The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-01

alive and angry. For time the booms
at this point withheld the ice. AbouA
IL o'clock part Of 1t gave way, carry
ing logs and breaking all booms with
which it came in contact. The heavy
stone piers of the Smith Lumber COM
pany were ground into powder; logs
were broken off like pipe stems, and
chains snapped like mere threads. The
force of the moving Ice at this TINA
can hardly be apprehended. The great
est action of the ice was, however. to
come After the first break away all
was quiet for several hours. Exper;-
enced men viewed the Ice apprehen-
siVely, while others made the predfc-
ton that all danger was over. and that
the Ice would stay where it was and
gradually melt away, in the course Of a
few days.
1t was shortly after o'clock in the
afternoon. Not fifty people could have
been watching the river at the time.
The Ice was thickly formed on both
sides of the river but a narrow SWIFT
current was seen in the middle. It
carried pieces of ice with 1t under the
gorge and was seen no more The
current was seen to gradually widen
and larger pieces Of ice commenced to
move with It. ''She is going to breaA
up now," said an old river man. His
word came true. The breaking up was
in no way spontaneous. 1t was gradual,
as If done with great deliberation. But
1t was sure. The huge cakes Of ice
on both sides Of the river seemed to be-
come imbued with life. They crowded
each other and turned the logs on end.
and crushed into the remaining booans
The action of the ice near the Smith
mill was from both sides of the river
towards the center, although 1t seemed
to be attracted towards the east siGe
OF the river From the slow force that
could hardly be seen at first the Ice
gradually increased it's motion, and In
fifteen minutes after it commenced 70
loosen II was one angry turbulent
mass. The sight in its terribleneSs was
grand 1t was. as great a concentra-
tlon or energy as could be seen. Tne
power OF the onmoving mass was well
nigh unreasonable. Nothing short OF
the force of an earthquake can be COM
pared with the giant force that slowly
spent itself. Trees on the east side
OF the river were carried away. Piles
OF lumber were overturned and for
some time it was impossible to say
what damage might finally be done.
The crib of the North side pumping
ONdllOIi ISSSlNGO the luIl IOrc6 OF the
attack. The small house. on it was
overturned by the ice and carried
away, while the north side Of the crib
was seriously damaged To what ex-
tent is not yet known
When the ice had passed this point
all eyes were directed towards the 500
bridge, which crosses the river near
Fortleth avenue. At this point the
river before the breaking up was at
least ten feet below the bridge. In 81
few moments it rose to the top of the
piers, and it seemed certain that the
bridge must give way before the terrible
onslaught. Jams formed on both sides
OF the river, but the open trestle work
In the middle of the river allowed the,
ice to go through. If it had not been
for this, great loss to property would
nave been incurred. Not only would
the loss to property have been great,
but also that of life. AS there was NJ,
police protection Of any kind on the
scene, many careless people crowded
out on the bridge to better watch the
element. Had the bridges gone down
they would have gone with it. and once
in the seething mass, death would have
been the inevitable result The bridge,
however, stood the war waged on it
manfully although the north side of it
was badly bruised by logs which broke
through the wood work
1t took the ice about an hour to
pass, and when all was over the effects
of the maddened element could be seen.
The river, which at this point is filed
with piers, piles and booms of every
description was smooth as a lake.
All had been carried away, and great
damage thereby done to the different
saw mills and the Mississippi River
Boom company.
The Mississippi River Boom company
was the first to fear the fury of the
element. The company's main boom Is
Continued an Third Paxe.