Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-06-15


the first has Of September, companies, tha
attempt TO bridge the river on trestle-work,
incur great risk to their enterprise by food
The winter floods are hardly ever more thar
gone tiH siOag comes the June food, and
the tgo warm months Of summer are scarce
~ ended till the equinox food sends dowr
its torrents, and thus it is easily understood
that builders take no common risks whcr
they attempt TO bridge the river at any time
excepting in the time designated above
1t is an uncommon occurrence FOR q flood
Of any volume to take place in the months
of July and August and the fist halt OF
September. The builders this year have
been unfortunate enough to be caught by
the June flood at such a stage of the work
that : damage Of eight hundred dollars has
been inflicted upon them. A substantial
trestle-work had been put across 10 con-
meet the two spans that were not swept
away by the ice flood in February, and
though the river gradually rose higher all
last week no apprehension was felt until
last Thursday morning, when the manage
tnent deemed it prudent to put more weight
on the structure TO keep it down so that it
might not float away. Men were hastily
gathered and employed TO put stones ON the
trestle-woTk. The stones were windlassed
from the ice-breaker attached to the pier
nearest This side of the river. As rapidly
=. the stones were hOisted up unto the foot
way they were taken on :. .lumber trucks -
and run out and distributed along the foot
way that was built across the river on the
rrestlds. That work was Kept up until it
was thought that sufficient weight had been
put on TO keep the timbers securely down
TILL the river had become bank full. Slowly
the river kept on rising, and toward the
close of the day drift began to run, and
then the faces of the prorretors and all the
well-w.she-s u the concern took decided
ly earnest expression, for it was clearly to
Toe understood that the new structure could
not stand the pressure of the combined
force of drift and twelve feet of water run
ming down a grade of four feet to the mile.
During the earlier part Of the day Samuel
Wilson had been a conspicuous figure with
a long pike pole in hand, on the very outer
edge of the upper side Of the trestles, 10
drift that might catch on the tim
bers- Many predicted that he would lose
MS balance and faH into the stream and be
but be lived thi ough 1t all. To-
wards evening a large pine log came down
the river along the Miffiin side of the Island
As il neared the bridge the spectators he't
their breath in suspense. A deep silence
tell upon the crowd until the contact came.
The log struck a post, whirled around and
lodged sidewise against two posts.
brace or two were sprung Off from the tim
hers, and that was all the damage the struc-
ture received frcm the contact 'Good, for
the bridge to stand such a shOCk," was the
verdict of the spectators, and the hope OF all
grew stronger, that perhaps the concern
could stand stronger pressure than was
thought of. About that time some one
came along and SAID, 90 The river is clear Of
drift between this place and Lewlstown, but
between Lewistown and McVeytown there
are lots of heavy drift" A calculation
was speedily made, and the conclusion
reached that il would take till midnight for
the heavy drift to reach this place. and
hopes were expressed that the drift
might be 80 worked by the current TO
the side of the river that il would pass
under one or the other Of the spans that
had been left standing by the February
Hood. Meanwhile Mr.. Bachelor, the
foreman of the contractor, was busy
planning TO have the large log, mentioned
above, removed from its menacing position.
: amuel Wilson and George Smith under
took TO put a moose over the end of the
log, and their efforts TO do so
were successful. The running knot was got
over the end of the log, and the rope was
attached to the pulleys and the windlass mp
on the bridge, and an effort was made to
pull the log away; but there was not power
enough to remove it. By this time a great
crowd had collected on both the Patterson
and MifflintOwn sides Of the river, to wit
ness the efforts to remove the logs many |
ladies' were present. In such a crowd there |
was no lack" OF advice; every second |
man was full of it, and eager to tell just
what to do, but nothing that was offered |
seemed feasible, till Robert Parker suggest |
ed that a party be sent out in a fOotboat
with cross-cut saw, TO saw the log in two
pieces. 1t was inst the thing 10 do. Wm
Mccoy and John Bender volunteered to /
20 in a skitf to the log and saw it in two
pieces. The obstruction was approached /
from the upper side. The skitf was so
managed by rowing that it gently tioated |
down and was lodged so that operations
with the saw could be commenced. The |
rush Of water and the general surroundings |
30 impressed the mind of Bender that he
grasped hold of the leg of a trestle and ,
climbed up to the top. Mccoy stuck to the
boat and began to saw the log. When 1t
became apparent that Mccoy had the boat
SAFELY moored Moses Pannebaker slid down
the leg of the trestle 10 help TO saw. or
course they did not fall ont, as the two
lrishmen did that went out TO saw ice, as to
which one should go on the under side.
Pannebaker held the boat, and Mccoy did
the saving. The log was finally sawed
through, aud the two ends fioated away, and
everybody breathed freer. The crowd, or
the great bulk of it, dispersed. Wilson,
Smith, and James Parker kept up the watch
into the night. The drift ran thicker as
midnight approached. About II O'Clock
some heavy object over near the Patterson
SIDE struck trestle, and shook the whole
fabric When it was manifest that it would
not go that time Wilson and Smith ven
tured on tour OF observation. Parker re-