St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-07-02
A Laurel Avenue Mansion
Thoroughly I'm ORIGINATED
With Sulphur.
Every Floor, from Roof to
Basement, Shows Traces
of the Bolt.
Miraculous Escape Of the In
mates, Only One Of Whom
Was Shocked.
1t was struck by lightning.

LII WAS SlIu Wy liS LituihS'
That briefly explains why nice two
story frame dwelling at S23 LAUREL ave-
nue. looked, yesterday afternoon, like
man-of-war that had just come out OF
hot engagement. The house is occupied
by Ii. A. Long, who, with his wife, lit
tie daughter, two years old, and young
woman, was at home when the dwelling
was disfgured. Mrs. Long was shocked
into insensibility by the stroke, but the
other members of the family escaped.
The lightning did the burglar act in
great style. 1t left marks of its visit in
every room, but no evidence to show the
course of its movements. 1t was during
the morning storm, just about O'Clock,
Mr.. Long thought, when the house was
struck. He was in the bed room
up stairs at the time and stood about
six feet from stove that was near the
door of the room. There was no par
ticular crash, but a sudden explosion
like that of
A LARGE FIRE CRACKER.
The stove pipe was thrown out OF
place and there was shower OF bricks,
lime, ETC., about the stove and IN the
hall. Mr.. Long rushed down stairs to
see if the family was all right. He
found Mrs. Long lying on the Kitchen
floor insensible and her little daughter
standing near her. A doctor was at
once called and after some time Mrs,
Long was restored to consciousness.
When a GLOBE reporter visited the
house yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Long
was feeling as well as ever. She had
an occasional singing sensation In her
limbs, similar to those experienced by
person who is taking a galVanlc SHOCK.
The most peculiar thing about 1T was
that the little girl, when Mrs. Long was
shocked, happened to be standing
between the spot where the lightning
had left its mark i'll the kitchen and the
place where Mrs. Long stood. Although
but three feet from the current, the
child was not touched.
An examination of the house after the
electric visit showed additional evidence
of the peculiar freaks of lightning. The
bolt struck the top of the chimney, scat
tering the bricks around the house. 1t
ran down the chimney from the roof to
the ceiling of the second floor, and split
the fiue directly i'll half. One side was
left standing, while the bricks from the
other side were scattered around
THROUGH THE GARRETT.
A large part of the bricks fell through
on the second floor in the room where
Mr.. Long stood. Besides the removal or
the stove two holes were singed in the
carpet, each almost as large as a
mans hand. In the parlOr be-
low few pieces of thing
were taken up from the hearth
and deposited in the sitting room in the
rear. The curtain from one of the
three windows On the left-hand side of
the sitting room was torn down, but the
windows were unbroken. On the right
hand side of the room a window near
the corner was broken, and quantity
of plaster fell down on the floor and
piano. The corner near the broken
window was shattered on the outside,
and showed that part of the bolt had
taken that course from the roof to the
ground. In the kitchen adjoining,
where Mrs. Long was injured, the only
marks left were three grooves in the
floor behind the door. Each groove was
about eighteen inches long and three
quarters of an inch wide. 1t was within
three or four feet of this that the little
girl stood, while Mrs. Long was about
six feet away. Although the lightning
was in, through and about the house
nothing wos set On fire, and the family
is inclined to congratulate itself on the
remarkable circumstance that no one
was killed.