Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-09-10
The Playful Lightning.

While Seymour Caykendall and his
family were sitting quietly at noon yes
terday, writes Matamoras, Pa, cor
respondent of the New York Sun, dur
ing terrible thunderstorm, three ex-
cited neighbors burst into the house
and wanted to know if any of the fam
lily were hurt or killed. That was the
first the Caykendalls knew that light
ming had struck their house, and that
the fluid had been playing all over and
about It, The bolt had struck the roof
near the chimney, tearing hole through
it as big as tub. It did not enter the
house, but dividing into three parts
coursed in different directions over it.
One portion of the current flashed
along the roof to the south end of
the house, another travelled north,
and the third took an east
ward course along the ridge
pole of an extension. The current that
went south slid down veranda post,
which is scattered in slivers about the
yard, and entered the ground. The di-
vision Of the current which took the
opposite direction also started for the
ground or veranda post, but when half
way down met the end of wire clothes
line, which was fastened to the post.
Switching off on this line the fluid was
conducted to tall post at the other end
of the wire. This post it made short
work of, and then leaped to the ground
at the side of coal-house in an adj
joining yard, twelve feet away. Plow-
ing channel for itself in under this
coal-house from one side to the other,
the fluid turned upward and struck a
chicken-coop at spot where another
wire clothes-line was fastened. Tearing
away portion of the siding on the
hen-house, the current followed the
wire to its terminus on an clubhouse,
which it scattered about this garden,
and then buried itself in the ground.
Still another wire line ran parallel with
the one on which this portion of the
original bolt made it's last journey, and
five feet distant. A linen handkerchief
was hanging on this line, and as the
current passed it on the other wire the
handkerchief parted in zigzag tear
ascending from the bottom to the top.
That portion of the fluid which had
passed along the ridgepole of the ex-
tension left the roof at one corner, and
in passing down also came in contact
with wire clothes-line, followed it to
another yard, where it tore an clubhouse
to pieces and disappeared in the ground.
The electrical display at Caykendall's
house was hardly over when lightning
struck tall pole in Charles Leppertis
yard, on the same street. There the
partiality of Matamoras people for wire
clothes-lines came in good play again
for the lightning. One was attached to
the pole, whence it extended to the
corner of the house, and then to hen
house at the lower end of the garden.
Next to the hen-house was hop-vine,
next to that fourishing grapevine,
and near the two a gay-colored bed of
flowers. The fluid ran along the wire
to the corner of the house, and tore off
portion of the siding. It then passed
along to the hen-house, where it did
but little damage, played simultaneous
" about the hop-vine, grapevine and
flower bed, and then disappeared. The
vines and plants stalks, flowers
and all-were here changed to coal
black in the twinkling of an eye At the
moment the lightning struck the corner
of the dwelling Mrs. Leppert was in
room in the second story, She felt a
severe blow on the right side of her
head, which stunned her for an instant.
Then a peculiar numbness passed over
her right side and leg. This soon passed
away,and was followed by a burning
sensation in two spots on the hip. Mrs.
Leppert found two round black and
blue spots the size of dime where she
had felt the burning.
The play of electricity about the vii
lage during the storm was almost I'M
broken for twenty minutes, but no 9th
er damage was done.