Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-02-15
Will LSON LINER BUCKS
ICE IN THE RIVER
First Boat Over TO PENIS Grove
in Forty Days is City of
Philadelphia.

Forty days and forty nights Mr.. Noah
struggled with the flood and then won
out And by the same token, Penns
Grove waited forty days and forty nights
for a Wilson line steamer TO put IN an
appearance from Wilmington. Then yes
terday afternoon the thing happened
As a matter of fact Penns Grove WASH Z
quite prepared for it. The visit was
unexpected, and it was only when the
townspeoplc SAW the tall, rasung and
yellow funnel of the boat at the wharf
that tley really believed that Wilson
liner had come in.
II was something of daring trip.
Nobody knew Just how far the boat was
going TO go. Nobody knew whether she
was going to reach Penns Grove. No
body knew whether she wouldn't have 10
turn back half way across.
The vessel that made the trip was the
Citv of Philadelphia, under command OF
CAPTAIN Dolbow. Start was made at
3 u. m. Yesterday and the voyage was
very much like that Of Columbus, since
nobody seemed to know Just where the
boat was going. In the Christlana
little ice was encountered above the
Pennsylvania Railroad bridge and the
sailing was like that Of summer sea
But once below the bridge there was
plentcous indication of what was likely
TO happen as soon as the boat passed the
lighthouse at the mouth OF the river.
BIG FIELDS OF ICE.
Big fields of loose ice hung in the chops
az the stream but the boat plowed her
wav through them without difficulty,
grinding, crushing, and biting passage
like the good ice boat that she was. But
out in the Delaware, where huge foes
llrked. the going was much more dltflcuit-
on the westerly side of the channel there
was comparatively clear water. y big
ocean-going tug was heading south drag
cing three big coal-laden barges on her
trail and south of the creek lay two big
steamers waiting for a chance 10 dodge
the ice ard get TO the open sea.
But getting TO Penns Grove WASH t
matter OF sticking TO the channel Ii
was q case of bucking the ice foes. As
everybody knows. Penns Grove hes IN
q sort of cove or blight. And 1t Is Just
such spots that winters ice loves TO stay,
waiting for the spring thawS.
The City of Philadelphia banged INTO
the first ice foe al ter she left the mouth OF
the Christiana and won her way through
il without much difficulty. She didn |
have many passengers aboard, but most
of them were either on the malndeck
forward or on the upper deck eager TO see
how she bucked the ice. Bang she would
strike a foe, and from the cutwater would
fiv up hundred small chunks OF
as well as many gallons of water. Every
Evenings voyager, hanging over the
rail to see what was going on, intercepted
lot Of it and got his face plentitully
washed.
But after passing through this and
getting into the foes on the Jersey side
there was something of difference. The
boat tired TO break her way through but
after running about hundred feet the ice
caught and stopped her. Engines going
a. full speed were Of no avail She back
off and made another try. Nothing
stirring. Still another try. Nothing but
d pretty wedge-shaped hole in the foe
and at least 900 feet to go before the
other side Of the foe could be reached
There was nothing to 1t. Captain
Dolbow decided that discretion were the
better part of ice-bucking and backed
the boat out of the foe. Making his
yy.v around it Penns Grove was finally
reached and the big too-whoo of the
boats whistle announced that for the first
time in forty days a Wilson liner was
AZ the dock. On her return trip she
brought back nearly thousand powder
workers who had not seen their Wilmington
home for days.