Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-10
FRANKS OF LIGHTNING

| has hGPt, the past fourteen years,
all of the best authentica ted accounts COM
| ing under his eye Of the pranlSs of lightning
! throughout the world One of the facts to
| be deducted from the great mass of stories
| about the electricity of the heavens is that
| lightning cannot be lodged or avoided.
There are many accounts of lightning
striking and killing timid women who had
| taken refuge under beds and in closets In
| most OF these cases it is shown that the
| persons who have remained in the rooms
| abandoned by the victims thus killed while
| seeking safety have escaped unframed.
| The state of Kansas seems to have the
| palm for the derceness of its electrical
storms, with all of the states of the Mis-
| souri, and Mississippi valleys TO lowing close
| behind. An army officer riding from Leav
enworth to Fort LeaVenw orth, Kan. in Au-
gust, 1889, was shocked three times by bolts
striking near him. He saw nine huge trees
riVen by separate bolts. His horse died
| later from the electrical Shocks while the
officer himself suffered no injury of any
| importance. There are stories of three
women, one in Kansas. one in Arkansas
ard the other in Missouri, having been
| struck dead by lightning while carrying
infants in their arms, the young ones
| Gaping unframed in each case A young
man in central Illinois fooling with
rnastin dog during the progress of an cleo
tricai storm. The dog was struck dead by
| a bolt, nearly all of the hair being burned
! from its body, while the young man was
! only mildly shocked. A farmer was kissing
| his wife goodbye before starting for the
| county fair, when he was struck dead by
bolt of lightning. His wifes hair
| sumed by the same, but she was otherwise
| uninjured. Three drunken farm hands
turning from a dance. all arm-iu-arm. in
| eastern Nebraska, were overtaken by an
electrical storm on the road. The man in
the middle was killed by bolt. His two
! companions were knocked senseless, but
| quickly recovered They found themselves
completely sober when they came to.
| A letter carrier in Kansas City was hand
| ing a woman servant a letter at the base
| ment door when a bolt of lightning struck
| between them. They We're both rendered
| unconscious by the shock, but both were
| brought around all right. The letter was
! consumed. Two farm hands engaged in
| blowing in a 160-acre plot in South Dakota
| were killed by lightning within three min
utes. Three young kittens playing in a
| back yard in Independence, Mo. were
struck by lightning. one of them was kill
! ed, the other two being only singed. A
| German named Bitten (Which means light
| ming in our language was struck and killed
| by bolt while talking about his queer
name with party of friends in a tavern in
! central Arkansas. The shop of a bird fam
cter in Chicago was struck by bolt Of
| two parrots in one cage one was killed and
| the other permanently blinded, besides be-
| ing rendered deaf and dumb. A gang of
| circus hands were trying to round up an
| escaped tiger in d Missouri town. when the
| tiger was struck dead by lightning. During
a running race at an Illinois county fair. in
| which eleven horses Were competing for the
| purse. the winning horse was struck dead
| instantly after having Won the race by Il
| head on the wire. None OF the other horses,
| most of which were close up at the finish,
| was hurt at all.
An Indiana fiddler was playing .cOun-
| try dance, having a seat on the porch for
| the sake of the coolness thereof His violin
| was knocked into kindling wood by a bolt
of lightning, while he himself was only
mildly shocked. A chicken hawk was
| struck dead while just in the act of swoop-
! ing upon flock of hens on an Iowa farm.
| None of the hens was hurt. A locomotive
| engineer was struck dead while seated in
his cab making a short freight run in Col
| orado, his fireman not even being shocked.
A dozen girls in an Ohio seminary were
shocked by bolt of lightning while seated
| in the parlor. The same bolt killed one of
| the teachers at the other end of the build
ing. a Tennessee farmer was feeding his
| hogs, standing in the middle of the pen,
| when he was hit by bolt of lightning and
instantly killed The hogs were not injured
| at all. An elderly woman praying all
| alone in little chapel in a small Ken
| lucky town was struck dead by lightning.
The chapel was set on fire and consumed.
| A Memphis woman was curling her hair
| with curling irons when bolt of lightning
| came through the window and knocked the
! curling irons out of her hand She was
| rendered unconscious When she came to
| she found the curling irons at the far end
of the room. They We're almost red hot,
!
| they rested. A bolt of lightning penetrated
a cyclone cellar in Kansas in which a
| family of four had taken refuge. and all
| were killed. a captive balloon, the largest
ever manufactured, was struck by light
| ming in Chicago about eight years ago and
| two Of the aeronauts Killed. Circus tents
have been hit by lightning bolts on numer-
, Gus occasions, generally with a compare
lively small loss of life considering the
| size of the assemblages under the tents. A
man who was struck by lightning in west
Nau ytt-ye lii fhrn11 n
| forest had the outlines of two perfect trees
| ndelibly stamped in red on his back. but
he was not seriously hurt. To all intents
| and purposes the lightning branded him.
| A pressman employed by a job printing
| house in Omaha was struck by lightning
| and Knocked into mass of machinery.
| which mangled him to death. A gang of
| boys were playing ball on a field in an
| Ohio town when an electrical storm came
| up. The boy al the bat was knocked down
by the shock of a bolt that struck near,
| but not seriously hurt. The boy who was
catching taking them off the bat''
| right back of the boy at the bat, but he
was not even shocked.
| A Russian oil steamer was struck three
times in succession, within seven minutes,
on. the Baltic sea, and was burned. None
| of the crew was hurt a wheat ship on
| Lake Huron was struck twice amidships,
almost in the same 81 OF, the bolts coming
| within three minutes of each other The
| second bolt set the ship fire, and she
| went down. a Washington girl living on
| 18th street near II was struck by lightning
while sitting at sewing machine a good
many years ago. The machine was placed
at low window, and the girl was knocked
| out of the window. She was not seriously
| hurt. Another Washington woman was
shocked by a bolt of lightning while WELD
! ing pair of scissors She found that the
| bolt had dulled the scissors that they
| would not cut A bolt of lightning struck
| a small house over in FAILS Church. 1t
| completely tore away partition separat-
| ing two of the rooms, broke the rockers
| of an easy chair on which young woman
| was seated, AMI made Il big cash in the
| floor in passing into the ground. None
! of the occupants of the house was so
| much as shocked. man in Mississippi
! was cutting a chew of tobacco when a
bolt of lightning struck his hands. They
| were badly burned that they had to
be amputated. Two quarrymen were pre-
! pairing fuse in a Georgia marble quarry
| when lightning struck the charge and
! they were both blown to fragments. The
| mate of an Atlantic coasting schooner was
| drunkingly inviting a sailor aloft engaged
| in shortening sail to come below and be
| cut to pieces when a bolt of lightning
| struck the mate dead. A boy seated in
| small boat that was attached to and trail