The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-04-08
BROKE LOOSE.
The Gerges ON the Missouri River
Have Given Way.
The River nj omaha Is FILLED with
lee and Destroyed Property.
The Coantry Between Coyington and
jackson submerged.
Two u. r. Employees Drowned I'm the
seething Flood at Omaha.
rhe mlssourl River az Omaha.

more OF loss ice mas Deen running IN
the Missouri river, past this point, but
about 6 O'Clock this morning it COM
meneed running thicker than ever. and
by noon the broad river was one vast
stream Of ice cakes, varying in size
from two or three feet square to pieces
Of over 100 feet square, the thickness
being from two to three feet. The con-
slant grinding and crushing of the ice
makes a continual roaring noise, which
can be heard for considerable distance
from the river. Trees, logs, bridge
timbers, parts Of houses, etc., are be-
ing constantly swept by, and every now
and then they are shot out of the water
and on to Ice cakes, by the bubbling,
whirling waters, which twist the ice
cakes round and round, and frequently
largs cakes of ice, weighing several
tons, are crowded out of the water and
lodged upon land.
Thousands of people have been to the
river watching the passage of the ice
all tue afternoon. 1t was grand
spectacle, nothing equal to it ever hav-
ing occurred here. The ice is in good
preservation, and it is thought that
great deal of it win reach far down
into the Mississippi river. The flow of
ice will probably continue for several
days here, as informa tion has been re-
ceived that the gorges above Sioux City
have broken, and that to-day's flow is
but the advance guard, and that by
to morrow it will be twice as heavy, if
possible. The river rose five feet and
half at Sioux City yesterday, and we
are now getting the effect of that rise.
1t is rising at Niobrara, and also at
Yankton, and the gorges are all out.
The river is falling at Fort Sully.
All the country in Nebraska between
Covington and Jackson is submerged,
and the Chicago, st. Paul & Omaha
railway is all under water between those
two points. 1t is being washed badly
rs there is q strong current. Coving-
ton, quite village opposite Sioux City,
Is all under water, and all the citizens
were taken over to Sioux City on a
ferry-boat, leaving all their property
behind, merely taking with them their
extra clothing. The railroad agent and
telegraph operator left at O'Clock in a
skiff for Sioux City, being the last ones
to leave the town. When they left
the water was up above the floor of the
depot and still rising, and the current
was running at the rate of five miles an
hour.
The river has now reached eighteen
feet and six inches above low water
mark, the highest point reached since
US, when the water was the same
height in April Of that year, the highest
raise since '57. The levee at this city
is flooded, as are also the broad low
lands on the Iowa side of the river. 1t
is vast expanse of water and ice, from
two to three miles wide in many places.
The main current, which is about FIVE
miles an hour, runs against long,
stone riprap, built to protect the Om-
aha levee, reaching north from the
Union Pacific bridge about two miles,
and on this levee are numerous railroad
tracks, several extensive lumber yards,
smelling works, Union Pacific shops,
and pumphouse and reservoir being
built for the Omaha water works. The
smelling works have been shut down
for several days. To-day there are two
streams Of surface water running
through the works with quite a strong
current, but as yet doing no material
damage. The works are well protected
by riprap of their own, made out Of
Stag, which is much heavier than stone.
This riprap has been building.for sev-
eral years, all the Stag from the works
being used for this purpose. The ice
is grinding hard against it, but SO far
it has resisted all attacks. This morn
ing the government riprap, about 800
feet north of the smelling works, gave
way. owing. to the accumulation of a
lake of water on the inside, which
broke into the river, and in few
hours washed out fifty feet. The lake
is about.two feet higher than the river,
and the current through this opening
rnshes down with Irresistible force.
ihis afternoon, three Union Pacific
.eamsters named Thaddeus Wren, NJ.
Cunningham and Nicholas keenan,. who
mad Deen rescuing several parties from
submerged houses, near the Union Pa
cific shops, attempted to cross this cur-
rent In their boat some distance from
the mouth. They were warned to oo
back by General Superintendent Clark
and Assistant General Manager Kim
ball, of the Union Pacific, who. with
other gentlemen, were examining a
break on the levee, but suddenly thew
were swept by the current towards the
opening in the riprap, and becoming
excited, jumped out, supposing that as
the lake was shallow, they could re-
tain their foothold, but the current
was 80 strong that 1t carried them
through into the river of ice, Wren
grabbed hold Of the boat, which was
showed up on the ice, and he 4 was
pounded almost to death by chunks Of
Ice. General Superintendent Clark
grabbed pole, stepped on, cake OF