The herald., 1896-12-02
BL|ZZARDS CEASE
AND FLOODS BEGIN
Towns Threatened With
Destruction
The PEOPLE IRE PANIC STRICKEN
And Utterly Helpless to Avert
the Danger
TWO TOWNS IN WISCONSIN
Seem Almost Certain to Be Entirely
Swept Away
TWO TOWNS IN WISCONSIN
Seem Almost Certain to Be Entirely
Swept Away
lamates Of Flooded Homes iuddled Together
n Scko)l Houses
Miles Of Piled-up Ice Dams the Chip
pewa River, and When the
Gorge Breaks the Towns
Will Surely Go.
A.sociated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis, Dec. l.
This has been a day of excitement and
anxiety, and tonight finds the inhabit-
ants Of this little village n state bor-
dering on panic The worst of the sit
uation is the knowledge Of impend-
ing danger and the fact that they are
utterly helpless to stay or avert it.
Those whose houses have been flooded
have removed much Of their household
goods and belongings to higher ground
and are huddled together in the school
houses and other vacant buildings, out
Of the path Of the torrent that is sweep
ing 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 today were directed to re-
moving household goods and merchan-
disc out Of the reach Of the flood
Every team in the city has been en-
gagged in this work. Every residence
and business firm on River street has
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 Will
soon. reach the court house, eight
Blocks from the river.
A report from Little Falls was brought
in this morning that another gorge was
formed thirty miles above here, and
this greatly added to the alarm. as in
case 1t should break nothing could save
the city from being swept away. Re-
ports of very serious nature come
from down the river. The country
everywhere is flooded.
The gorge continues to grow in extent.
It Is now over five miles long, and in
many places thirty to fifty feet high.
It completely dams the river, and this
is what is causing the rapid rise of the
river here. The heavy rains of last
week were followed by a sudden freeze,
which suddenly massed the floating ice
In the Chippewa, but the swiftly rum
ming current continually added to 1t,
until 1t reached it's present gigantic pro-
portions. Below here the Chippewa is
falling. There is no flood at Eau
Claire, but this fact is causing the peo-
pie at that place much uneasiness, as
1t indicates that the water is being piled
up as by dam above them. The ice
pack at Badger Mills, half way between
Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. is
growing in extent, and everything
gradually extended up the Chippewa
seems to indicate that the rver Is chok-
ing up.
The business portion of Chippewa
Falls is abandoned tonight and the flood
may sweep away many of the buildings
without damaging scarcely a dollars
worth Of merchandise and other valua-
BILE goods that were stored there until
today. Business men decided not to
take chances with the flood that threat
ened to sweep their possessions from
them, and at an early hour today began
the removal Of their stocks.
At o'clock tonight every business
house on Spring street and Bridge street
serted, and the contents of buildings
have been stored in unoccupied struc-
lures in remote portions Of the city,
where the floods cannot reach them
unless the entire city is overwhelmed
and swept away. The Chippewa river
shows no signs of abatement. 1t rose
four feet today, and at o'clock this even
ing the water is rising at the rate of two
inches an hour. The postoffice is under
three feet Of water and Postmaster Nc
Call has moved the office seven blocks
from Its old location.
At Chippewa Falls the river is fully
three-quarters Of a mile wide and its
surface Ii covered with an inch Of ice.
The most stubborn resistance offered by
the obstruction is in that portion of the
river between the wagon bridge and
the Central railroad bridge. about half
a mile in length. Today Mayor Lindley
ordered an explosion of 500 pounds of
dynamite, but after 300 pounds had
been exploded the experiment was aban-
doned as failure.
Railroad officials who viewed the gorge
stated that there Is not t'sufflcient dyna-
mite obtainable to blast a channel for
the river through the frozen mass of
snow, logs and ice. The river has risen
slowly up to o'clock to night.
TROUBLE EXPECTED
ST. PAUL, Mimi, Dec. 1.-The Pio-
neer-Press special from Pepin, Wis.
says: The Mississippi river is gorged
for =. distance OF ten miles below Lake
Pepin. A crew of men are in the bot
toms tonight to help rush the stock and
Deople out In case the sorges above let