Arizona republican., 1905-03-19
TRAFFIC DISTURBED AGAIN
Condition of Railroads, Bridges, Riv-
 CTS and Other Things.

Phoenix is again all but cut off from
 fever of unrest, which has become a chronic disorder with the Gila river was raging yesterday as high as at any
 previous time since the floods began.
 Reports from the river yesterday morn
 ing were that the stream where the
 railroad crosses it was approximately
 mile wide and that 15O feet of the
 railroad bridge was gone. It is likely
 that the situation by this time is even
 worse for the continuing high water
 has undoubtedly done some further
 damage. A later report said that there
 were two breaks in the bridge each of
 which appeared to be about 25O feet
 long and that other parts of it were out O' line.
 There was of course no train in or out between here and Maricopa yes terday. The injury to the bridge oc-
 cured during the night, or at least be-
 fore the train from Maricopa reached the river and this break therefore catches the coaches on the other side
 There Is no prediction offered as to. when traffic will be resumed for even a guess at it would be purely specuIa- tive until the river falls. The situa- ton this year is so unprecedented there is little to judge by and nothing to do but wait
 The Santa Fe Prescott & Phoenix also experienced some further trouble but is now open again although the train schedules were all disarranged yesterday The train that left here yesterday morning had to return again for breakfast by reason of a slight in jury to the bridge over New river about twenty miles northwest of here The train was promptly stopped by the bridge watchman who is stationed there for no other purpose than to see that everything is in order, or give the warning in the event it is not. Sinii- lar watchmen are kept at all the places ot possible danger and when trouble is expected the trains are only run in the daytime, hence passengers exper- fence no nervousness, or if they do it i is entirely without cause. The injury was quickly repaired and at 2:3Ol o'clock in the afternoon the train left again. A few of the passengers how ever decided to remain in Phoenix for a day or two longer. not knowing what conditions they might run into on the main line.
 There was no mail yesterday from either the south or the north, except that arriving the night before and de- iiveTed yesterday morning nor will there be until the train leaving yes terday afternoon reaches Ash Fork and returns This mornings train will leave on time.
 The Western Union Wire across the river at the Gila bridge, also went to the land Of nowhere as did the long distance telephone wire to Tucson which crosses the river at Florence and which the Western Union has here tofore used as a telegraph wire when its own lines were down. That corpor- ation therefore was not in the running here yesterday. The Postal company was fortunate in that it's traffic was uninterrupted except that it's wires were burdened with a double load of business on account of it's competitors disability.
 The hotels are all pretty well filled, in fact were quite full until yesterdays Santa F'e train left which made a few good openings for satisfactory guests The hotel people though are scarcely pleased at the situation any more than other people, for while they have some thing Of cinch on the guests who are here and can't get away. there are no new ones corning to take the places of those who desert the hotels for lodging houses or private quarters.
 Salt river continued to parade in it's most swelled up condition all day yes terday though it was falling a little last evening. Friday night its roar could be heard On Washington street, sounding almost like a railroad train and yesterday it could be plainly heard part of the day. The roar however de- Perds more on the state of the atmos- phere than on the quantity of water. Last night at , o'clock there was six feet of water passing over the Arizona canal dam on Salt river and at s 1 o'clock last evening it had fallen to 5.S