New-York tribune., 1875-03-11
TILE DELA WARE ICE GORGE.
A GRAND WINTER VIEW.

NEVERSINK RISE BEFORE TIE DELAWAhfS
FROM A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THR TRiBUSE'I
PORT JERvIs, N. Y, March 1O.-A good view
OF great ice gorge throughout its entire extent OF
over four miles and OF all Its surroundings may be OBJ
tanned from the summit Of Point Peter, preeipltous
bluff about 800 feet high, which rises abruptly from tne
valley at the northw edge OF the town. " Is very
difficult Of ascent In Summer, but now when tue
snow three four feet thick and liable to slide down
in great Masses requires hour OF hard and danger
GUS climbing to reach the top. The view from It, how
ever amply compen safes for the labor. Three beautiful
valleys, the Neversnk runDing northward, the lower
Delaware extending towards the south, and the upper
Delaware which, fankod by rolling hills comes sweep
ing grandy down from tho west. stretch for 40 miles
before the eye. Far the north glimpse caught OF
the white tops OF the lower Catsklls while hills upon
hills skirt the horizon every eide. srikDgy Pc
cular feature OF these hills Is their laminated appear
ance. Geologicaly they belong to the Portage ana
Chemung groups OF shaes and sates the edges OF tue
strata frequently cropping out In longcurved lines on
the hillsldes and the forests growing principally In
fnses following these geological lines The Ice gorge
winding up the valley at the foot OF the mountain, and
varying width from $50 to $50 yards looks like great
white rband In places spurs OF Ice project ABOVE the
snow and Ssten in the sunlight. The village lies
toward the south spread out like map, with It's three
redbrc church spires in the foreground and the sus
pension bridge lies top Of the ice closely resembling
plank walk.
Under the educated eye OF engineer the ice gorge
or glacier, many call 1t, becomes an interesting
study Its formation is very Irregular. In some places
great blocks OF ice have evidently become firmly Ganted
in the bed of the river and these have served as piers
from to another Of which arches have formed
several feet above the water upbearug the great dome
shaped mass. Since the ice has settled deeper into
the bed Of the river the locality OF these arches is
marked by great hummocks the surface OF the gla
cer 1t is very dangerous walking on the glacier, since
the deep covering OF hides from view the many
riffs and loles between the cakes OF Ice, Of which
extend 20 feet downward. The surface is very
irregular being ntersectcd in every direction by sharp
ridges with deep depressOns between them, in the
bottom OF which surface water has collected In con-
siderable Quantities The bed OF the river is full OF
rocks and shoals and these have served as shoulders to
hold the ice firmly, as the pressure from above
drives down. The slope OF the river throughout the
miles which gorged is only one-half Of degree.
The heavy 'all OF Monday appears TO have been
mostly confined to the Delaware Valley. Tho on
Erie Railway stll delayed by 1t, and the Mon
cello Railroad remains completely blocked up. Mr..
Chanute thinks that 1t will not to hasten the
melting OF the gorge ns many have supposed since the
water ato which IL will DO turned, IN trickling down
through the blocks of Ice, instead OF parting with
enough latent heat to melt them, will Itself become
rczeD or else reach the water below aud hello to swell
the nTer SINCE ne "a" sWs. tne ice &c ns @
much lower 1t would do little good to blow up
the Ice with ncog'ycerine now, Decause that would
only splinter tho ice bocxs, while there would not be
water enough 10 carry them away The Inhabitants
gorge and the nitFOGYcerne and naphtBa projects
regarded with considerable favor. Mr. Chanute says
aud Ieshets throughout the country causes people to
watch with deep interest the approach OF the ersIs at
tins place. Tue experiments that have been undertaken
here have been made In order TO test the question a. TO
how far ingenuity assist IN aveItng dangers
that arise fIOm the choking up and oYeInoWInH VI
rivers.
tins place the great Their opinlnns
20 the dangers arising from 1t differ widely. Tne
Oldest OF them who Lave lived this aud
familiar with IT ali their lives admit that they have
snch ice lgorge as tins one before II Is
considered certain that tho NeyerslBk will overflow
soon thaw comes and create great freshet Ii is
a much more rapid stream than the Delaware. 1t is
hoped that tue Neyersnk will rise dst and sweep the
Delaware clear OF leo below the bend, thereby giving
for he %s Gorse so1e TO To out @ ee D
In auout thr condition Tue ice longer settles
above the pier, and erected before It Prov
shaped apron Of iron they have also sreug hened the
h iron braces, and have done all they could 10
prepare resist successfully the terrible pressure
must endure when the final crash comes.
IL generally admitted that the water now running
can do little toward Weakening the gorse Even II 1t
90 TeII e az e We Mh the ice
banked up either SIDE form Dg almost as Formidable
worn through it, The owness OF the water shows that
1t cannot BE- eating away tho gorge, which prob
ably archcd completely over the narrow channel. The
surface of the Open water, which extends 23 miles
above the gorge Mr. Chanue thinks absorb a
amount Of heat wnich 1t parts with when passing
beneath the glacier, and thus tends slightly to melt the
ice above 1t.
EXPERIMENTS OF CHIEF ENGINEER CHANUTE WITH
POWDER AND RIVER
SLOWLY RIsIN6-THE DANGER SAID TO BE IN
CREAsING.
PoRr JERvIs, N. Y, March 1O.-This morn
ing an inch OF wet snow fell. warm south wind has
been blowing all day. and the snow has thawed rapidly.
Chief Engineer Chanute says the time has almost arrived
when he 60 to work In earnest with ntroglycerne.
This afternoon he set dozen at work chopping the
ice and began blasting. Tho banks were lined with
spectators At the foot Of the gorge channel 80 feet
rfnrA - .fla "a fha
center of the glacier. This was cleared out by small
charges OF glycerine and giant POWDER and by expod
ing pounds OF nitro gyceTne underneath the main
mass a block 100 feet square was blown out aud sent
hoating down the river. Pieces OF solid Ice IL inches
thick were thrown than 100 feet into the the
explosion. Mr.. Chanute expressed satisfaction with the
result and the blasting will be continued all day TO-
morrow. The river begins TO feel the effects OF the
thaw and rising slowly The weather stil Threatens
rain The small streams flowing into the Delaware are
considerably swollen. The ice In the gorge has not
rotted much and when the Is cleared Of the great
green blocks beneath appear solid and square-edged
pistol bullet scarcely peDetrates them The inhabi
tantslawait the result with anxiety, since competent
ard experienced men have declared that the danger
daily increases, and impaticnce expressed be-
cause the blasting Is not FASTENED
THE ICE ON THE sCHUYLKILL
PHILApELPHIA, March 10.-There has been
little change In the condition Of the schuylkl River.
THIS morning there sign whatever OF frcshet.
The thaw during tho past two dave has been very slight
and has not caused any pcrccptble rise The depth Of
water the Farmount dam Is only few inches, and
the Ice above intact far as the falls Pedcsri-
ans cross without danger or Inconvenience ln respect
10 the proposed blasting operations nothing now Is
known 6ome OF the mill owners ut Msnayunk propose
taking the matter In hand. but they have done nothing
ms yet. The danger OF an Ice gorge Is not imminent
OF the Supervisors and other Interested parties
weut up to Manayunk ibis morning. bnt IL not stated
anuear M