Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-07-16
OUR JULY FRESHET.
Short and Sweet But It Does
Lots Of Damage, :
30 m After Boom Is Broken--Loss
Will Fe Many Thousands.
Millions Of Feet Of Logs Let Loose Bad
Jams al Places.

Waterville, July -(SpeciaD.-A re-
capitulation of the doings of the re-
cent sudden rise in the Kenncbec shows
that the damage is not so bad as at
first reported. The cause for the sud
den rise is considered more of cloud
burst than rain storm. The water
rose about feet in about 10 hours,
causing jams which formed in nearly
the same pitch of water and other light
jams to float down river. Had the logs
been singled out they would have
caused very little if any trouble.
The big jam at Madison. containing
about 80. 00o, 600 feet of lumber was the
first to start. 1t broke the boom and
split, leaving about one-half on the
boom piers, the floating portion landed
on the piers of the Somerset Railroad
bridge at Madison village and stopped.
but very few of the logs going down
river
The jam that formed at the Pishon'S
Ferry boom contained about l50oo. 900 feet
OF lumber and was made up from the
logs in the boom earlier in the day and
the scattering logs on Bloomfield graVelS
in Westons boom a Skowhegan. and 50
along up the river. When the Ferry boom
broke. about one-third of this jam re-
manned in the boom on the east side of
the river behind the island, which forms
the bulwark of the strength of the boom
The other logs proceeded down river
carrying with them the pocket booms OF
Lawrence, Nowhall IL Co.. which We're
strung along the shore. The above firm
estimates its loss ri about Sl5,0o0. unless
it he possibe to recover some logs from
their present location and haul them back
TO Shawmut on the snow next winter. IL
the firm is able to do this its loss will be
much smaller.
When the jam reached Fairfield il split
up on~the islands and bridges. dra wing
big crowds of people who thought the
bridges would 50, but the fact that the
islands broke up the jam was of great
consequence to the safety of the bridges.
ON these islands and bridges the jam
spent its force and left many logs so that
by The time il reached the Maine Central
Railroad bridge. just above the car shops
In this city, only about 9.000o0U of lumber
piled up there
At this point is hung the HolinGsworth
&, Whitney boom. the piers of which are
the strongest on the Kenncbec and extend
above the bridge. The water had taken
out n section Of the boom, Yesterday, and
the company lost about 100 sticks of
lumber.
"A small jam already remained in this
boom. being held by the bridge piers, and
81
formed. The logs crowded against the
boom piers hui do not lay hard against
tho piers of the bridge. on the boom
piers, however, the logs are piled high
and deep. making a bad jam to break,
bat by no means as bad a : ii might have
been had the whole of the jam that left
the Ferry boom arrived here.
Bert Clark, master driver of the lower
half of the kennebec. tells the Journal
that there is about 9000.000 of lumber in
this last jam. meaning the jam at the
railroad bridge Mr. Clark says that there
was about 1j.G00.@0 of lumber between
this point and the great jam at Madison
before the rise. and that the logs are now
all between here and Shawmut with the
exception of what was left at the Ferry
boom. this morning.
He also says that there is also about
%. 000. 600 of lumber above and between
Madison and the rear of the drive. which
is now at or near Scion. including the
big jam spoken of above. The Kenneboc
drive was getting along finely and would
have made a record for speed this year
but for this sudden rise. which has piled
the low logs high and the high logs higher
still.
Edward Ware, proprietor of the large
saw mill in WinSlow, estimates his loss
ut 100000 of lumber. This can be sold
down river. but Mr.. Ware will receive
only about 80 per cent. OF what it IS
worth. that his loss will be one-half
value of the lumber.