310 HISTORY OF 



appeared one extensive lake. A very conside- 

 rable number of live stock, with a great part of 

 the produce of the last harvest, and the house- 

 hold property of the people, were driven away 

 by the torrent. Fortunate indeed may it be 

 esteemed, only one life was lost. . 



This proved a shocking calamity ; as no cause 

 had appeared to indicate an overflow of the river, 

 the settlers were by no means prepared for such 

 an event. The natives however foresaw it, and 

 advised the inhabitants of it, but, not liking to 

 be taught by untutored savages, they neglected 

 their advice, and thus ruinously felt the effects. 

 There was no doubt, unperceived by the settlers 

 a very heavy fall of rain in the interior, among 

 the mountains, and, from the parched state of 

 the land for such a long time, it had not been 

 absorbed, but ran down the sides of the hills, fil- 

 ling the low grounds, and branches of the river, 

 which, was in form strictly serpentine, and 

 could not give a passage to the water as fast as 

 it descended. 



It was very generally believed, this violent 

 inundation would, however, prove beneficial to 

 the grounds overflowed, making them produce 

 with such abundance as to cover the loss sus- 

 tained* In a few days this collection of water 

 found its way to the sea, and, the river resumed 

 its usual level, when the settlers began fresh 

 cropping their grounds ; for which purpose they 

 applied to the Governor for seed wheat, which 

 certainly could not be well refused, but an ap- 

 plication made at the same time for beds and 



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