The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-07-31
TACKLED AN ICE HOUSE
Lightning Suffers a Defeat Like
Unto That of Fitzsimmons.
1T RETIRED TEMPORARILY
Before 1t Got Away 1t Brought an Ice
man to His Knees and Burned
Out the Indicator at the
Fire Station.

The lightning which has been frisk-
| ing gaily and undisturbed about Ana
conda for the last few days suffered u
severe shock yesterday. 1t fColishly as
saulted an ice house, and while the
| house lost a little skin the lightning
| came out second best and Immediately
retired, panied and surprised. to medi-
Fitzsimmons feels.
In the breakaway the lightning
! struggled frightfully, with the result
that it struck Icennan c. b. Harding a
glancing blow and knocked him to his
knees, an attitude icemen never as
sumo voluntarily. Also it ripped out
the alarm indicator at the fire station.
This lightning has been prancing
about the country warbling Won't
you come and play with me?" after the
manner of Annie Held, but, unlike An
ME, it found no takers. Yesterday aft
ernoon it was feeling particularly
sporty. Thunder roared up and down
the mountain valleys, reverberating
from hill to hill. 1t would crash a
mighty 13-inch-gun crash and imme-
diately after would crack all over the
sky like battleships secondary bat
terry in action. Black clouds overcast
the sky and occasionally were rent by a
vivid display of lightning Altogether
the elements We're having a high old
time. Every now and then the rain, to
show it was in the game, would drop
ton or so of water to the block, while
huge hailstones pelted down at inter
walls.
~ Finally, about 4:3O o'clock, the light
ming, singled out the B., A. G. P. ice
/ house, which stands near the round
house. The building is not an attract
i've one architecturally, but the light
ming didn't mind that. Tag; you're it,
said the lightning, and dropped on the
house, ripping small section of the
wall loose and setting fire to the shin
giles.
C. B. Harding, an employee of the
Crystal Ice company, from his COM
pany's house near by. saw the fire and
rushed to box 5, at the corner of West
Park avenue and Elm street, to turn
III an alarm. AS he pulled the hook he
was given shock that knocked him to
his knees and shook him up consider
ably. The same bolt or lightning burn
ed out the dial indicator at the fire de-
partment. Accordingly the department
had to depend on counting the taps of
the bell to learn the locality of the fire
and was delayed in leaving the station.
Railway employees and cemen got
hose line to the roof of the ice house
and had the fire about out by, the time
the fire department arrived
The number of electrical storms
which has been handed to Anaconda
recently is remarkable. There seems to
be a superabundance, of electricity
hanging over this section Of the coun-
try. One explanation is that the at
mOspheIe has been so heavily charged
with the war spirit in the last year that
the elements have found it necessary ITO
work off the surplus in the form of
lightning and thunder storms. What
pressing on picnics.
The rain-laden clouCs that have been
so numerous in the sky, with the
smoke from forest fires and smelters,
mixed by high winds, have given some
odd and picturesque sky effects and
sunsets recently. Saturday night, as
the sun was setting beyond the western
hills, a little patch of clear blue sky
appeared in the angle made by a valley
cutting between two peaks. Above and
all around that bit of the clearest ultra
marine were dense, angry black clouds.
And then the rays from the setting sun
warmed them with ruddy tints along
their lower pillows, fading into pink
above and finally, mounting higher, be-
ing absorbed and lost in the colder col
ors of the overcast sky. Still this little
patch Of sky shone forth, clear and
steady and peaceful, far away there in
the west, picture FOR a masters
brush.