The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-21
JORDAN RIVER IS
ON A RAMP AGE
OyerRows Banks and Drives
Several West Side Fami-
lies Into the Streets.
RELIEF GIVEN THROUGH
DYNAMITING OF BRIDGE
Many Rendered Homeless and
Considerable Damage Is
Worked to Property.

Jordan river overlooked its banks Sun
day night as the result Of a heavy Ice
Jam at the Ninth North bridge, and be
fore tho congestion had been relieved
more than two square miles Ni the
ncighboring country had bccu inundated,
several families temporarily rendered
homeless and much damage done 10
property. The water flooded tho ter
ritory in the vicinity of Ninth North
TO n depth Of about six inches, and II
was only after Street Supervisor Jake
Raleigh had dynamited a section Of tho
bridge and broken the jam that the
overflow was stopped
The food came at night, and there
WIS considerable suffering before FAM
lies living in the inundated district
could be rescued by Supervisor Raleigh
and his men. Houses were flooded, gro
ccrics and provisions destroyed, lien
cOops carried away and many chickens
and turkeys drowned or frozen 10 death
Is Awakened by Waters.
j. f. Wheeler. 20 years of age, wa:
ono of the first persons 10 discover tho
food. He was awakened by the rush
ing water and upon climbing out OF
bed in the darkness found himself AN
llc deep in the overflow. ilurrIcdll
dressing. he left his house and started
out TO arouse other families residing IN
the ncighborhood.
John Selbv of 95f North thirteenth
West street. lost practically all his win
ter s food supplies which he had stored
in the cellar of his home Upon being
awakened, he built a temporary plat
| form about stove and started hrt
| TO keep his wife and babies from freeZ
I Il. Nr.
! compelled to remain pcrchcd upon the
narrow platform until reScuing party
arrived.
1t was extremely cold and within :
short time the water had turned TO ice
Supervisor Raleigh, with twenty mer
and ten teams. hurried 10 the seen,
of the disaster and busted themselves n
once with the work of rescuing the Of
ficted families The thin ice made il
almost impossible for the teams Il
make any Roadway and many womer
and children were carried across The
river IN the arms of the rescuers.
Bridge Is Dynamited.
Raleigh saw at once that the only
way TO stop the overflow would bc (,
resort TO the use of dynamite and dc
molish section OF the bridge. So \;
TO let the Zee pack get by The wooder
bridge at Ninth North has iiftv-six pil
ings for supports, and these formed ;
barrier that prevented the ice foes frou
going ON down the river. The ian
was ten feet hiph when the street su
pervjsor and his men reached tht
scene.
Two heavy charges of dynamite re
| moved the central section of rhc bridg'
and broke up the pack sufficiently 10 le
| IT pass on down the stream. The Watc1
( Immediately began 10 reccde. but "a
much of il hYd frozen the work Of draiu
ing The inundated section was extremely
slow \ canal 800 feet in length wa;
dug 10 carry off some ot the water.
As soon as the ice pack had beer
broken UP aud carried away. u force
of men was set TO work 10 temporarily
repair the bridge. Street Supervise
Raleigh sent in a communication To tho
city council Monday night, asking that
Il steel bridge be erected at Ninth Suutl
to supplant the present wooden struc
! ture,