St. Paul daily globe., 1892-10-30
ONLY HEAPS OF COAL,
Three Thousand People Made
Homeless by Milwaukee's
Conf1agration.
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,O0O,-
600 in Property De-
Stroyed.

MILWAUKEE. Oct. 29.-Fully 5000
people were made homeless by the ter
ribIe contiagration. This is very con-
Der 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 the 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.
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 contlagration. Here and
there were glowing heaps OF 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
decent
Cloud of Smoke.
AS soon as the sun was fairly above
the horizon the people who had fed last
night for their lives came Swarming
back to find out what they had saved, or
rather what had been left for them.
The expression on the faces of many of
ho -a1
swept space which had ten hours earlier
been busy and populous district would
have been ludicrons if it had not been
tragic. Men and women were 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 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 TO burn. Trees
which were full of life are not visible
acknowledgements 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. Nota 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 left of any
house which last night stood in the
pathway of the flames. A type of the
desolaton and hardship which the fire
wrought is the case of Henry Wo1aher,
who conducted a sausage factory on
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:
"lt 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 |
have TO begin life over again." and he
pulled from his pocket the KEYS and
cuff button,
wife talked me into dropping my insur-
ance, and | did it. Last night had in
the house $3.50 in cash, and now | can
not buy single loaf of bread. or ride
on a street car. When | saw the fire
coming L grabbed the $3.50, and
gave it to my wife. telling her to run
with it.
She Got Excited
and threw it Oh the bed and picked I'M
my old overcoat and ran away with
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" he continued. "lf 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 OF 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 been'here an hour" one OF
them said YEARLY. 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. L
though, the wind carried them
out over the lake, but 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 compacently the total
absence of anything of her worldly
goods which can be of use to her here |
after.
II don't care" she said, II 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 |
said he wanted to save something |
that was some good. but l made |
him help me. My piano had cas-
Lers on it and it was not large and we |
Just showed it along. Its over there |
now." waving her hand TO partly de- |
molished house square and a half |
away. Aud there it was, somewhat |
blistered as to. sides and back, but in |
good condition still.
The people whose houses were wiped |
off the face of the earth are by no means |
the only ones who suffered heavily. All |
along the edge of the way the fiery cy-
clone passed. there is not "a window in |
existence. The glass was cracked by |