New-York tribune., 1875-03-08
THE DELAWARE ICE GORGE.

OF THE THREATENED DVALLEY.
uoy rup ,cr-pAM WAS FoRMED-TuE WATER
PASSING THROUGH MARROW cHANNEL-No
ruRruKR DANGER TO PORT JERvIs APPRE-
HENDED EXCEPT FROM HEAVY RAIN OK
sIyppEN THAw-FORMER FLOODS.
vRor A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNRJ
PoRr JERyIs, n. Y, March THE village
NJ Port Jervis now So seriously threatened with para
destruction by the great ice gorge in the Delaware
River rs a rapidly growing town OF ABOUT WV 'n"
,tants II was fret incorporated under specia' 'H
native act in 1866. In 1873 It was granted anew
winch the corporate limits were considerably eniaiS
The village lies on the north bank OF the Delaware'J"s
above the junction between that river and the Ne'o
s,nk and in the southeast corner OF New-horA o'
where II borders the States OF Pennsy van"
New-Jersey. II occupies the low lano' aoo"' NO." ,
An width which was at some former time tne oe Vi ~
r,vor and extends northwardly climbing up anu o'o""
An, n steep terrace over the rivers Da"A v" oi'"o ~
aide Of the river above the town. fSes sop ooo
,anous hill covered with ragged pines. to hght Oh w
er 800 feet The more norherly OF theSe hiis Is o'
~Poipt Peter" and the southern is spur vi '"o o
.vlvauia mountains. The village mas grown 'aP'''
xt,bn n few years IL is one OF the western eriNh Vi
Che Delaware and Hudson Canal and one OF the prneF
nal pouts on the Erie Railway, which has extensive
,onair shops there 1t has few manufacturing eSao-
nslmepts and large number OF aggingstone quarres'
,he working OF which constitutes one OF the prhop'
industries OF the place. II Ia also center OF copsu'
erable retail trade with the surrounding country
Inst below Port Jervis at its point OF junction with
tbe Nevcrsink the Delaware River makes an abrupt
tnru TO wards the SOUTH and becomes the dNidDg no
between the States of New-Jersey and Pennsyi'ania
o. nosite the village the river is 200 yards Wlde "uu II
.nanned by the aforementioned suspension Dri"s1 o
fool ssengers and carriages which Is now enu"soi'
- the ice Below this point the rver eAp"nuS "
dth OF 500 feet, and becomes very shallow tner oe
. rift extending across its whole wlu'h |u9'
above the bend. few hundred yards
below the bridge, near the norm shore'
,here is low wooded slet which is now buried unuer
,bc ice the tops Of its pines alone projecting above the
white surface II was tins ise,, aided by the shaIlo"
xater below and opposite TO II, when stoppod INC
rreat mass OF ice that came floating down the river
week ago and rng It up % ieet hiSh formed lhe n'
pense gorge that fills nearly the whole oeu oi 'ne
river for distance Of four miles, and rises ID many
places higher than the banks. II there had been
enough water In the river at that time to carry the
blocks Of ice over this shallow place, and sweep
them around the bend, the gogge would not
h.ve heen formed and the Inhabitants OF
this place would have been saved from moro
than one sleepess night The formation OF this great
6am OF ice for time caused Hood which iHundated
the portion Of the village occupying tie nat lana ne
tween the Erie Railway and the river bank. Aferward
Sic water drained of through the ice and the latter
The river would be damned up 80 completely Dy thls
means that II would again overflow above the town, and
sweepine down upon It, carry the lower portion away
yns fortunately al happen, the water making fO
1tself passage under the mass OF blockedup ice This
massage has been gradually wearing larger and unes'
n sudden rain or thaw shoud raise the water In The
river 10 sucG an extent to block 1t up and cause
another and more serious overflow, no danger to the
village Is unprecedented About 30 families have already
been driven from their homes By the water. lew
these have been able 20 since tue water subsidized
ghe suspeDsioIbrldge which at rst thought to ba
doomed eth stands unharmed and the ice which weeB
AGO WAS piled up until II touched the under noers OF
she roadway has settled from TO 10 feet below It,
Nhe bio ks Of ice composing the are from to
And feet thick and from 10 to 20 feet nsameter They
are now covered depth OF several inches with snow
The mass appears perfectly immovabe, and hnnd-
reds of persons venture upon H. suffering no other
Inconvenience than that of occasionally slipping down
into the Triangular spaces between the irregular blocks
OF ice.
Ths place has experienced similar dangers BEFORE the
Delaware RIVER on account of its frequent bends and
shallow places. being peculiarly hsbe TO become
blocked UP by ice as well overflow ITS low banks,
when sndden rains send hundreds OF torrents rushing
Gown into II from tbesteep mountains which line its
shores for 100 Floods have occurred here In
,ss 1889 1915 1857 and 1862 but these all resulted from
supeIabuudance Of rainfall ard not from ice-bockades