding waters
for the bodies of their friends. 1t
would be impossible to describe in de-
tail what has occurred or what is now
witnessed. One hundred and seventy
bodies have been found where two
villages stood, or along the stream be-
| low them. The tempest was accom-.
| panied with an enormous fall of hail,
| that is still found (twenty-four hours
| after the catastrophe) to depth of
several inches among the ruins of
houses at Cuarenta by people search.
| ing for the dead. In that village
| alone more than two hundred houses
were destroyed by the torrent. The
scene that is now witnessed could not
be more heartrending.
In the midst of their misfortune and
their anguish, the survivors turn their
eyes with hope toward the capital.
| Let it not be said ever that in Jalisco
there has been calamity, mourning,
distress, and hunger, and that the
| generous hands of the sons of Guada-
| iaiara have not been stretched forth,
| to succor them.
| All Rinhf THANK XOu