Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1871-04-12
HOW 1T FEELS TO BE STRUCK BY
LIGHTNING.

George Mills writes as follows to the
Chicago Tribune:
On the evening of the 10Th day Of
July, 1870 1 was struck by lightning
under the following circumstances am
a ia mer, and had gone to the pasture,
three fourth of a mile from the house, on
bors eback, to drive home the cows. A
heavy shower had just fallen, accompa-
MED by much lightning and loud thunder,
and a little rain was falling, we would
say it way "sprinkling.' While riding
through the field | discovered small
cluster of cookie burrs, noxious weed
that iifests many farms in this section of
the country. The cattle were feeding
near me. I dismounted and held the
horse with one hand, and proceeded to
pull mp the burs with the other. While
STOPPING to pull the last one, my hand
grasy ed close TO the root, the horse stand
ing with bis head partly over my stoop-
ing body. flash of lightning struck the
horse. entering his head in and behind
his left ear. tearing two holes in the
skin behind the ear. and though he was
wet with rain, the hair was singed from
bis head. neck, shoulders, and one front
leg to the ground he Of course was in
stantly killed. 4 small portion of the
electric fluid struck me on the right TEN,
pie, singeing the lashes of the right eve,
and slightly burning or soalding the face
rendering Zoe unconscious for little time.
The following were the sensations and
phenomea as observed and remembered
them; First. felt myself enveloped in
sheet of perfectly white light, accom-
panied by sense of suffocation by heat.
The light could be seen as well through
the back Of the head as with the eyes,
and appeared to extend several feet on all
s;des Of me; then / experienced sense
of danger, and tried to escape injury
from MY horse Then followed a troubled
dream, in which / was hauling load of
hay in company with another person, and /
in spite Of all the effort could make to
avoid it. the load of hay was about to
fall on me When in my dream | made
a last desperate effort to spring from I'D
der the hav | found mvs,lf standing on
nv feet The first thing | observed was
that the cattle, in fright were running
from me: and next, that stood in front
of The prostrate horse. Instantly | com
pretended 'he sitration. and listened TO
hear the thuuder that should have accom-
panied the Lightning, cut no thunder
could be beard. felt no pain and no
sensation, except a mental exultation,
which lasted but a few seconds.
At first l thought the lightning had
struck near me. and had slightly stunned
the horse and myself. Then | observed
the water on every hair and the moisture
in the eyes, nostr.ls and mouth of the
horse 10 be boiling, having the appear
ance ard making a noise like fine drops
of water on a h. iron. which continued
for several seconds This was a pheno-
neon | have never heard of, probably
because person near enough to see it is
most always rendered unconscious too
long to make the observation. Judging
from the distance the cattle had run,
was probably unconscious less than six
seconds
Finding that the horse did not breath,
| proceeded to pull of the saddle and
bride. aud then felt a severe pain in
nv head. which continued for several
hours, followed by soreness, which
seemed to be in the substance of the t
brain, with an inclination to inflammation,
but at the end Of week no effects of
the lightning were felt. {