38 THE FLOOD OP 1 843. 



tlood was expended with the most terrific violence. In an 

 hour after the couimencement of the heavy rain, both the 

 K)ast and West forks were observed to rise rapidly — the east 

 fork at first rose more rapidly of the two, but subsequently 

 the West branch swelled greatly the higher : the comparative 

 volume of these two streams in their natural flow, is about as 

 three to two — the East branch being the larger. Shortly after 

 four o'clock, Mr. Crozer sent his son to the West Branch mill 

 to order some precautionary measures, as he foresaw the 

 approach of an unusual freshet. So rapid was the rise in the 

 water, that soon after young Mr. Crozer had crossed the 

 bridge, its wood-work floated off. When he reached the West 

 branch mill, he found the workmen already engaged in 

 removing goods from the lower to the upper story of the 

 warehouse — to what little purpose will soon appear. 



At a quarter before five o'clock, the West branch dam (a 

 pond of nearly ten acres surface) gave way, and at five 

 o'clock the warehouse, a large stone building, containing 

 many thousand dollars worth of goods and yarns, began to 

 yield to the current. That side of the wall next to the cen- 

 tral current began to knock out, stone by stone, and in a few 

 minutes, the roof and the entire building went with a fearful 

 crash, sending up a volume of dust from the mortared wall, 

 so as to induce those present to suppose the building was on 

 fire. About the same time, or soon afterward, the water 

 wheel, mill gearing, dye house and size house, with their con- 

 tents floated down, and were soon crushed to pieces: the 

 water wheel shaft was afterwards found two miles below, but 

 nothing else of value was recovered. Next in order the north- 

 ern wing of the West branch factory, a three story building 

 forty-eight by thirty feet, began to fall, and with its valuable 

 contents of over eighty power looms and much other machin- 

 ery, with goods, yarns, ike, soon disappeared. The sweep- 

 ing ruin was not yet over : the centre building had one entire 

 corner carried out to its foundation, which caused the floors 

 t(j hang over, under their iiotulerous weii^hl of inachiner\-. 



