The Portland daily press., 1870-02-21
ITO The Assoc. ated Press.l

SKowHEGAN, Feb. 20-The heavy rains of
Friday night raised the water in the Kenne-
bee and It's tributaries TO an unprecedented
height for this season of the year. The pres
enJ ice treshet is without parallel in the his
tory of this section. From the upper Kenne-
bee every arrival brings intelligence of dam
ages. The telegraph lines north are down and
we can get nothing certain from above SOlon,
where damage to considerable extent Was
d3ne to mills and dams on the Fall Brook
The bridges at Madison and Norridgewock,
across the Kenuebec, have been swept away
by the ice. The rtshet in January piled the
ice up SO that it was in many places Jour or five
feet thick aud this is completely out all the
up. There has been little or no damage done
at this point. The ice jammed be ow Somer-
set mills Saturday night, causing the ice to be
piled in huge masses with the logs on the
shores and islands; but the damage at this
DO mt is slight. The Injury sustained at Ken
dall's Mills was also slight. About noon Sat
urday the Water undermined a culvert on the
Portland & Kenuebec railroad just above Wa
tervllle, and before The damage could be ar
arrested pit fifty feet long and thirty feet deep
was washed out. A crew OF farty men belong
ing 10 that roa and crew furnished by Su-
perintendent Noyes of the Maine Central,
worked all night, SO that the Skowhegan trains
arrived here at $50 this morning. More than
one thonsar sleepers and other timber was
used 10 fill the break. The force OF the Maine
Central, W tn its engine to bring the timber,
rendered most efficient aid. As the train passed
up the river it semed one vast foe of broken
ice Mingled with timber. Here and there it
has damned and tn ice is piled upon the shores
like sea wall, crushing fences aud forests nd
leaving huge boulders OF ice upon the adj accent
laods. The damage up the Sandy River and
Carrabassett must be very great. 1t Is alto
gether probable that the bridge over the rivers
must be swept away. If the treshet is follow
ed by warm spell, as is now apparent, the
tbal hori inf. ha
great. The loss of the bridges at Madison and
Norrideewock will be most seriously felt by
the public. The water at Norridgewock was
five ieet higher than in October, caused by a
jam in the ice. A sick woman in house ON
The south side was taken from the house this
morning. on a raft.
AUGUSTA, Feb. 20.-The most destructive
| freshet ever Known on the Kenneoec river took
place to-day. Early Friday morning a severe
| Saturday noon. A large body of snow was on
the ground which was almost all carried off
| and this, added to the great amount of water
| which fell, has created tremendous freshet OF
| the Kennebec river. This morning the ice
| gade way here and passed on to Hallowel
| where it stopped and formed an immense ice
dam The water rose rapidly here to the height
| of % teet above low water mark. The ice sooI
| gave way above the dam and camesd down with
| tremendous force, carrying away the bridge
| 800 feet long, of Portland & Kennebec road al
this place. The city bridge spans the river
| lust below the railroad bridge, but this stand
| at the present time though unsafe for travel
| 1T Waterville about 80 feet of the railroad wa
washed away. At Vassaboro the railroad
bridges over Seven Mile Brook and anothe
small stream were crushed by the ice. In TIM
| city tie damage cannot be estimated. I'M
water rose so rapidly that the goods in the base
| ments of the stores on the east side OF waite
street could not be removed and an immenst
amount of property OF all kinds was destroyed
The site of the A. & w. Sprague Manufactur
| ing Co npany's new mill is entirely overflow
ed, as well as the first and second stories of tn
old mill, which has just been filled with new
machinery. They estimate their damage a
$4,000 Lambard' sslarge iron foundry on tn
east side of the river is submerged, which will
occasion great damage. The mills at the dan
and on Bonds brooS are inundated, but no es
innate of damages can be made
At Hallowell nearly the whole business poi
| tion of Water street is over flowed. In man
| of the stores the water is six ,eet deep on tn
street floor. Many of the merchants move
their gouds away 10 boats, but larger part {
them were destroyed. Some fifteen or twent
dwelling houses in the lower part of the Cit
were floated from their foundations and over
urned, and many families are rendered house
les. Several new ice houses whlen nave late
ly been built and partly filed have been cal
ried away. All the ice in the river LOT MOI
than nifty miles above is here pacKed IN on
| solid mass, forming an immense ice dam'