Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-05-12
THE CITY'S PERIL.
A Desperate Fight With the King
of Streams.
Work on the Peoria Embankment'--
The Outlook Factories shutsDown
---More Trains stopped.

l
.Higb az the present water is. a six
inch rise RIGHT here would not cause the
alarm and peril that this wind is caus
inc " said Roadmaster breckenridge to al
ARaUs reporter, who addressed him OF
the r. l. & p, embankmcnt in the lower
end of town this morning. Roadmastel
Rreckenridoe has been working unceas'
ipply since Yesterday morning, directing
force of men and endeavoring to
strengthen the outer dyke and otherwise
protect the companys embankment from
the swells which the high winds are toss
inc upon il, The water is within few
inches of the top of the dyke and con
slant bracinp and repairing is necessary
In Withstand the pressure of the immense
volume of water. Upon the stability of
this embankment depends the safety of
three hundred families at least, residing
in that portion of the city lying between
Fifth and Seventh avenues, and MS fai
east as Ninth, and possibly Fourteenth
street.
When asked as to the prospects of
keeping the water is check, Mr.. Brecken-
ridge replied, "you can sec how the situa-
ton lies as well as l. So far we have
held our own and unless this wind plays
havoc with us, we will probably be able
to hold her steady at the present stage
On the inside of the embankment, Mayor
Blandng was personally experimenting
the construction of bikes not only to
strengthen the Peoria embankment, but
to keep the rising waters in the east
leads to Second street and hence into the
great slough which is largely populated.
The city has force of about thirty men
in charge of Daniel DAILY, who are work.
inp diligently under the mayors
direction and, unless as stated here
tofore the Peoria embankment yields
the CITY will not suffer to any sc.
rious extent The scene of the present
operations of the r.. |, & p. company
and the citv ia a short distance below the
abattor road. Men were employed there
all night.
The sight which greeted the ewes of
the ARGUS representative who visited the
locality this morning was ANYTHING but
encouraging. Stretching ont toward the
main channel of the. river was an i'm
mense sea of water roaring and tossing an.
orilv, while Fsrreps bone factory and res.
idence and other dwelling houses could
only he reached nv boats md the water
was then so rouoh that none but a skilled
bostman should venture across. The
Peoria comnanv has several hundred haps
of sand reodv for immediate use in filling |
mn should a hreak occur
The suddon rise rcsulting from vester- |
davis bre.l. of Tho hulk head of the nov.
eminent water power flooded the stove
works so that a suspension of operations
last evening became necessary. Had it
NOT been for This uncxnected rise. the
works could under the protection afford
ed by dams constructed about the facto.
nv, have continued running. In the
lower saw mill the water was within two
inches and a.half of the crate bars in the
boiler room this morning. when Mr..
Fred De.kmap conducted the scribe
.brouoh,-, A rise of that much will shut
down the main portion of the mill, and
he wafer is still advancing there. The
other factories in the lower end are still
The r. l. & p. tracks from the c.. b.
& @ denot west to Weyerhauser &
Oenkman's saw mills are floating. and at
he foot of Tenth street the rails are
,omnletely washed ont. The trains
therefore are not coming further into the
,ity than the lower saw mill at the west. ;
I'm terminus of the Moline g. Rock Isl>
md horse railway and the Peoria com,
,any has engaged a line of buses to do
he ansferrinu between the denot and
hat noipt The Milwaukee road is still {
led nm This side of Savanna and the G,
3. G. O is running only to Fulton.
The water rose only an inch last night
md is at the 49,. foot mark now, only
even inches below its height of $780,
The water has reached the top of the
vainscoting in the basement of the Cen s
raj PRESBYTERIAN church and the furnaces G
re in consequence SO out of order that il i
Will be impossible to heat the church to- +