The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-12-04
NOT DROWNED YET
CHIPPEWA FALLS PEOPLE ARE E0T
GOING TO BE.

Colonel Jones, Of the Usitsd States Army,
Seems to Think He Knows What Hes
Talking Abont and He Bids the Terror
Stricken People Brace Up and Watch
tho Bxckwater Run Away Uader the
Ice-Situation Overstated. Generally
Story Of Another Day of Anxiety and
Moving Out.
Chippewa Falls, Wis, Dec. S.-The
river is falling at the rate of a foot per
day, and there is no reason whatever for
apprehension, said Colonel w. A. Jones.
II. s. A., to an Associated Press repre-
sentative this afternoon, after he had put
in busy day Investigating the situa-
ton along the Chippewa river. Colonel
Jones, who is in charge Of the govern
ment engineering works In the northwest
had ben called here by the local authori-
ties, who sought expert advice in what
seemed like an extremity and critical
situation. He continued
FLOWS UNDER THE ICE.
''The situation of the river at Eau
Claire and at Chippewa Falls is practice
ally the same, and the stage of water at
Eau Claire is really the stage of the river,
as the flood here is simply caused by the
backwater. Most of the water is able to
get away under the ice and the back
water represents the amount of water
that is unable to get away. AS the stage
OF the river goes down more of the water
will flow away under the ice and the
flood here will soon be over. The gorge
extends about eighteen miles and is made
up largely of anchor ice, which is sort
of slush packed closely but not so hard
as ordinary ice. Under this the river is
running in somewhat cramped quarters,
and as the water falls more the ice will
drop down into the river bed, where it Is
likely to stay until spring, the water still
running along under the mass of ice. We
seem TO be starting a regular old-fash-
Toned winter, so that there is every rea-
son to expect the continuance OF the ice
till spring, but there seems no reason TO
apprehend any danger. The course of the
river will be changed siisatly, but as
far as that goes, il is constantly chang
ing, anyway. II is very peculiar cir
cumstance that there should be such
frost in conjunction with food, but
there would have been q food here, any
way, for you know We had a very heavy
series of rainfalls about Thanksgiving
time and the food Was sure to come.
Ctii see tlO CduSc Luz tllGI lear OF udIIl-
age here"
NOT so BAD, AFTER ALL.
Colonel Jones will visit Eau Claire and
look into the situation further tomorrow.
The people of the Chippewa valley win
undoubtedly feel much relieved over
such an opinion from such authority, and
they certainly need to be relieved, for
sort of Generalization has seized on
many business men in Chippewa Falls
which does seem warranted by the actual
facts of the case. Aside from loss OF
business to those ir the flooded districts,
and property loss in the same location
the loss in the city will not be great The
big mill Of the Chippewa Logging ana
Boom company is In a serious position
and any sudden break of the ice would
seriously endanger it, even though there
was break in the gorge formed several
mills above.
Locking up and down the river from
the wagon bridge a mass Of white ice
can be seen, with here and there dark
clump of logs frozen in the gorge. A:
the lower end of the gorge, near Eau
Claire, is banked mass of logs contain
ing 20, 000.0 900 feet of lumber. The ice and
flood have not encroached on the banks
of the river so much as feared and the
damage is much less in the country than
was at first thought.
The water has been just about twenty
feet all afternoon. 1t has been showing
tonight, the ground being covered. but
the cold weather continues with little or
no change.