The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-12-09
THE ElCE-GORGED CHIPPEWA.
Streets and Houses F1ooded-People
Panic.Strlcken.

Panic.Strlcken.
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis, Dec. l.
This has been a day Of excitement and
anxiety, and tonight finds The inhabi-
tants of this little village in state
bordering on panic. The worst of the
situation is the knowledge of impend-
ing danger and of the fact that they
are utterly helpless to stay or avert it.
Those whose houses have been flooded
have removed their household goods
and belongings to higher grounds, and
are huddled together in the school
houses and other vacant buildings out
of the path Of the rrentthat 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 towards
removing household goods ana mer.
chacdlse out OF the reach OF the tiood.
Every team in the city has been en-
gagged in this work. Every resident
and business firm OF River street has
moved out. The Chippewa Lumber
and Boon Ccmpany's mill yards are
under water, and all hope has been
given up of saving the entire business
portion OF the place from being sub.
merged.
It was reported this morning that
another gorge was forming thirty
miles above here and this greatly added
to the alarm, as in easel should break
nothing could save the city from be-
ing swept. away.
Reports OF very serious nature
came from down the river Tneco
try everywhere is flooded. The gorge
continues to grow in extent. 1t is now
over five railes long aud in many
PLACES thirty to fifty feet high. It
com pletsly dams the river, and this is
Icausing the rapid rise OF the river here.
The heavy rains OF last week were fol-
lowed By a sudden freeze, which quick
ly massed the floating ice in the Chip
pewa and the swiftly running current
continually added to it until it reached
its present gigantic proportions.
Below here the Chippewa is falling.
There is no flood at Eau Claire, but
this fact is causing the people at that
place much uneasiness as it indicates
that the water is being piled up as by
3 dam above them.
The ice pack at Badger Mills, half
way between Eau Claire and Chippewa
Falls, is growingin extent and every
thing seems to indicate that the river
is choking up. Itis not believed that
anything serious can happen under
the present conditions for at least
day or two, and it is believed that
every one mas been sufficiently warned
and is in readiness to fly the moment
the crash comes.
The Chippewa River shows no sign
iof abatement tonight. It rose four
feet today, and at 9 o'clock this even
ing the waters are rising at the rate Of
two inches an hour.
Reports from various sections indi-
cate deplorable condition Of affairs.
AT, the FIambeau farm, Is miles above
this city, another ice gorge has formed.
The river has oSerflowed its banks
and inundated heleS6TSE[Ts2
miles on either side. Domestic an
mails have persisted By the score.
Farms and farm houses are flooded
and the losses will reach into the hun
dreds of thousands. These reports are
meagre and ,uncorrooorated, but it is
safe to estimate that at leas! 5000
horses, COWS and hogs have met death
in the food.
At Chippewa Falls the river is fully
three quarters of a mile wide and its
surface is covered with anchor-ice to
a depth varying from ten to thirty
feet. The most stubborn resistance Of
fered By the obstruction is in that por-
ton of the river between the wagon
bridge and the Central Railroad
bridge, about half a mile in length.
Today Mayor Lindley ordered an ex-
rlosion of 500 pounds of dynamite,
but after 800 pounds had been ex-
ploded the experiment was abandoned
as failure. Railroad officials who
viewed the gorge state that there is not
sufficient dynamite obtainable to blast
a channel for the river through the
frozen mass of snow, logs and ice.