The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-12-29

The Ohio river presented an unusual
appearance yesterday. The cold weather
OF Wednesday night and yesterday
morning caused ice to form rapidly.
Some OF the cakes that passed down
stretched almost across the entire
stream at the public landing, and SER
iously impeded free navigation by the
packets, towboats and ferries. For two
hours during the morning the Charles.
ton, the Island ferry boat, did not run,
but in the afternoon she ran regularly
and negotiated the big ice fields with
success. The leo being very thin now.
the Charleston goes right through the
cakes, heriron protected hullpreVeuting
injury.
With the packets navigation Is very
difficult. The Iron Queen was reported
not to have passed East Liverpool yes
terday afternoon on her way to Pitts
burgh. She is scheduled to pass down
this morning for Cincinnati, but will
hardly be able to get here on time. the
Ben Hur passed down on time, aud on
her down trip does not fnd 1t very
difficult to make schedule time. It's
the up river boats that are having the
worst trouble just now.
All day yesterday the temperature
was pretty low, aud instead of the ice
thawing, as was hoped by the rivermen,
every hour added to the thickness OF
that already formed, aud more ice was
constantly being formed. To.night's
cold weather. it Is believed, will 50
thicken the floating ice that it will
probably cause an almost total suspen-
sion Of navigation on tbs upper OHIO.
Unless the snow now on the ground
Is allowed, by warm weather, to melt,
the river will be on stapdst!ll at the
present rather low stage, and among the
probabilities is frozen river, providing
the cold weather continues. Although
food stories Just now would be en-
tirely out OF season, a good many people
are commenting on the similarity OF the
condition up to date as compared TO the
same period in the winter Of i9S5-Si,
Just previous to the famous flood oil
February, 1884, that inflicted such un-
told damage to property IN tho ONO
Valley. Then, as now. there was
heavy fall of snow late in December,
followed by spell OF very cold weather,
and in January more snow fell. In the
latter part OF the initial month OF 'S4
warm weather came on with rush all
at once, the consequence being that the
thirty inches OF snow that covered near.
" all the territory tributary to the Ohio
was converted into slush and water in a
remarkably short time, and naturally
found its way into the river. La Belle
Riyiere was unable to negotiate such
heavy oferings-aud the rest is familiar
to the old.timers who personally expe.
rienced the horrors OF the early days Of
February. Here's hoping that '95 will
show up with no such an experience.
And just now there is no reason TO sup.
pose that there will be a repetition, or
anything near it, OF the 81 disaster
Yesterday morning at al hour before
5 o'clock, Wilson KeIly's two naphtha
launches used in his ferry line between
the Island and the foot OF Twelfth
street together with the float broke
loose from their moorings on the Island
shore aud foated down the river. Tho
mishap was not discovered until .
o'clock and steps we're at once taken to
hunt up the missing boats. which are
worth about $1,000 each. IN the alter.
noon they we're discovered grounded at
the head OF Boggs island, just above
Bellaire, but were not brought to the
city on account OF the ice in the river.
They may not be brought back for
some time, as the ice in the river is
getting dangerous for such light craft.