The sun., 1884-02-17
As rcs aonar on TIE MyssrssrrSn


Its progress Down tho River Fnst -. Louis
From ne S, Louis RspIbt,oan.
The most remarkable leo gorge that has
formed in tho Misst-sivpt River for many
years. extending from the bridge several mih,s
north to tho Chain oi Rocks. with an average
ness Of ten feet BEGAN 10 move yesterday aitcr,
noon hetwoen and O'Clock. rms vast sea ot
ss Grh var rh az he sys
Threatened to destroy everything with which 1t
came IL Gon,aS. ,stesboa, Mhisss from
dozen tugs as they sped rapidly from shore to
s low the ~ Bridge, ats sErieSssS si" iss"niieals; s
tho river. rocked lise vessels in n storm larry
bonts whirlad round and round 10 keep from
sara hs ana sy ess ssss Msse sS
siSIe River men were stearIalIS iriss.ensd;
monster they Ind bcen dreadlng 80 long clos
ing IN on them with q so sound II, , as though e we're
to its irresistibic attack.
1t looked for a. time as though doomsday
wSo who's stood 3 near | tho north railing Of the upper
roadway Of tho bridge and looked northward
Sssr n sss sorrs sana bas
and shallow places in tho river the fold that
pressed aesinst them from above ' converted un..i
tweive TIVE ' feet i protrnd!ns above the S gorge hun:
they cyl naturally rally CAUSED Il 10 assume q shape
similar to that of a frozen ocean. Vast cakes
% ss p, y 's SS n
tance, they resembled miniature iccberRs.
In the course Of twenty minutes the gorge;
prsducns 4 cTa;hins noise 8 i auiysrsd from
y sssn'a
%Ra boats tea ae
between Vine street and Chouteau avenue:
S U q siS Tssh sHCaas SAs s
huII. and cause her hold % ~ WIN water. ,Hsd
sunk: sun and. IN all probability would havo broken
struck. at ~ O'Clock in the afternoon, enabled
tho tugs to take barges from tho ST; Louis
before all the baress s' could be taken to piaees
Of safety the whistles again began to blow. CIV
S ees t the hnd n SSTs ts
afternoon. when the leo moved about fifty feet.
finally settling t. all annearancSs ilrmSr nr th9n N
in mi tic river between the arsenal arsenal and Washing
I Wh hs U fe %
this condition large field of ice. six or seven
acres. broke loose from tue bridge gorge and
moved slowly down stream. lodging lnaily in
4 large force OF men we're employed oil night
along The river front to watch tho wharf boats
and prevent them from being forced from the
seen running up and down the leveo all night
tightening the chains and roMnes M with which VI the
From the Post Disratch.
Tho boats in the harbor were emancipated
about Q o'clock last night. The final move Of
ths sd at Ss Of
Ms ho the above and Sed
inc inn1 " In far mr.
iiko q lot Of steam iunatissi ssio anarte!5, ],
tore itseif free from lis its shore bindings. and
/ followed the section Just described. Its motion
ter had received great accessions. owing to
the breaking OF gorses further up tho river
at ss ba the a %
ume of water back Of it was too great to be re-
sisted. and it again started ahend. The water
sisHds @ in ss seek
under m the gorge at its rear real and forced Up tile
lee in like manner. as cyclone rolls UP u tin
The sudden lift and rush drove tho monster
leo cakes. some OF which had thickness OF
feet tba1 win Efe bdaa
or steamboat. tho strain, on the dozens Of
chains and cables was all that iron an, and hemI
grinding ngninst each other and against the
timbers of vessels was in tho ears oIl tho men
The ice took an obliuue course toward tho west
shore at Olive street. and thon turned and
lying at the Illinois shore. Tho latter caught
the full brunt of the rush and wns forced ur
into shallow water, where for n little while il
threatened to remain hard aground. The
Gurtside. Annie Parker and keiser forged t!eiI
way to he rescue. and. after Desperate tugging
succeeded in getting hcr GiJat inst as the
water which had been backing the gorge, began
to subside: Great excitement prevailed al
along the levoc. and crowds were attracted tC
the wnnrves. but the great darkness robbed the
scene of any claims to spocAculf fr beauty
For two hours the roaring and rack ing and
idly away. whic the water sank back to the
level it Ind held prior to the break. The steam
bont men uttered II great sigh OF relief rs they
lcnizrd that the worst was over. and that the
mischief was but triiing compared with wha
had brSn ANTICIPATED. Reports from MI dowr
the river wore worry gratifying. and by midnight
1t was known that the river WAS open TO Cairo