, 1880-11-29
CLOSED.
Winter.sig|,ts on the Upper Mis-
sissippi River.
The Earliest Closing Since White Men
Have Known the Stream.
Freak d lie lte-rlots mud Gorges-Slrugg1ing
Steamers and Ea,h adrenturtrs.

CIus.As tut sGfEEHl NEEhS tIlG dlIEIhCG III Llt
wntcr llas been covered with floating particles
bf Ice, atnl everything fhsrsha1owcd tho
early closing IT lie river If tf'ere WIS mt
change IN Tile temperature. Tho Upper
Mississippi closes almost any tttne from No
scInt,sr t0 April, hut sometimes 1t Is never
froxetl over 10 tut It cnn be crossed either by
,ilatl nr tcn.n. Thr records show that DE.
ceinbcr II the tasorit month fur "cios1ng';
but this yMr lias leer MI exception, attl
quito notnJle0ne. Thu wl,ole river-surFacn
al thts point WIS ullr ,llotIonIess field Ut lee
last Sunday evening, the .isl Inst.
THIS WAS TIL: EARLIEST CF.DSISG
shown by any rceord since white 1,e,l lived
along tho river. Il was mt caused by Tic
severity Ut tho co1d, but by the continuance
OF cold for 50 lDnE Il tsnle. Tile Thermometer
has stonl Iown about tfo COS II 1olIE tsnr,
aid l,ns kcpt The surincu Ut tho river cn,I-
stantiy fnll Ut tloat!ng ice, which ground al,d
groa'ed along day nttw day, growing thErk-
er and thicker, mill moving slower and more
slowly, until finally It llad 80 chokeu III tho
stream tllat II could not force It's way along
between the winding banks any longer.
Ut course TIC old settler steps III right
here, and says he "resle1nbGrs'' TINT In the
yenr tho lee stopped just three hours slx
nIil:stes Rtld twenty-five seconds earlier in tho
scason than 1t did this year; but It didn't:
set tat tauw,, form fncL md consider that
old settler buried under a mountain Of popn-
lar Indignation. He says lie crossed tho riycr
to Rock Island tint niHht,-to party, or
something, believe, ,-antt tho next morning
walked back on tho Ice, his skill having been
ground to q powder In the rushing heaps Of
icc. Now, tho skIff part Of the story is nil
right; hut young mems parties, you know,
are sometimes more than os,n night long, utld
te didn't niake nUtc Of 1t. But exCuse this.
Tho closing Of the upper river IL
\ MATTER Or CONSIDERABLE INTEREST
to thousands Of peoplo along the banks who
are Interested In rlyer-tratllc fl various ways;
will either have to tlc-up for tho VIII
ter or 60 into Southern trade,
neither Of Which Is very profitable. Many Of
thu 'tppcr.rlycr bonsa arc placed In winssr-
quarters, not always alone because tho SOUTH
crn trndo Is Improbable. but BECAUSE many OF
them need repairs, which, they would not
got II they were kept In service tho yenr
round. Many Of tho merchants along the
river nFe Interested. bGcauso they cannot for
tho next SIX months use the river rs n means
of shipping goods. Those who nre nut
familiar With the kind and amount Of river
traffic carried on I'll the Upper Mississippi
would be surprised ut the amount OF freight
of MI kinds carried, I.iungh tho realitIGs arc
but n shadow Of tic possibilities.
Tho steamers which nre now ice-boun1 OF
tlcl up somewhere arc small buats; but one
of them gives employment to scores Ut incn;
will carry-with bargcs attachetl-as much
freight rs several ftcfght-trafns Of cars, as,d
rs many passengers rs large passenger
train: and it's tho incest travelling III tho