The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1875-03-11
Ice Gorges in the Deleawre- Trouble Ap.
pretended.

f ton was greatly swollen The mills wer
t all stopped by backwater, including tn
pump house, which supplies the reservoi
OF the Trenton water works. Fears of
water famine in that city were entertained
The trouble is the result of an ice jam a
hinkora, point eight or ten miles below
Between Trenton and Kinkora there IS
vast accumulation of ice, the aggregate O
fifty miles above, A warm rain or soutl
wind, if occurring suddenly, might caus,
great damage to shipping farther down tn,
river. But the worst barricade now exist
ing on the Delaware is at Port Jervis. New
York. On Wednesday several civil en-
gineers visited the scene with the purpose
of trying to blast with dynamite powder 8
channel through the great glacier. They
drilled hole through to the bottom of the
rlyer-bed to ascertain the thickness of the
Ice, and reached water at depth Of eight
feet below the surface. After traversine
about foot of water the drill again encoun-
tered solid ice, which continued twelve feet
to the bottom of the stream bed A few
experiments were tried in blasting, but it
was soon discovered that there was not
sufficient water In the river to carry away
even small quantity of the loosened sub
stance. Below the river is still frozen to
thickness of about four feet, and the gorge
cannot move until the ice breaks up. What
little water there is passing now runs be-
tween the two layers of ice in channel
about one foot deep by twenty wide The
Pennsylvania bank of the river is high and
rocky, in many places rising almost perpen-
dlcularly from the waters edge to an eleva-
tion Of 900 or more feet. The New York
shore is low, and of an unsubstantial forma-
ton, which is not fitted to withstand the
severe pressure now resting upon it. This
low bank extends from few miles below
Port Jervis to a distance of five or six miles
above, where it gradually slopes upward
until it towers to height equal to that
reached by the Pennsylvania bank. The
bridge Of the Erie Railway, where it crosses
from New York to Pennsylvania, is situated
about twenty feet from the head of the
gorge, and in this position is safe for the
present, Should another field of ice come
down, both bridges must give way. Just
below the Erie bridge the flats begin, and
from that point they continue with
gradual fall for six or seven miles Along
these flats the Erie Railroad and the
Delaware and Hudson Canal run almost
side by side as far as Port Jervis, and on
the bank of the canal are several manu-
factories, which procure from it their sup
ply Of water. The probabilities are that if
the river overfows its banks it will be at
this point, and the food pouring into the
canal will follow its sourse, sweeping away
the factories and houses of the operatives,
and after washing across the three or four
miles Of railroad which intervene, will
overflow Germantown and Port Jervis.
Should this occur, property to the amount
of many millions of dollars will be swept
away. The car shops of the Erie Railroad
are IN imminent danger. There is a gorge
at Holbert's Bend and arother at Ten Mile
River, above here. At Callicoon, 48 miles
up the Delaware from Port Jeryis, 16 miles
Of ice are packed into about two miles space.
1t is held in place by Callicoon Island, and
Is not likely to break unless a thaw or warm
rain occurs. In 1857 Cochecton, wlrich is
below Callicoon, was almost en-
tirely destroyed by flood resulting from
Of ice similar to those along
the Delaware now. The river for some dis
tance above Hobcrt's Bend is fed by large
number of usually shallow tributaries, which |
swell In to roaring torrents in 4 short time
after every thaw, however slight. There
Is now an accumulation of snow to the
depth of three feet in the woods surround
ing these streams. A steady thaw Of twelve
hours duration, or a warm rain, would |
bring down freshet which would start in |
its sweep all the gorges above, and the
whole mass would come down with over
force upon the glacier in front
of Port Jervis. By the kindness of Mr..
the Delaware House has been
kept open to the sufferers by the food
about thirty-three of whom are there. The
appearance of the river between Trenton
and Kinkora is cor-tantly changing A
smooth surface is converted in an hour to
rough crags and peaks, the result of the
force of the water underneath acting on the
immense blocks Nothing effectual has
oeen done in the way of starting a break
n the blockade. Apprehensions for the
safety of the new Delaware bridge are en-
.ertained. On Thursday Philadelphia
ce boat made a trip up the river as far as
Florence, but as soon as she returned the
channel closed again and was soon as much
,hoked up as before. No change in the
'tate Of affairs at Port Jervis had occurred
lp to Saturday
The present Democratic officials in the