The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1892-06-23
A DEADLY STROKE.

| lightning Strikes tho Grant Monument
In Lincoln Park. Chicago, Only Slightly
IDjuring 1t-Threo Persons Of q Crowd
Gathered for shelter Under Its Archo,
Arc Instantly Killed and Many In.
Jured.
CHICAGO. June 17.-Lightning dis
played its terrific, unexplainable power
in shocking manner Thursday night.
During the thunderstorm which passed
over the city shortly after o'clock .
bolt struck the bronze horse of the
Grant monument in Lincoln park. At
the time no less than forty people
were crowded in the open corridor
just beneath the pedestal on which
the bronze work rests. There was q
binding flash, a loud report. and all
who were under the shelter were
thrown off their feet. Three people,
two men and a woman, were instantly
killed. All received terrible shock,
but only four were 80 badly injured
that they required immediate attention.
The following is list of the killed:
Lewis Meyer, % years old, single, lived at No
IS Mutt street: body removed to the county
| morgue Mrs. Schiele, 70 years DID, lived witt
her son-inlaw, William Hummel agent for the
Wacker- Birk Brewing Company, No. q Austin
| avenue; body removed to the county morgue
Carl Horst, about 10 years DID, lived at No. tx
| East Ontario street.
Seven persons were badly hurt anG
score or more slightly shocked.
Lightning has seldom wrought worse
havoc at single stroke. When the
storm came up hundreds of people were
seeking shelter from the burning rays
OF the sun under the trees and about the
artificial lake at the south end of the
park. Suddenly and almost without
warning dense masses of clouds rolled ur
from the west. Faint flashes OF light.
ming played over the rising clouds, and
with the cool west wind light shove,
began to fall. The people who were
scattered about the south end of the
park ran for shelter, and about forty
collected in the massive granite
corridor beneath the Grant monu.
ment. Then the rain. until this
time only slight shower, began tt
fall in torrents. Flashes of light.
ming came in quick succession, but the
thunder rolled low and distant anG
none of the group under the monument
seemed frightened. Suddenly at 1925
o'clock there came binding
flash from the east. The yellow-forked
bolt struck the left hind leg of the
bronze horse upon which the
statue of Gen. Grant rests, then
bounded to the northwest corner of the
granite coping and glanced into the
corridor. Following the seam between
two granite blocks it travelled along
the top of the third archway, from east
to west, and then glanced to the
ground, passing along the foo,
and down the east side OF
The base. TO people who were hud.
lied together in the path of the
bolt there was vivid flash but no re.
port. The next instant thirty-eight OF
thirty-nine people were lying prone
upon the stone floor, some dead, some
! seriously injured, and all ter.
ribly shocked. For the moment none
! realized what had occurred or where
they were. Then the ones least in.
/ jured aroused sufficiently to look about
themselves. They saw the result OF
the bolt and those who were able
FASTENED to the assistance of the les.
fortunate. 1t was a trying moment.
Word was quickly sent to the LARA
bee Street station, and within fifteen
minutes after the bolt struck the monu.
mcnt the patrol was on the scene. II
was followed few minutes later bv
The Halsted Street station patrol
wagon, and with the assistance of the
Lincoln park police the work of remov.
ing the dead and injured began.
The rescuers found Lewis Meyer
lying at the south end of the arch, witk
his sweetheart, a young lady of 10. by
his side, dazed and badly injured by the
shock. The young mans face was
blackened by the bolt and he stone
dead. He was right in the path of the
! lightning, and, if there could be such a
thing as first, he was the first to be
! killed. Like the rest, his face and
hands had turned to dark color His
coat was badly torn and his right
! :rouser leg was split from top to bot.
:om. His right shoe had also been tore
from his foot
In the southeast corner of the north
arch was Mrs. Schiele, the old lady. She
was sitting up against the granite wall.
and with the exception of dark hue
about her cheeks, she was apparently
unscathed by the lightning She.
however, had suffered the wors,
If all by it's mad freak. Hell
clothing was torn in shreds from
her shoulders in many places, as
if it had been cut with a knife.
Strangely enough, her shoes had been
torn from her feet, and they lay near
by, ripped and broken. She had evi.
identity been instantly killed. At the
time that the lightning struck he,
She held in her arms the lit.
lie child of her son in law,
William Ilummel. 1t had escaped
without scratch, and when the Wagon
arrived it was laughing in it's fathers
arms Mr. 1lummel had arrived at the
monument just moment before the
flash came to take his family home
The great monument escaped with
almost no injury at all, notwithstand.
ing the loss of life that took place di
rectly under it. The bolt made slight
depression in the left leg of the horse
near the hoof, and it clipped piece oil
granite the size of mans hand from
The coping. Its course across the
arch could be detected by a faint line
and in one place it cut about pounc
Of mortar out from two of the granite
slabs. Five dollars will repair all the
damage that the big monument sui
fered.
Two Killed, Ten Injured.
PHILADELPHIA, June ia wreck
occurred on the North Penn railroad
Wednesday night which resulted in the
death of two men and the injury o.
several others. The Doylestowr
express passes Fort Washington
station at the rate of mile ;
minute, the fastest time made a
any point along the road. The Jenkln
town shifter was running ahead of tn,
passenger train, and in attempting tt
switch on to the down track was caugh
by the engine of the express. Thi
engine was thrown from the tract
against an embankment. Both engines
were completely wrecked.
| An Ioua E.r x.ohro<, ~e 40 eoo