St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-25
Thursdays Storm Develops
Into a Catastrophe in
Many Respects.
Stores Flooded, Wires Down,
Roads Washed Out, Streets
Made Useless,
And Even the Stagnant, Ill
Smelling and BUNNY Old
River Rebels.
Surrounding Country Also
Suffers Heavily--Killed
by Lightning.

CHICAGO, June "a. - The damage
wrought by the storm yesterday and
last night is much worse than at first
supposed. Over three inches OF rain fell
in Chicago and immediate vic Unity
Sewers were bursted, and the dirty
water flooded the easements of the
downtown stores. Fire engines were
called into service to pump out the
water. The damage to stock in the
various stores will foot up s15O,OOO. The
Chicago river rose rapidly and all traffic
in the harbor had to be suspended, as
the current was so strong that the tug
boats, could do nothing. One of the
worst features was the damage to the
streets, over thirty-five miles of which
are left in an impossible condition. 1t
is estimated that $50, 900 will be required
to put them in condition. The telephone
service suffered considerably, and large
gangs of men were busy all day untang
ling the wires.
Outside the city the damage was very
severe. Railroads were washed out and
traffic was practically suspended ON all
roads. Many mails did not arrive until
late tonight. Just how much damage
has been done TO crops Is not easy to
estimate. The general report is that
wheat and oats have suffered by the
storm, but corn has been but little
affected. Where harvesting is i'll prog
ress the heavy rains will delay it.
a special dispatch says that grain is
badly lodged for twenty-five miles Gu
both sides of the Mississippi. A cyclone
at Harvey. ILL.,, blew down a dozen
houses and injured number of people,
but thus far no deaths have been re-
ported.
At Ottawa, ILL.,, the Fox and Illinois
rivers are within a fO Otof the high
water mark of May. Resi- dents III the
lOWlandS have been forced out of their
homes again. and the factories along
the rivers are under water. Favton, H.,
is perhaps the heaviest loser in the Fox
valley, as the largest factories are under
water, and the dam which supplies the
power Of tile mills has gone out. The
water rose five iacAes today at Rock
Island. and much fear is felt, as the
dyke which protects the city may break.
AT Rockford the water is falling.
Towns Submerged.
tIDe extreme west END OF Tie city is IN
some parts a lake, and the suburbs
lying west and northwest of the limits
have suffered greatly. Early this even.
ing the north branch of the Chicago
river rose to such an extent that the
water in the vicinity of Ravenswood
began TO flow over the banks, with the
result that at midnight, it is reported,
1,400 houses in that suburb are sur
rounded by water for depth of one to
three feet. The town of Cicero is also
flooded, many houses being entered by
means of temporary bridges.
Through the streets of Austin this
afternoon water was flowing several
inches deep. Not basement escaped
flooding and wooden sidewalks are
floating around in all directions. The
same reports come from Ridgeland,
Moreland and other suburban towns.
The amount of damage in the city and
Outlying districts cannot even be ap-
proximateIy estimated for some days.
The rainfall here yesterday was 3.S
inches, and nearly as much fell on each
of the two preceding days.