Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1881-02-14
THE ssSQUEMANNA G0R6K
DaRaxe done NJ Pert ReDeSis by
the KrenkiaR aSd Dloekadtng Of
tho Iee-Fislds.

tho hee-Fi0idS.
special esrrespondense Of the Republican.
Port Deposit, Nd, Feb. .l4-Port De-
posit's annual scare has come and the
broken lee in the lower SusquehRDna
is sprea ling terror upon all sides.
twice within the last twenty four
hours has the town been Inundated,
with great loss, and the situation here
this morning Is possibly more critical
than at any other point upon the
river.
The first break IN the ioe took plsoe
early Saturday morning. About Two
O'Clock the anxious inhabitants who
throngsd the streets, expecting the
flood which had broken through Nc
Calls Ferry, eighteen miles above,
heard the cracking Of the thick ics out
Ia the river. They b:eathed q silent
prayer as the huge floss began to move
down the river with noise like dis
tsnt artillery. Bat this did not last
long, The los gorged compaotly in the
channels of the river running on either
sils of Watson's Island three miles be-
lew and just above the P, ". " B.
bridge at Psrryville. Immediately at
Ter this the water began TO rise. AS
the river WAS much swollen, aud the
gorging Of the ice had oloisd all outlets
1t was not long before the lover part OF
the tO~n was completely under water.
Ia many instances it reached to second
story windows. Now this was bad
enough, to be sure, but the danger to
life ana property from the water was
not a circumstance to what followed
whaI the food was At its highth. The
huge broken ioe cakes came floating
irresistable fores, carrying destruction
lou all sides. Tbs streets Of the town
are still covered with tLsso cakes, same
Of them are % feet square, and | saw
one measured aud found TO b. % incAes
Thick.
! When this terrible onslaught Of the
elements was at its height. the watel
began to recsds. 1t is fortunA.S f0l
the town that it did sOr because hal
4 few feet mors OF water risen much o
the place would have been hoateC
away. Tho gorge in the Hsrfold chan
mel at the island had broken snd til,
100 ran out and the water rapidly wen
down, The damage done by this fir,
inuudation cannot be estimated. Mrs
Wier's house, near Rock Run, was de
moi.shed Half q dozen other dwel
ilirG5 were partly demolished tn
hav house of tia Baltimore Steam ToV
Company vas crushed in like an eEl
she'll. James A. Davis K Company
ware house had the corner knookel
O1t. Part Of the e0ntsut5 Of the lum
Der yGri Of tho same firm WAS scattera
from hers TO usvre DaGrsce. 5. Row
lands lumber yard was damaged. Th
little ferry boat "BsniDga" was force
) nigh up on the wharf 10y the 100 an
narrowly escaped destruction,
rode half way up 10 this place OIL
the branch road OF the p, W. Il B., OF
SGurIay-the cars could only run hal
way because tho los on the rest Of th
track was piled higher than the smok
stack OF tho locomotive. Huge cake
Of ice, hall as large a5 lumber raft
and from twenty to twenty-five inChe
, thick hat bs9n forced out Of the rive
and over the track. The road runs a
along the channel cas-. OfWatson'
; island The gorge hers is unbroke
, still aud the ice is piled in places thir
, ty and forty feet high. The Columbi
; and Port Deposit road, north of ia
town, is also covered with ice. 1t vii
REQ uire several days to clear the track
> 80 that travel can b. resumed.
The ioe ran rapidly down the rive
after the breaking Of Saturday morn
ing's gorge, and until evening ths wa
ter showed no sign Of rising. AbOu
= nigbtfall the telegraph brought wo-C
/. from peIryville thai ths iSe was NOV
ing very SlO Wy over Penny Shoals, a
! the head of tho Chesapeake Bay. Th
5 shoals, in years past, have been tn
3 cause OF most OF the danger at Por
3 Deposit, As the lee gorges here, back
!, up aud makes the water rise. Tn
e night wore away without any chang
. until between midnight and l o'clock
! When the ice in front Of the town cam
. to stand still. Then the people knet
it had gosged on the treacherous Penn
: Shoals. Immediately the water com
a menced to rise. Il rose twenty feet il
! as many minutes, and was more sud
. den than the food of Saturday, as vel
l.. as Of greater volume.
Y Many people had to fly for thei
Q lives, barely escaping, and many wer
It taken from second story windows i,
. boats. The gorge soon kroke, however
t and the water went down as rapidly a
= it rose.
r On this occasion the damage wa
8 greater than that Of Saturday morning
Since then the ice has been passin
# down freely, and TO change has take
r place in the situation.
All day yesterday the town was full
It of visitors. An excursion was rul
/. down from Columbia, and many Will
] mingtonians wers here. II. s, 8,