South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1875-08-13
struck Dead in q Twinkline. BY
a Flush Of Liysfnisg jfoa ess@ Sky.


Flush Of Liysfning Jtoa 4 ess@ Sky.
fron De slosa City (lo~.l JssrsSz. ya,y 10.
while the thsnder-stornof yesterday
sftefnoon was raging At . distance OF APP
pareatly . coaple e milcs from this
place, singular freak Of nature took
place. in the striking by lightning Of the
depot, and striking and killing subse-
quently Of j. II. Boyer. the postmaster
and blacksmith of this city. At about
o'clock I'm the sftemoon, atwhich time
not cloud obscursd the sky overhead.
or stood between the sun and tho town,
a terrific fash OF lightning, followed 10y
o deafening peal Of thunder, struck the
wires Of the telegraph Office and set It
on fire. Tho damage done to the telc-
graph apparatus was most complete. the
wires being torn to pieces and the differ.
ent Instruments being almost without
exception distorted and broken and CON-
pletely wrecked. Immediately after the
stroke. John III. Boyer, who was in his
shop at the time, ran out in the street to-
ward the depot, where some boys had
been playing. lie approached them ra-
pidly and said: '.why. boys, 1 thought
some OF you had been struck. was
frightened on account Of YOU" lie evi.
IDENTITY had it in his mind that the terri
bic shock might have frightened his IA.
mily, as he started toward his home i'm.
mediately. When within about fifty
yards OF the house, from the front win
dow OF which his wife was anxiously
watching his approach. another vivid
fash OF lightning dazzled the eyes Of all,
and, ere the thunder had ceased rolling,
the naked body OF the unfortunate man
was seen to be lying prone upon the
ground. A number of people, among
them his wife. rushed to the spot, and so
horrible was the situation that it was not
until he had been carried to the house
that full appreciation was had OF the
terrible death which nature had inflicted
upon him. An examination OF the body,
from which every vestige Of clothing,
not excluding even pair Of cowhide
boots, had been instantly torn, showed
that the subtitle and fatal fluid had first
struck him on the top of his head, whence,
though the skull was left apparently in
tact, the hair had been burned Off for
the space of the size of silver dollar.
Thence the fluid had run down the side
of the face, as was shown by clearly
cut track, to the shoulder, and thence
to the heart, where it apparently had
spread all over the body.
The terrible power of the fluid was
shown by the presence in the ground. on
the spot where the unfortunate mans
body had been picked up, of q hole
feet deep by actual measurement. The
clothing of the deceased was found to
have been shredded, and when first dis
covered was on fire, while the silver
watch he carried had been driven into
the ground. and, when lifted up, it was
found that the works had been fused in
to n lump OF shapeless metal. The
scene ut the house Of the deceased, who
leaves n wife and three children to mourn
his loss, was pain full beyond words TO
describe, and those who had been led
to the spot through curiosity could not
remain. The affair has created the pro-
foundest sensation in the town, where
the deceased was both loved and rever.
ed by all who knew him in either public
or private life