394 PHILOSOPHY OF STORMS. ; ; 



and sand, however enormous its bulk or tremendous its 

 momentum, could not have gone much farther than the 

 first two hundred rods. 



But how could the water accumulate on the sides of that 

 precipitous mountain to the depth of thirty feet (as stated 

 hy T. B.), which I should think a moderate statement ? 

 This question arose as I stood gazing in astonishment, and 

 I was strongly inclined to pronounce it impossible, notwith- 

 standing facts which undeniably proved the contrary, that 

 were staring me in the face. But it will not appear incred- 

 ible, when we consider that the timber above Mill Brook 

 was principally hemlock and spruce, the boughs of which 

 would be extremely well calculated to produce an obstruc- 

 tion of the flood. A dam might easily be formed of the 

 logs, boughs, rocks, and earth which composed this mighty 

 moving mass, and the upturning of thousands of trees with 

 the soil adhering to their roots, would greatly aid in effect- 

 ing the object. And this appears to have been its modus 

 operandi throughout the whole course. The ground was 

 desperately disputed, but whenever a stop was given to the 

 progress, the foaming torrent would accumulate behind,, 

 till it had gathered sufficient force to burst every barrier, 

 and again the huge pile proceeded, thundering down the 

 mountain. 



The forest seems to have been prostrated with as much 

 ease as if it had been but a field of grain. The mass evi- 

 dently went down in the wildest confusion ; the trees some- 

 times erect, or sweeping around their branchless trunks in 

 "horrid circles," would level tremendous blows at those 

 upon the banks of the stream, as appeared by the bark 

 frequently taken off at a great height ; now their tops 

 and roots alternately projecting forward, and again lying 

 across the current, were shivered in an instant. They are 

 left in considerable numbers throughout the whole course; 

 some lying upon the banks, others in the channel, and 



