Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-12-30
The Btissard Blockade.


The Blizzard Blockade.
Yesterday was another terror for the
railroads centering in St. Paul, all being
more or less delayed, while the st. Paul
& Sioux City division of the c., st. P. &
NJ, and the Hastings s. Dakota division
of the c., NJ & ST. P. roads were COM
pletely blockaded. During Tuesday night
the weather moderated very materially, so
that at 10 o'clock yesterday morning the
thermometer indicated zero, and at mid
day several degrees above. With the sub.
sidence of the cold the prospect seemed
good for relief from the inconvenience
and troubles Of the two or three preceding
days. But with the diminution of the
cold, the wind sprung up, which along
the st. Paul & Sioux City division of the
and the Hastings & Dakota road west
first-class blizzard. The wind blew
binding clouds, the storm at times closely
approaching in it's terrible force the ter
rible visitation of 1872, when so many
people were caught out on the prairies
and perished. Fortunately this time all
had timely warning of the storm, and the
cold was less severe, SO that there
has been no loss of life, and
little if any suffering All trains
however, on the Sioux City west of St.
James were discontinued early in the
day, and no attempt was made to send
out from here the Omaha express yester-
day, which should have left at $40
p. NJ.
Trains had previously been discontin-
ued on the Hastings & Dakota, but the
blockade was reported light, and hopes
had been entertained up to the storm of
yesterday. This compelled the working
parties to draw off, and now the cuts
are filled full of snow, and several days
must elapse with favorable weather be-
fore the track can be cleared.
To the northwest the storm was
much less severe, and compare
lively little trouble wrs encountered
by either the Northern Pacific or ST. Paul
& Manitoba trains.
Trains on the St. Paul & Duluth were
running nearly on time.
All trains from Chicago, on both the
river and l. s. M. division of the c. M. &
St P, and on the eastern division of the
G.. St. p & O., were from three to nine
hours late in arriving here, having been
held to await trains at Chicago, and los
ing time on the way by the cold.
Last night the storm cloud had disap-
peared, the wind died away and tempera-
ture moderated to about zero, indicating
that the backbone of both the blizzard
and cold snap were broken
MogniItcent craft for Lake 4HiHnctonHa.
We take pleasure this morning in
informing the summer residents along
the shores of Lake Minnetonka, and the
thousands of prospective visitors to this
favorlte resort, that General Manager
S. S. Merrill, of the Milwaukee & St.
Paul railroad, has completed his arrange
ments for.furnishing them with what he
intended should be, when completed, q
genuine surprise. Having fathomed Mr..
Merrill's scheme, the GLOBE proposes to
surprise Mr.. Merrill by detailing months
in advance of what he intended Just
what he proposes to do.
By the construction of what is known
as the Hastings & Dakota railroad, by
which that road is brought into St. Paul
by way of Minneapolis, and the short
line, the Chicago, Milwaukee & ST. Paul
road is given connectionj with Lake Min
netonka. Having this connection Man
ager Merrill, with his usual foresight,
saw that if the lake was to be made popu-
lar as resort, and business be secured
for his road, he must do something to
remove the feeling Of insecurity caused
by the frequent and fearful accidents oc-
curing through the insecurity of the
boats in use upon the lake in the
past. To this end correspondence
was opened with one of the most reliable
builders of river steamers known to west
ern waters, residing at Cincinnati The
result was, that at the time of his visit
here on Monday last, after consulting
with Superintendent Prior, a telegram
was sent off directing this builder to go
ahead in accordance with the plans under
stood between them. These plans con-
template q sidewheel steamer 12S feet
long by % feet beam. The boat is to be
built after the most approved models for
speed and safety, to be provided with the
best machinery made, and furnished in
style of richness never before seen in this
latitude. In short, Mr.. Merrill's order is
for a steamer second to none ever yet
launched for river or interior lake navi-
CATION. The machinery and timbers for
the boat will be built at Cincinnati, and
sent to Minnetonka, where the boat will
be put together. The contract specifies
the boat shall be ready for use by the
middle of April next.
Preparations for our semi-a1nual Clearing