The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1900-06-16


The facts collected by the Weather Blu
reau show that the loss of life by lightning
in this country last year was greater than
in any year since statistics began to be col
lected. Five hundred and sixty-two per-
sons were killed instantly, or suffered in
juries from which death soon resulted, and
800 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.
In Professor Henry's report on the cas-
ualties of the year he says there were 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. However, complete recovery fol-
lowed. 1t is not easy to explain how these
persons escaped death, and there is still
much uncertainty as to the maximum volt
age that can be applied to the human
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 eel
lular tissues In many cases, however,
the cause of death was made apparent by
the discoloration and burning of various
parts of the body. One singular case, that
of two brothers, who were killed while
driving together in 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 exter
nal sign of injury. The skin of the young
er brother was burned in number Of
small, circular holes over the chest and alb
domen, and the back was burned from the
neck to the hips The metallic collar stud
was fused, and the skin beneath it was
deeply burned The waistcoat and shirt
were charred, but the coat was uninjured.
No signs of disturbance of the ground could
be seen.
1t is usually supposed that the damage
is done by single bolt, but it is often
difficult to explain the casualties on this
theory Thus, in one case last year span
of horses attached to 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 case and others of similar nature
seem to confirm the belief that not one but
number of discharges may reach the earth
within comparative small radius, inside
which there may be small areas of safety.
Photographs 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 disturbances. A person
standing in one of these lanes might escape
serious injury, while others near by might
be killed.
The greatest number of fatalities, or As
per cent, occurred in the open; the next
greatest number, 81 per cent, occurred
in houses; per cent. occurred under trees,
and the least of all, 9 per cent. in barns.
A dozen persons, mostly women, were
killed either while taking clothes from wire
lines, or while near the lines during thun-
derstorm. 1t is well known that in the
cities many wire clothes lines are extended
between the dwelling and trees or the back
fence. Professor Henry says that this is
a source of danger. and that wires should
never connect house with Il neighboring
tree IF wire is used at all, it should not
be stretched within fifty feet of dwelling
house. Here are some precautions that
are recommended during thunderstOrms {:
Persons in house should avoid chimneys
and open window The safest place is
probably the middle 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 case last year five persons were
killed by single stroke Of lightning.
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 occur
red in Pennsylvania, where there were
fifty-six deaths, and there were forty -one
in Illinois
In both these States there was an ex-
ceptionally large number of fatalities in the
month of May. In the whole country,
however, the largest number Of casualties
occurred in June, July and August. De-
cember was the only month without a
casualty, though only two persons were
killed in October, four in November, three
in January and one in February. The
statistics of 1898 and 1899 show that the
number of fatalities by lightning in any
region is by no means in proportion to the
number of thunderstorm dave