The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-06
st. Paul Is Visited by Destruc-
tive Thunder Shower
Last Night
BIG STORE is FLOODED
Choked Drain Pipe On Roof of Foley
Bros. & kelly's Store Causes 1t
to Leak-Tracks Washed
Out.

The worst thunderstorm of the sea-
son occurred shortly after o'clock
and continued almost without intermis-
sion for two hours. The rains came
down in torrents, flooding cutters and
drainage holes until in many portions
OF the city the water ran higher than
the curb
The electrical disturbance was very
severe. Telephone, telegraph and
|. street car wires were affected in diff
ferent localities. Many telephones
| were burned out, and after 10 o'clock it
was almost impossible to use them.
The only serious damage done by
Bros. & Kelly's wholesale store,
Third and Sibley. The store has a
V-shaped roof with the lowest point
| in the center of the building, where
large drain pipe is located to run
off the water. A mud can that had
Deen shot on the roof Friday was
washed down to the drain pipe, and
blocked 1t completely.
The Watchman of the building, MAX
ing his rounds, noticed the water Drop
ping in on the fifth floor. He notified
Of1Ger Thelin, who telephoned for the
insurance patrol When the patrol ar
rived they found three feet of water
on the roof in the deepest point, and
the roof was about ready to give way.
There was over five tons of water,
with no possibility of an outlet. The
can was withdrawn from the pipe and
the insurance patrolmen covered up
all the stock that was in danger Of
| damage.
Dried Fruits Soaked.
The greatest loss was on the fifth
| floor, where there is q large quantity
| of dried fruits stored. The water leak
ed through the roof in great many
| places and much Of the fruit was ruin
ed. The water made it's way down the
five stories to the engine room, but the
insurance patrol had tarpaulins on
most Of the stock. The loss will prob
ably amount to $4,000. None Of the
managers could be seen last night, but
1t is likely that there was no insurance
from loss in this manner.
The Catholic church at North St
Paul was struck by lightning early
during the storm and the church was
almost completely destroyed. Tele-
phonic communication with North ST
Paul was cut off so that the extent OF
the damage could not be learned.
All during the storm the lightning
played about the sky in a threatening
manner, and the short space Of time
| between the flash and the report was
sufficient to keep everybody under COW
er. Along about 10 o'clock the rain
fall was the heaviest and for few mo-
ments 1t came down in solid sheets that
def1ed the protection afforded belated
| pedestrians by mackintoshes and UNI
brellas. In every doorway along Rob-
ert and Wabasha street there were
| crowds of men and women huddled to-
gether in momentary expectation of
being blasted by lightning. At the
principal transfer points the crowds
| were the largest, and each time a car
! came along there was a mad scramble
| of umbrellas and excited homeseekers.
Flower beds, lawns and gardens all
| suffered more or less by the downpour,
| which washed the dirt away in all di-
| rections On the down town streets
! the debris piled high beside each man
| hole, and the street cleaning crew was
| kept busy opening up outlets for the
| streams that came gushing down the
| cutters.
A defective wire struck by the light
ming set fire to the crosstrees of tele-
graph pole at Third and Market streets
and called out the fire department,
while the rain was falling the heaviest.
The cross tree was pulled down, but
| not before a large number of firemen
| were thoroughly soaked. About II
o'clock the rainfall began to cease, and
by midnight the sky had cleared.
Car Tracks Washed Away.
While the storm was at it's height
strip Of track forty feet in length
was washed out at Rondo and Arundel
| streets and traffic was delayed for
| about an hour.
The bridge over Phalen creek, at
| Fourth and Commercial streets, was
washed away shortly after 10 o'clock.
The last two cars on the Fort Shell
ing line were derailed by sand which
had been washed in on the track. A
wrecking car went out at 2 a. m. and
brought several passengers on board
| back into the city.