THE FLOODS.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2200, 26 May 1870, Page 2

THE FLOODS.

{From the W.ailcMaiti Herald) Turning northward, wo regret to say that the flood has committed deplorable damage, and incalculable Ibsa. • At Flag Swamp the whole of the flat was submerged? The approach at the north end of the cub vert was washed away, and a few chains of fencing on the lower side of the road has been level ed to the ground. Higher up the fla*", wo bclievo a good deal of injury has been done, and at one place a settler named Walker and his family had a narrow escape from a landslip. The Pleasdit RiVer was dreadfully syoilen, r v p<j the waters rose to such a height that the Pleasant Valley Hotel ran imminent danger of being swept away. Inside of the hotel there was about four feet of water (fifteen inches higher than last flood), and all the movable and perishable articles were taken upstairs, or lashed to the ceiling for safety.' Some idea may be formed of the strength of the current that swept past the ho el when we state that a bullock dpay was washed from the fstahles to the river, and the stockyard, a strong and s,uik stautial fence, was literally lifted by the force of the water and carried avvayf, A large quantity of other fencing has also been swept away The flood has played sid havoc with the garden at the back of £hc flquse—fruit trees, fencing,'ie,, have been IfearjnlJy damaged ; also a quantity of wheat in the barn has been partially injured. The horses which were in the stable at the rise of the water were fortunately got out in time and placed m Mr Neilaon’s paddock over the way otherwise it is hard to say what would have been their fate. On returning to the hotel after turning out the horses Mr Ales. Young

and an employee had to swim to get inside. Mr Young’s loss is a very serious one, and he is much to be commisserated. It will take a long time before he will be able to repair the damage he has sustained, and give to his place the same comfortable and home appearance it possessed before this Hood. 'At Sloan and Patterson’s on the Waikouaiti side of the Pleasant River, the water is computed to have been, from the centre of the road, seven feet high./ Several waggons camped there for the night had their loading damaged, and in one or two, the water reached half over the tilt. The goods in the store were more or less damaged. The low land at Brooklands, the property of Mr J. P. Hepburn, was several feet under water, and a considerable quantity of fencing lias been destroyed, as well as other damage having been sustained, Mr William Mitchell, of Janeficld, has had a goo I deal of oats injured by the Hood. He had al o to remove from his homestead, the water rose so rapidly, and his live stock had a very narrow escape. / From this side of (Jallon's store away to the s a, be'ow Mr Hepburn’s, to beyond Mr Mitchell’s, was one immense lake. At the last flood the Pleasant River toll house escaped ; this time it had twelve inches of water in i t.i It is satisfactory to find that the Pleasairt River Bridge lias sustained no injury whatever. The approaches at the Trotter’s Creek bridge and at Falconer’s have beep washed away, besides a good deal of fencing destroyed along the road, ( At Shag Uafley the flood has been almost equally destructive. At the lower end of the valley the river does not appear to have been so high as at last fllood, hut at the upper end it has evidently been higher./ Hunter of the Carrier’s Arms Hotel, has hul nine stacks of grain and Ir.s barn washed away. Mr Young, the enterprising proprietor of the Shag Valley flour mill, has we regret to say, been a severe sufferer. The mill happily has escaped injury, but the dam has been destroyed and other damage sustained. During his residence in Shag Valley Mr Young has gone to great expense and trouble in laying out and ornamenting his goounds adjacent to the mill, in planting, &c. These have been damaged. From the overflow of the water the trout were unfortunately carried away from the pond made for them, just as they were beginning to exhibit signs of unusual health and vigor. Happily the pond is iittle the worse for the flood, and Mr Young is in hopes to be able to recover the fish. Mr Young’s damage, fn ope way qr qther, may he estimated at something ponslderahle, la the midst of so dire a visitation it is, after all, consolatory to think that no lives have been sacrificed, however deplorable the loss of property may be. We feel sure that the sympathies of all aro extended towards those who arc sufferers. As yet we are only in a position to speak of our own district, and in many instances have to be guided by hearsay, /The real estimate of the damage and loss entailed by tho flood a can hardly as y§t he realised! hut we have seen sufficient to convince us that it will, as a whole, far exceed that of the February Hood of 1868. The greatest height of the flood at Pleasant River was about one o’clock, and at the Waikouaiti River about two o’clock on Friday morning. In other parts of the province considerable damage appears to have been done. At Green Island, Mr Eunoiman’s mill dam and a bridge near it were destroyed. His loss is estimated at Ll5O, Other serious damage bag been sustained, The approaches to the West Taieri Bridge were washed away. The Taieri plain was described as one vast sea, ani great damage must have been clone. At Tokomairiro, and other places southward, the flood has been very destructive, NorthWard, considerable damage has been done, and ah the rivers have been very high. ,