Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-01-25
EVENING STAR.
MONDAY. January -. 1873.
4 hRtfsGE OF ICE at NEW YORK
kn s.Gffag Scene af the Break m =,
Up Men and Bss Carried Do~n the
Sfgeaun - ~

| The East river at New York WAS bridget
| with Ice saturday murllug. cau~s>i IN j, ~,
1 81 Ice which had Il, aied down North river.
hN' Hr'Ji> al ler>uD> crossed u ana fnp on rl,a
| tCe between New York AMI BROOKLYN ~
1 tween nine and ten o'clock. while the docks
| and piers were crowded. with Thousand h 81
| men. vcinet and children witnessing thr
| unusual spectacle. River men SAY that such
| huge body of ice has not been seen there
slnoe lEe WiTttroi IS. The BROOKLYN Eagle
| gives the following description OF the scene.
| THE FLOATING FIELDS OF ICE.
y soon a. the tide began itS outward flow
| the fields OF ice came down from the North
| river in such Solidity that the ferryhoat> were
| caught and carried along as though they were
| hut paper machines. From Whitehall to
| Fulton street on the New York side. aud
| from Wall street TO Atlantic on the BrOoNlNn
| side, was covered with a solid and ifnp.n,,-
| trabe field OF ice at 40 O'Clock. ana below
that point the river was - free that tho b,ats
| were enabled To get back and forth vi fho;It
| htnUrance. This foe or field which came
| along AT the hour named, was over mile
| square IN size. and when N reachp the neigh
| bOrhOod OF Fulton ferry il got wefg,,I in
| thus forming a bridge ~ such strength that
| trucks heavily laden could have ro,lei upon
| ~ IN absolute safety. The great crowd OF
| human beings upon the piers On both ii o.,
| witnessed the lodgment 81 this doe with
| something very like satisfaction; hut. for a
| time. no one was bold enough to Ike IN in
| ltiatOry movement toward crossing ON Loot.
THE CROSSING OK THE IJE.
| naly young man stepped down lpn1
| the bridge OF ice from the pier heal az Fulton
! ferry. on the New York side. and began u
| run slowly toward the Opposite shore ln tn
| direction of Harbacl<'S stores. looking back
| and around him every now and then NnrN
aNNiOU>ly, a. though fearful that the mass
! WOUit begin To move onward and carry him
| along with it. His comrades chccrpl him
| on, however. and those on this side gave sim
| liar encouragement. ana 50 eventually hp
/ crossed i'm safety. He was the pioneer gf the
| movement. No sooner had he climbed upon
| The dock i'm safety than those whom he hal
| left behind prepared Ia follow his example.
| lrSt, Two young men started ont aDl gpt
| safely over. Then half dozen LEFT this side
| for New OrE, ana within ten minutes there
| after regular procession was upon the lcr
1 bridge. some corning to BROOKLYN and many
| more going to New York The crowd That
| for two hours had patiently stood ina the
| biting cold upon the pier al the foot of Fulton
| street had no sooner seen it, friends at Wall
| street enjoying free passage than IL was
| seized with the same spirit, and IN "A moment
| the dock was deserted. The formation Of the
1 ice bridge spread like wildhre. and many
| who. at other times. would have hal no de-
| sire To cross the tortuouS stream. made II
| their business 10 take a walk over upon the
| white carpeted floor. Hundreds OF school
| boys from the Heights also came down with
| their skates and sle,is, and went out boldly
| upon the bridge for sport.
THE INEVITABLE SPECULATION.
| \ couple of enterpriSing young men oh
| tanned ladder in the shape OF a gangwav
plank, and standing each at the top and hot
tom end aS IL was extended from the top Of
| the pier 10 the ice below, collected one cent
per head for each passenger ascending or de
| Scending. The success of this commercial
| speculation brought about competition. and
| in a short time two additional ladders were
| i'm full operation. The shouts Of tho prOprin-
tors of these convculenceS were" Here's the
| regular boat for New York Here's the
East river bridge, toll one cent" Here's the
| ferry To the cars &c. \ man with a basket
| on his arm drove n thriving trade i'm whisky
| on ice, drinks from the bottle AT ten cents a
4 pull. He took his stand about midway be-
| tween the two cities, in the SwaSh of the
| travel, and cried his wares without fear OF
| excise officers, and in defiance of license
| laws.
Up To 9i5 only men and boys had venfurci
| To cross. hut a shout from the crowd now in
| dictated that the first woman was on her way
| over from New York. On she came. quite
| unattended, all the people on the floor max
| ing way for her ana raising their hats with
| encouraging wOpiS. II was a question how
| She would effect landing. that l.. with the
| crowd on the pier. but il was no question
| with her. Her face indicated a dctermina-
/ tion To get on shore and NJ did not seem to
matter a great deal with her how il was
| done. There was not the slightest fear ex-
| pressed a. She commenced the ascent aud
| calmly reached the top OF the pier. The
| crowd gave her round OF cheers, which Sh"
! gracefully aCknOw lodged and fastened for
| ward. Somewhat interested. and possessed
of the liberal spirit of inquiry. an Eagle 70
| Porter attended the lady from the pier AMI
asked the circumstances Of her venture. II ,
| was briefly but politely informed that she
| had an engagement in Brooklyn at 10 O'Clock
| sharp this morning which hal II he X pr
| Later on, several women came over from
| the New York side apparently for fun. ami
| two or three crossed from Brooklyn To New
| York. The volume Of travel constantly in
| creased till 10y hali-paSt ten near c'ayva
| O'Clock the ice foe presented an animlt"l
| appearance. Many people. including boys
| with their SledS. had scattered over it, whole
| extent ana We're enjoying themselves with
| the unusual experience. Tie boys were tax
| ing running slides on their SlCd>. and IA al
| Were standing in groups.
| THE BREAKING UP-REsCUE or THE RECK-
LESS.
| 1t was known that the tide would begin
| running down by ii o o'clock, ana at that time
| "a sergeant Of police with two or three men.
| stationed themselves at the entrance of the
| pier and kept any more people from going on
| the foe. The ladder men were also ordered
TO receive only those coming from New York.
| 1t would seem also that similar action was
| taken on the New York side, as the stream Of
| passengers began TO diminish. At lib the
| tide began running down strongly, and in a
| few moments thereafter the foe began NOV
| ing down. At this moment about hfty peO-
| pie were on the foe. They were shouted To
4 from both sides To hurry up. But on the y cw
| York side one OF Lorillari'S coal steamers
had succeeded i'm cutting Its way up from the
| Battery near the shore, and had opened
| wide channel. The more prudent OF those on
| the foe, under these circumstances, rushed
| over 10 this side, and by the aid of long lad
derS were taken OFF RON the foe TO the pier
| over Il gap of at least ten feet.
| TwentE-SiN men and boys were thus taken
| off, but the remaining twenty-fOur did not
| seem TO appreciate their situation, and made
| no haste To get OF. The foe was now NOV
| ing rapidly down towards Governors island.
| AS il reached the isl and and was pressed
| against il, il began to break up and crumble
| into small cakes. This reduced the size OF
| the foe rapidly, and at last the reckless in
diyidualS began To move for their safety. II
| looked as if each man might presently have
| a cake of ice TO himselfif he desired IL, upon
| which to float quietly out To sea. tug
| which had been lowering near the edge of the
| foe on the New York side now approached
and drove itself into the foe, and blew its
1 whistle of warning for the delinquents TO
come and be saved. \ rush was made for
her, and all hands succeeded in getting on
| board without accident. All the buOys in
| the bay were carried away by the ice, some
| being passed forty miles at sea.
SENTENCED TO THE PENITENTIARY FOR
| THIRTY YEARS-TOm Ballard, the notorious
counterfeiter was on Thursday convicted be-
| fore Judge Wallace, in the United States dis
| trict court at Albany, y. Y. On being ar
/ raigned for sentence, Ballard in piteOuS
| voice requested that he might BE- imprisoned
in one of the state prisons. He asked as
| special favor not To be sent to the Albany
| Penitentiary, as his health could not stand
the strict discipline of that institution. Judge
l Wallace, in passing sentence, said that he
HI