Iditarod pioneer., 1915-05-08
BREAKUP NOT
 SENSATIONAL

Lacking in all the spectacular elements Of the usual breakup, when immense masses of ice are forced by the resistless torrent ID seemingly endless procession down the swollen stream, carrying to destruction all impedments to its progress, artificial and natural, was the breakup of the Ice III the Iditarod river early last Monday morning. Weakened by successive thaws and treshets, honeycombed by the action ot sun, Wlnd and rain, the mass of broken and crum- bling ice was carried out in smoothly moving flow as the result of rise ln the river which followed series of heavy show CTS on Saturday and Sunday last, and which reached its zenith on Tuesday, when most of the river was clear of the ice which has kept the stream in its tight embrace tor so many months.
 About 3 o'clock last Monday morning, as nearly as can be ascertained, the ice Tn front of the city began to move. The wire con- meeting a tripod on the ice with clock at the Budweiser, intended to record the actual time of the breakup, had been tam pered with by some practical joker or mls- chievous person, and the clock had stopped early on Sunday evening. So gently had come the ice movement that no one even on the river front, seems to have been awak- ,ened by it. To most of the residents of the city the news that the ice had moved while they slept came as surprise. The run of ice continued almost all day on Monday, and seems to have been the accumulation from Otter creek and the river below where that stream empties into the ldltarod On Monday evening, after cessation of some tbo Houy ,+ roSnrOaS hrlDp- ing down the accumulations from the upper reaches of the river, and by Tuesday even ing the Iditarod was virtually free of ice.
 Little Damage Caused
 Comparatively little damage was occa- stoned by the break-up Some of the launches on the river received blows from the swiftly moving ice masses that made slight repairs necessary, and the barge of Crowley X Porter, which had been lowed to what was believed to be a safe place, was sunk, but will be raised with little loss, The steamer Little Delta had hole stove in her hull, but this was quickly repaired. The steamer Pup and the launches Orphan Boy and Tramp also were slightly damaged, A small vessel belonging to man named Myers was completely hoisted out of the water by barge being forced underneath it by the ice. Outside of these instances there was little or no damage done. The City dock resisted the flood with absolutely no injury even to the fender which had been erected for its protection.
 River Men Get Ready for Business
 The opening of the river to navigation has had the effect of giving an air of ac- tivity to the water front. The river men have been engaged for some time in the task of getting their vessels in readiness for the seasons business, and everything now awaits the arrival of the first vessels from the Yukon It is likely that river naviga- tion will commence much earller than year ago. At that time the Yukon river was reported to be free of ice above Nulato on May p, and the steamer Washburn ar rived at Iditarod from Nulato with passen- gers and freight from Fairbanks on June l. The White Seal arrived direct from t ar banks on June ?.
 Exciting Events of Last Years Breakup
 On May 10, one year ago, occurred the disastrous flood which inundated the bmld- ngs along the river bank and reached into the heart of the business district. On that day also the residents of Iditarod took to the hills from fear of an explosion of sev- eral tons of dynamite stored in warehouse directly across the river from the city A slight explosion did occur, but the bulk of the dynamite either burned without explod- ing or on account of being submerged in water was not affected by the flames which were occasioned by the ignition of large quantity of carbide.
 Early Opening of Yukon Expected
 The following dispatch was received from Fort Gibbon on Monday last, and would seem to indicate that the breakup of the Yukon ice would also much somewhat ear Her than last year:
 'Tanana river now open from Glbbon to Mccarthy but ice cannot get out, as Yukon still holds. The ice is piled on the banks Where the Tanana river empties into the Yukon three miles above Fort Gibbon, there are great piles of ice. The Yukon is open in strips. The ice probably will hold few days longer, as the water on the upper Yukon is very low. There have been light rains"