The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-04-08
THE PORT JERvIs DELUXE.
A Two-zIiIe Race Against the Flood I'm
N SIeigh-The Destruction of the Rail-
way Bridge-Darfng Feat and Narrow
Escape.
Correspondence New York Times.1

~ IL
N SIeigh-The Destruction of the Rail-
way Bridge-Daring Feat and Narrow
Escape.
Correspondence New York Times.
PoRT JERvIs, n. Y, March 1S.-Among
the many incidents that attended the de-
luge of yesterday, none possess such
thrilling interest as the 2-mile race three
citizens of this place had with the adyanc-
ing flood. w. ii. Nearpass and L. o.
Rose, the former Supervisor of the town,
and the latter Superintendent of the Del
aware and Hudson Canal, went in a sleigh
miles up the river to keep watch, in or
der that they might give an early warning
to the inhabitants. 1t was about7 O'Clock
in the morning, and they were driven up
in a double sleigh. The road they took
runs for nearly miles on the top of the
river-bank, about feet from the edge.
The bank is of an average height of 10 feet
the center distance, with the exception of
about a quarter of mile, where the de-
preston occurs. reducing the bank for that
distance to height of s or 0 feet. This
low ground is between what is known as
the Pine Woods Camp Ground, 2 miles
west of Port Jervis, and the tavern of A.
II. Rose, beyond the Camp Ground. 1t
was to this latter place that the party
drove. The river was rising slowly. To
make further observations they drove to
Roses tavern. They had not been there
long before their attention was called to
negro who had climbed to a high knoll on
the Pennsylvania side of the river. and
was looking steadily up the stream. Sud-
denly he threw up his hands, and shouted
to some one in house at the foot of the
eminence to "Get out of there" The
alarm was evidently not needed, and the
negro started down the hill, rolling most
of the way. Entering the house, he soon
appeared with an armful of household
goods, followed by his wife and several
children, and all hurried up the hill.
There is a cluster of houses about Roses
tavern, and the inmates all laughed hearth
ly at the negro's hasIy exit, and secuted
the idea that there was any danger from
the expected flood. The gentlemen
from Port Jervis, however, were of the
opinion that the alarm of the colored man
was caused by something he could see up
the river from his high post, and were
preparing to ascertain what it was when,
half mile up the stream, sweeping ma
jestically around bend, the object of the
negro'S alarm was seen in the form of
moving wall of ice, which seemed to be
literally stalking along like giant. The
river commenced to rise rapidly where
the party stood, and they saw that unless
they got across the quarter OF 4 mile of
low ground at once their return to Port
Jervis would be cut off. Buchanan, the
driver, instantly turned his horses, the
two others jumped in the sleigh, and the
horses started under the whip as fast as
they could run.
When the advancing flood was first seen
by the three the river at Roses was eight
feet below the bank. BY the time they got
under way the ice had been lifted up even
with the top of the bank, and was still
rising rapidly, and travelling with great
velocity. The race now began. The
sleigh had not proceeded two lengths be-
fore the ice commenced filling the road in
its rear with huge blocks, and was follow
ing the flying conveyance with speed
and noise that were fearful. The driver
piled the whip at every Jump of the horses,
but, although they seemed to fly, the two
yards space between the sleigh and the
ice was not increased by an inch. The
horses were not many seconds clearing the
low ground, and, when they struck
the foot of the declivity leading up to the
higher bank, the flood of ice almost touch
ed the sleigh, and the occupants of the
rear seat crowded up in front, momentar-
ily expecting that some one of the thou
sands of huge blocks rushing along almost
abreast of them would tOpple over and
crush them. They reached the high bank.
and although the icy wave rushed by them
within three feet, they felt that they had
escaped the greatest danger. Looking
back over the road they had passed, they
were filed with awe at the scene. Instead
of the depressed land, with narrow road
crossing it, they saw the hollow had be-
come a mound of ice. Cakes weighing
hundreds of tons lay piled up several feet
where the road had been, and were even
thrown clear across the road over the fence
into the fields. 1t was through that low,
gully-like piece of land that it was thought
the river would make its way if the ice
gorge did not give way when the high
water came. But for the fact that the up
per end of the gorge had worn away al
most to that point, there is no doubt the
flood would have been forced through
there, and much greater damage would
have followed than resulted from the in
undatiOn of yesterday.
A few hundred feet west of the resi-
dence of Wade Buckley, which is in the
extreme upper part of of Germantown,
the river turns away from the road, and
rivers edge. When the flood reached the
fiat the channel became blocked below,
and the whole mass became for time
stationary. Presently, under the great
pressure of the body of ice above, the
flood took another course, and commenced
sweeping through a low part of the fiat,
which would take it on the east side of
Buckley's house, and directly across the
road. 1t was necessary for the parties in
the sleigh to pass the spot first. Again
Buchanan piled the whip, and his gallant
team cleared the dangerous ground a
length ahead of the wave, which swept
across the road the mex instant, and was
soon carrying destruction before it in Up
per Germantown.
The last man on the iron railroad
bridge was Robert Frampton, a superin-
tendent of track in the Erie employ. An
engine, run by BILLY" Morris, had been
making trips between the depot and the
bridge, carrying Supt:: Thomas and 9TH
ers. The last trip, they started to cross
the bridge, and were going over it slowly.
Besides the engineer and Mr.. Thomas, there
were on the locomotive Engineer Van
Wormer, Conductor Corr, and two others.
The ice was then lodged, and was piled
very high up the stream, clump of birch
trees on a small island 200 or 300 feet
above the bridge being surrounded with
ice half way up to their tops. Engineer
Van Wormer, who had been watching the
ice, called the attention of the Others to a
peculiar swaying of the birch trees. This
was soon followed by an undulatory
of the ice, and Conductor Corr
exclaimed: ''The ice is movingn' They
were halfway across the bridge, and in
looking back over the track, Mr.. Van
Wormer replied: Eyes, and the bridge
is moving, toO!'
Supt. Morris saw that the bridge was
swaying to and fro, and evidently getting
beyond the control of its braces and sup
porters. "Billy'' Morris at once reversed
his engine, and, although the ice was rap
idly rising toward the very tiers on the
bridge, and the structure began to trem-
BILE and crack, he dared only to move at
slow and most careful rate, for otherwise
the jar would have fastened the fall of the
bridge, and hurled them all among the
surging mass of ice below. When they
reached the span on this side of the river,
the others were swinging like suspen-
sion bridge, and the ice was rolling up in