Vandalia Whig And Illinois Intelligencer

Extraordinary occurrence. On last Thursday, while Mr. Montgomery, a banker in Irvine, and another gentleman, were fishing in the river Garnock, they were struck with the appearance of a whirlpool in the centre of the river, which appeared as if the waters were rapidly descending into the earth.

They immediately concluded that the bed of the river had given way and that the waters were descending into the collieries beneath, and hastened to the nearest pit's mouth to give the alarm. The men below soon heard the mighty rushing of the waters, and hastened to escape, which providentially they all effected, though without a moment to spare, several of them being up to their necks in water.

The water continued to pour into the extensive cavities beneath, and the next day a tremendous large space broke down, into which the whole river descended, leaving its bed quite dry for the space of a mile on each side of the aperture where it had previously been full six feet deep. On the flowing of the tide, the depth of the water below the chasm increased nine feet; the desolation was awful. The water still rushed in a torrent into the earth.

Three men in a boat had an almost miraculous escape from being sucked into the vortex; they had no sooner got out than the boat was drawn down with fearful rapidity. The great body of water continued to pour down till the whole workings, which extended many miles, were completely filled.

A new scene of terror now presented itself—the imprisoned air, pressed by the weight of water, burst through the surface of the earth in a thousand places, which, for the extent of many acres, presented the appearance of a boiling cauldron. Immense quantities of sand and water were thrown up and descended like torrents of rain for many hours.

By this calamity six hundred persons are thrown out of employ; and so extensive is the destruction as to preclude the hope that the works are ever to be restored to their former state.—Edinburgh Eve. Courant.