Morning journal and courier., 1880-02-12
The Ice Boom.

Lively Operations i'm Harvestfng-The
 Work at WhftneYville The Houses
 at FOxOn-LarRe New Ice House for
 the DTckermans-Canal Road Ice
 Trains Under the Wheels ls-EScaPe
 from a Serious Accident.
 Times were lively in ice harvesting yester- day all around. The cold weather had made ice of good thickness to cut, and yesterdays warm sun and the melting snows gave warn- ing that delay was dangerous. The New Ha- ven Ice Company commenced cutting at Whit ney Lake in the morning, and by the middle of the afternoon their large houses just above the dam showed that good work had been done, several hundred tons being housed. Some twenty or thirty men were busy receiv- ing the cakes and slowing them away. The ice was being cut above the covered bridge, about quarter of mile of, where the ice is from eight to ten inches in thickness. The company have half filled their houses at Foxon, and the house at Camps pond, in the same section, having taken all the ice thick enough in those ponds for use.
 The Dickermans of Westville, who harvest every year quite large quantity, are building an ice house at J. B. Quillinan's pond in An sonia of a.storing capacity oes2, 800 tons. They expect next season to transport ice to New Haven by the Derby railroad as necessity may demand.
 They were busy again yesterday at Canal Dock unloading into barges ice brought from the Southwick Ponds by the Northampton railroad, and going to the Knickerbocker Ice Company, New York. There were many car loads thus disposed of before dark. An acci- dent occurred, which for a moment created much excitement. Two cars of the train had been emptied, and the engine started forward to bring the next cars into position for nn- loading. A colored man employed in the un- loading, standing at one end of one of the cars, lost his balance at the sudden start, and in a trice went down under the car wheels between two cars Some of those near at hand witnessed the accident, and one man rushed forward and seized the unlucky man just in time to draw him out and away from the wheels. It was voted on all sides to be 8 narrow escape.
 Yesterday seven barges were lying at Bridge port docks taking on cargoes of ice brought down by the Naugatuck and Housatonic trains. The principal industry at the docks sAANS article.
 A lively business in ice cutting is being done at Litchfield station on the Naugatuck rail road. The long spell of mild weather, render ing quick work necessary when 8 chance comes to cut ice, makes the work there this season unusually brisk. The company is now engaged in filling heavy order for the Knick- erbocker Ice Company, of New York, all the ice necessary for their own consumption having been stored. The large ice house on the shore of the pond is filed with last sea- sons crop, not having been touched during the summer. At present the ice is loaded upon the cars at the chute opposite the depot; the west cove having been cleared out, athe east cove was begun upon Tuesday. This cove is located one-third of a mile distant from the place of loading, the ice cakes all being float ed therefrom through narrow, circuitous channel, cut through the intervening ice field. It is singular fact that whilst the ice in the coves Is 12 inches or more thick, on the main pond it is but from 14 to 4 inches in thick ness, so that some of the way it is necessary to build plank walk to support the weight of the workmen. Tuesday, thirty six car loads were cut, floated, loaded and shipped to the barges at Bridgeport. Forty-fve men were employed on the pond, but nearly one-hali were engaged in clearing the snow from an. other field; from twenty-four to thirty men | are about as many as can work advantageously at floating and loading the ice. The gang reached the,pond at z o'clock in the morning, and with the mercury ranging from 12 to 16 degrees below zero, the men had to work with ! 8 view to keep from freezing.