Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-12-13
ATTEMPT FAILS
Barge 767 Still Stuck in
Ice Merrymeeting Bay

400, WHICH WAS StuCh last IA tiiN $1,000
ice in Merrymeeting bay was unsuc-
cessful and another try will be made
Thursday.
How the lighthouse tenders Hibiscus
and Zizania accompanied by the tug
Seguin plowed through fields and fields
of ice, much Of it in berg formation
higher than the boats themselves. in
their efforts to release two coal barges
frozen to their wharves at Gardiner
and Hallowell was most graphically
described today ny Capt Carl E. Sher-
man, inspector of the first lighthouse
district, with an office in Portland.
Never in the history of navigation on
the Kennebec have such thrilling eX-
periences been recorded as in breaking
out the jams heretofore unheard of at
this season OF the year. Had it net
been for the fact that these are war
times and there is consequent short
age in bottoms for the transportation
of coal along the coast. it is doubtful
if anything but a superficial effort
would have been attempted to release
the barges.
Under the circumstances, however,
The navy department ordered that ST-
cry effort be made to release the craft
Capt. William r. Rush of the Boston
! navy yard. commandant of the first
naval district, Immediately delegated
Capt. sherman in charge Of the work
while the two steel tenders, Hibiscus
and Zizana We're dispatched to Bath
on Friday ard Capt. Sherman arrived
in the city at o'clock Saturday morn
| ing on emergency orders 20 take charge
F., of the work.
! The Sesuin, on the upward pound
trips. acted as a sort of tender TO the
| lighthouse boats to render them as
sistance if they got into difficulty and
so kept behind them at all times
Before starting out on the ice break
! ing trip. Capts. J. w. Sterling of the
Hibiscus and II. NJ. Ingalls, of the Iii
! zania provided themselves with two as
! capa bic pilots as ever nav1gated the
: Kennebec, Capt. Thomas X. Haley on
| the former and Capt. Alfred H. Hogan
4 on the latter.
The Hibiscus is especially well
adapted for ice breaking. having "a
/ shoal bow SO that she is able to run
up on ice formations and break them
| down by her own weight. while the
Zizania can do effective work in
! bltdhiHS llit Slltll lGt anu SioItlllS IL
J out to float away on the receding tides
Good progress was made as far as
Gardiner where the barge Pequest of
! the Potter Transportation Co. was re-
! leased and brought down to this city
] late in the afternoon.
ON Sunday the two tenders accom-
| panied by the tug Seguin, Capt. Will
! liam \. Small. started for IIalowell
! for tile Lchisll Valley barge 161, load
/ ed with granite for an Atlantic port
! Progress was much slower. the track
that the vessels had made the day
| before having frozen over during the
| night While much of the ice that had
! been released had been carried up on
the surface beside the track where it
! commenced to build and progress be-
came slower Arriving at Gardiner,
| owing to Shoal water. it became neces-
| SarN for the Zizania to 20 after the
| barge and il was midnight before she
! was brought down to Gardiner where
| she was tied mp until morning.
! ON Monday the attempt was made to
bring her down from Gardiner but ow-
! ing to the heavy cargo it became a
difficult proposition to navigate her
! through the ice fields with strong
! ebb tide that accelerated her momen-
tum SO it became necessary for the
Seguin to remain behind with a line
out to prevent her from gaining too
much speed and crashing into the two
lighters when their progress was i'm
| peded by particularly heavy ice foes
BY eXerting these precautionary meas
ures little real difficulty was experienced
! III lJor l,n1- =
where the ice seemed to be frozen to a
greater depth. Is inches under water being
recorded in several instances. while the
great quantities broken out of the track
previously and drifting back and forth
with the cbbing and flowing tides had
| been finally forced to the surface and
commenced to build on each other until
! they formed bergs considerably higher
! than the boats themselves At all times
| IL was possible for the boat crews to
step out on the ice, which they were fire.
quently doing.
! While crossing the lower end Of the
bay and just before entering the chops
the tenders ran into such heavy ice that
they were unable to make any headway,
while the. Seguin was una bic to check the
heavily loaded barge. which came tear
/ ing down through the open track in n
/ frightfu manner that gave everybody q
momentary fright that she was going to
crash into the Hibiscus and Zizania and
do considerable DANA ge, but the same fee
formations and good work of the Segujn
finally held her although she came uD
along side the tender but no harm was
done.
I There she was lett in the ice pack for
the night and all day Tuesday. while it
| became the province Of the tenders to
J clear the river as much as possible and
| maintain an open body OF water down
through the chops and past Lines island
to the narrows, where quick water would
be reached. Tuesday was devoted solely
, to this purpose and it was q strenuous
f., day.
| At the northerly end of Lines island
another iceberg. higher than either of
| the boats, was encountered and this
| had TO be broken and cleared away.
This accounted for the great quaint
| ties Of drift ice seen in the river
! throughout the day. It is believed a
majority of it went down the river on
the ebb tide, although much of it came