Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-03-13

Mr.. coustosk Tells Aboat the Great
I<psai ffk-Dd Ls~sos Ina Othcr Years.

what strikes one a. hei0g very
sigAlar Ia the preseAt condition 4 the
river here" said hon. G. {. Somstock
last evening. rs the fact that Il Is -
much higher above the dam proportion
steiy 10 below the dam. In all my
observation here 1 have noticed that the
water usually raises three feet below Ga
one above. In former years IN times Il
high water there was bat little fali. bat
| was down there this afternoon and
lind fail u three feet over the dam.
while up here towards the S.ildlefs
home II i about a. high as ever recol.
lect having seen IL. II there II a gorge
down be sox the city one would think Il
would hack il up below the dam IL any
where. | have noticed Il late years the
freedom with which the water seemed 10
pass out below as compared With for
merry. bat never found Il - much - as
now.
~Yes. we have lost more or less logs
here every spring. The loss IL the bar
rel company this morning Was no more
than might be expected / have win.
tered logs here and saved them, and
then again We have all lost a good many
when the ice went out I've always
found the safest place for steering logs
10 be along the east bank from above the
dam up 10 about Leonard street bridge
| put IN the first OF those old sloping
piers you may have noticed. and always
found them 10 be good protectors
against ice and log jams.
The worst time We ever had with the
river WAS July u. Issa. when 100000
feet of logs broke through the ID. & NJ
bridge. We only held about 100000
feet ~ them We had passed the usual
spring freshet. but there came on long
food VI rain and the entire mass got
wesi.sed together against the bridge They
piled in there solid 10 the bottom Of the
river and up 10 what Is now the upper
end ~ the fair ground and hung for
almost week. Finally the mass
started. two spans Of the bridge with it.
All the wagon bridges we're unframed.
but the G. 4 W. Nj. bridges both yielded
% the pressure and were swept out.
White 4 Friant's men stopped most IL
them at the big boom above Grand Ha-
ven By driving rows OF solid piling
across the channel. and good many
were strewed along the banks as the
water went down
Some 100000 feet were left on the
fats on the west side. above the ID. x
VI. bridge. / remember there were
100000 feet lying on 60-acre tract
just below where the gravel road now
Is liz cost us $1,000 10 put them back
in again. and / remember IL cost me
$1,000 TO get my logs that went down
back We had them loaded on cars at
Ferrysburg.
In the winter 81 - and '73 we lost
good many logs: think it was in Feb
rnary. We bad doomed large quantities
in the fall and a continued mid
winter thaw let the ice cut and carried
great many q our logs with il. | do not
remember any special disasters OF that
kind except those two. but floods were
common. We looked for them every
spring and generally lost some.
My first experience in that line was
just thirty nine years ago. Powers and
Ball. Harry Watrons. Ben Luce and my
self put the first boom in the river above
where the chair factory Is. We had
driven piles near the west side and
stretched booms across 10 stop the logs.
In the fall we left the thing az il was
and in the spring the whole thing went
out. leaving only few piles standing.
The ice OF last winter - the thickest
have seen IN many years and. as | said
before. don't think IL At all strange
that the barrel company lost a good
many logs. | think most Of thern will
be saved along the river. but il will cost
something 10 bring them back"