Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-03
PLAYTHING FOR LOVE
FARMER HINES SEEMS TO BE A Llv-
 ING LIGHTNING ROD.


 Dutch Neck, N. J., enjoys the honor of having been struck an even half dozen times by lightning and he is still on earth and able to tell the story The latest at tack of lightning that Hines had was one day last week when he was coming home from Hightstown on horseback He had purchased a pork ham and watermelon. Rain was falling whom he left Flights town. About two miles from town there was a large chestnut tree by the side of the road. Hines had reached this tree and was passing under it when there was a vivid flash of lightning, and that same in- stant Hines found himself lying in the gutter with no clothes on except his trou- sers and shoes. The tricky fluid had strip ped off his shirt coat and hat. The horse that Hines was on when the lightning made connection with him lay on the op- osite sido of the road. To all appearances it was dead What became of his missing clothes Hines never found out, but he found the watermelon and the pork ham. The pork ham was lodged in tho tree, as good as when it left the smokehouse, and tho melon he found lying on the ground about ten yards away, on the opposite side of stone wall, and barring a small hole in one end of 1t, which looked as if it had been deftly plugged, was in good condition. Not thread of the bag that had held tho melon and ham was to be found. Hines was little dizzy, but he got on his feet and pulled himself together sufficiently to get over to where his horse lay. The ami nal wasn't dead, and Hines soon had it on its feet. The bridle had been torn off tho horses head, and no trace of it could be found With tho melon under one arm and the ham under the other Hines walked home, driving his horse before him.
 The first time that lightning came in contact with Hines was about 40 years ago when he was 15 years old. As boy he was very fond of fishing, and one day he was out on pond angling for perch. A thunderstorm was brewing, but that fact didn't cut any figure with the boy, who kept right on looking for bites. The perch were taking the bait pretty briskly, and when the rain began to fall Hines contin- ued to cast his line The boy sat with his feet dangling over the stern of tho boat, thinking of nothing but the fun he was having, when suddenly there was ripping up of the water in front of him, and he was twisted off the seat and dropped into the pond All that was left of tho boat when Hines came to the surface was a few scraps of boards. The lightning had com pletely demolished the craft. The boy was none the worse for his experience, and he went home as well off as when he came, so far as his physical condition was concerned.
 A few years after that Hines was walk ing on the railroad during thunder storm. It was a pretty lively storm, and Hines confesses to having felt trifle skit- tish, for he remembered his experience on the lake. He was counting off the ties at pretty lively rate in the hope of getting home when there came binding flash of lightning, and Hines knew nothing for some time. When he came to, he was hanging over stone wall good deal like a towel that had been washed and hung out to dry. The spot from which he had been removed by the electric shock was several feet distant Hines never knew whether he was thrown on the wall by the lightning or had walked there while suffering from the shock. Hines managed to get homo and into bed, where he staid week before he was able to get out. That was the closest call he ever had.
 When Hines was about 23 years old, he was member of the Baptist church. Ho was regular attendant Sundays and was an active worker in the Sunday school. One Sunday he sat in church listening to the preaching, unmindful of the thunder storm that was raging outside. The min ister had reached an unusually interesting point in his sermon, when a bolt of light ming camo through the roof of the build ing, and, as if it had especial designs on Hines, made straight for him and tore the seat in which he sat into matchwood. Not content with removing the mans support from under him, the fluid ripped his shoes off his feet, tore his trousers into ribbons and blistered his left leg in several spots. ,f.f,,i ,i..I-, vacated the premises on the double quick. Hines began to get the impression that he was a mark for lightning, and for the first time since his first experience with the mysterious fluid got nervous. By this time his record as a lightning catcher had become known and he was made Q special subject for prayer.
 After this attack of lightning Hines was able to toll ten hours before a storm broke that it was coming by the peculiar sensa- tion that he experienced in his left leg. He became a sort of human barometer, and he was of considerable benefit to his farm CT neighbors, especially during the having season.
 About five years after Hines was touched up with lightning in tho church he was blowing one day behind a horse that was d trife nervous. The man had made up ms mlnu tO take . Ilttle or the lire out or the beast before leaving the field, and when it began to thunder he paid no at tention to it, In the middle of the field was big rock, and Hines was blowing around it when a bolt of lightning fell out of the sky and split the rock in two. The horse was instantly killed, and the blow was warped and twisted until it looked more like corkscrew than farming i'm plemcnt. Whilo this was going on Hines was being gleefully rolled in the dust. On this occasion the lightning was very con sideratc and did him no bodily injury be- yond spraining one of his elbows. It singed his hair, took off his eyebrows and wiped his whiskcrs out of czistorco On that oc- casion Hines wore q watch and the chain and certain parts of tho watch were melt ed. He buried the remains of the horse where they lay and never attempted to blow that field again.
 Hines nelghbors arc of the opinion that he bears n charmed life, but Hines takes moro philosophical view of it; he thinks that he has been struck because no hap pened to be in tho path of the lightning, and thinks the reason hc is still alive is because the lightning never happened to hit him hard enough to kill him. He says