Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1869-07-21
SINGULAR EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING
An sfUpward" Stroke.
From the Lexington (Yt,) Gazette. ]


About two o'clock on the 1st of June a
which a sudden and violent peal of thun-
der startled the whole town, succeeding the
flash of Lightning so quickly rs to impress
every one with the belief that the 'stroke'
was near at hand. This was soon found
to be true for the ''mysterious agent had
visited, in u very unceremonious way,
the residence of Mr.. Francis Jinks, who
lives on the northwest border of the town.
The features of the phenomenon were
in some respects very remarkable. |. 1t
seems TO have been what the electri-
clans call IAN upward stroke, that is,
according to DR.. Franklin's theory of
electricity, the cloud was in a negative
condition. and by its attractive force had
accumulated q heavy charge of the "elec-
trio fluid" III it be fluid) in that part of
the earth below In its efforts to reach
the cloud the electricity would OF
course. pass off at the point where it
found the least resistance TO its upward
flow, which, in this case, seems to have
been Mr.. Jink's lightning rod. 2. A Second
popularity was the effects upon the ground
in the vicinity of the house. The soil near
lllb buTlhCb WIS luIIOMtNl lOuE LlkLuk
lines nearly at right angles to each other,
and all converging toward the lightning
rod, which stands at the western end of the
house. These burrows were upheaved very
much as if q large mole had plowed his
tortuous path beneath the soil, coming
near enough TO the surface in some parts to
throw the clay entirely out on both sides
ofits open track. Two Of the burrows seem
TO have commenced Mt least twenty feet
from the base of the rod in opposite sides
and to have run in lines nearly parallel
with the end Of the house, while a third
one met them, coming distance Of fifteen
feet and varying little from perpendic-
ular 10 the general line of the first two.
These three seem to have taken their HARM
less fight through the rod. The fourth,
however which had its origin on
the opposite end of the house and
more than thirty-feet from the, rod,
behaved in o much more singular
manner--in fact, IL appears TO have
acted az q sort Of independent stroke. In
stead Of passing on to the rod it took a
shorter route into the atmosphere (or
wherever IL went) byrunning into heavy
locust post on which a corner Of the back
porch rested, and at the point Of tho build
ing most remote from the lightning rod
The post Was utterly demolished, its frag-
ments being thrown of in every direction,
some knocking the planks Off the yard
fence, and Others flying away TO the dis
tancO of o hundred yards. From the To-
Gust post the electricity passed upa wooden
pillar which supported the porch roof, tear
ing il into thousand splinters. When the
charge reached the roof II tore up q few
shingles near the corner, but after that II
seems TO have lost its power; for, although
the house il story higher than the porch,
and intervenes between the stricken corner
and the lightning rod, not q trace of elec.
trio action could be found beyond the cor.
ner of the porch roof. Nj and Mrs. Jinks,
who were at the time In their basement
dining room, we're both severely shocked,
but received no permanent injury. The
place was carefully examined after the
storm was over by Professor Campbell, Of
Washington College, who. expresses the
opinion that the lightning rod saved both
the house and its occupants. He thinks
that the violence Of tho discharge was due
in part 70 the insufficient size OF the rod
| dt being slender iron rod), and in part ID
the want Of perfect conducting commune
cation between the rod and the earth.
These suggest important points 10 be at
tended 70 Id the construction OF lightning
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