The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-01-23
NIAGARA FROZEN OYER.
A Solid Span Sixty Feet I'm Thickness Over
the River.

A Courier reporter vas sent 10 the
falls yesterday, and learned that tb, fee
bridge became an assured fact on
Sunday last. 1t is really child of the
great snow storm of last week
which accounts for it's uncommonly
early formation. For some days a large
amount of uncovered ice from Lake
Erie has been passing over the falls,
and about the beginning OF the present
week Gid Inhabitants began TO look ex.
pectantly for IN ice bridge, though 1t
was at least month earlier than the
usual appearance of this phenomena.
AT 8 o'clock Sunday morning the accum.
ulated mass of ice came to G stand-still
beneath the new suspension bridge, and
the watchers began to hope that there
would be bridge with smooth surface
"a thing unprecedented 80 far as histo.
iry or tradition bear record. But the
hope was soon dispelled, for the huge
dam of ice suddenly began to heave, grind
and break up into fragments, with loud
noise which is described as being exceed
ingly trying to the nerves. at 10
aud 1t seemed certain that the bridge
had been formed, but at two in the after.
noon there was third aud more severe
disturbance, a. the imprisoned waters
exerted their giant strength in an effort
to be free.
The battle was n grand one. Vast
quantities of ice and snow were caught
IN the waters arms, and tossed biiI,r
aud ttither like playthings, fighting .ud
struggling with one another, and grinding
themselves TO fragments in the fierce
engagement. Great hummocks, weigh
ing hundreds of tons, were pushed into the
air, and remained there as monuments
of the fearful battle. Large bowil5s
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 of the warning
elements, though ordinarily it stands three
feet above high water. The slow; awful
strength of the infuriated waters was 30
apparent that it seemed as if they must
rend the great gorge in twain and escape
from their thraldom by some new road:
but there was only one gateway open
for them, and as they could not break
the mile wide dam in two, they lifted
it up bodily and swept away beneath,
still raging, but completely conquered
by the Frost King. Having thus sue
cumbed to this inevitable humiliation
the water allowed ice to rest above it.
accepting the yoke which it could not
break despite lbs toasted strength. And
now the victor rests quietly-torn aud
ragged, it s true, but invincible; aud
so 1t will remain until the mighter
beams of the spring sun deprive i: of iis
strength and once more restore Niagara
! to its accustomed freedom. The bridge
i nearly mile in length, extending
! from, line drawn perpendicuiariy 10
Point Lookout, in the American Park.
half way to the railroad bridge, and fill.
ing the gorge from shore to shore.
The ice mountain is still in It's COM
parative infancy, but If the wind and
mercury are favorable 1t will soon be in
condition to form coasting hill for the
people, as it did during the winter of
1873. The great. ice bridge itself is q
counterpart in miniature OF the Alpiue
glacier, and fully as interesting rs if ten
days OF sea sickness were necessary pre-
liminary to seeing it. You have the
rough, broken surface, the hummocks
reaching ten, fifteen, twenty feet into
the air, the starting fissures, gaping.
perhaps, with depth of thirty feet in
the solid ice, and you have the pure
snow ice itself in q million strange and
incxplicable shapes; but there is an
association ofterror in this place which
does not belong to the genuine glacier,
and which may come from the muffled
roar OF the waterfall perchance the
thought of 200 feet Of water seething
and boiling beneath your feet. Many Of
our readers have stood on the bnnk beside
the Whirlpool Rapids, and seen the
wr. 'ul waters mount upward toward
the Sky in thousand contending cur
rents rs they battle to escape from their
prlsoning walls. Imagine this agitated
surface suddenly becoming petrified, and
every broken wave haltinr lust where
IT was. and this will give IN idea OF the
ice bridge. Figures are poor make shifis
for assisting the Imagination tu work
but they will perhaps assist little in
giving MI idea of the magnitude of this
structure. In thickness it is probably
sixty feet, while the surface of the ice is
at least halt that distance from the water.
There are crevices twenty five feet. in
depth, and yet they show 40 sings of
water. AS we have said before, the sur
face of the ice bridge or lice field, for it
is really that), is exceedingly rough,
ard the work of crossing is very fa-
tigning. Before long, however, q road
win be constructed from the American
to the Canadian shore, and it will be
quite an easy matter 10 cross.
The first man who crossed the b. Ice
was Mr. Tom Conroy, the we'll known
guide, who saved man from the rap
ids year or two ago. AS Mr.. Conroy
weighs about 200 pounds, he demonstrated
10 the satisfaction of the good folks OF
Niagara the entire safety Of the bridge
for purposes Of locomotion Those who
doubt its safety are ut liberty to attempt
the breaking of its sixty feet of solid
ice.-Bu6aio Courier. si.q
| A NOTABLE WEDD1No.-Them marriage
of Kate A. Smith, Mrs. A. Il. Stewards
grandneice and reputed heir, to Rev.
Joseph b. Wetherill, an Episcopal cler-
gyman wealthy enough to need no pas
torate, Mt Trinity church was one of the
most imposing ceremonies TINT ever. &C
CURED in New York. It was choral
wedding, with white-robed choristers to
do the singing and Rev. DR.. Dix and
Disnop Eiitiejohn 10 tic tile i1 ID, a not.
in the presence of one ofthe most fashion
able audiences Trinity has ever held.
The altar was tastefullv buried in flowers,
and the brides diamonds and pearls glis-
tened on her white satin costume. which
was itself enveloped by rich Brussels
lace. The bridal presents were numer.
Gus and costly, the most magnificent be.
ing the diamond necklace from Mrs. A
L. Stewart, having fowerets and leaves
iii silver, with petals OF diamonds, and q
pendant of emeralds and diamonds in
the form ofa dove. The bridal trous,
seau was one Of the most costly the me.
tropolis has seen, comprising, .amone
other things, dozen elegant toilets, in