The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-08-05
LANDSLIDE LIFTED MORTGAGE.
Nature Took a Hand In Paying Raj
fertys Debts and Made Him Rich.

Lesueur Mimi Cor st. Louis Republic.
Out in Grabbing township. three miles
from Miceker, the farms of Jonas Raffer-
ty and Gundar oReilley lie side by side.
the line between them extending for 50
rods along the middle of the southern
slope of the rather steep hill running up
from Freshet creek, which until lately cut
through the middle of Raffetys farm TIL
II nearly reached its eastern side, and
then, turning sharply to the northward,
into O'Reileys land, pitched over TWEEN
ty-foot bank and made an excellent water
power of great value to its owner
The % acres of Rafferty's land up along
the slope OF the HILL between the creek
and O'Reilley's line, was little better than
a bed of clay only a narrow strip along
the boundary being any good at all, while
some thirty acres OF the slope on OReil-
leys side was the most valuable land in
the neighborhood, being covered with a
fine growth of gigantic sugar naples.
Fifteen years ago O'Relley became
filled with lust to possess Rafferty,
land, and he has been scheming to get
hold of It ever since, and month ago
seemed to be In fair way to succeed,
for he is grasping and prosperous and
Rafferty, generous, careless and impracti-
cal
O'Reilley succeeded in getting hold of
a mortgage on his neighbours land for
about third of It's value. and immediate
~ foreclosed IT, Rafferty, laboring under
a long run Of hard luck. was In no shape
to borrow money anywhere else to take
up the mortgage. and seemed to be In a
very fair way to lose his property. The
year for redemption would be up In two
dark
Rafferty, But at this crisis fate took a
strenuous hand In the game.
The phenomenally heavy. almost torren-
tial rains that had prevailed for a long
time had soaked all the earth 10 an un-
precedented depth with water, overlooking
all the lakes and marshes and turning
Freshet creek, as well as the other small
streams, into veritable rivers.
A month ago last Tuesday OReilley.
whose house is on top Of the hill north
of the sugar grove. noticed with much
wonder that there was huge crack in
the ground along the crest of the hill, a
crack that in very few hours became a
ditch. and then little valley. and then
fully thirty acres of valuable hard maple
timber land stripped from the hillside,
and from twenty to thirty feet in depth,
sailed majestcally over Rafferty's sterile
acres and across the creek. making him
in short time the owner of the best
thirty acre tract in the township and so
damming UP the swollen stream that 1t
cut out new path to the southwark over
a low ridge and made a new bed through
a coulee on Rafferty's land, Incidentally
transferring the valuable water power 10
stony bank across the middle Of the
coulee.
Fortunately Rafferty, could and imme-
diately did-borrow plenty of money now
on his providentially improved farm. and
paid off his debt to a neighbor who, with
his legs dangling over the end of a Sew
cred footpath that used to lead down into
the best sugar grove in Gradeing. did lit
tie else than swear all day long, day after
day. about the curious freak of nature
that had bereft him of his property.
But he gets no sympathy from anyone.