Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-27
FRANKS OF THE LIGHTNING
Three Buildings struck During the
Thunderstorm that Ragged
Monday Afternoon.

The rain which lasted several hours Mon
day afternoon was accompanied by severe
electrical storm that did considerable dam
age. Lightning struck three buildings, but
fortunately no serious free resulted nor were
any persons injured.
During the afternoon many Of the bayonets
OF lightning that zigzagged across the sky
were followed by deafening reports instantly
a proof. according to common belief, that
they struck near at hand. II was in the
evening, a few minutes past o'clock, when
the bolt that wrought the most harm fell
The flash was the brightest of the storm aud
the ripping thunder that was heard before
its CLEAN died away made it seem in every
part OF the city that the lightning had fallen
but few yards distant The object which
1t actually struck was slender copper
wire stretched between the houses OF d.
w Gilbert and his father and used as a
call bell d. W. Gibert's house is 1916
Hickory street and the home OF his faith II
is around the corner, 1865 South Fourteenth
street. The wire entered the kitchen Of the
older mans house through the wall above the
window. At the house of the son II is sup
ported by a nom n-conducting spool placed
above a window and from that point it is
carried along a series of spools to the ground
and into the cellar. The neighbors say they
saw the bolt hit the wire near its center
between the houses, but not the smallest bit
of the copper can be found. 1t was burned
to ashes by the lightning, intense heat and
the windows near which 1t ran were shat
tered in pieces by the shock
d. W. Gilbert was standing with his baby
! in his arms at the rear door watching the
rain. When the lightning struck, less than
twenty feet away, sparks few from every
metal thing in the room and he was almost
knocked to the ground. The side of the
house was set afre, but the blaze was
quickly extinguished.
The second building struck was the Leav-
enworth street school. There the lightning
struck chimney and sent the bricks spin
ming in all directions, but no other damage
apparently was done.
The lightning is held responsible also for
the blazing telegraph pole at Fifteenth
street and Capitol avenue which the fire de.
partment was called upon to extinguish
about o'clock. 1t is supposed to have
struck the wires and burned the insulation
off so that when a current of electricity was
turned on fame was created at every place
where two wires crossed. There were hall
a dozen flames on the various poles along
the block and they hissed and sputteret
until as a precautionary measure the cleo
trio light company was forced to turn of
the current.
| About 2:45 p. M bolt of lightning landed
J on the cupola of the malt house of Metz's
brewery at Fifth and Jones streets. 1t tore
off the corners of the cupola and set fire
| to the framework A team of horses under
shed at the foot of the building paid nc
attention to the stroke. not being the leas
bit frightened. The fire department put
out the blaze before any damage had beer
done.
Louis and Charles Metz, who were in the
Office across the street from the malt house
said that the atmosphere felt very sultry
prior to the shock When the bolt landed
it seemed to them that the building il
which they were sitting was being forced
down upon them. Then there was relie
of the tension and they breathed more
freely. They discovered that the malt house
had been struck. Louis Metz called t
Charles to turn in the alarm, while he rar
across the street to see the extent of the
damage. He returned almost instantly ant
said 1t not necessary to sound an alarm
as the damage was slight The alarm, how
ever had been turned in. The building
was filled with hay and feed stuff for the
firms horses and stock. The building vii
be torn down soon, so the damage will no
! affect its use.