The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1881-07-08

= lists have made electricity subseryient to th
y use of man In the rapid transition of mes
0 sages to distant points. Latterly, Bell ant
8 others have made 1t serve as errand boys Ii
: cities and towns, carrying messages and ma
: terially aiding business men in the expedi
! ton Of their transactions. More recently
Edison and his coadjutos and competitor
: have "made light" of electricity in com.
pressed form. And now It remains to be
seen whether or not some inventive genius
] will command Its services as motive power
: That electricity Is . great and importan,
factor In the execution Of public and private
business, no one at this time would have the
temerity to deny-for without the telegraph
IL would be next to impossible to govern a
Nation like this; nor could commercial
transactions be carried forward with prompt
ness and dispatch. Do away with all exist
ing telegraph lines In America for even a
single day, and the Ship of State F" would
drift upon uncertain waters, as unstable as a
vessel at sea without helm, rudder or COM
pass.
Electricity, however, like fire and water,
makes a very good, indispensable servant.
but Is severe and unrelenting in the capacity
of master. 1t Is claimed by lightning rod
men that their "electric conductors" are
proof positive against destruction to proper
i ty, such as houses, barns, buildings or super
structures of any kind /; but the "lightning-
rod mans" word is not universally taken
1 wifb0nf diea0npf and Al 80,
be found who affirm that no lightning con-
douctor affords absolute protection, even
when put up by those most conversant with
the business. Whether this assertion be true
or otherwise, there are doubtless very many
| of these so-called conductors that are either
wholly worthless or perhaps dangerous, ow-
ing to their having been put up by men of
inexperience, who care more for q mans
money than they do for the safety Of his
property or the lives of his family. Electro
clans of experience and reliability claim that
no rod will afford protection outside of
radius equal to four times the. length of the
perpendicular portion extending upward
from the roof, aud that where the "upright "
is not Of sufficient length to insure protec-
ton, 1t Is worse than useless.
Taking into consideration the facts that in
many cases the capacity for protection is in
sufficient; that the great masses of people
are either too INDECENT or too Indifferent to
provide lightning rods, and also that many
are caught by storms in travelling where shell
ter of any kind is not accessible, IL is not
strange that many lives and much property
are destroyed annually. There are many
thoughtless and indiscreet persons, too, who
needlessly hazard their lives in ways
without number-such as sitting by an open
stove Especially If any part of 1t is made of
steeD; also the handling of steel tools, or
the fast riding Of q horse-the current
arising from the over-heated animal being an |
excellent conductor-each of these things |
should be avoided during the prevalence of |
an electric storm. Still in the use of all |
precautions, there are sometimes inst ances |
where the freaks of electricity are as mex
plicable as they are destructive. We ap-
pend q few Of the many cases we have
our land, which 60 to show that this wonder
full and only partially understood agency
electricity is still in need Of harnessing-lf /
scientific research and discovery is equal to
such task:
Beginning near home, the residence of ID.
N. Dellinger, hardware merchant, Of Butte,
was struck on the 2lst ult., the bolt descend
ing Hue to the stove, perforating a water
pail that was upon the stove, but doing no
serious damage.
The first death by. hghtning ever recorded
in Nevada occurred MAY 2ist, in Virginia
City, the victim being Chinaman. In the
same storm bolt Clipped out fifty tons of
rock from cliff and sent it down the noun
tain into the. valley.
Two brothers named Bowen. while piow-
ing IN held near Clarksyille, Ark, were in
stantly killed by lightning Every bone in
their bodies was broken.
In the home Of DIR. Nelson, Marblehead,
Mass, the bell-wires were melted by light
ming, the picture cords were burned, and let
expensive paintings fall to the floor. Jere-
miah =. smith was fixing leader to his
when he was struck by a bolt ,
that encircled his body at the waist, and COM
pletely paralyzed the lower half
A stroke Of lightning one evening last week
killed Miss Lizzie Hutchinson and Miss Cox | ,
probably fatally hurt Mrs. Hutchinson, and
II
N wagon in Montague county, Texas.
In storm mt La Sale, ILL.,, one man, thir-
zen head Of stock and a large amount of
arm machinery were destroyed by lightning. 4
John Jordan, of Saugerties, New York, .
ost three fine calves that were killed while
standing under tree.
At Lynn, Mass, lightning entered the I
iouse OF MIS-. Charles Hawkes., ripped up the /,
carpets, upset the furniture and set clothing |
n closet on fire.
A very severe storm visited Long Island
une 18th. The rain was very heavy, and
he hail stones large, and the thunder and I
lightning incessant: L. w, son of George
Watching the storm, was killed by the light
ling. The mother was unhurt. La
The Rev. j. b. Evans and his son-in-law, of .
srookville, Penn, were killed while plant !
ne corn, rs was also Charles j. Swallow, aged
orty-fve, of Dunstable, Mass.
Henry Klosman, carman OF Pittsfield,
ass, while on the way to the depot with a
DAD Of goods, was struck by lightning and 8
instantly killed. The wagon was demolished
md the packages Of goods opened.
There were twelve horses In a barn at
Bloomington, Ill, when 10 was struck by
ghtning. A 5000 stallion, the only animal
4 value, was killed.
zee, June 10th, the house of Fred Dittman.
n the suburbs, was struck by lightning, the :,
cry fluid demolished portion Of the house .
nd instantly killed Mrs. Dittman, who was q
work in the pantry of the kitchen In the N
itchen the stove was broken into atoms, and :.
very utensil twisted out of all shape. The u
irniture In three rooms was reduced to Ii
plinters, and all of the locks and hinges in !,
ne house torn from their fastenings The =
cad woman was not disfigured, and the only
lark about her person was blue splafch on
ne temple. Six children in the house es-
aped. q,
While Frank Patterson, q bachelor, at Big ii
reek, Kansas, was cooking his breakfast his !.
othes were peeled from him in an Instant Oh
I'd he was hurled naked upon the floor The OF
oit passed out Of his heels through the floor -,
a a ,kiiied nve chickens. Patterson will re- .
Lightning struck the residence Of DR.. ME-. W
aliwins 81 Geueseeville,- Mich, shatterinq j,
.ery window In the house. The bolt enter. ~
the chimney, followed the stoyepipes. aud IA
lined every stove in the house. The doctor ~
"a . two-year-old child In his arms The =
aid struck him on the shoulder, passed u
1wn between him and the child seorcb.d m