The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1857-02-11
From The cleveland pl.inae.lerl.
IrTum me OIeVeIand PIalndeaIer.I
THE FRESHET.
cUYAHoGA RIVER ON A BENDER.
ZOE GORGE.

idTSe masses yesterday morning and
gorging at every slight obstruction. 1t
first encountered the structures and
floats connecting Stones Flats with
Seneca street. but finally found its way
to the old railroad crossing at Chapin's
Packing House, where it again lodged
The dam was almost perfect, and the
pressure tremendous. Great apprehen-
sions that the new turntable bride e
would be carried away caused a large
force to be engaged by Mr.. L. S. Flint,
the Superintendent of the G C. & r. R.
to remove the temporary Structure which
impeded the free passage of the ice
The rails were taken off. and the ice
last evening carried it away with a tire.
mendous crash. The ice then M we'd ia
great Quantities to the lower bridges.
The river still CONTINUE to rise, and had
this morning reached a mark higher bv
six feet than it had attained yesterday
noon. The ice being tightly packed az
the mouth of the river, AND packed in
solid from the Lake up to the Center
street bridge, the exit of this immense
body of water is entirely precluded. 1t
spreads over thousands of acres of the
Cleveland Ceuter and the West Side
Flnts. 1t has overfowed all the lumber
yards end carried away a large quantity
Of valu able stock row packed in with
the ice. The warehouses of Merwin
aud River streets, stored with -four, su-
gar, grain and merchandise, have been
overlooked. and great damage is already
done. Hanna, Garretson s. Co have
some sugars, tObaccos, &C., damaged to
the amount of several hundred dollars
Hickox & Co. have five or SIX hundred
barrels of -four wet and partially de.
stroyed. Other owners Of grain meet
with losses, the exact amount Of which
is not yet ascertaibed.
The pressure of the ice gorge in the
river has thrown the vessels into perilous
positions. The stea mer North Star has
been crowded up on her dock with a
force sufficient to brea K her tenders like
kindling wood. and the pr peller Poto.
mac got loose yesterday aud lays out III
the river, liza BILE to be rus he'd out when
the ice moves. The outlet. of the wa.
ters was this morning by the old canal
across the West Side fats, through
which the current was never so rapid be
fore. 1t will be we'll dredged out. The
deepening of the channel will be inevi'
table, aud will save thousands IF dollars
in dredging. The fi-nness of the ice
at the month of the river gives hope
that the dangers to be apprehended by
the So lden movement of the gorged ice
and timber, will be prevented. The
river attracts half of the people of RI 6
city to the unprecedented spectacle pre-
scented. Lives are periled in attempt
ing TO save the lumber wedged in the
ice, but as yet no accident to life or limb
has yet occurred. At 10 o'clock the
water was bringing down more ice, but
was not rising.
TWELVE o'cLocK-MovEMENTs OF THE
ICE PACK.
To the thousands of cur readers WIN
were not spectators of the remarkable
picture which the river pseseuted to day,
no description can give a fair idea Of the
scenes. At nine, the ice piled in bid
eous masses, in a thousand shapes aud
wedged in with drift-wood, trees, lum.
Der, extended in solid pack from the bot
tom of the river to three or four feet
above the wbarves, and from Superior
street to a short distance beyond the
piers in the lake. The freshet was con.
t~iuually urging this immense field to.
wards the lake. But here a g lid bul
wark of ice extending for miles into the
lake aud evidently anchored fast. pre-
vented the egress of the mass. Every
half hour the ice yielded to the terrific
pressure behind it, and crashing, grind
ing aud crunching up the big cakes
The big trees and the drift wood moved
slowly down aud piled itself up at tn,
mouth of the harbor. The water founo
little ext by the river, but made III
way out into the lake west of the pier
tearing away the Toledo Railroad track
and doing great damage to cars ant
buildings.
Occasionally the water which was a
noon about four feet above the level q
the lake would leap over the ice barrier
tear a hole in the dam, aud dive unde
) the lake ice, carrying into the vorte!
vast quantities of ice and threatening
t, thrust aside all obstacles to its fire.
3 and triumphant passage. But the con
stipation still continues. though tn
danger of higher water seems to b
| allayed. The tremendous south VIM
seems powerless to move the well an
chored field at the mouth of the river
though it seems hardly possible for it t
| resis. till night. The grea est damag
doue by the water, as yet, is i'll the ware
| houses. At Burtons, on the West Side
E 1000 bushels of oats and 1000 Of pota
r toes are under water.
e Amongst other losses are Russell 1
Green, of salt; 'ubby, Hughes & Co
AID Guyles s. Bash, of -four; Waltol
of provisions; and Carey s. Co. of iro
and nails submerged. The amount
u damage is not ascertained. but the az
e gregate will be large. j. NJ. Cumming
s. Co, with a large force working a
night, saved at least $40 900 worth {
r lods, sugars. teas, &C., from total los
q 3o'cLocK-The ice,pack at the MOTT
of the harbor burst aud precipi,ated th
e swollen torrent into the lake. The va
ter fell three feet this afternoon. Nor
e than ten thousand people visited the pie
to-day to see the extraordinary sights
a A MONARCHY I N MExIco.-Accordin