The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1910-03-04
CITY OF MiSSouLA FINALLY GETS
ITS SHARE or RAILROADS
TROUBLES
ISLAND IS THREATENED
Two Bridges That Connect Colony
Win Uptown District Are Destroyed
by Small Ice Jams and inhabitants
Are Taken OF in Rowboats--other
Passaseways Safe.

The troubles from high water, which
i have been threatening Missoula for
1 several days, eliminated last night In
! the taking out of the two bridges con-
! meeting the city with the island. where
/ about 100 residents of the city have
/ their homes The water. which had
/ risen rapidly throughout the day. bore
many enormous cakes OF Ice, and that
part of the temporary bridge. which
had been left in place 10 connect the
! city with the skating rink was torn
! away about noon. After that there was
d continuous stream of Ice floating
down the turbulent river, and hundreds
of people stood on the new steel bridge
| and watched the procession down the
] river.
The island.
| But the main excitement centered
around the bridges leading to the
| island which is the home of so many
of the city's residents. The fooibridge
and wagon bridge were struck By the
| Ice, borne on flood which had at
talned abnormal proportions, and the
people on the island were shut off from
the city as completely as though they
had never been connected with 1t,
With the tearing away of the bridges.
/ which happened a short time after
o'clock, the water rose rapidly to the
| bottoms OF the houses. ani the inhah-
Hants. particularly the women and
children, We're aroused 10 high pi.el,
of fear.
The high water appeared TO come in
one large flood. which was in all like
lihood caused by the breaking of an
ice jam further up the river. and the
water arose to the bottoms of some OF
| the houses near the edge of the island.
The first alarm sent to the city came
In telephone message to The Mis-
sonlian from young man who had
called on his young lady friend, who
| resides In that portion of the city. He
/ stated that the river had risen three
feet In 20 minutes, which may be
slightly exaggerated. The women and
children We're badly frightened and
word was soon gotten TO City Engineer
Mayo and Engineer Swearingen
Mayor Logan, Chief OF Police yeaiey
ana many other city officials. They
soon saw that the island people were
In peril especially so as there an
peared to be danger of more tams
up the river. and means We're at once
devised To get them back to a safer
| place
Two Heroes.
Policeman Therriault, who IL one of
the residents of the island. proved the
| hero OF the occasion by getting out the
rowboat of Dennis 'cyr and setting our
at once 10 FERRY the people across the
| channel Therrianlt, as one man
| stated 1t, was brought up In a. row.
| poat, and made good use of his
early training. His place as crew OF
the boat was taken at times by Joe
Thibodeau. who proved no mean man
himself. The women and children.
many of them weeping from fear. were
| the first To be carried across. MANY
trips were necessary to get everybody
across and Therriault and Thibodeau
deserve the thanks of the citizens for
the valiant work they did.
1t was weird scene, there on tha
eank, TO see the rescue of the I'M
periiled people, Lanterns on both
banks We're all the light thrown OH
the work, and hundreds of people
watched the dangerous task Of pollng
the boat back and forth Il was long
after midnight when the rescue was
finally accomplished and but one man
was unfortunate enough to get an
involuntary bath in the icy waters.
At Bonner.
At late hour last night reports
! from Bonner stated that the river was
| rising AT the rate of two inches an
hour saR. Inch, Of the water company.
/ stated that the ice on the pond at
bonner had not begun To break up and
that no danger need be apprehended
from that source. The Van Buren,
street bridge was still intact last
/ night, although the huge lee cakes or
the afternoon had knocked the nose"
or crlbbing. from around the center
1er. Mayor Logan and Engineer Mavo
drove to the county bridge. west of
the city. and reported that crossing 10
DE badly listed and unsafe. although 1t
had not gone out
Watching the Ice.
Watching the Ice coming down the
river was a popular amusement yes
terday There We're moments during
the aay--such as the one that brought
the destruction of what remained of
the Reitz bridge-thar were charged
with excitement, but these were mere
incidents In comparison with the de-
.velorments that followed the darkness.
Al night the river began 10 run white
with ice at intervals. it was the
thiekest, heaviest Ice that pioners can
} remember having seen in the Mssonla
river, A greenlsh- white IL showed
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