Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1913-04-08

the past few weeks, up and down the
Wisconsin river, sold Wisconse' is
at high stage but not at a flood
stage by foot and a half. On
Wednesday afternoon it commenced
to rain and during the night there
were heavy thunder storms. The
fall was nearly an inch and half here
and little over an inch at Rhine
lander; on Thursday the river COM
menced to raise in earnest and by
evening it looked pretty wild and
though not within two feet of food
stage, still precautions were taken to
fill up the railroad passageway under
the high bridge. The gates were
opened in the guard lock and below
which let out much water. Thurs
day the wind turned to the north,
and it was much colder: the river
was at stand still by midnight and
at two O'Clock began to fall and has
fallen considerable since that time.
The greatest danger was from the ice
which was still in the river and the
logs. During the day the railroad
companies were breaking up the ice
and log jams with dynamite and es-
pecially was there considerable anxiety
over the Leahy and Beebe bridge.
A large boom had lodged against
the bridge and ice and logs piled up
there in formidable shape On Thurs
day evening when the city council
was in session, a word was telephoned
in that the bridge would be swept
away in fifteen minutes and this ad-
journed the meeting in a hurry.
While the bridge did not go out, still
it was moved considerable by the
great pressure.
Logs and ice jams formed against
the new iron railroad bridge crossing
from the Barker & Stewart island to
the west bank of the Wisconsin river
This bridge was carried away by the
flood last year and since last fall has
been in course of construction. 1t is
not fully completed, as the center
span has not yet been put in and the
bridge is held up by piles driven close
together. There is no question but
what big jam against this bridge,
in its present condition, at any high
stage of water would sweep it away.
There has been much anxiety about
this bridge especially on account of
the jam at the Leahy & Beebe bridge
farther up the river.
There has been no trouble except
at Trappe, where there was a jam of
ice and this backed the water up and
as usual washed out section of the
st. Paul tracks. Thursday and
Friday it was necessary to transfer
passengers at this point.
1t was necessary for the trains GO
ing north of Heights to make long
round about trip, over the North
western road to Rhinelander and then
back on the st. Paul down to Merrill.
No train went up Friday evening
This will happen every year, as it
has in the past, until the r. r. COM
pany raises its tracks.
All of the gates of the various dams
along the river were opened up so
that water would not be held back,
and to give a chance for the ice to
pass away. The ice now is all out of
the river below Wausau.
The Eau Claire and Rib Rivers
were beth up to high stage but not
at all dangerous.
The varions reporters, who send in
news to the various city papers are
giving Wausau and vicinity a very
black eye. They have given the impress
sion to the outside world that Wau-
sau was in danger of being wiped off
the map; that at Heights people were
being taken to higher ground; that
their houses were floating away and
all such rot.
If there is any way of stopping mis-
leading, highly sensational, untruth-
full statements being sent out, it
should be done. At no time this
spring has there been any floods that
amounted to anything in the valley,
so far as endangering life. There is
always danger from ice and log jams
even in ordinary high water.
NOTES
1t seems that over Jealous reporters
have been working up fictitious floods
over on the Chippewa river. The
Chippewa Independents says that there
has been no danger over there, while
there has been the usual spring fresh
ct, nothing more can be made out of
it. What these "yellow-" correspon-
dents can do is illustrated in the
Ohio floods; they had upwards of
10000 people drowned at Dayton,
Ohio. That number has diminished
down to less than POO.
Little Rib, as we all knows drains a
large part of Marathon county and it
runs through large valleys, and has
many little streams emptying into it,
which become raging torrents, when
ever there are heavy rains. This
stream rises quicker and higher than
any other stream in the county. 1t
has been known to overflow its banks
in single night and to recede just as
rapidly. The rains last week, over
flowed its banks and made roads in
that section impossible. No serious
danger is reported.
Merrill was without regular train
service from Thursday on account of
the wash out at Heights. Fully 100
/ "a rflS of the road l.a7 WAS washed ont