Demoine courier., 1855-08-16
Court House Struck BY Lightning

VV~Ap AAVuSV SVs 0Vh ~ As6oVAAtu6s
On the 23c inst, the cu2alo Of The
court house in Taylor comfy, Va, was
struck by lightning while the court wss
in session, and a large number Of persons
within The building. One man was in
stauly killed, and several others pros
,rated, some Of whom were severly in
jared. The Fairmon! V~irginian says:
Our informant, who was in The court
room at the time of the occurrence, rep
resents the scene as a most terrifying
one. The building appeared to him to
to be coming down bodily under the
pressure Of some tremendous weight,
and he instinc:ively felt for a support
Collecting his thoughts, however, the ma
ture Of The occurrence was Instantly ev.
idens 10 him, and he and other persons
ran out at the side doors of the building.
Jus, then, The SCREAMS Of some ladies on
the other eide OF The sheet convinced
them that q sad calamity had resulted.
and on reaching the front Of the build
ing the character Of the calamity was Wis
ible n all. Stretched on the bricks lay
a number Of persons; in the midst OF
them the denuded body Of the Rev.
Hezekiah Durham, the young man who
was killed. and whose person had been
stripped Of every vestige of clothing.
Fortunately for the sufferers. the per
sons present knew the best method Of
restoring them TO consciousness. and soon
dragged them out into the rain. and com
menced dashine water upon them. After
tho sufferers found lying in .he entry
had been cared for. the jury rooms above
were visited, ard in one Of these were
discovered three more individuals who
had been so stunned as 10 be unable to
help themselves. Two Of them wee
taken ~, into the raiE; the friends Of the
third, from mistaken kindness, would not
let him be taken OF, and he consequently
suffered much more than his companions
or the persons shocked, soms recovered
90 as 10 get away from Prun,ytown the
same evening; We, on the next morning
when our ,nforman, Left there were still
six or eight confined TO their rooms If not
10 their beds, and one or more of them
in q very precarious condition.
Mr.. Dunham, Ordained to the minis.
try about two weeks ago by the Baptist.
church in Pruntytown,) was standing.
when the electric fluid struck him. ia the
front door of the court house, with his
head leaning sgains. the casing. The
other persons injured were standing near
him. in the entry. One man was consid-
erably scorched by the heating Of q pair
of spectacles which he had in his pock-
Of. Ano,her's watch proved 80 attractive
that il was partially fused.
The Virginian has also the following
account Of . narrow escape from death
in Taylor county, a few days previous
TO the above occurrence:
Mr.. Alexander Williamson and four
Of his children were binding whea. on
Friday last. some three hundred yards
from his house. A cloud was fast rising
His eldest SOP was some ihiriy-6ve yards
from his father; the rest a little nearer.
When The lightning struck, they were all
p~rostra,edl Mrs, Williamson saw them
ell down. from she house. and started lor
The field a. fast ~ possible. By the time
she arrived. The children we're up. Mr..
W. lay apparently dead. She sen. 10
the house for camphoI, and bathed him
a considerable while before any appear.
ance OF life returned. He was supck on
the right shoulder. TIE lightning ran
down his arm 10 HE fingers. and down
his right side. divided near the hip. one
par. running across the abdomen and
down both thighs and legs to the toes,
scorching all the hair of his body, and
burning the skin and dcshirom The suoul-
der 70 the toes. The right sleeve Of The
shirt and The right eide OF the shirt body
was torn all into small pieces. The
pants though newly lined. weHa badly