August, 1906. 
The Irish Naturalist. 
177 
THE BALLYCUMBER BOG-SLIDE. 
BY K. I.LOVD PRAEGEK. 
The Dublin press of June 20 contained an account of what 
was apparentl}' a sudden and extensive bog-slide which had 
occurred on the previous day near the village of Ballycumber, 
King's Co. Four acres of bog had been " torn up and 
scattered as if by an explosion," while a man narrowly escaped 
being buried. The people in terror had driven their cattle off 
the adjoining lands, and abandoned the dwellings which lay 
nearest to the scene, while the bog " kept heaving in all 
directions." I saw Prof. Cole, Director of the Geological 
Survey, that afternoon, and as a consequence Mr. H. J. 
Seymour and I found ourselves next morning at Bally- 
cumber. On the journey we had read in the papers that the 
bog-slide had " worked great damage to crops and turf," and 
that the people were in a state of trepidation, being " alarmed 
by crackling noises; " a list of twelve tenants was given who 
had had their lands covered by the bog-.stuff, and heavy 
rains had made the situation critical. It was stated that the 
" swiftly-running Brosna River, considerably flooded by rains," 
passed within thirty yards of where the moving bog now 
rested, and that any further movement would choke the river, 
and flood large areas of crops. 
Tramping out of Ballycumber under a scorching sun, laden 
with cameras and other implements of the chase, we therefore 
hoped to catch the bog-slide in the very act. As we approached 
the scene of the disaster, enquiries from a passing girl only 
elicited a smile and a " never heard of it." Further enquiries 
were more successful, and we were directed to a spot where 
several men were peacefully cutting and stacking turf, aided 
by a donkey and a pony. We then discovered that the 
disastrous bog-slide was a beautiful newspaper hoax. There 
was no destroyed fuel or crops, or ground covered by out- 
bursts of peaty matter; nor was there any interruption of the 
tranquil life in the cottages w^hose chimneys peacefully smoked 
some hundreds of yards away. The swiftly-flowing Brosna," 
