The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-12-04

tNb slNdll EIIlS tHu II uuy, III a. HvutN
built upon IN Island In the Chippewa
river. The ice had piled up so formlda-
bly, about the dwelling and seemed TO
threaten every minute to crush /; Ike
an egg shell. that they determined TO
abandon. It and make for the shore.
Barker strapped the younger girl 20 his
back. and Mrs. Barker did the same for
the boy. The older Girl then Braspcd her
fathers hand and tho little party ~.
out on their pCrllous Journey across
the mountainous gorge and made FOR the
shore.
They lcapcd from cake 20 cake ad-
vAHC!ng with considerable rapidlty untll
they reached point where the ice had
formed II seemingly impNsslble barrier.
Without hesitation they started TO clnn1-
ber up the slippery cmlacnCc, and when
about half way Up they slipped ana reel
ed back, but wcrc rescued by the iathGr
and the race went on. by this tine n
large crowd OF spectators had gathered
on the shore and were shouting cheers OF
ENCOURAGEMENT to the brave >ttlo fam
lily. After a desperate struggle they
finally reached the iirm Ice near The
shOrc. whcro the waiting spectators lent
their assistance anQ the little party was
In safety.
Late this afternoon tie water was s.lll
rising. II the water gets much higher
the electric plant will have 90 suspend
entirely and the darkness VIII be total
tonight. The weather IS cold. but there
nrc Indications OF a storm and II rain or
wet SHOWS come there will be frlEhtful
statc OF anaIrs, as large amount Of
valuable goods and merchandise are cN-
posed TO the elements. The Wisconsin
Central passenger station has been an
ChOred with strong cables, but 5! the
Cufrnt grows much stronger 1t Will be
carried away, together with the railroad
tracks. The roads upper bridge is st!ll
above the Hood. but tne lower bridge Is
almost covered with ice and any sud
den movement OF the water Will carry /:
away.
The wagon bridge below the dam Is in
danger and may so nt ANY minute. The
icc is now piled up against the brIdSe
10 the - foot mark. a point never before
touched In the history OF the city.
One OF the great uncertainties !S the
why the water rises and falls. 1t Will
drop 700. OF more and the people begin
10 hope for relief from their fears and
then the water rises faster than before
and their fears are rcdOublcd. The Wa
ter seems 70 ind occasional crev!Ccs In
the ice and the falling OF these lowers
tho water. which Immediately rises
agnln afterwards. In this way the level
was lowered twelve inches during the
night and chen climbed five inches In
two early morning hours. Col. W. \.
Jones. u. s. A.. st. Paul, in charge OF the
government engineering work IN this
section. arrived during the night and
will confer with the authorities In re-
gard TO another attempt 10 break the
ice dam here.
At half past o'clock this nornig the
water had again risen TO the highest fig
ure OF yesterday md WAS still rising
slowly.
There Is still n good dcnl Of moving
from the houses to-day. as the water is
rising rapidly. Yesterday however. saw
the most OF the exodus and the people
to-day generally watched tho rising WA
ter and wondered when II would stop.
4 Late Report.
Tho river Is failing ut the rate OF n
foot per day. and there Is no reason
whatever for apprehension" said Col.
y. W. Jones, l.. $. ~. TO an Associated
Press representative this afternoon af-
ter he had put IN busy day irvcstcat-
Ing the situation along the Chippewa
river. Col Jones. who Is in charge OF
the government engineering works in
Inc llOIlUWtSt. ltl DtFtl GtllGN ltlt "
the local authorities. who sought expert
advice IN what seemed like IN extremity
and a critical condition. lie continued:
The situation OF the river at Eau
Claire md at Chippewa Falls Is prac;i-
Cally the same. and the stage OF wafer
Rt Eau Claire Is really the stage OK the
river, as the food here Is simply caused
by the back water. Most OF the water IL
able 10 get away under the Ice and the
hackwntcr represents the amount OF
water that IS unable TO get away. As
the stage OF the river goes down more
OF this water will flow away under the
Ice and the food here Will soon be over.
The gorge extends about IS miles and
Is made up largely or anchor ice. which
IL q sort OF slush packed closely but not
20 hard rs ordinary Ice. Under this the
river IL running In somewhat crampCd
quarters. and. as the water falls more.
the ice will drop down into the river bed
where II Is likely 10 stay until spring.
the water st!ll running along under the
mass OF ice. II is very peculiar cir
CumRtanCc that there should be such n
frost In conjunction with n food. but
there would have been a food anyway.
for you know VIC have had n series
OF rainfall Rbout Thanksgiving time.
and the flood was sure to come. / can
soc no cause for further fear Of damage
hero
Colonel Jones will visit Emu Claire ana
look into the situation further tO-mor-
row, but this expresses his idea of the
situation here along the river. The pco-
pie OF Chippewa valley will undoubtedly
feel much relieved over such an opnlon
from such an authority and they GER
tnInly need TO he relieved. for sort Of
Generalization has seized the business
men In Chippewa Falls. which does not
seem warranted by the actual facts OF
In" case.
Bat aside from tho LOGS OF business OF
those IN tho flooded district and property
loss In The same location, the loss I'm the
city win not he great. The big mill Of
the Chippewa logging and boom Cumpa-
ny is IN n serious position md any sud-
den break OF the Ice would seriously on.
danger IT. even though there were n
hrcnll Formed In the gorge several miles
Hbny" At tile lower end OF the gorge
near Fan Claire Is banked n mass OF
lnEH containing twenty million feet Of
lumber. nnh this large amount Il is dc.
sired 10 sRvc by holding 1t right where I,
| ls now. The Ice and Hoods have not on
| crOa Chcd on tho banks OF the river M
| much ms feared and the damage IL much
| lcsr In IN" country than had nj frs, bcon
| Thought
The water hnH hccn just about 25 rcct
nll Afternoon, hut since In general 1t lg
rnlIinv auh l7rE fcnr Ia felt IN regard a.
| changes In III" r;nC" Of water here, Il
hnn been hNowluT ;p-rITht. the ground
l'rlng covered hut The cold weather CON
,irGCa With lIttIc chGugc.
i"hsrs by storm.
NrTnN
department dispatches indicate heavy