Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-02-06
! SENT ADR|FT.
Ice Plays Havoc With Crafts Along
Shore.
| SKIFF-LOAD OF NITRO-GLYC-
ERNIE CARRIED AWAY BY THE
ICE-NOT YET HEARD FROM.
NUMBERLESS OTHER CRAFT
CARRIED AWAY-THE WHARF
BOAT HAS A CLOSE CALL.

The heavy ice which started to pass
this point at neon yesterday, played
havoc all along the river. Up until
noon the ice was very light The riv-
ermen, however, had sufficient warn
ing. Capt. Knox, of the keystone
State. which left this point for Pitts
burg at noon, telephoned from the lat
ter point that he had encountered some
heavy ice on the way up, which was
tearing loose and sending adrift all
manner Of craft that were not safely
secured. He also said that the ice was
running out of the Allegheny, as that
stream had opened up as far as Free
port, twenty miles from the mouth.
The Monongahela was still closed.
Upon receiving this intelligence
Capt. Crockard and his men immedi-
ately began to get out more lines.
There were two 21a-inch hemp lines
and chain on the bow of the wharf
boat. Two more 2h-inch lines were
also put out from the bow. The work
was completed none too soon, for had
they been twenty minutes or a half
hour later the boat surely would have
been carried away
two new lines had been put out a
large cake of ice, stretching from bank
to bank. came down the river It
broke on the steel bridge pier and
half of the cake was thrown directly
over against the head OF the wharf
boat. All the men on board held their
breath as they watched the lines give
and snap. The first to go was the
chain, one link Of which was thrown
all the way up the wharf. 1t was fol-
lowed by two of the hemp lines, which
one by one slowly gave and parted.
One of the two remaining lines was
stretched out and sprung so as to be
of no further USE The biggest crush
of the ice had passed by this time, and
the one sound line remaining held
firm, although it was stretched taut.
If the wharfboat had been carried away
it would have taken the steamer Lex
ingtOn with it.
A telegram was received at this point
yesterday from Mingo Junction, which
read as follows:
'Wharfboat, Wheeling:
'Skiff load of nitro-glycerine afloat.
Warn steamboats,.
ACME lOhHEDO w.
1t is evident from the above tele-
gram that the skiff was carried away
early in the morning and passed this
point some time before or about day
light. Luckily there are no boats out
on account Of the ice Nevertheless
the same message was forwarded to all
points below for there is no telling
how far the skiff will go before it is
caught
Two barges of steel rails, which had
been recovered from the sunken
wrecks at Merriman were sent adrift
by the ice. Up to late hour no one
of the craft had been heard from.
The water is coming up pretty rap
idly About eight o'clock yesterday
morning there was feet in the chan
mel: at midnight the marks showed
Is feet 2 inches and still rising. Dur
ing this period the river came up on
an average of six inches an hour AS
colder weather has been predicted it
is pretty sure thing that there is very
little danger of a flood.
The Ben Hur will be down tonight
from Pittsburg, where she has been
laid up, to leave for Parkersburg at 8
o'clock. The Keystone State will leave
tomorrow morning for Cincinnati at
8 o'clock.
Nothing has been heard from any
of the packets. The Leroy may be up
to-day, however.