The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-05-20
Sensations of Being Struck by Light
ming.

A gentleman who, with his wife and
son, was struck by lightning at Iorbay'
England, recently, has written an account
of their experiences to Nature. After
describing how the flash snapped a flag
staff fifty feet high, near which they
were standing, he proceeds: l must
now attempt to describe the effects on
ourselves and the impressions on our
senses, thouch | am conscious OF dl11l-
Guilty in avoiding subjective matter mere
Of the three, my wife only was struck
and fell to the ground, my son and my
self remaining erect, and all three re-
tanning consciousness. For more than
half an hour my wife lost the use OF her
lower limbs and left hand, both OF when
became rigid. From the feet to the
knees she was splashed with rose-c colored
tree-like marks, branching upward,
while a large tree-like mark, with SIX
principal branches diverging from
common center, thirteen inches in its
largest diameter, and bright rose red,
covered the body. None of US are certain
of having seen the flash, and my wife IS
sure she saw nothing. AS to the noise,
nv wife heard believing sound and
squish,' recalling fireworks; my son
also heard below while l seemed
conscious of sharp explosion, My wife
describes her feelings as that OF dying
away gently into darkness and being
reused by tremendous blow on the
body, where the chief mark was after
ward found My son and myself were
conscious of a sudden and terrific gen"
eral disturbance, and he atlirms that he
received a severe and distinctly electrical
shock in both legs. My left arm,
shoulder and throat especially SUI
fered violent disturbance, but l did
not think it was electrical AS L turned
to help my wife, who was on the ground,
l shouted, as | thought, that was unhurt,
and hoped they were also, but it seems
only uttered inarticulate sounds, and my
son, in his first attempt to answer, did
the same. This, however, was only mo-
| mentary in an instant we both spoke
plainly. Neither of us referred the~o
currence Immediately to its true cause,
but the idea of being fired at was present
to all our minds; my wife indeed re-
mained of the opinion that she was shot
through the body until she heard ne
speak of lightning. An intinlteslmal
lapse of time enabled my son and myself
to recognize lightning; but | cannot say
whether did so before or after my first
glimpse of the wreck on the ground.
Neither of us heard or saw the mast fall,
though it descended fifty feet, and fell
on hard gravel close to US. My son ana
myself both experienced a momentary
| feeling of intense anger against some
| person OF persons unknown further
showing that we primarily referred the
| shock to some conscious agency. l
| ought perhaps to add that neither OF US
| felt any sensation of fear at the time, but
we were all very nervous for several days
after. l have endeavored to keep to fact
throughout, but venture to add re-
mark made by my wife as we raised her
from the ground: 4 feel quite sure that
death from lightning must be absolutely
painless;' and offer it as an unconscious
confederation of views on this subject
| which our experience seems to strength
en-"