Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-01-23
DANGERS OF LlcnTnlNo.

freaks Il Elscericity Daring ssvsr.s
Ihundsr-stornns.
81. A HaSen. OF Washington, Is COM
munication to Science, says the attempt
of that paper to obtain information re-
garding lightning strokes and their
damage is very praiseworthy, and it Ii
70 be hoped it will result in q clearer
understanding of the danger from these
strokes to unprotected houses. / have
heard Intelligent men say that a light
ming rod attracted the lightning, and
was more dangerous than none. This
is unquestionably an entirely erroneous
superstition, in case the lightning god
has . good ground. for its whole duty is
to cause electricity of increased tension
to PASS Of silently and insensibly,
rather than to gain q sufficient potential
to give it q disruptive discharge. The
following is q brief account of a few
strokes that have como to my attention,
in which damage resulted. in the past
four years:
On August %, 1885, church with .
high steeple, and protected by an iron
lightning rod. was struck in severe
storm. The stroke stopped the tower
clock, but without serious injury. The
electricity came down the rod to within
fifteen feet of the ground, when 1t dashed
across twenty feet OF air space to .
faucet connected with the city water
pipes and disappeared without further
injury. 1t slightly dazed q man who
was within few feet of the line from
the rod to the faucet. A singular point
is that this same church was struck
precisely the same way several years
before, and, on that occasion. as the
stroke entered the water-pipe, it broke
the marble front of the sink and threw
it on the floor. 1t is very plain that the
whole difficulty In this case was an in
sufficient ground. After the last catas-
trophe the rod was changed to copper.
but it is plain that the only method Of
avoiding danger is by improving the
ground
In this same storm lightning strucksa
house about three-quarters of mile
from the church. The house had no
rod. The main part had hip roof, was
shingled, while the lower southern sx-
tension had a tin roof, from the south
west corner of which tin eaves-spout
ran down to about ten inches above the
earth. The lightning struck the south
west corner of the extension and d.
vided. part going down to the end OF
the spout. and then into the house,
where it knocked off plastering. The
other part crossed to the northeast cor
ner, passed down between the weather
boarding and plastering and finally dug
furrow in the ground and disappeared
in a pool of water about fifteen feet from
the house. Tho latter part of the stroke
drove off, as by an explosion. the pias-
tering on the inside and the weather
boarding on the outside. There was no
trace of scorching on the boards. A
woman and her two SONS in the hous0
were dazed and partly stunned.
A year or two later a modern house
was struck on one side of the principal
avenues of the city. 1t had no light
ming rod, but. from a tower having q
slate roof gilded ornament projected
about three feet The whole house ex-
cept this tower was rooted with tin
The stroke passed down the inside of
the tower knocking of the plastering.
stunning one of the inmates and doing
other slight damage. This house has
had the same ornament erected, and NO
rod put in place to protect it from q
similar stroke.
The last stroke that has been called
to my attention occurred this summer.
A gilded wooden cross, about four feet
in height, on the tower of a beautiful
stone church which had no protection
from lightning, was struck. Various
ornaments on the tower were shattered,
and the tower itself was damaged. Tho
whole damage was $500 or $500. Tho
gilded cross has again been cree ted with
out a lightning rod to invite anothe1
visitation by Providence.
1t seems to me the modern architec1o
for modern buildings are largely r.
sposible for this state of affairs 1t i
probable that in a large city. with nuns
erous tin roofs, the danger from light
ming on roofs is very slight; but certain
ly in isolated spots and all projecting
metallic or gilded points there is . con-
slant haz from, liohtuiur uu1aSS