A VILLAGE EMBEDDED IN ICE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1179, 4 July 1874, Page 7

A VILLAGE EMBEDDED IN ICE.

A despatch from Halifax, Nova Scotia, dated March 10, published in the New York Times, says :—: — Immense damage was done in Sherbrooke, Guysborough County, about 90 miles from this place, by a freshet on Wednesday last. The St. Mary River was swollen by the rain and thaw. A couple of miles above Sherbrooke there is a natural dam of rocks across the river, beyond which for several miles it is called Stillwater, The ice on this portion of the river broke up in consequence of the freshet, and flooded the whole of the valley. On the left bank of the river where Sherbrooke is situated the scene was a fearful one. The flood brought down thousands of tons of ice and great numbers of logs. Whole trees were uprooted from the banks in the course of the torrent. The solid ice below the village remained firm, and the flats upon which Sherbrooke stands became a boiling sea. Boats and canoes were in demand. Every house was flooded. The cattle were driven out of town by persons on horseback. The women, children, and aged people were taken away in boats. Many families abandoned their houses altogether, while others took refuge in the upper storeys. Two bridges in the village, and a large bridge over the St. Mary's River, are gone. A new vessel nearly ready for launching was destroyed, and much timber carried away. The day afte the flood the mountains of ice, and the logs, trees, and other debris, became frozen solid, so that the village is now embedded in a frozen sea. The ruin is indescribable. It extends a mile and a half in length by a mile in breadth. In the event of a sudden thaw, the village will be quite destroyed.