214 RIVER LIFE. 



of four miles in length, of great height and depth, and filling the 

 river, which varies in width from one thousand to fifteen thou- 

 sand feet from bank to bank. Of the magnitude and power of 

 such a mass, no just conception can be formed by persons unused 

 to similar scenes. Above the jam the water was twenty or thirty 

 feet above its usual height, filling up the rapids, and making a 

 dead level of the falls. 



" The first injury to the city was from the breaking away of a 

 small section of the jam, which came down and pressed against 

 the ice on our banks. By this, twenty houses in one immediate 

 neighborhood, on the west bank of the river alone, were at once 

 inundated, but without loss of life. This occurred in the day- 

 time, and presented a scene of magnificent interest. The effect 

 of this small concussion upon the ice near the city was terrific. 

 The water rose instantly to such a height as to sweep the build- 

 ings and lumber from the ends of the wharves, and to throw up 

 the ice in huge sheets and pyramids. This shock was resisted 

 by the great covered bridge on the Penobscot, which is about one 

 thousand feet in length, and this gave time to save much prop- 

 erty from impending destruction. But, meanwhile, another aux- 

 iliary to the fearful work had been preparing by the breaking up 

 of the ice in the Kenduskeag River. This river flows through 

 the heart of the city, dividing it into two equal portions. The 

 whole flat on the margin of the river is covered with stores and 

 public buildings, and is the place of merchandise for the city. 

 The Kenduskeag runs nearly at right angles with the Penobscot 

 at the point where they unite. The Penobscot skirts the city on 

 the eastern side, and on the banks of this river are the principal 

 wharves for the deposit of lumber. 



" I must mention another circumstance to give you a just idea 

 of our situation. There is a narrow spot in the river, about a 

 mile below the city, at High Head, in which is a shoal, and from 

 which the greatest danger of a jam always arises, and it was this 

 that caused the principal inundation. 



