Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-09-19
VICTIMS OF LIGHTNING.
LAST YEARS DEATH ROLL THE
LARGEST EVER RECORDED.

Y" HE facts collected by the
Weather Bureau show that
the loss of life by lightning
in this country last year was
greater than in any year since statis-
tics began to be collected. Five hun
dred and siXty-two persons were killed
instantly OF suffered injuries from
which death soon resulted, and $40
persons We're 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.
In Professor Henry's report on the
casualties of the year he says there
! We're some remarkable escapes from
death. In some cases the clothing of
the person struck was 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 to the hui
man body without fatal result.
In some cases of death the body of
the 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 brothers who We're killed
while driving together in q dog cart.
They were 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 irjury.
The skin of the younger brother was
burned in a 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 beneath it was deep
ly burned. The waistcoat and shirt
We're 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 n span of horses attached to a
wagon and q man in the rear of the
wagon We're killed while the driver,
who was sitting between the horses
and the man, was not seriously hurt.
This case and others of n similar ma
ture seem to confirm the belief that
not one but number of discharges
may reach the earth within a compar-
atively small radius inside which there
may be small areas of safety. Photo
graphs of the sO-called 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. A person standing in one of
these lanes might escape serious in
jury while others near by might be
killed.
The greatest number of fatalities, or
DO 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, 0 per
cent, in barns.
\ dozen persons, mostly women,
were killed either while taking clothes
from wire lines or while near the lines
during thunderstorm. 1T is well
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
source of danger, and that wires
should never connect n house with a
neiShboring tree. If wire is used at
all, it should not be stretched within
fifty feet of Il dwelling house. Here
are some precautions that are recon-
mended during thunderstOrms. Per-
sons il house should avoid chimneys
and open windows. The safest place
is probably the midd-e of the room.
In the open, persons should never seek
the shelter of trees. Wire fences and
live stock should be avoided. If on
horseback, it is wise to dismount and
wait until the storm passes away.
In one ease last year five persons
were killed by Il single stroke Of light
ming. There was also one case of four
deaths from a single stroke, two cases
of three deaths, and several cases of
two deaths.
The greatest number of fatalities oc-
Cured in Pennsylvania, where there
were fifty-six deaths, and there We're
forty-one in Illinois.
In both these States there was an
exceptionally large number of fatali-
ties in the month of Lay. In the whole
country, however, the largest number
of casualties occurred in June, July
and August. December was the only
month without casualty, though only
two persons We're killed in October,
four in November, three in January,
and one in February. The statistics