The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-08-26
property Damaae in st. PAUL Is Estimated at $500 00-Not
a Section Of City Escaped Devastating Breath
OF the Storm.
Business and Residence Portions Of Minneapolis a Mass OF
Debris-1oth Cities Entirely Isolated From
Rest Of the Country.

years to repair. Magnificent trees
were pulled up by the roots or
snapped as if straws. Flowers and
shrubs were beaten into the ground
by the downpour of water and
thrashed to shreds by the wind. Gull
lies were cut in drives and walks and
the grass roots of hillside lawns were
dug from the earth.
Wreck and Ruin Everywhere.
No quarter of the city escaped en-
tirely. In that part of the business
district which is adjacent within three
blocks of the river and lies between
Wabasha and Robert streets Is the
scene of ruin most startling. Out of a
total Of probably 100 buildings in this
district scarcely one escaped without
serious damage.
Street car service in st. Paul was
almost abandoned up till noon yester-
day. The entire system of trolley
wires is almost a total wreck and 1t
will cost thousands of dollars to repair
the damage.
Railways escaped with but little
damage from the tornado.
The property loss in St. Paul is es-
timated at 81, 600, 900.
Hits Business District Hard.
No estimate of the damage in the
business district is likely to be more
than the merest chance to come close
to the actual figures. Hundreds of
business houses suffered some dam
age. Most of them will be able to
count their losses below a thousand
dollars; a number will go above that
mark. but few will multiply a thou
sand to fix the real damage. How
ever, it is safe to say that the aggre-
gate losses will reach into the hum
dreds of thousands. But the loss Is sc
widely distributed that all business
will go on as usual and no firm is hurt
materially.
Goods Soaked by Rain.
The roof OF the building occupied by
Finch, Young & McConville was torn
of on the Fourth street side, and the
rain poured into the building in tor
rents, flooding the basement. The loss
will be between $4,000 and $40, 900.
George Sommers & Co., Fourth
street, wholesale notions, also sus-
tanned heavy losses. When the roof
of the building was rent by a bolt OF
lightning, the water tank on the top
of the building, used to supply the
sprinkling system, burst and deluged
the store from top to bottom.
Goods Blown Into Street.
The bricks that fell from the Finch,
Young & McConville building crashed
into the Fourth street windows of
Lindeke, Warner & Sons, on the oppo-
site side Of the street, breaking ten
large lights on the lower floors. Sew
eral windows were broken on the up
goods was blown into the street.
The loss of the firm will approach ST.
900
Part of the roof Of the Davidson
block, Fourth and Jackson streets.
was blown into the street and the
brick fell on a horse belonging to the
Wells-Fargo Express company and
broke it's back.
A long stretch Of the roof of the Mil
Wdukoe IFolSuL SuSuS was llILou TON
the building and carried onto the rail-
road tracks and the roof of the Rock
Island round house was partially de-
strOyed.
Cars Blown From Track.
A Rock Island freight train. that
had stopped under the Robert street
bridge, was caught by the terrific
wind %broadside and several of the
cars were blown from the tracks.
They slid down the levee and stopped
at the brink Of the river.
Eleven or twelve large plate glass
show windows of the Hub Clothing
house were blown In by the wind and
a large quantity of goods in show
cases was damaged. The loss Is esti-
mated at between IS, 1000 and SIC, 1000.
The roof of Warehouse No. / of
Tibbs, Hutchings. & Co., Seventh and
Pine streets. was torn from the build
ing and thrown into the street. The
building was heavily stocked with dry
goods. The loss Is estimated at 31O.-
600 on stock and building.