Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1896-12-05
THE RIVER CH0KED UP
MILES OF ICE FORM a MAMMOTH
DAM IN THE CHIPPEWA.
Towns Flooded. Merchants Driven
Out and People the Low
land Forced to Flee.

Chippewa Fails Wis, Dec. 1.-This has
been a day of excitement and anxiety
ana tonight finds the inhabitants Of this
little village in a state bordering en- 4
panic The worst of the situation is The
knowledge Of the impending danger ard
of the fact that they are utterly helpless
10 stay or avert it, Those whose houses
have been flooded have removed much of
their household goods and belongings to
higher ground and are huldled together
in the school houses and other vacant
buildings. out of the path Of the torrent
that is sweeping down several Of the main
streets.
All hope Of breaking the gorge and thus
allowing the pent-up waters to gradually
subside is now abandoned. All efforts to-
day were directed to removing household
goods and merchandise out Of reach cf
the flood. Every team in the city has
been engaged in this work. Every resident
and business firm Of River street have
moved out.
The Chippewa Lumber and Boom Com
pany.s mill and yard are under water
and all hope has vanished of saving the
entire business portion of the place from
being submerged, and the water vii! soon
reach the courthouse, eight blocks from
the river
A report from Little Falls was brought
in this morning that another gorge was
formed 80 miles above here and This
greatly added to the alarm, as in case it
should break nothing could save the city
from being swept away.
Reports of a very serious nature came
from down the river The country every
1-oa i- l,J
grow in extent. 1t is now over five miles
long. 1t completely dams the river. and
this is what is causing the rapid rise cf
the ryer here. The heavy rains Of last
week here We're followed by a sudden
freeze, which suddenly massed the float
ing ice in the Chippewa, and the swiftly
running current continually added to it |
until it reached its present gigantic pro-
portions. Below here the river is falling |
There is no flood at Eau Claire. but his |
fact is causing the people of that place |
much uneastness, as it indicates the |
water is being piled up as by dam above |
them. The ice pack at Badger Mills. half |
way between Eau Claire ana Chippa va |
Falls. is growing in extent, and evary- |
thing seems to Indicate that the river is |
choking up.
Business Houses Deserted.
at = o'clock tonight every business |
house on Cheering street and Bridge street |
from the river to Center street is de
serted and the contents Of the buildings
have been stored in unoccupied structures
i'll remote portions of the city where the |
floods can not reach them unless the en-
tire city is overwhelmed and swept away.
Ihe ChippaWa river shows no signs Of
abatement. 1t rose four feet today AMI
ing at the rate of two inches an hour.
The postottice is under three feet of water
ana the postmaster has moved the office |
seven blocks from its old locality. Ton
stores in south Spring street are under |
water. The Offices of the Herald and In |
dependent newspapers are flooded and pa
perS viii be issued from other buildings. |
AT the Flambeau form. 15 miles above
the city, another ice gorge has formed. |
The river has overt1owed its banks and |
inundated the country 20 miles on either
size. Domestic animals have perished b.
the score. Farms and farm houses are
flooded and the losses will reach into the
hundreds of thousands. These reports
are meagre and uncorroborated but it is
safe to estimate al least 5000 horses COWS
and hogs have met death in the flood.
Railroad officials who view the gorge
stated that there is not sufficient dyna
1nite obtainable to blast a channel for The
river through the frozen mass of snow,
logs and ice.