The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-08-12
STUNNED BY LIGHTNING.
When A. and M Textile Building Was Struck
Two Professors Narrowly Escaped

The work of the lightning on the tower
of the new Textile Building at the A. and
M. College on Saturday has been exam
ined, and it is supposed that the injury
can be repaired at cost of about $3.50.
Neither Prof. H. M. Wilson nor Prof.
Charles Parks are suffering any bad eff
ter viewing the position in which Prof.
Wilson was standing his escape from
death seems miraculous. Speaking of his
experience he said:
Il was on the second floor of the build
ing, within few feet of a large electric
motor, when suddenly there was a blind
ing flash direct from the motor, which
knocked me down, stunning me. A ne
gro on the other side of the motor had a
similar experience. There was a loud
explosion, as of a heavy gun, and then
everything was quiet. The flash of fire
from the motor seemed a yard in dame
ter and its full power must have been
immense"
Continuing Prof. Wilson said that the
electric current forced it's way through
the insulating into the electric wires
leading from the building, cutting little
holes in the insulating. He said that in
the machinery building and boiler ROOM
some distance away there was a flash,
or as some who saw it say: ''ball of
fire." In one of these buildings the tel
ephone was torn to pieces. In the dairy
building the shock was also felt.
Prof Charles Parks, speaking of his
experience, said that he was in Wataug&
Hall, on the upper floor and had a piece
of galvanized gutter pipe in his hand
with which he was trying to direct the
water pouring against the walls from an
unfinished gutter. The lightning struck
the gutter pipe from his hands and Jared
him, nauseating him greatly. The light
ming stopped his watch, and it is not now
keeping good time. He was stunned tenn
porarily.
The tower of the building looks as if
two cannon balls had struck it. There is
no black mark as of fire, that which
looks like this being caused by con-
tinued dripping of water from the gall
vanized iron top. This top surmounts
the tower, which has many points to it
but no lightning rods.
The injury to the tower is on the side
which faces Raleigh. The lightning
struck above the topmost window where
it made big round hole. From this a
narrowing crack extends to a lower win
dow and then increases to the third. Be-
low the window is another round hole.
The bolt then jumped to a spot just above
the main roof of the building, tore out
some brick, and then whirling around the
corner of the tower tore up some tin on
the roof and darted through to the motor
where Prof. Wilson was standing.
Three windows on the city side of the
tower are broken, the topmost being
badly torn up. On the opposite side the
windows are also torn up. The brick
is scattered on the ground below and
also on the different floors of the tower.
The tower stands solid despite it's shak-
ing up though many brick are hanging
as if they would fall at any moment. An
examination of the line of the electric
current inside of the tower shows clear
ly that the iron weights that raised the
windows attracted the current and &C
counts for the tearing out Of the window
frames so badly.
The damage to the tower appears really
more serious than it is, and it will not
take the workmen any great length OF
time to repair it.