River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1892-06-23
A DEAD Y STROKE.

Are 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 6 o'clock
bolt struck the bronze horse of the
Grant monument in Lincoln pack. 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 a
binding fash, loud report, and all
who were under the shelter were
thrown of their feet Three people,
two men and woman, were instantly
killed. All received terrible shock,
but only four were SO badly injured
that they required immediate attention.
The following is a list OF the killed:
Lewis Meyer, - years old, single lived al No
80 Mutt street; body removed 10 the county
norgue Mrs. Sehiele, 20 years old, hved with
ler son-in-law, William Hummel, agent for the
Wacker -Bir, Brewing Company, No, = Austin
avenue; body removed to the county morgue
Carl Horst, about 10 years old, lived at No. IsC
East Ontario street
Seven persons were badly hurt and
a 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 withou'
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 a light shower
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-
mept. Then the rain. until this
time only slight shower, began &c
fall in torrents. Flashes of light.
ming came in quick succession, but the
thunder rolled low and distant and
none of the group under the monument
seemed frightened. Suddenly at 6:25
o'clock there came binding
| flash from the east. The yellowforked
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
he top of the third archway. from east
20 west, and then glanced to the
ground, passing along the floor
and down the east side OF
,he base. To people who were hud-
He'd together in the path of the
bolt there was vivid flash but no re-
port. The next instant thirty-eigbt or
shirty-nine people were lying prone
lpon the stone floor, some dead, some
| seriously injured, and all ter
-ibly shocked. For the moment none
realized what had occurred or where
! hey were. Then the ones least in
iured 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. II was a trying moment.
Word was quickly sent To the LARA
bee Street station. and within fifteen
minutes after the bolt struck the monu.
nent the patrol was on the scene 1t
was followed a few minutes later by
she 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
| wing at the south end of the arch. with
rs sweetheart, a young lady of 10, Ivy
his side, dazed and badly injured by the
shock. The young mans face was
blackened by the bolt and he stone
| lead. He was right in the path of the
lightning, and. if there could be such
thing as first he was the first to be
killed. Like the rest. his face ard
| hands had turned to dark color. His
coat was badly torn and his right
srouser leg was split from top to bot
5om. His right shoe had also been-torn
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 a dark hue
about her cheeks, she was apparently
unscathed by the lightning. She.
however, had suffered the worst
IF all by its mad freak. Her
/ clothing was torn in shreds from
her shoulders in many places, as
/ If it had been cut with knife.
/ Strangely enough, her shoes had been
torn from her feet, and they lay near
by, ripped and broken. She had evi-
IDENTIFY been instantly killed. At the
time that the lightning struck her
she held in her arms the lit
tie child of her son in law,
William Hummel. 1t had escaped
without a scratch, and when the wagon
arrived it was laughing in its fathers
arms Mr.. Hummel 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-
rectlv under It. The bolt IN adc slight
depression in the left leg of the horse,
near the hoof, and it Clipped "A piece OF
granite the size of mans hand from
the coping. Its course across the
arch could be detected by faint line,
and i'm one place it cut about a pound
Of mortar out from two of the granite
slabs. Five dollars will repair all the
damage that the big monument sui.
fered