Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-05-14

clung to their husbands, children TO their
parents, brothers and sisters to each
other, and despair was depicted upon
every countenance. Suddenly the crash
came and with deafening sound min
gled with the shrieks of the pent up peo-
pie, timbers, scantling and all came down
with sudden crash upon the devoted
heads Of the congregation, men, women,
and children. Some had skulls broken,
others arms, others received internal in
juries from which they can never recov-
er. There are several who did not
receive scratch, but nearly all were
more or less injured.
THE KILLED AND WOUNDED.
The killed were George Vern, Harri-
son Wixon, and Alonzo Page. The fol-
lowing were dangerously wounded t.: Mrs.
Joseph N. Wood, since dead, Truman
Lord, John Jack, Miss. Alice Wixon,
George Talbot, Miss. Lucy Yard, Mrs.
Wess and two children, Albert Wess,
Daniel Churchill, wife and son, jackson
Rirden and wife, Albert Rirden, Peter
Autimer, Luther Hibbard, Joseph Pit
tard, Henry Holcomb, Carrie Holcomb,
Charles Il. House, Emma Churchill. Mrs.
A. NJ. Page, one son and daughter wound
ed and son killed.
A PRovIDENTIAL ESCAPE.
Services were to have been held at the
same hour in the Methodist church, but
owing to the ne tn-arrival of the minister
the services were postponed. This church
was also entirely demolished.
PHENOMENON AT CHICAGO.
On Tuesday last Chicago was envelop-
ed in such dense and sudden darkness
as to cause dread and alarm in the minds
of the citizens of that wicked place.
Thrice, in rapid succession, was the city
plunged in this deep darkness but the
cloud lifted finally in a few moments,
and disappeared-as suddenly as it came.
There were, doubtless, more prayers said
in those few minutes than were ever
uttered in Chicago in the same space of
time.
SINGULAR FREAKS OF LIGHTNING.
A telegraph pole OH the Toledo,
Peoria and Warsaw Railway, near Ell
Paso, was sruck by lightning during a
Thunderstorm about mile east of the
later place, producing the most extraor-
dinary effects. 1t did not shatter the
pole, but burst the insulator, making a
blaze of light, as intense as a thousand
gas jets, and so OH for five poles. 1t then
ran down one pole aud leaped to the
track, and ran back without doing any
damage until it struck the engine of an
approaching train. 1t ran up one of the
drivers and burst section of two feet
out of the solid tire, and passing along
the boiler, without doing any damage, it
reached the lever and went upward with
blaze of light similar TO that OH the
| telegraph wire, and with detonation
! like small cannon. So intense was the
! light, and so violent was the shock that
the engineer was nearly blinded, and
almost stunned.
4 new house was struck at Blooming
ton, Iowa, and the lightning exhibited
some strange freaks. Fouror five of the
workmen were knocked down, receiving
severe shocks in various parts of their
! persons. A hammer in tile hand of one
| OF the men was knocked out of his
| hand to a distance of some feet, and the
hand and arm temporarily paralyzed.
A steel square lying on bench had the
corners OF one end melted off and the
board on which it was lying charred and
blcakened. The men related the
singular appearance of things, saying
that globes or points of electric fire were
| playing all over the building, especially
about the tools, and also says that in
passing cut of the building the electrici-
! ty sought points where there were nails
and absolutely burned them up in its
passape out