Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-04-04
HIGH WATER.

The water in the Wisconsin river and
tributaries is very high at present and
from different points in the state much
damage is reported as resulting from
this source. Some streams are higher
than they have been for years and recent
rains and rapidly thawing snow and ice
in the woods will still further increase
the volume of water.
On the valley division the St. Paul Ry.
company has just gone through another
experience. For several years the COM
company has had trouble at this sea-
son with ice forming dam near low
piece of track above Brokaw and back
ing the water up over the track. The
experience of this year was much worse
than usual. Thursday trains passed
that point with difficulty. The track
was covered to a depth ofseveral inches
with water, ice and driftwood. Friday
afternoon about 200 feet of track was
washed out and a large crew of men
"oo hNPb db WIN ali III
up the ice jam and repairing the track
During the two days it was necessary
to transfer the passengers and mails
from the north bound to the south
bound trains and vice versa and turn
around and go back.
AT Mosinee an ice jam formed in the
river and backed up the water so high
as to threaten property along the banks.
TO save destruction, several sticks of
dynamite were placed where they
would do the most good and exploded.
The explosion broke up the jam, and
the water soon receded.
At point 3 miles above Stevens Point
another jam formed mile in length
and in some places it was piled up
thirty feet high. 1t was the largest jam.
ever noted by old river men.
In this city the lower part of the
Stewart Lumber Co.'s island was Gov
cred with water, and for a time it
appeared as if the roadway built across
the island to the new bridge would be
washed out. Had it not been for the
rock that was dumped on the north
side last fall the roadway undoubtedly
would have suffered. The new bridge
was put to a severe strain. Large
cakes of ice were moving rapidly down
stream and every time one of them
would strike pier it would shake the
bridge with such violence as to make
the ''shivers" perambulate up and down
the spinal columns of pedestrians who
might be crossing at the time.
The Northwestern Ry. Co, when
suffered so severely from a tie-up of
traffic on the Marshfield branch two
years ago from high water, has had no
trouble thus far Should heavy rains
fall, which are due at this season of the
year, results might be different. There
are a number of small streams in the
vicinity of Edgar that are changed to
raging torrents by one heavy rain, as
was the case two years ago.
On a number of streams log driving
has commenced, but the water is so
high as to carry the logs off into the
woods on the lew lands.
Stinchfield creek, which flows through
the north part of the city, is reported to
be at "a good stage for steamboat navi-
cation at present, and at several points
has overlooked its banks and flooded
cellars.
Fred Rienow, superintendent of the
county poor house, went down cellar
one morning recently and found that
about 200 bushels of Murphys he had
stored there were afoat.
During the winter, large colonies of
rats took up their abode beneath the
slab piles which cover the sewer cross
ing Grand avenue at the washout. The
recent warm weather brought down
flood which filed every open space in
this slab pile, and the surface water
poured forth from the pile in great
volume. The rodents were caught like
the proyerbial rats in a trap and any
one standing on the bridge aboTe the
washout could see hundreds Of the
drowned animals floating on a journey
to the Wisconse- If any Chinaman had
been present with long handled rake
what feast they could have garnered'