SYDNEY. FLOOD AT THE LACHLAN. [From the Bathurst Free Press, July 31.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 741, 8 September 1852, Page 3

SYDNEY. FLOOD AT THE LACHLAN. [From the Bat hurst Free Press, July 31.]

"We have been permitted to glean the following particulars from the letter of Mr. Joshua Hughes to his sister; to m another place : — , The writer was awoke about three o'clock of the morning by his host, who informed him that the river was bank high. Anxious to learn how two flocks of sheep were faring, 1 which were camped about half a mile from the, house in charge of a watchman, they hastened to the spot. By the time they had arrived, the backwater had overflowed its banks from above the crossing-place, and in an inconceivably short space of time had inundated the country for a mile or more in extent, the sheep- standing in water a foot deep. Having "boxed" the flocks together they commenced driving them' to the higher ground, but were suddenly surrounded by the waters of the increasing deluge, .which reached to their waists. Having left the sheep upon a' small island of about "half an acre,- they waded their way to the house, and

after some difficulty and .not a- little danger, arrived in safety. '.At this time day had not broken. At daybreak Mr. Hughes and Mr. M'Diarmid took -a horse each and proceeded to the sheep. The flood was then at its height, and another foot would have drifted them off their camping ground towards the Murrumbidgee. Whilst gazing on the extraordinary scene which presented ' itself, they were hailed by human voice's coming from the direction of the river bank. After exchanging cooeys several times they espied a man clinging to the limb of a tree, and upon a closer examination of its other branches observed several more in the same situation. After shouting on the top of their voices for a len'gtn of time, the roaring of the waters rendering extreme exertion necessary to be heard, it was discovered that there were five souls altogether in the tree,": consisting of two men> a woman, and two good sized children. They had been surrounded by the water whilst asleep at, camp, and the suddenness of the • inundation* preventing tbeir escape to high ground, they had been compelled to take refuge in the manner described. The rapidity of their, movements. -ipight be gathered from the circumstance n tha&the female 'was attired in agdj^e 1 heads of most of theraVere adorned' withvnightc.a^s. • •Hofror-stricljen : 15f "ttte spectacle", Messr>.Hughes and M'Diatmld returned to the house, and by dint of p6f«aasioh, backed up by a promise -of tea;' sugar,' tobacco, 'and white money, they induced. a black-felloV to construct a canoe of a sheet of .bark,- arid steer for their rescue. With surprising dexterity Jie paddled his frail skiff to' the trunk of the" tree, and would speedily have effected the deliverance of the strangers from their dangerous^ situation, but for the precipitancy of pne of the men, who jumped down so hurrjedly that the bottom of the canoe split, and it .immediately sank. The white men regained tlie tree but the darkie struck out manfully for the shore. In this, however, he was foiled ; the strength of the current carried him down the stream about 300 yards, when he., buffeted his way to a tree where he had to • perch, in a state of complete nudity, until the following morning, when the waters subsided, and they,, all made their, way to shore in safety, after tjyo nights and a day spent in hunger, exposure, and danger. In a few minutes the ' whole party were collected round a huge blazing fire "to warm their chill frames, and the 'cooking apparatus being speedily called into requisition, a very, short time saw them cheerfully occupied with grateful countenances, administering to their ravenous appetites.' Such are amongst the dangers of

the bush. Since the foregoing was written we learn from an individual just arrived from the Lachlan that the floods on the lower part of the river have not been nearly so high as towards its head, a large portion of the waters it appears, as usual during floods, being absorbed by the back creeks, lagoons and billabons, before they disappeared in the immense swamp near its junction. Timely notice of the flood having reached the settlors they speedily cleared out of their residences wherever these were exposed to inundation, and, bejook themselves to the higher ground. In some instances the huts nearly disappeared in the height of the flood, whilst in others it fortunately happened that the precaution of removing was unneccessary, the dwellings riot being reached by the water. Many parties were unable from the continuance of the flood, to return to their homes for a week or more, having in the mean time to camp underneath their drays, make temporary guoyahs, or avail themselves of the hospitable shelter of their neighbour's roofs. We are glad however, to learn that there has been no well authenticated loss of life on the river, and very little loss of property. The skeleton of a human body still bearing the clothes of deceased was found a few days ago in a hollow log at Mogang near the Lachlan having either crept in or been placed-/ in feet foremost. Decomposition had completed its workj and in the attempt to take off one ofcthejboots, the bones of the legs separated. Hbj£*the body came there or whether death had resulted from violence", it was of course impossible to say owing to the complete decay of the frame. "

Extraordinary Floods a^YXss. — The rain began to fall on Sunday morninglast, and continued to pour in torrents with) little intermission until this morning. About mid-day on Wednesday, the river began to rise, and conti--nued to increase up to two o'clock, a.m., on Thursday, when it began to subside. By this time the whole of the houses in the lower part of Cooma-street and Church-,strset were flooded to the depth of several feet;, the water being then two feet deep on the floor, of Jlie Post Office, and the young men in charge of Mr. Laidlaw's store had barely time, assisted by a number of inhabitants, to erajity th^ir ( cellars, when the water rushed in^.fillea c the .cellar, and covered the floor uf , the store the,, Hepth of two or three, feet. '•Thcj.se acqumrit^'yrjith the locality can form sonie^'itleS of the" flood when ; I state that a stranger, while gefiercfusly* assisting with his horse-cmd Cftrt-JfigEemovesome of the people from their, perilous situation, had his horse, a valuable animal, drowned-in Cpoma street, not twehty'yards J frorn' Jpe I*jost Oifice..Still, beyond a little lnipbnyenignce^ the losses of the townspeople are '"but trifling". Mr. Watson, of the steam mills, is' the greatest sufferer in this locality; the water rose" . nearly, to the second floor of the mill, and carried away the coachhouse and its. contents; but these are minor losses compared to what that gentleman has sustained. The office, together with his ( books and papers, are swept away by the raging torrent; and the store, containing an extensive assortment of general goods, has been under water, and' I need not say the property all but destroyed. Mr. Watson's loss cannot •be less than several thousands of pounds. ;This flood was higher by six or eight feet than the" 1 great flood of March, ls4l, and has never been known so high (bylivingmen) before. I have not heard of anyJojss of life, but I fear that the farm's along the valley of the Yass River have suffered greatly — huts, 7 ' drays, hay, wheat", and cattle have been carried away in several places ;' and the havock appears to be still gi eater on the Murrumbidgee. Intelligence has just' reached Yass, that Dr. Edye's place has teen almost swept away, the family barely having time 1 to escape to the high ground, where they remained all night exposed to the inclemency ~ "of the weather. Several other

places on that river, I hear, have been destroyed, but the extent of the damage is not yet known. Scarcely an hour passes without some person arriving with the' sad intelligence of the entire destruction of some establishment, and the partial destruction of others. Mr. Da vies has lost five stacks of wheat out of seven ; Mr. Halliday, five hundred bushels of wheat, besides other property ; a settler named Potter, his all ; another named Smith, had just time to escape with his wife and ten children, his place being entirely swept away. Great anxiety is felt here regarding Gundagai, but as all communication is cut off, I have not been able to hear anything concerning the fate of this ill-fated township. — Friday, 25th June, 1852. — Empire.