Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1900-08-02
VICTIMS OF LIGHTNING.
LAST YEARS DEATH ROLL THE
LARGEST EVER RECORDED,
H1ve Hundred and Sixty-two Per-ons
Killed and $50 Injured A Number
Killed without Amy External Sign of
Injury-Five Nict:ms OF One Stroke.

q ia THIS country last year was
greater than in any .-ear since stats-
tics began to be collected. Five hun
dred and sixty-two persons We're killed
instantly or suffered injuries from
which death soon resulted. and $50
persons Were injured. many of them
suffering from physical shock. others
from painful burns and others from
temporary paralysis Of some part Of
the body. The most common form of
injury resulting from lightning seems
to be the paralysis Of the arms or legs.
III Professor IIenry's report on the
casualties Of the year be says there
We're some remarkable escapes from
death. In some cases the clothing Of
the person struck w2s set on fire and
the body was SCARED or burned: how
ever, complete recovery followed. 1t
IS not easy to explain how these per-
sons escaped death. and there Is still
much uncertainty as TO the maximum
voltage that can be applied 10 the hui
man body without fatal result
In some cases Of death the body Of
tile person struck showed no external
marks of the discharge, and death
seems to have resulted from complete
collapse Of the cellular tissues. In
many cases. however, the cause of
death was made apparent by the dis
cOloratiOn and burning Of various parts
Of the body. One singular case was
that Of two brOt hers who were killed
while driving together in q dog cart
They We're found lying side by side on
the road just as they had fallen out Of
the back Of the vehicle. The elder
brother had no external sign of injury
The skin of the younger brother was
burned In n number of small, circular
holes over the chest and abdomen and
the back was burned from the neck to
the hips. The metallic collar stud was
fused and the skin beneathit was deep
ly burned. The wastcoat and shirt
were charred. but the coat was unin-
jured. No signs of disturbance of the
ground could be seer
1t is usually supposed that the dam
age Is done by a single bolt, but it is
often difficult to explain the casualties
on this theory. Thus in one case last
year a span of horses attached to Il
wagon and man in the rear of the
wagon were killed while the driver
who was sitting between the horses
/ and the man, was not seriously hurt
! This ease and others of a similar na-
turc seem to confirm the belief that
not one but q number of discharges
may reach the earth within Il cOmpar
ativelX small radius inside which there
may be small areas Of safety. Photo
graphs of the so-callcd ribbon flashes
| show that at times the discharge is
from thirty to forty feet wide at the
surface Of the earth. There appear TO
be narrow lanes within these broad
paths that are free from violent dis
| turbance. y person standing in one of
these lanes might escape serious i'll
Jury while others near by might be
killed
The greatest number of fatalities, or
~ per cent, occurred in the open. the
next greatest number. 81 per cent. oc-
CURED in houses; IL per cent. occurred
under trees, and the least OF all . Der
cent, in barns
\ dozen persons. mostly women
We're killed either while taking clothes
from wire lines or while near the lines
during Il thunderstorm. 1t j. We'll
known that in the cities many wire
clothes lines are extended between the
dwellings and trees or the back fence
Professor Henry says that this is q
source of danger. and that wires
should never connect q Aouse with a
! neighboring tree. If wiT ~ used al
all II should not be stretched within
tlfty feet OF a dwelling house. Here
are some precautions that are recon-
mcnded during thuuderStorns. Per
sons in house should avoid chimneys
and open windows. The safest place
is probably The lnIiu-c of the room
In n" open. p.rSous should never seek
I've stock should he avoided II OF
horseback. 1t IS wise u dismount and
wait until the storm passes away
III one ease last year i've perSoIA
We're killed IL single stroke OF light
ming. There WAS also one case OF foul
deatA> from single stroke two cases
Of three deaths AMI several cases O.
TWO deaths
Tie greatest number of fatalities oc
CURED IL I.unsyIt aliia where Their
w"r. nifty SIX deaths. ana there wer'
fnrrv-one in Illinois
= totA fhes. States here was I'll
except;onallv large nun4t-sr Of fatali
ties in the month OF May II the Who'll,
country. however. thc largest numb.
OF casualties occurred in June, Jul,
and August. D,-c,Inl~.- was thu oul.
taonta with"u' d casualty. though oul,
two persons w"rr kiIl.ti IN octol".
four IN Noyrru her. thru IN January
aBS one Ii February. The statistic