The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-04
ICE JAM ON
ROCK RIVER
MILES LONG
Erie and HiIlsdale Farm
ers Prepare to Protest !
Against Overflow.

nixon. Ill, March 4.-Mayor Mark
Smith this afternoon was noti-
fed by Congressman J. c. Mcken-
7;e that the war department was
sending an engineer from Rock Is
land to inspect the ice gorge here
and to make recommendation for
breaking it up. The mayor had ap-
pealed for aid, suggesting a bomb
ing plane to drop explosives on the
long ice gorge, but the war depart
ment holds bombing to be tmprac-
ticable.
Sterling. Ill, March 4.-Gty offl-
Gals. after investigating the gorge
which is forming in Rock river be-
tween Erie and Hillsdale, 20 miles
downstream from Sterling, have
abandoned any attempt to dynamite
It because of it's length 1t mas
been ascertained that the gorge IS
six or seven miles long and that
already hundreds of acres Of ground
hetween Erie and DenrocE are un-
der water. The road between these
two towns. which is about hall
mile from the stream, is inundated
and several farmers have been
forced to move their stock to neigh
bors' places, farther from the
river. The water is slowly rls-
ing here. but has not reached dan
gerous stage. Many families living
in low sections of the city which
were flooded by a severe gorge III
1906 have made preparations to
move hurriedly if the river gets ou'
of its banks here.
Dixon, ILL.,, March AT noon
today the Dixon flood was on thf
ebb and the outlook was brighter
than at any time since the long
gorge of ice below the city, which
t. still holds, caused Rock. river te
overflow it's banks, inundating many
blocks of territory in this city, driv'
ing over half a hundred families
from their homes, and putting the
city's gas and electric utilities out
of commission.
A fall of 16 inches from the high
est point reached by the water dur
ing the food has been recorded al
the power dam here, and the wa,
ters have receded from the steam
electric plant near the Illinois
Central bridge sufficiently to per
NIT workmen to get in and star
pumping water from the pits under
the furnaces. The fires may be
started tonight and the big plant
which supplies electricity for
score of cities and towns in north
western Illinois, may resume opera
tons tomorrow.
Resumption OF work in the gaE
plant cannot be undertaken unit
the waters have receded further
Dixon streets will be lighted to
night for the first time since the
food incapacitated the plant. Nont
Of the families who were driver
from their homes by the food are
yet able to return to them. Th'
state of the water east of the city
where a second big gorge is hold
ing, is lower and the Dixon-OregoI
road is now free of ice and water
Illinois Northern Utilities Officials
this morning directed the erection
Of bulwark around the gas plant
which is adjacent to the river in tn
iwlands, and which would b.
among the first buildings to be sur
rounded by water should the gorg
at Erie cause a flood of back wa
ter here.
At noon today there had been lit
tie change in the stage Of the wa
Ter here, the hundreds of acres o
low farm lands in the vicinity o
Erie furnishing an outlet of tn
water damned there. Breaking o
he gorge between Sterling an
Dixon would result in an enormou
mass of ice hurting itself agains
me two dams here and officers
tae Sterling Hydraulic compan
nave adopted plans for precautlon
sry measures