104 CORRESPONDENCE WITH HIS FAMILY. 



bed of the pond is also very much sunk, and the place from 

 whence the waste water used to run is now the highest part. 



A lane which went down one side of this hill is sunk eight 

 or ten feet, and very much pushed forward, so as to be ren- 

 dered impassable. 



There is situated in the same piece of ground with the pond 

 (which is meadow-land) a small cottage, the inhabitants of 

 which were greatly alarmed on the night in which this hap- 

 pened, by a gradual opening in their floor, till at last they 

 perceived that part of the cottage nearest the hill begin to 

 sever with very loud noises. The upper part of the cottage 

 is since entirely fallen down. 



A neighbouring farm-house is also so much sunk, and is so 

 full of large cracks as to be rendered not habitable. 



There is one field that was wheat last year, pretty well an 

 acre, so much sunk that it is impossible to be ploughed. All 

 the corn land which was affected by this event is full of large 

 chasms and cracks, some two feet wide ; the meadow land 

 has very few of these cracks in it, but seems to be pushed 

 forward, and is filled with large swellings of the turf, resem- 

 bling waves : in some places where the ground met with any 

 thing that resisted, it rose up many feet above its former 

 surface. 



In one place four or five trees are driven all together in a 

 huddle. One tree is entirely bent down. 



It is supposed eighty or an hundred acres of ground are 

 damaged by this accident. 



There has been a great concourse of people to see this 

 event. It is computed that a Sunday or two after it happened, 

 there were pretty near a thousand from different parts of the 

 country. One of the persons to whom the cottage belonged 

 has lately been about with a petition in order to attempt to 

 rebuild it. Hoping that this account of mine will give you 

 some idea of this wonderful accident ; with duty to my Uncle 

 and aunt, and love to my cousins, 



I remain your affectionate Cousin, 



JOHN WHITE. 



