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Show Record As a rule in the latter part of February while it was frozen, the 3304 river would be pretty low and then would start to rise a little when the ice commenced to thaw. That seemed to have a tendency to change the current at low places and you would have trouble hunting a place to get through. There at the dredge the river was nearly flat and sand bars would accumulate across the river and you would have to feel your way through, that is the nature of the trouble we had. Generally in the latter part of February you 3305 would have that condition of mush ice running in the river and it would generally go out after that time. The ice condition would generally begin and end during the month of February and the river would commence to rise along the first of March. It would rise a little and go down a little. After the river raised a foot or so, the effect on the bars didn't bother you, except to know where to go. After the river raised there was always room to get through these places if you know where to find them, and after the spring 3306 rise commenced there was always a channel. It has been my experience on the river that after the spring rise along the latter part of March you could figure on going down the river if you found the right place to go and there was no place where you couldn't find a channel. Every rise or fall of the water would bring about a rearrangement of the sand bars but would not be accompanied by a change in the main channel and would not be in sand bars in still water. 3307 To illustrate what I mean, there are certain places along the river, like the place at the dredge, where there was still water; in extreme low water, along in February, you had to pick around and push a small boat to get over and couldn't get over with a boat drawing a foot of water; then after the river raised a foot you could always find a place, although that place might be on one side today and on the other side tomorrow. This would occur at points where the water was still. 455 |
