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Show IC ILHOt J CHICAGO. Fears ot a Freshet and Great Instruction ol Properly. Chicago, 6. One of the reusults of the unprecedented severity of the past winter hus been to freeze the water in Lake Michigan in this vicinity to an extent ex-tent never before known. As nearly as can be ascertained the lake is frozen as much as twenty miles from the west shore, and a party yesterday walked to the crib ot the waterworks, two milci and a half distant, over the ice. The harbor is pilod full of ice and the river is frozen to an unusual depth. Great apprehensions are felt iw to the eficcts of a sudden thaw, which is liable to occur now at any time, and the city engineer is trying to deviso maans to clear the river of ice by cutting it before warmer weather. Merchants in the vicinity of the 'river are clearing their basements base-ments and preparing for the flood which seems inevitable whenever the breakup comes. At present, however, how-ever, the weathor, which is more moderate, is still cold. |