Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-08
BREAKING UP THE ICE
MORE EXPERIMENTS WITH GORGE
IN THE RIVER.
River Boats Having Trouble Making
Schedules, but Few Now Run
ming From Washington.

Engineer of Bridges W. J. Douglass late
this afternoon made a trip to the ice gorge
which has formed In the Potomac just
above the piers of the new highway bridge
for the purpose of experimenting with dy-
Mantle In breaking up the ice in the gorge
Engineer Douglass took with him two dan
gerous packages each containing fifty
pounds of dynamite with which he expect
ed to work havoc on the immense mass OF
ice.
The two charges of dynamite, each con-
tanning fifty pounds, will be placed about
three feet under the surface OF the Ice. ana
fired by means of electricity Inc Ices III
this gorge, it is stated. is about eight rect
thick being frozen to the bed of the river
that point.
Late yesterday afternoon Mr.. Douglass
furnished Commissioner mcfarland with
an estimate of the cost of breaking up the
ice in the Potomac by means of dynamite,
SO that a channel can be kept open. Mr..
Douglass estimates that he can open up
channel Seventy-five feet wide and four
miles long, through the ice at a cost of
81 500 The method proposed to be follow
ed III such work. he says. is to place five
pound charges OF dynamite at intervals OF
twenty-five feet and five feet below the
surface of the water. The work can be
done in about five days.
This work, it is stated. would not be I'M
dertaken until the necessity for it becomes
urgent. In case of a sudden thaw how
ever it is thought that it will be necessary
to use dynamite in order to prevent the
flooding of the lower part of the city. 1t
is pointed out that even with the use of
dynamite it will be absolutely necessary
to employ tugboats for the purpose OF
easing the blocks of ice down the channel
and through the piers of the bridges after
the ice has been broken into cakes.
The steamers of the Norfolk and Wash
ington line continue to make their regular
trips through the heavy ice between this
city and Norfolk but are delayed several
hours, the steamer due here yesterday
morning not reaching here until after )
o'clock yesterday evening. The Norfolk
and Washington steamers are the only bay
boats now making trips, all the lines out
of Baltimore having laid up. The steamer
Estelle Randall continues to make her
trips to Fort Washington and Fort Hunt,
and the naval tugs go daily between this
city and Indian Head. With these excep-
tons no vessels are stirring on the Poto-
mac
The steamboat men are apprehensive of
danger when the thaw comes and the
immense body of ice now covering the river
begins to move. Gorges, 1t Is feared, will
form and the steamers Will have more
trouble breaking through them than they
now have running through the still ice
The force of the moving mass of ice is
something stupendous. and Wharves buoys
and everything in the way are cut down
and destroyed with hardly any check to
the moving ice. There is much danger
that the lighthouses which stand In mid
stream, will be damaged as was the light
al Maryland Point last spring. At various
times the ice pack has swept the bay light
houses before it, Hooper's Island hight hav-
ing been carried away in 1888. and In 1872
Wolf Trap light was swept down the bay
and its keepers drowned. At present there
is little prospect of the ice moving, but
sudden thaW is awaited with fear