Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1878-1884, 1879-03-29
THE GRAND d BUST,

There was sharp, swift crack, sullen
roar, rush of the waters, and the prayers
of the pious citizens of Bismarck had been
answered. The river had broken, or rath-
er the ice thereon, and the imprisoned
water, shaking off its shackles, dashed on
its demoralized enemy and drove the still
fighting foes tumultuously before it. Or,
to descend to poetry, at fifteen minutes
past six this evening the river busted.
For several days this consammation has
been devoutly wished, and as soon as the
news arrived the town hoWled with de
light. Two days ago the Heart broke, and
its waters coming down with rush had
not little to do with weakening the ice
in the Missouri Never before has there
been such a display Of pluck. on the part
of the Heart, and the Missouri, taking
courage from the little stream, made a
mighty effort and broke the tormentor
| that has lain so heavily on its bosom.
From the river bank .,,, ,,a ..,.. 49,. .-,1 ,,
RI THE SCENE WAS ExHILIARATING.
After the first crack there, was an ominous
stiffness. Then the flashes ran to and fro
| retreat. Here and there the water bub-
| from bank to bank, and horrible crunch
ing sound responded. The greaticakes
| that had formed the grand whole, stag
gered as if dazed by their independence,
i while the piteeus walls of smaller bergs,
as their selfish superiors crowded upon
them, drowned for moment the wash of
the waters and the rush of the masses.
Slowly and steadily the waters arose and
| Tapped the banks, which forced them back
to the struggle they had inaugurated The
ice quivered and pitched, sinking and ris-
| ing again, until fairly beaten, it turned
from its enemy andifed in dismay
It is estimated that =. sl .l-..
/ THE RIVER AROSE THREEFEET
in less than an hour. LodSng across,
from the east bank toward tho. mouth of
the Heart, the ice appeared to befpiling up
as if threatening gorge. Slowly the ice
made out from the land, but the example
of The Drawer cakes that, made the stand
seemed to have little effect on their flying
fellows, who rushed past, bound anywhere,
anywhere out of danger. At the freight
house the keeper and his wife packed upa
hastv supper and fled to the hills, but soon
came back, as the victory of the water
seemed complete and the defeat of the ice
signal. What the threatened gorge on the
west bank will amount to is yet to be dis
covered, and there are now no data for
prophecy whether or not there will he a
gorue at the bend below Point Pleasant. At
8 o'clock the ice was passing out rapidly
and comparatively quietly, with a rising
river and no aspect of danger to the bot
tom save in; the Heart mouth prospect. q
AS THE BROKEN CAKES, -. NJ, s,l
floated away towards the mouth of the
Missouri, the spectacle was wild. One
star, and a sleepy looking moon, OCCASION
ally wiplng its nose with a ragged and
dirty cloud, looked down upon the scene.
Up in the northwest low, red rim hung
heavily on the hill-tops, while the rest of
the sky was jagged with .orn drift. Down
in the bottom everything was wet, wiz
derness of wet, as il, holding reserves, lest
theriver were whipped in the grand contest.
The western bluffs looked down with stern
stolidity upon the scene, like congress
man on an office.seeker. Between the
bluffs and the red rim on one side, and
the stufy moon and the damp, dark bot:
tom on the other, the torn and wounded
ice rushed through the. narrow. defile of
the river banks, followed swift and fol
lowed faster by the raging river that swell
ed in its bullying importance as it's foe
manifested more and stronger dispos1-
ton to skedaddle. And perhaps there
body of ice. Here and there an immense
cake struggled along in a ludicrous effort
to maintain some kind of dignity. Now
and then berg larger than mest Of its
fellows, tried to assume style, but these
efforts were all the more ridiculous when
compared with the pitiful struggles Of the
little cakes, waits, orphansI humping
around in pathetic endeavor to reach the
parent breast. and finding nothing but water
where there should have been milk. which
demonstrates the inhumanity of bringing
up ice on the bosom of a river instead OF at
hotel. s3 - 3se
But taken as whole the business had
ADIssIPATED LOOK. q ,.,1zt
It was tramp ice from the start There
WASH It clean shirt in the outfit but on the
contrary the cakes were dirty, ragged and
utterly untitled fol business. Big and little
they had squallid glook that betokcned'
misery and an advanced state of hard
'upness
Now Bismarck is prepared for busincss'
The riveris open and the boats are ready
In q few days they WILDE prepared to start
up the river, and the town is happy, espe-
Ecially Jim Lehmer. lsl. U
[, Esff RIVER NOTES. L, ,ss;s s. AZ
+ The steamers Rosebud and Big Horn,
(which were taken off the ways atthisplaee