THE FLOOD OF 1843. 9 



Chester, Ridley, Criim, Darby, one or two tributaries of the 

 Brandy wine, and the Gulf creeks. This district will embrace 

 a part of Chester county, and a small part of Montgomery, 

 but including these, the whole extent of country which was 

 inundated will not exceed in area the territory embraced 

 within the county of Delaware. The extent of territory 

 which was inundated, was also much greater than that which 

 was subjected to any ver}^ extraordinary fall of rain. The 

 amount of rain which fell on that part of the county which 

 borders on the Delaware river, and embraces the mouths and 

 lower parts of the inundated creeks, was not sufficient to pro- 

 duce even an ordinarj' rise in the streams, and to this circum- 

 stance ma}' in part be attributed the very unprepared state in 

 which the inhabitants of this district were found for the 

 mighty flood of waters which was approaching to overwhelm 

 them. The very rapid rise in the water, without apparently 

 any adequate cause, was also well calculated to increase the 

 alarm in this district much beyond what it would have been, 

 had the quantity of rain which fell, borne a comparison with 

 that which fell in the upper parts of the county. 



As a general rule, the heavy rain occurred later, as we 

 proceed from the sources of the streams toward their mouths. 

 The quantity of rain which fell will also decrease as we pro- 

 ceed in the same direction, particularly from the middle parts 

 of the county downwards. 



In those sections of the county where its greatest violence 

 was expended, the character of the storm more nearly accorded 

 with that of a tropical hurricane, than with anything which 

 appertained to this region of country. The clouds wore an 

 unusually dark and lowering appearance, of which the whole 

 atmosphere appeared in some degree to partake, which cir- 

 cumstance, no doubt, gave that peculiarly vivid appearance 

 to the incessant flashes of lightning which was observed by 

 every one. The peals of thunder were loud and almost con- 

 tinuous. The clouds appeared to approach from different 

 directions, and to concentrate at a point not very distant from 



