New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1915-02-24
February Thaws
Breakup River
COTTONWOOD HAS AN ICE JAM
EXTENDING THREE MILES
UP STREAM.
MINNESOTA FLOWS UPHILL.
WATER RISES IA FEET IN
FIVE DAYS.

Brer' Grounding didn't know what
mess he was stirring up when he
stuck his nose out of his hole on Cand-
lemas Day and jerked it back again.
His indecision put the weather man
all to the bad for he hasn't known
what to cook up in the way of weather
ever since but has spoiled it by putting
in too much water. February is no
time for experimenting with high tenn
peratures mixed with cold north winds
especially when there is heavy supply
of snow left over to be used up.
Eight inches of the beautiful" covered
the earth with glistening blanket the
first week of February. This followed
by a drop to zero in the temperature
on the 9Th made road conditions fine
for hauling and farmers began to take
advantage of it. But not satisfied
with well enough, the weather man
turned on the heat and began to melt
the snow to get soft water for Natures
spring house cleaning. General dis
comfort followed this move and has
continued for practically ten days,
ice and slush alternating under foot,
rain and snow over head.
Personal discomfort is not the worst
Of the matter either. The rivers are
rebelling against the unexpected con-
ditions. The slow old Minnesota was
rudely awakened last Sunday morning
by the violent conduct of her neighbor,
the Cottonwood. The Minnesota didn't
move quickly enuf to suit the Cotton
wood and the latter dumped upon her
an ice jam which extends from below
the Redstone Bridge to above Schell's,
something like three miles. For this
distance the river looks like a huge
bowl filled with enormous Jumps of
sugar. The jam is from to 16 feet
deep, or high, and at the Poor Farm
reaches within a few inches of the floor
of the bridge which stands 16 feet above
water ordinarily.
Only once in the memory of the
present managers of the Cottonwood
Roller Mill has the river broken up so
early. That was in 1890 when the ice
went out on the 18th of February
This year it was just a week later.
Ordinarily, when the breaking up pro-
cess is gradual the Minnesota opens at
practically the same time as the Cotton
wood and this gives the smaller stream
an opportunity to rid itself of the ice
pack in about two hours and there is
no jam. The delayed opening of the
Minnesota, however, dams up the
swifter stream and backs up the ice
for miles as the strong current brings
the ice flow down straight from it's source.
Another result of the jam is seen in
the rising of the water in both streams.
Saturday evening at the mill dam there
was but about foot of water going
over and at this time there is depth
of about eight feet.
The Minnesota is running high also.
Not only running high but running
'up hill'' as well; that is the current
has changed and the ice cakes instead
of moving down to join the ice jam are
retreating up the river. The engine
room log kept at the Eagle Mill showed
at noon Saturday, the 10th, that the
river had risen feet above low water
mark. Between that time and o'clock
Sunday morning there was a six foot
rise. In the next twenty-four hours
it climbed three feet seven inches and
by Tuesday morning seven inches more,
making a rise of fourteen feet, two
inches in a very few days, enough to
make almost any river get up on end.
It is usual to dynamite the jam so
that flooding may be avoided but at
this writing nothing has been done
and the cold wave apparently headed
this way will cement the ice blocks
together so that there is likely to be
very high water before the river is
cleared. AT the boat landing at present
the boat houses are almost under water
and the Elsie" is quite submerged.
Boat owners were working hard yester-
day to get them up out of the way of
what may still be coming. The Bentzin
dam was reported badly damaged but
the mill men say that so far as they are
able to ascertain at this time, there
is no more than the $4,000 to $4,000
damage which they expect every spring.
The Poor Farm Bridge is of concrete
and can stand considerable pressure.