The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-03
FREAKS OF LIGHTNING.
They Have saved as Well as Destroy
ed Human Lives--Thc Notion That
Lightning Never Hits the Same Spot
Twice Is Erroneous.

Lawson Well-knOWn sea captain
on the Texas coast several wears ago.
He was a big. blue-eyed Swed", end
about tie most profane man that ever
trod ships deck But the ship owner
who could secure Lawson - run his
vessel was considered fortunate for 1t
raade no difference it seemed, however
herd the wind might blow or in what
ever direction 1t might BE- when he
was ready to- soil the weather was
good enough, and the wind had at leas'
a slant in 1t, If 1t was not exact.y :air.
But Lawson was wickedly profGne,
and the thunder and lightning, espe.
Cially, called 1t forth in all its hiI'ous-
ness mr,e often than anything else. *
was no uncommon sight. when the
thunder realed the loudest, when the
lightnings rent the black sky sky above
him, and the water foamed with phos-
phorescent light, his broad face turned
upward, his clinched hands uplifted
curslng everything, and roaring de-
flance at the disturbed elements and
the rulers of the universe.
The newspaper paragraph mentioned
gives the ending of Lucky" Lawson's
life as follows:
Peter Lawson. a resident of this
place for several years past, and
known far and wide as Lucky Law
son, met with a sudden death Monday
evening last Mr.. Lawson had been
attending the big camp meeting and
revival at Elm Grove. where he was
| converted last week, and was return
ing home. On his way home during
the thunder storm of that evening, he
was struck by lightning and instantly
killed"
ANOTHER FAMOUS FEUD.
The accounts of the notorious Dick
| son.Burnham feud down on Big Bushy
| filled many newspaper columns a few
| years ago. 1t was said then that it
| had cost the two warning factions
| over twenty lives. 1t came to a sudden
| end last summer. At that time only
| two males of the two factions remain
| ed, the others having either left that
! part of the country or been killed.
| The last of the Dicksons was an old
man, over 40, and the only remaining
| Burnham a youth of is. A week before
the final ending of the feud these two
had met at the store, and only for the
| timely intervention of some mutual
peaceful friends their difference would
have been settled then and there, and
would perhaps have left one survivor
| to claim the victory. AS it was, they
| were prevailed upon to part, and each
went his way, vowing to kill the other.
1t was Saturday. Early that morn
| ing young Burnham rode across the
country to intercept old man Dickson
| on his way to the store. The road the
| old man had to come lay partly through
the timber along Big Bushy. The TIM
ber had dense underground of twin
ing vines and high palmettoes, a good
view of the road. and across his knees
| lay the old Winchester rifle which had
| been his fathers and which, it was
| claimed, had slain nearly a dozen
| DickSons, ready for use. There were
sounds of distant thunder and faint
flashes of lightning in the air, but as
the time passed both increased in vol.
ume and vividness. Presently there
came the sound of a horses hoofs
then a horse and rider came in view
1t was old man Dickson. Young Burn.
ham raised the Winchester to hi,
| shoulder, waited moment, and ther
pulled the trigger. Simultaneous will
the flash of the gun there was a vivit
flash of lightning, and a clap of thun
der that Jared the ground. Dickson.
harse galloped away riderless, Will,
in the middle of the road the old mar
lay dead, shot through the heart. Witt
MS back still against the cottonwood
tree, young Burnham was sitting. hi,
race black and scorched, his eyes star
ing wide, and on the ground besid,
MN lay the gunits barrel bent ant
TWISTED out OF shape by the lightning
IN A CHURCH.
In one of the churches i'm Necbe,
city few years ago there was a stor
my meeting between the members nt
the preacher in charge. The meetin,
broke up at last, and the preacher wa,
the last one to leave the church. anC
alone. When he reached the street
however, he was Joined by one of tn,
members, who had Jagged behind I,
try and persuade him to give in for tn,
sake of harmony. But the preache
was obdurate, and would not recede al
inch from the ground he had taken
maintaining that his cause was lust
Then the member became discourage,
and disgusted, "Parson," he exclaimed
1T would not surprise me If the Lor,
|
church and rend it from dome to foun
datlon.' The preacher smiled disdain
tully, put the next moment there cam
binding Hash of lightning and
deafening crash of thunder, and whe,
they looked back at the church whicl
they had Just left they saw that tn
lightning had struck it, and that it
steeple and roof had been demolished
The saying that lightning neye
strikes twice in the same place." mus
be revised, because it does. Numerou
instances could be quoted, but one vii
suffice. The schooner Primrose, ladeI
with lumber from Louisiana port, an
bound for Mexico, was caught i'm
thunder storm in the Gulf, and tn
foremast was struck by lightning an
shattered pretty badly One of tn
men ran forward to lower the foresai
, when the lightning struck the mas
once more, shattcring it completed
and killing the man. The time be
tween the thunderbolts was not owe
two minutes.
Lightning and blackberries come to
gether in the coast region of Texas
The people there, as a rule, are NOR
partial to the latter than the former
An exception to the rule exists ther
today, however, in Mrs. Pennington, q
Plum Creek, who says that one timel
stroke of the lightning has done he
more good than all the blackberries 4
creation could possibly accomplish
Just behind the Pennington home is
small clearing, in which the blackber
ries grow, large and sweet and /
abundance. One day Mrs. Penningto
went there to pick some berries 70
supper, and took her little baby gin
with her. The baby grew tired in