St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-12-04
CHECKED The BLAZE.
Pillsbury Hall Badly Danls
aged by Fire Last
Evening,
But Quick Work by Chief
Stetson's Men Prevents
Total Destruction.
Many Specimens in the Zoo
logical Department Can
not BE Replaced.
Scarcity Of Fire Hydrants
Handicaps the Firemen to
Some Extent.

The handsome structure on the unf-
versity campus, East Minneapolis,
known as PiIlsbury hall, for the
bury gave $4,000, was badly DAM
aged by fire last night, which
occurred from some unknown cause
about 10 o'clock. Janitor Kingsley dis
covered blaze in the windows of the
basement and hurriedly informed Off
Ger TollefsOn. who sent an alarm from
the box at the corner of Fourth street
and Fourth avenues southeast. When
the fremen arrived the flames
were bursting out the windows of the
basement and first floor in the center Of
the building over the engine room, aud
Chief StetsOn Immediately caused Sec
Ond alarm to be sent out. call
ing additional apparatus to the scene,
The entire building was filled with
A DENSE SMOKE,
which greatly retarded the work Of the
firemen. They were also handicapped
in the vicinity of the build
ing, but they made a gallant fight
and prevented the total destruction of
the hall. The fire apparently started in
the subbasement under the engine
room, and burned its way through
pile of lumber which had
been stored there temporarily for
Prof. HalPs geolOlogy class room on the
second floor. The fremen succeeded ID
checking its course in this room after
the floor had burned away and the fur
nlture of the room had been destroyed.
Fortunately Prof. Hall had almost all Of
the valuable instruments in his depart
ment removed to another part OF the
building yesterday. and although they
are
BADLY DISCoLORED
by smoke and heat. most of them will
be saved. The geological museum was
separated from the class room by wide
hallway, but the heat was so great that
the glass in the transom was
broken out. Some of the specimens
all have to be finished. Prof. Hall says
that most of his specimens which are
ruined can be replaced, and he thinks
that the loss to his department
on specimens will not exceed $500.
although an examination may show il
to be more. Every room in the build
ing was badly damaged by smoke. All
the furniture in the different class
rooms and libraries will have
10 be refniShed. On the upper
floors were situated the botanical and
is the heaviest. The geological museum
contained many rare and costly speci-
mems and was one of the most complete
of its kind in the country. Many OF the
the specimens which have been ruined
by the heat and smoke can not be re-
placed, as their
SPECIES ARE NOW EXTINCT.
and the loss cannOt be computed in
dollars and cents. Prof. Naehtrieb. who
has charge of the museum, said that
almost all of the specimens had
smoke. In the museum was
magnificent specimen of an ~albino
buffalo, which the smoke had practi-
cally ruined. This specimen alone was
worth thousands of dollars. Many rare
birds of beautiful plumage were in the
room, but their feathers we're blackened
so that it would take more than
extraordinary skill to restore them
to their former colors. In the botani
cal department the same state of affairs
exists. Everything is blackened by
smoke. Many of the specimens and IN
struments used in Prof. Nachtrieb's de-
partment, however, had not arrived
from Europe, although they were daily
expected The
DELICATE INSTRUMENTS
n the chemical and physical labOrato-
ries were more or less affected by the
heat and smoke. but the professors
could form no estimate of the dam
age before daylight. The reference
books in private studios Occu-
pied by members of the faculty
were all badly damaged by smoke. but
the loss in this direction will not prove
serious, the most damage being
done in the museums. The cause
of the fire is mystery, as
there was no fire in the building
when the janitor closed it early in the
evening. The heating apparatus had
not been completed yesterday. Plumb
erS were at work in the sub-baSement,
where the fire started. 1t is supposed
that the men went Off and left candle
burning in the place. Prof. WinShip
estimates the loss on the building at
$1,000, but he said he could not make an
estimate of the loss on specimens, but
he was afraid il would he heavy. Tbs
specimens had lately been removed
from the old hall into Pillsbury hall.
In the old hall they were insured, but
no one knew whether the policies had
been transformed or not. The loss on
the building is covered by insurance.