Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-04-08
Calais Schooner Hyena Wrecked Near
Gloucester 1.-Two Men Drowned -
The Wenda|I burpee Lost
on Cape Elizabeth
Three Perish.
THE STORM IN MAINE.

Watervillc, Me. April 1.-(SpeciaD.-
And still it rains Why, a railroad
man said. today. that they were seri-
ously thinking of taking along a ferry
beat with every train, and it wasn't
so much of joke, either. 1t Looked.
tonight as if the very railroad iron
would have to be chained to prevent it
| from floating off. The great problem
was where to hitch the other end Of
| the chain Lots of housewives in The
city when they want pail of water
have only to open the cellar door and
dip it up. Up around the MessalonsSee
| the city water is washing some kitcnen
floors of it's own accord.
The water in the kennebcc and
smaller streams has been coming up
and w until it looked as if there Nas
no limit at all. The ice went out. Sat
urday forenoon. and the river is now
reported to be free from ice rom
Skowhcgan to the sea. 1t was said.
Saturday. that the ice was still firm
above Skowhegan. and that teams
| were still crossing in some places.
light. things looked dangerous in many
places. The ice held. however, until
Saturday forenoon and then went out
with n crash. That above the HollinSs-
worth & Whitney dam came down with
Il rush, and it looked as if there would
be some bridges missing in the after
noon.
| The ice fortunately did not remain
| ia mined in any one place very long, $"
| little damage was done. The piers OF
the new foot bridge stood the test dd-
mirably and were not budged hair $
breadth from their true line. 1t was
not the fault of the river although it
might have done worse. The ice was
piled up on the shore about the posts
of the toll house and struck the piers
with a smash. Their thin sharp noses
cut through it, however, and no Jam
was formed.
By nOon a channel had been cleared
all along the river to Fairfield. nnd
the ice was running freely and ha"m-
lessly by under the new bridge. Many
people went down during the day to
watch the effect and were well salts
fed. The danger was all over in few
ttouiS, anu tiitii NNti = oAiN ~ iN'N''N' =
sigh of relief.
Things were n bit livelicr mp along
the river than they were here during
the forenoon. The water backed up at
Shawmut. surrounding some of the
houses there so that the people got
out with difficulty. The ice was piled
high all along the shores. 1t was foot
or more in thickness and as blue as In
the middle of the winter. Huge "akes
were pushed well inland and in places
good sized trees near the water were
almost buried. The coves were all piled
full. with an open channel in the CEN
ter of the river.
1t was reported that the ferry boat
at Pishon's Ferry had been lost. but
it could not be confirmed ana was
doubtless only n rumor. The ice car
ried away the slip of the ice house IN
Fairfield, and did some small damage
along the shore. 1t piled up and jam
med in the canal so that the wooden
pulp mill bridge had to be chainct to
prevent its going out. The old wooden
bridge back of the Fairfield Journal
office had q hard tussle and looked as
if il would go at any moment during
the forenoon. 1t held like the veteran
that it is. and was in it's place, today.
The other bridges were not so severely
tested and came out all right. Some
of the houses along the river bank in
the lower, part of the town were sur
rounded. but the people were in no
great danger at any time.
The bridges here with the exception
of the foot bridge were not in much
danger. 1t was different with that as
IT is not built so solidly az the others
and was hardly completed when the
test came. The water was at its highest
,,oint at about II o'clock in the fore
noon and at that time there were about
feet on the Lockwood dam with II
feet of back water. 1t was Impossible
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