Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1875-08-06
S!rurRA De:as- in II IwamaSsing-
aigsstning f<Onl "a CLEAR Sky.

SIgHfn'nS a<Oin ~ CLEAR Sky.
The Sioux City Iowa. Journal" gives
the following thrilling account of IL
markabe death by lightning i'll tha
nifty last week:
While the thunder storm of yesterday
afternoon WAS raging at IL distance OF APP
/ parently IL couple Of miles from this place,
!: singular freak of natlte tack place in tl,e
s.tl king by lightning of the depot. and the
Striking and killing sub eIuentIy af J. II.
Boyer, the postmaster ami hlicI1Sniihli %
this place. At ,tbolL . clock in the after
neon, at which time not d cloud ObScured
| the sky overhead or stood between the ,s,li
ltnd the town, Il terrible Hash ut lightning,
/ followed by 1t deafeuing peal Of tltilut:t,
stilck the wires of the telegraph ollic7 ard
set it OH fire. Tne damage done III the
| telegraph apparatus was most complete
| the wires being torn to pieces, and the diff
| ferent Instruments being almost without
exception distorted and broken and COM
pletely wrecked. immediately after the
stroke John III. Boyer, who was in his shop
/ at the time, ran out in the street towards
the depot, where some boys had been play
ing. He approached them rapidly and
said, why, boys. thought some Of you
had been struck. [ WAS frightened Oh ac-
count of YOU" He evidently had it in his
mind that the terrible shock might have
frightened his family, as he started toward
Ills home Immediately. When wit lin
about fifty yards Of the house, from the
front window Of which ms wife was
anxiansly Watching his approach. another
vivid flash Of lightning dazZled the eyes of
| all, and ere the thunder had ceased rolling,
the naked body of the unfortunate man
was seen to he lying prone upon the ground.
\ number of people, among them l.is wife,
rushed to the spot. and SO horrible WAS the
situation that it was not until he had been
carried TO the house that 4 full apprecla-
ton was had of the terrible death which
nature had inflicted upon hiaa. An eXami-
nation OF the body, from which every YES
tige Of clothing, not excluding even pair
of cowhide boots, had been instantly torn.
showed that the subtle and terribly fatal
| fluid had first struck him on the top OF his
head, whence, though the skull was left
apparently intact, the hair had been burn
ed off for the space of the size of silver
dollar. Thence the fluid had run down
the side Of the face, us was shown by Il
clearly cut track, to the shoulder, and
thence to the heart, whence it had appar-
\ emily spread all over the body.
\ The terrible power of the fluid was
shown by the presence in the ground, on
4 the spot where the unfortunate mans body
! had been picked up. of hole eight feet
4 deep by actual measurements The cloth
] ing of the deceased was found to have been
| shredded, and when first discovered was
/ on fire, while the silver watch he carried
had been driven into the ground, and
I, when lifted up, it was found that the works
\ had been fused into q mass of shapeless
! metal The scene at the house of deceased
who leaves Il wife and three children to
mourn his loss, was painful beyond power
\ of words to describe, and those who had
been led to the spot by curiosity could not
J remain. The affair has created the pro-
! foundest sensation in the town, where the
/ deceased was both loved and ravered by
all who knew him in either public or pri-
vate life