St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-30
ONLY HEAPS OF COAL,
Three Thousand People Made
Homeless by Milwaukee's
Conflagration.
When the Fire Was Out the
Burned District Was
Swept Clean.
Inhabitants Within the Fires
Scope Saved Little or
Nothing.
Five Lives Lost and $6,OOO,-
600 in Property De-
Stroyed.


people were made homeless by the ter
rible contiagration. This is very con-
servative estimate to place Oh the num-
ber who found themselves in the street
last night compelled to seek shelter
under the roofs of hospitable citizens
who threw their doors open to them.
The estimate of the number who were
made homeless is based upon tile recent
registration of the burnt district. The
greatest portion of the loss has fallen
upon people who are unable to bear the
loss, and who carried no insurance.
Hundreds of families have lost every
thing they had in the world. and do not
know where they will sleep tonight.
The Weather portion of the community
is, however, coming to their support.
AT 10 O'Clock this morning there was
no fire at all where last night had ragged
the fearful conflagration. Here and
there were glowing heaps or coal, and
the cellars of the wrecked business
houses were rather too warm for any
man who had no especial business to
call him there, but over in the district
where the little frame residences had
stood there was nothing, not even a
decent
Cloud OF Smoke.
AS soon as the sun was fairly above
the horizon the people who had fled last
night for their lives came Swarmng
back to find out what they had saved, or
rather what had been left for them.
The expression on the faces of many of
them as they looked out over the fire
swept space which had ten hours earlier
been busy and DopulOus district would
have been ludicronS if it had not been
tragic. Men and women we're wander
ing about, some of them not even able
to tell where their houses had stood the
night before, for of all cruel fires which
ever swept down on q community
there was none more cruel or more re-
morseless than this. 1t left behind it
absolutely nothing of any description
which could be induced 10 burn. Trees
which were full of iife5are not visible
axszssI hay Acre there last night and
this morning they are gone. Wooden
sidewalks, which were on both sides of
every street, are among the things that
were. Not a sign of them is to be seen
anywhere.
There is absolutely no way of telling
where house stood last night, except
by the hole in the ground which was
yesterday a cellar. In these holes are
to be seen twisted and distorted masses
of metal which were cook stoves once
and are
Scrap Iron Now.
Small pieces of plastering lying thick
ly in the holes show the remains of CELL
ings, and that is all there is ieft of any
house which last night stood in the
pathway of the flames. A type of the
desolatiun and hardship which the fire
wrought Is the case of Henry Wo1aher,
who conducted a sausage factory OH
Buffalo street. He was worth $1,000
over and above his debts last night at
sunset. When it was light this morn
ing his worldly assets were the clothes
he had upon his back, two keys and one
cuff button. nothing else. He stood this
morning looking down into one of the
holes. which marked where house had
once stood, and remarked:
lit don't seem possible that man can
get so poor so quick. Last night | had
good business, owned my house, barn
and wagons. Now / have not one
penny in the world, and this is all l
have to begin life over again." and he
pulled from his pocket the KEYS and
cuff button,
Last spring." he continued, ''my
wife talked me into dropping my insur-
ance, and | did it. Last night had in
the house $3.50 in cash, and now l can
not buy single loaf of bread. or ride
on street car. When | saw the fire
coming grabbed the $3.50, and
gave it to my wife. telling her to run
with it.
She Got Excited
and threw it on the bed and picked up
ojT .:GI.
that. There's where the bed was" and
the honest mans eyes ran over as he
pointed TO twisted mass of springs
which lay in the black hole before him.
I'VE had 10 chance to do anything but
to look and rum be continued. ''If we
got away alive that was all we had to
think of. We got out, but that was ALL,
This is but a type of the suffering
which has been caused. There are
scores of similar cases. In one place an
elderly man stood gazing vacantly
about MIN. He said he had either lived
where he was standing or on the corner
above. The earth had been swept so
clean that there was no mark to tell
him where he had lived. At another
place this morning two pretty girls were
poking around In what had once been
the cellar of their home.
Il have beenahere an hour" one Of
them said wearily. land this is every |
thing that have been able to find of |
all my things" and she held up a
twisted and blackened fork. Il can't |
see where our house went to-" she said. |
''There is not even any ashes left. | |
suppose, though, the wind carried them |
out over the lake, but l don't see how it |
could make our home disappear so |
utterly. 1t don't seem possible"
Saved the Piano.
One buXom fraulein. who gave her |
name as Wilhelmina Knoring, sat be-
side the place where she lived yester-
day and viewed cOmplacently the total
absence of anything of her worldly
goods which can be of use to her here.
after.
81 don't care" she said. 81 saved my
piano. Me and my brother there we
saw the fire coming, and l told him that
We must get my piano out. lie
;aid he wanted to save something
hat was some good, but l made
lim help me. My piano had cas-
ers on it and it was not large and we
ust showed it along. Its over there
lOw," waving her hand to a partly de-
nollshed house a square and half
lway. Aud there it was, somewhat
as to. sides and back, but in
rood condition still.
The people whose houses were wiped
,ff the face of the earth are Dy no means
he only ones who suffered heavily. All
tlong the edge of the way the fiery cy-
,lone passed. there is not a window in
nyiStQupn The glass wac oraokad h,- |