The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-03

Chippewa Falls, Wis, Dec. 2.-This
has been moving day in Chippewa
Falls and along the Chippewa valley
down to the Mississippi. The lower
streets of the city are alive and noisy
with moving wagons. all descriptions
of drays, saw dust carts, farm wagons
and delivery outfits. Everything that
can be drafted into service has been set
at work, and the merchants of Spring
street are rapidly getting back TO
places of safety.
AT midnight the water forced back
from the Chippewa ice gorge was
creeping up the street towards the
Wisconsin Central station. This morn
ing at o'clock the water was two feet
above the tracks. An hour later, the
tracks We're abandoned. The water has
been steadily rising since, and at noon
Spring street, in its business section,
was a lake of ice and water. For sew
eral blocks further back. hotels and
business houses were chilly, the water
having eXtinguished all fires.
For ten miles below, the Chippewa
river is filed with ice, gorged well to
the bottom, obstructing the flow. and
back of it the water is constantly and
rapidly rising to the dam at the upper
Eau Claire, the water is receding. while
reports from above the dam indicate
that the water on the upper Chippewa,
Flambeau and other streams, will soon
go down.
There is a complete cessation of bust
ness here and hundreds have been 10
great inconvenience and loss-that is
all as yet. But the shadow of a great
calamity lies over the Chippewa valley.
&c of hat
gorge formed near here and that, when
it went out in the spring. it swept the
valley clean to the Mississippi There
were no houses then. but great trees
were cut off, the banks swept clean and
devastation followed. If the weather is
not just right from now till spring. his
tory may repeat itself-nOt in an I'M
inhabitated, wooded country. but in a
valley lined with farming homes and
rich. prosperous cities.
Eau Claire might be swept out of ex-
istence by such a flood and the loss
would be incalculable and terrible If
the weather should moderate now or
should the force of the back water be-
come so great as TO loosen or break the
jam of ice and logs packed almost in
extricab bly, between this city and Eau
Claire. the calamity would come now
With the mercury at zero. the suffer-
ing from the flood would be beyond
the power of imagination. Vast masses
of water are flowing over the upper
dam above the Weyerhauser mill at
the upper end of the city, bringing
down broken ice in large quantities.
Below the raids. at the dam, this wa
ter flows under the ice pack for miles.
showing against the bridges and back
ing into the town. The water is 20
feet above the low water mark. In
1884 it was % feet above. but that was
summer flood without obstruction.
The wagon bridge across the river to
the south of the town seems now al
most perceptibly in motion and may
be moved dangerously soon. Even
now its south approach is trembling.
Below ii is the Wisconsin Central
bridge, as yet safe. The entire pack
above the solid gorge has moved 1000
feet in the last "a hours. and ATTEMPTS
are being made to open a passage
through it by dynamite. In the face
of the fact that no high gorge is ap-
parent. the river being packed for
miles, the project can scarcely be sue
cessful. Telegrams are being received
here continually from parties who have
friends in the city, asking as to their
condition. 1t may be said there is no
danger to life here. nor will there be.
The city is in darkness tonight, the
gas plant having been long ago aban-
doned. The electric light plant at the
dam was last night forced 10 run I'M
der check, by reason of loss of power
by the lessened head. The Wisconsin
Central roped in its depot buildings to
hold them.
Late reports from Little Falls, where
the Weyerhausers have the biggest
dam on the Chippewa, are that the
dam there is likely to hold. If it
should not. or if the dam should he
opened probably great destruction will
result there.