The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1889-10-17
IN AN AWFUL SHAPE.

Death ZONES To . Ltn0n0n IN New 1OrR
city Killed While Attending &c HIS
Duties Ills BODY Is FrishtfulIy burned
by the Wires Before II Can Ise Taken
Down.
NEW YoRK, Oct IA crowd of people
at the corner OF Center and Chambers
streets witnessed horrisyfng fcene FRI
day. At the southwest corner Of Chambers
and Center streets there Is o telegraph
pole fifty feet high. with a double set Of
cross-arms on it extending east and west
and north and south. On these arms are
telephone and telegraph wires and nine
elcctric-light wires.
just before o'clock .. NJ two linemen
OF the Western Union Telegraph Company
were sent to cut down nix dead wires
which were on tho pole They climbed up,
and at about l:l5 o'clock one OF them,
John Feeks, was seen to be falling by
fireman in the engine house beside the
pole. The other lineman got down
the pole as rapidly as possible and ran
away. He was evidently badly scared and
no one tried to stop him. As Feeks fell he
struck on one OF the Cross ARMS with his
head anu ons hand on the clectric-iight
wires The current was completed In an
instant the body stiffened The head was
raised and tho whole form seemed
to have been cast In an ircn mold
There was no movement The
man was dead. His leg remained
over the crosg-bar. but his feet. chin and
hands were elevated, as though he had
suffered mortal agony. In an instant the
flesh was burned and turned red A horri-
BILE fungus appeared upon his throat and
wrists. lie had not ;aken hisrubbcr gloves
with him, and the oversight had led to bis
death. Blood from his body apattered on
the people below.
For half an hour the stiffened body re-
mained in the network OF wires. Crowds
poured from all the streets For fifteen
, minutes the horse-cars threaded their way
through the crowd. Then q Gordon of
police appeared and all travel was
stopped The Mortified multitude gazed
ut the body in the network
OF wires The face and hands dcercned
into o livid hue. A ladder was taken from
the engine house and elevated to the fatal
network. The ladder remained there fifteen
minutes before man bold enough to ascend
it was found When he appeared his hands
and arms were incased in long rubber
gloves He carried an immense pair Of
shears. Slowly he asccnded the ladder.
Carefully he picked his way through the
wires until he reached the fourth
CIOsS-pieC5. 1EeH NC uICW u.S leR
over the cross-piece, resting his left
foot upon the cross-piece below. His
| leg shook like 4 man with the ague. Care
fully he raised his right hand and snapped
a wifc near the dead mans face. Az the
wire fell the crowd below scat
tered In an instant sparks Of fire, fol-
lowed by puffs OF smoke, flew from the
dead mans nose and from his calcincd
wrists. A second wire fell curling among
its fellows along Chambers street. A third
wire was cut The end flew from the nest
/ TO the northwest corner of Chambers and
Center streets. striking policeman on the
head and curling him up with pain. The
/ fourth wire fell to tho street
Then the livid hand dropped, the foot
resting upon another wire. Another snip
and the cieyated head fell limp and life-
less. exposing the ghastiv features to those
upon the east side OF Center street
Before the cutting rope had been
/ passed over q cross-piccc and care
fully knotted around tho dead mans
body. Meanwhile q second volunteer
had mounted to the cross-pieccs, and with
hi assistance the body was lowered to the
ground. The crowd was convulsed with
horror. A smell OF burned flesh pcryaded
the mir. The whole side OF the mans face
was burned away. exposing his teeth Hia
wrist was cut to the bon. and the blood was
dripping from both face and wrist Cor.
oner Schultze took charge of the body.