The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-01-09
AN ICE nRIDGE AT NIAGARA FAILS.
Spanning the Entire width of Niagara
River Just Below the CAtaPnet.

came to a stand'Still beneath the Suspen
sion Bridge, and the watchers began Il
hope that there would be a bridge with {
smooth serface. But the huge dam OF Ice
suddenly began to heave, grind, and break
up into fragments with a loud noise. Al
10 o'clock there was second stand.still
and 1t seemed certain that the bridge had
been formed, but at Q in the afternoon
there was a third aud more severe distur
bance.
Great hummocks, weighing hundreds Of
tons, were pushed into the air and remain,
ed there as monuments of the fearful bat.
tie. Large boulders were torn from the
shore and swept into the stream, and the
solitary fir which was wont to mark the
landing place Of the ferry became victim
to the warning elements, though orlinari.
ly 1t stands three feet above high water.
The slow, awful strength Of the infuriated
waters was so apparent that 1t seemed as II
they must rend the great gorge in twain
and escape from their thraldom by some
new road; but there was only one gate.
way Tor them, and, as they could not break
the mile-wide dam in two, they lifted II
up bodily and swept a way beneath. Hay.
ing thus succumbed, the waterallowed the
Ice to rest above it, accepting the yoke
which 1t could not break, despite its boast.
ed strength. And now the victor rests
quietly, torn and ragged It is true, but in.
yinclble; and so it will remain until the
beams Of the spring sun deprive it OF its
strength, and once more restore Niagara
to Its accustomed freedom. The bridge Is
nearly mile in length, extending from a
line drawn perpendicularly to Point Look.
out, in the American Park, half way to the
railroad bridge, and filling the gorge from
shore to shore.
The first view Of the Falls brings the
heart up into the mouth with a shock that
Is almost painful in its suddenness and
force. Everything is so changed, SO trans
figured. Ice everywhere! Ice upon the
rocks, upon tho trees. epCroaChing upon
the cataract itself and deadenlng its roar,
even stealing away . large portion Of it's
power, TO oil seeming. As the spectator
stands upon this point tho wind blows the
spray into his face, and sc on covers him all
over with jewels. but what cares he for the
spray in the enthusiasm OF the glorious
viewI In tho park the ice has been as de.
structlve as it Is beautiful, and though
it has robed tho trees and buildings In
snowy beauty, 1t has torn down huge
limbs by its overpowering weight. Look.
iHg over TO the Canadian shore, the OBJ.
server can 900 hugh icicles Of many tons
weight hanging like the Eopey lppss on the
foreheads otgiants in the story books. lpt
these sights are nothing when COMPARED
to.the broad sheet OF wfnkled snow.ice
which lies at his feet. There It ls-the
Conqueror of Niagara-sparkling in the sun.
light calmly and peacefully.
Besides the rQtHgda which stands at the
base OF the American tall Q mountain Of
snowy spray ice towers up eighty feet
high, and is the summit. The dome OF the
FotuRda bears an ice crown Of exceeding
beauty and along the roof OF the dressing
shed are curious ice formations which
nothing less than Photographic camera can
adequately picture. Giant icicles hang
from the cliffs and every once in while
q hugo fragment comes tumbling down.
The ice is perfectly white and seeming
quito porous, but excessively hard:troyen.
It's appearance ia exactly that Of spun
glass, 1t is said that the spray which
formed this ice was perfectly pure, and
that II a Ten Of it were melted it would
proluGO no apREepiable quantity Of sedi.
ment. The Ice mountain Is sill in lpi2.
parative INFANCY, butt the wind and THE
mercury are favorable 1t will soon be in 4
condition to form coasting hill for the
people rs it did during the winter OF 1875.
Tbs great ice bridge itself is a counter.
part in miniature Of an Alpine glacier.
You have the rough, broken surface, the
hummocksr reaching ten, fifteen and twenty
foot into the mir, the startling assures gap.
ing perhaps with q depth Of thirty feet
In tho solid ioei and you have the pure
ice itself In million strange and iheK,
plicable shapes; but there Is an association
Of terror in this place which does not bO.
long TO the genuine glacier, and which
may GONE from the muitled roar Of the
waterfall ,pereh8npp the thought Of 200 feet
OF water seething and boiling beneath
your feet. Many OF our readers have
stood on tho bank beside the whirlpool
rapids and seen the Wrpthful waters
mount upward toward the sky in q thou,
sand contendlng currents rs they battle
to escape from their prlsonlng walls Im'
agine this Rgitated surface suddenly b.
coming petrEAed, and every broken Wayf
hating Just where It was, and this will
give an idea Of the magnitude Of this stFnp'
ture. In thickness It Is probably abnNt
sixty feet, while the surface OF the leo Is al
least half that distance from the surface o
the water. There arc CrevHsses twenty
five or thirty feet in depth, and yet they
show no signs q SatpF, As we have sale
before, the surface OF the ice bridge Tor iet
field, for it is really that is exceedingly
rough, and The work OF crossing is very
fatiguing. Before long, however, a roat
viii be constructed from tho ARerlran {
the Canadian skore, and It will be quit
On easy mRttpr 70 cross,
Theice formation OF the bridge Is curl
ously dIssimilar on the different sides o
the river. On the American side it j
composed OF snow leo, formed into round
ed boulder shapes, and looking exaltll
like white coral. AS you near the centrC
OF the river, the ice fragments grow larger
and when you near the Canadian shor,
you And huge pskps Of water ice amalgam
ated into q solid mass. fhe sprfaeeRf III
bridge is toughest on the American side
and Il Wopld seem as II the greater press
ure was here ekertel, though the wildes
disturbance evidently TOOK plape nj N!
lower end Of Tho bridge, for the hum
mocks are very large and frequent here.
The first man that crossed was F, Ton
Conroy, tho well knoYn guide, who save
a man from tho rapids q year or two age
As Mr.. Conroy weighs about two haRdTpi
pounds, he demonstrated the entire saiet
Of the bridge for purposes oil locomouor
4 Gasqp ICE House.