The Topeka state journal., 1903-05-27
RIVER ON RAMPAGE.
1t Is Rapidly Nearing the Dam
ger Point.

The Kaw river is on a rampage again.
Although ten inches lower than when
at its highest d year ago, it showed no
signs of receding at noon today. This
gauge registers 14.5 above the low
water mark The reason the gauge
so announces is because 14.5 is the last
number at the tOo of the stick which
is lust visible The city railway COM
ing any great amount of drift wood
from lodging against the car bridge,
and the structure is in no danger There
is not as much drift wood as tssnre.
was last year because that flood cleared
it out of the timber along the banks.
The houses along the shore in North
Topeka haven't much yard space, and
some os the cellars would make excel
lent aquariums. The Little Russia"
settlement is getting its annual bath.
but none of the residents have beea
compelled to swim out. Hen houses
and pig sites are invaded at some points
but have not been swept away.
The sand dipping machines have quit
work as the engine rooms are flooded,
and the one in the city park can be
reached only in a boat or by wadine
Some North Topeka folks are building
a house boat in anticipation of what
may come later. Several garden plots
down near the Santa F'e bridge are sub
merged, and a cornfield near the Sar~
dou bridge approach is getting more
than its share of water
During the morning the water rose
about inches The river is going up
a t the rate of about 212 inches ar.
hour.
Manager ]. NJ. Patten is personally
experimenting the work of clearing
drift from the street railway bridge.
Mr.. Patten said this morning that he
believes the river will go higher than
it did last wear It has only about tea
inches more to go to reach last year =
record. which was higher than anything
since 1888.
A big mass of drift wood has lodged
about midway of the bridge. but unless
the drift comes down faster than it has
been coming this morning. it will prob
ably have no serious results The
weight of the drift is against new piles
driven last spring.
The level of the bridge is being taken
with transit instruments at frequent in.
tervals. This is so that the company
may detect the first evidence of sink
ing. and stop traffic IN the bridge.
The chief danger from drift is that it
forces the current of the river against
the sand on the bottom, and washes it
out from around the piles. If this con-
tinues long enough. the piles viii be
washed loose and viii swing out side
ways with the current.
I'VE have wasted about 500 pounds of
dynamite" said Mr.. Patten this morn
ing in years past trying to blow up
the jams of driftwood. It has never
proved a success. It looks as though it
would be easy to blow out a jam with
dynamite, but you might about as well
stand on the bank and whistle
.'One time we had 4 bad jam. and a
Union Pacific railway man who claim
ed to be an expert dynamiter offered to
blow it out inside Of two hours. I Of
fered him all the men he wanted and SO
if he would do it. He drilled holes in
lot of logs in the jam, put in ten dyna
mite cartridges. and exploded them with
a battery. It threw a lot of water and
brush into the air. and that was all.
Another time, we had another expert
who said he could break the Jam. He
fastened 25 sticks of dynamite to
board, and then worked the board down
into the midst of the mass Of logs and
brush. When the stuff was exploded it
threw water 100 feet into the air. but
didn't hurt the jam very seriously.
One year, as most everyone Will re-
member, we had a jam which began at
the south bank of the river. extended
half way across and reached clear UP
past the mouth of the sewer. II took
us three weeks constant work to dis
lodge that jam. We did the heaviest
part of the work with a capstan located
on the shore. It was necessary to pull
out some of those logs. and drag them
along the bank to the river below the
jam"