The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-06-20
PHOTOGRAPHED BY LIGHTNING.
Pictures Imprinted Upon the Inside of
Sncep Struc. by the Fluid.


Sheep Struck By the Fluid.
From the village of Coombe bay,
which lies about four niles from Bath,
England. comes a story of curious
frcal, lightning. Near the village there
is, or was. when ia" incident occurred,
an extensive wood composed of oak and
nut trees. In the center of this wood
there WAS small pasture, quite
henmCd in by the surrounding grove
Here six sheep were kept by their
owner The flock being small, the
pasture, only about 30 yards in extent.
contained herhacc sufficient for them.
One day while the sheep were in the
field severe thunderstorm came on
and one flash of lightning killed stimuli
tancously every sheep in the pasture.
1t is to lie presumed they were mourned
by their owner, but no doubt consider
ing that they might he of some profit
to him, although dead, he sold their
bodies to n butcher in the neighboriEG
village of Coomhe Bay. The butcher
began his business by sl,inning the
lightning-strucl, animals. And here
the strange part of the story comes in.
TO the astonishment of the butcher
and his assistant, on the interior of
each sheepsllin they found printed an
elaborate and faithful picture of the
landscape surrounding the sheep pas
ture. These natural pictures were in
no respect suggestive of the impress
sionist daubs, but the trees, the fences.
the rocks and bushes were all as pre-
cisely represented as if photographed
upon the skin of the animal. Every
detail was exactly drawn.
The sheep had been killed while hud-
died together in q corner, and the land
scape in each case was the same, the
picture being of that part of the sur
rounding scenery which lay in the path
of the lightning fash which killed the
frightened animal.
The story relates that the skins were
hung up for some time at n public place
and were examined by hundreds of peo-
pie. Many old inhabitants who had
been familiar since childhood with the
little pasture and its surrounding grove
readily identified the spot when they
beheld its strangely pictured represen-
tation.
If the sheep owner in this tale had
had foresight enough to skin his flock
before selling them he might have
reaped Il greater harvest from his dead
animals than he could while they We're
living by exhibiting or selling the skins
as curiosities. And if the mutton was
eutabIc at all it doubtless brought high
or rates because coming from sheep of
such fame.
Stories of lightning prints are old,
some of them curious, and many, no
doubt, have an element of truth i'll
them, But some of their marvels are
certainly due to the vivid imaginations
of those who listen to them. Most of
them have an "at-least-my-grand
mothers cat ran across his-grand
mother's-garrct" air. And it is diff
cult to pin ones faith on a story so com
plete as this, or so extensive as to in
clude n whole flock of sheep.
There is n story of the italian lady,
who, while sitting in the window of her
villa at Lugano, received n severe shock
from n stroke of lightning, and 'al-
though she recovered completely, the
impression of a flower, which must
have been in the path of the lightning
flash which reached her, was printed
indelibly on her body
The same old chronicle tells of man
who, while standing at his door dur
ing a thunderstorm, saw the lightning
strike large tree opposite to him. In
this case "a reversed image of the tree
was found printed on the mans breast"
N Y World