Daily Kennebec journal., 1870-02-22

was not DrOad enough 10 cover. Inc ciuIcn
bells were rung at the usual hour, and the
people repaired to their respective houses of
worship without thought of the calamity
that was so soon to pour through the city.
| Quite number of citizens, however, felt
prompted to remain with their property, and
few, entertaining more solicitude than the rest,
set about removing goods from their business
floors, in order to be on the safe side. The
cellars of nearly all the structures on Water
street, between Mr.. Henry Curriers' residence
during the proceeding night, occasioning
considerably loss to some merchants, among
whom were Messrs. Leigh & Wingate, who
had three hundred barrels of -four submerged,
and Messrs. Towle & Nye, who lost some 5000
worth of salt and other goods. The heavy
freshets, however, of last autumn, had warned
many of the danger of storing goods in the
cellars contiguous TO the river, and conse-
quently damage was occasioned to compare
lively few citizens by the water merely filling
their cellars.
At about ten o'clock an immense jam of ice
was seen to be moving down toward tn city
from point nearly opposite the oil-carpet
manufactory of Page, Wilder & Co. 1t ap-
preached slowly but steadily, travelling per-
haps at the rate of about two miles an hour.
Thewater at the city began to rise rapidly, and
the bells of the city sounded an alarm to the
inhabitants to go to the rescue, in case help
should be needed to save property. Onward
swept the huge mass of ice like river of
granite boulderS, and with it came a fearful
| flood, the water rising steadily to the bust
ness floors of every store on the river side of
the street and to many on the opposite side.
Higher and still higher it rose, until the scores
Of men who were working desperately TO save
property, were knee-deep in the chilling ice
water Still the water poured into the streets
and buildings with great velocity, and boats
were padded into stores to aid in the rescue.
AT the same moment the terrible avalanche of
| ice piled high in air was pouring by the city,
wedging itself between the Chelsea shore and
the row of buildings on the Hallo~ell side.
The remaining portion of the bridge was borne
along with the tremendous torrent and landed
some distance below its former place; the
massive blocks OF ice grated against the brick
structures that line the rivers shore, jarring
them to their foundations and rendering them
extremely disagreeable places to occupy for the
time being; wooded structures were removed
from their foundations, and some were torn
into splinters. About twenty families in the
portion of the city between the Cotton Fac
tory and Il. Kings place, were unhoused COM
pletely, the ice overflowing the rivers bank
and pushing the buildings at its caprice.
The ice-jam made progress until it arrived
at Steam Min Point, near Geo. Fuller's Manu-
factory, where it was effectually blockaded.
The powerful sheet of ice between that point
and Browns Island did not seem to be even
Jared by the on-rushing mass above it. 1t
was largely owing to this blockade that the
water was thrown to SO high mark IN the
city.
The time occupied by the ice passing to the
point where it stopped, after it came in sight
was less than thirty minutes. Several
buildings were utterly destroyed and many
are seriously damaged. The two story build
ing occupied by Messrs. Bodwell & Wilson as
an Office was placed directly in the middle of
the street, and others were thrown partially
into the street. In the house of Robert Ding
| ley, just below the granite yard, was sick
| girl; when the water had covered the floor,
| the girl was carried into chamber, but as the
torrent came more and more iercely and the
water still rose, she was, with much difficulty
and amid much danger, taken through win
dow into boat; it proved that she was not
removed moment too soon, as the ice struck
the house lurching it over into the water.
| The buildings destroyed as well as those
most seriously damaged, belonged to the poorer
class OF citizens, and the distress occasioned
there is great The City Hall was promptly
thrown open to the houseless ones, and food
furnished gratuitously by the citizens. 1t is
impossible at present to give a correct esti-
mate of the actual loss by the catastrophe,
but We shall endeavor to do so in a day or two.
The serious damage by the freshet appears
to be confined principally to the Kennebec.
The rain made no impression on the ice in the
Penobscot. On the Androscoggin the rail-
road bridge at Wilton was carried away. The
Wilton town bridge was also carried away. A
breakwater attached to one pier on the bridge
connecting Auburn and Lewiston was carried
off, but the bridge is not otherwise damaged,
and is passable as usual. The Androscoggin
rose three feet and four inches, and was three
feet higher in the last autumn freshet thaa
during the present freshet. But little damage
was done. On the other rivers there was no
material damage.
We learn that the Madison bridge was not
carried away as reported. There was re-
port last evening that the great jam at Vassal-
boro' was on its way to this city; but at the
present writing it has not appeared. The
mild weather seems to be giving place to a
genuine touch of winter, to the great joy of
all.
| y STERLING ARTICLE.-Ndture's Hair Resfor-
attire clear, fragrant efficient IN restoring